Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 461 Special Medicine, Christmas Ball, and Ravenclaw's Mischievous Ideas

Back in the common room, Rice was immediately surrounded by Slytherin students—the news that he possessed Salazar Slytherin's wand had spread.

This is the wand of the founder, Slytherin! Almost no Slytherin student can resist the temptation to see this wand.

Faced with the enthusiastic students, Rice was generous and took out his wand to let them see it up close.

"As expected of Lord Slytherin's wand, I can tell it's incredibly powerful just by looking at it."

"I feel as if Salazar Slytherin himself is standing right in front of me; the weight of history is truly overwhelming!"

"Laughable! Those barbarians like Ilfamoni dare to possess Hogwarts' holy artifacts?"

The students earnestly worshipped the founder's wand while whispering amongst themselves. Rice stood quietly to the side, watching their expressions and gestures, filled with emotion: he had never enjoyed such treatment while he was alive, but was now experiencing it a thousand years after his "death."

Although his students respected him back then, they never went so far as to gather around him to admire his magic wand.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.

The era of himself and his three old friends was long gone, so long ago that they were now legendary figures. In other words, most of the people now gathered around the wand were there to see an artifact.

However, since they wanted to see it, Rice had no reason to stop them, so he let the Slytherin students watch to their hearts' content.

After the students dispersed, Rice saw Daphne and Astoria huddled in a corner of the lounge, but their eyes never left him, clearly not wanting to squeeze into the crowd.

Rice walked straight over, sat down in the seats in front of the two women, and placed the serpent staff in front of them.

Daphne and Astoria immediately crowded around, holding their breath as they carefully examined the legendary wand—the two were actually quite interested in the wand of the founder of Slytherin House and had been waiting impatiently for some time.

Seeing the two of them so cautious, barely daring to breathe, Rice couldn't help but find it amusing.

"Here you go, take these and read them. Don't you get tired?"

Upon hearing Rice's words, Daphne and Astoria blushed, then their faces lit up with joy. With so many people gathered around, Rice hadn't allowed anyone to touch the wand; they assumed the same would happen to them, but they hadn't expected such different treatment.

"Is this really okay?" After receiving Rice's permission, Astoria was overjoyed, but couldn't help but confirm it again.

"Of course." Rice nodded slightly. In the future, this wand might even be passed on to one of them, so what's a little touching?

Daphne and Astoria had no idea what Rice was thinking; if they had, they would have been utterly astonished. After receiving Rice's permission, they eagerly picked up the legendary Serpent Staff and began to seriously examine it.

Perhaps it was psychological suggestion, or perhaps the snake wand was simply extraordinary, but the two women felt that this wand was vastly different from any wand they had ever handled before. It felt cool and slippery to the touch, as if they were holding not a wand, but a snake, and they could even faintly hear the snake's hissing sound.

"No wonder it's the wand used by the legendary wizards!" Daphne exclaimed repeatedly, practically praising the wand to the skies.

Listening to Daphne's words, Rice was very pleased and also told her the story associated with the magic wand.

After hearing the story, Astoria also began to ask questions that concerned her.

"Rice, what's the deal with that Jack?"

The changes Jack underwent on the dueling stage had greatly shocked Astoria.

An ordinary, unremarkable person could gain such immense power with just a single potion. This made Astoria eager to understand the underlying principles.

"That kind of change can't be achieved with just a potion," Rice said with great certainty. "Jack also had his own 'adventures' in the alchemy world."

Rice phrased it very tactfully, but the meaning was conveyed perfectly.

Jack had already abandoned his wizard identity during the first stage of the competition. When he emerged from inside, although he still had a human form, his insides were now an absolute alien.

"What do you think of this method?" Rice asked deliberately, intending to test the two men.

"Pathetic! I wonder how many punches those scales of its can withstand from me?" Daphne's confidence practically overflowed. In her opinion, Jack was just intimidating in appearance; could he really withstand a beating like a real fire dragon?

Her magma fist can even pull out the heart of a real fire dragon!

Astoria remained silent.

"Astoria, what do you think?" Rice asked proactively. This is a question both of you must answer!

"It would be easy to defeat that guy, but we must also admit that the dragon transformation magic has greatly increased his combat power." Astoria felt that among the Hogwarts students, only Rice, herself, her sister, Hermione, and Cedric could reliably defeat Jack after his dragon transformation.

Other students might not necessarily be able to beat the other side.

That suit of scales was easily removed by Rice, and couldn't withstand her sister's punches, but it was enough to block the spells of other students. After all, those were dragon scales, naturally possessing strong magic resistance.

Astoria wasn't naive enough to think that Jack's scales just looked like dragon scales.

So here's the question: faced with the temptation of power, how many people would choose to take this path?

