Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 458 I Saw an Era

Seeing that Serafina had come to her senses, the three people present all breathed a sigh of relief.

If she persists, things will get complicated.

Rowena was even prepared to use the Imperius Curse to control the other party directly.

During the competition, the principal of Ifamoni absolutely cannot have any problems. After the competition, I can simply bring her back to Ifamoni under my control. As for the future, she is already so old; wouldn't it be perfectly normal for her to pass away soon after all the travel fatigue?

Fortunately, she figured it out herself, which saved her the trouble of taking action.

However, Seraphine's personality is somewhat problematic. Although she has already concluded that the Slytherin Wand is a cursed wand and that leaving it in Ilvermorny after it has been unearthed will only bring misfortune, she is still unwilling to take the initiative to relinquish Ilvermorny's ownership of the wand.

She gave away the family heirloom left by the previous principal? How can she explain this to the predecessors? How will others view her as a principal who "loses power and disgraces the school"?

As the most empathetic and understanding person present, Helga immediately understood what Serafina was troubled about, and so she began her mediation.

"I remember one of Iphamoni's students received the caduceus's approval?"

"That's true. His name is Jack. It's amazing that he's from a Muggle family, but he speaks Parseltongue."

Helga nodded thoughtfully.

"Now that it's been approved, shouldn't this wand belong to Jack?"

"Uh..." Serafina fell into deep thought.

Before today, this wasn't even a problem. Trying to take the school's treasures for yourself? What are you thinking? Hand them over obediently after the competition!

But Serafina now has a different idea.

She felt that since Jack had gained the caduceus's approval, he was actually the owner of the wand. Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a prestigious school with a long history and would not encroach on the possessions of its students.

Thinking about it this way, I suddenly felt a sense of boundless freedom.

Serafina said seriously, "Indeed, Iphamoni can no longer be called 'possessing the serpent staff,' but Jack is also my student..."

"We understand, but if the Staff of the Serpent abandons him, there's nothing we can do."

Serafina was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Let the children handle these things themselves; we adults shouldn't interfere."

Through the joint efforts of several people, a consensus was finally reached.

The moment Seraphina relented, Dumbledore, Helga, and Rowena all breathed a sigh of relief and wiped non-existent beads of sweat from their foreheads.

Rice watched his friends' energetic performance with a blank expression.

He understands everything.

Considering that Helga and Rowena had to condescend to deal with an old fool, Rice was unwilling to ruin the wonderful situation that his old friends had worked so hard to achieve and let everyone's efforts go to waste.

In other words, Rice decided to let Ifamoni go for the sake of his old friends.

So he remained silent.

Helga glanced at Salazar and, seeing that he didn't seem to object, felt a surge of joy: It's all settled, this matter is finally over!

"I'll arrange a match between the two of you later to decide who gets the Slytherin Staff," Dumbledore said with a warm smile, looking at Rice. "Consider it a little interlude during the off-season."

Rice nodded, and Serafina remained silent; both sides reluctantly accepted the compromised solution.

Neither side was particularly satisfied with this solution, so it was actually the fairest and most impartial one.

"Albus, I have something to attend to, so I'll have to leave now." Serafina quickly left the classroom.

Dumbledore followed behind her, taking two steps outside, only to find that Professor White and Professor Arius hadn't followed. He couldn't help but glance back, and saw the two professors already standing beside Rice, as if they were about to whisper something.

The three of them happened to be standing in front of a window in the classroom. The rising sun had already climbed over the distant mountains and cast its light on Hogwarts Castle.

Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing the three figures. Professor White, standing in the center of the window, appeared as if draped in a golden robe. Professor Arius, standing beside her, had only half his body visible through the window, creating areas of light and shadow on him. On the far right, Les Lint was mostly hidden in the shadow cast by the window frame, with only a few scattered rays of light illuminating his robe.

Dumbledore's gaze caught the attention of the three. They looked up in unison, following his gaze to the man standing in the doorway.

A subtle, enigmatic smile appeared on the faces of all three.

Dumbledore was momentarily stunned. The scene before him seemed to distort. The boy opposite him appeared to have grown up, while the old man had become younger. The middle one remained the same age, but his facial features were twitching slightly.

But when he squinted and looked closely, everything seemed to be an illusion caused by the sun glaring at his eyes. The two professors and a young student were still standing there, just as he had seen them at first glance, smiling at him.

For a fleeting moment, Dumbledore felt as if he were witnessing the so-called era firsthand.

I am old, while they are still young.

The chariot of the era cut through the river of time, rushing past him, leaving him only a glimpse of a silhouette of that era before it vanished in an instant.

Two seconds later, Dumbledore smiled, pushed open the door, and walked out of the classroom.

"I'm leaving now, goodbye," he said in a low voice that only he could hear.

After taking a few steps, Dumbledore suddenly stopped, a realization dawning on him: 'Rice Lint… Ha! What an academic name!'

A relieved smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. Without further hesitation, he strode out of the corridor.

Watching Dumbledore's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Rowena said softly, "He seems to have understood something."

"He's the headmaster of Hogwarts, so it's not a big deal if he knows a little more," Helga replied lazily, her eyes closed, bathed in the morning sunlight.

"He's a smart man," Rice said, stretching his stiff joints. "Smart men have the best sense of boundaries."

"Only intelligent people can give us a peaceful life!" Rowena exclaimed.

"Weren't we all working so hard when we were young just for this comfortable life?" Helga laughed.

At this point, the three exchanged a knowing glance, then each tried to suppress the smiles on their faces.

Some people... ha! I'm afraid they'll find it hard to enjoy this peaceful and tranquil life!

Compared to this, they only felt more at ease and comfortable.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Update delivered, goodnight.

(End of this chapter)