The advantages and disadvantages of the Dragon Transformation Magic are both extremely obvious. The advantage is that it can boost combat power in a very short time, making one one of the strongest in the school overnight. The disadvantage is that one will become neither human nor ghost, and will be disliked by others.

In any case, Astoria asked herself honestly, even without Rice teaching her those profound magical knowledge, she wouldn't have chosen dragon magic, because the transformed appearance was just too ugly.

"Some people might not be able to resist the temptation and choose this path. I just don't know if Jack can revert to human form after transforming," Astoria stated her opinion.

"You've hit the nail on the head." Rice gave Astoria an approving look.

Compared to her simple-minded sister, she thought much more deeply, which made Rice extremely gratified.

If Astoria were to say something like, "You're so weak, I could drain all the blood from your body with a snap of my fingers," he wouldn't even know where to cry.

"We do need to be wary of some students who are easily distracted by these crooked paths." Rice didn't know if the Dragon Transformation Magic would affect the learning of magic flow, thus becoming an obstacle to his comprehension, but he had to be prepared for that.

For those less talented wizards, these kinds of spells aren't necessarily unacceptable, since they genuinely boost combat power.

But it would be a real pity for students like Daphne and Astoria to abandon their path to mastery because they were greedy for temporary advancement.

Rice's idea was: why didn't he just develop a similar magic on his own?

If I can seize Jack's memories when no one is looking and see exactly how he did it, then given time, I'll be able to research similar magic sooner or later. If I can transform into a dragon, why can't I transform into a phoenix, a thunderbird, or a snake king?

After chatting casually with Daphne and Astoria for a few minutes, and seeing that it was getting late, Rice took the wand from their hands and turned to go back to his dormitory to rest.

……

Rice had a very fulfilling time in the days that followed.

He infiltrated Hogwarts Hospital and browsed Jack's memories in the alchemical world, learning about the method of dragon transformation magic. He then began research in this area, but progress was rather slow.

Meanwhile, he was also developing a special medicine to combat the plague, hoping to increase the contestants' chances of survival. However, progress in this area was also slow—this was a potion he had personally developed; if it were so easy to crack, there would be no need to place such high hopes on it.

Time flies, and it's almost the end of November.

Life at Hogwarts was peaceful during this period, with students refocusing on their studies and the contestants taking advantage of the rare off-season to begin preparations for the next stage.

This calm lasted until the last day of November.

After the school bell rang throughout the underground classroom, Snape did not announce the end of get out of class as usual, but instead announced some news with a strange expression.

"As is the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, the school will hold a Christmas ball on Christmas Eve to enhance communication with guests from other schools. The ball is only open to students in their fourth year and above, but if an upperclassman wishes, he or she may invite an underclassman." Snape's voice echoed in the underground classroom.

A Christmas ball—this was the first time anyone had ever heard of it. Everyone was eager to tell their friends about the event. However, because Snape was standing on the stage overlooking everyone, they were both awestruck and dared not make a move.

"The ball will be held in the Great Hall at eight o'clock on Christmas Eve and will end at midnight. You must wear formal attire and robes. The Christmas ball is a relaxed occasion, but that does not mean that the code of conduct for Hogwarts students no longer applies. If any student disgraces the House or the School in any way..." Snape's tone turned stern, and the implication was very clear.

Those who bring shame to the academy will pay the price!

Rice rested his chin on his hand, his face a picture of boredom and disbelief.

He had absolutely no interest in Christmas parties or anything like that. If he had a choice, he would much rather stay in the library or his own private room tackling the problems at hand.

Of course, he wouldn't openly voice his opposition. It was just a dance; he could easily retreat to a corner and do whatever he wanted!

Rice had already made up his mind, but Professor Snape on the stage seemed to have something left to say.

"As for those players who are qualified to represent Hogwarts in the tournament, you have even more specific requirements."

Rice: ? ? ?

He raised his head, his expression turning wary. He knew quite well that the chances of learning from Snape that "the contestants don't have to attend the Christmas ball" were slim.

Snape is likely to announce bad news.

"You must prepare your partners and dance partners to attend the Christmas ball. You must go on stage to dance, because according to tradition, the ball is started by the warriors and their partners."

Rice could hardly believe his ears. Why were these contestants going up to dance?! He overturned his decision made just seconds earlier not to openly express his opposition.

"Professor, this is a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament. What does it have to do with the Global Young Wizards Championship?" Rice asked directly, his own interests at stake.

Snape glanced at Rice indifferently. He had extraordinary patience for this student he favored the most—if it were Potter from Gryffindor, Snape would have already given him a smooth little combo of deductions and sarcastic remarks.

"The tournament evolved from the Triwizard Tournament, so many traditions have been inherited. As for the ball, Professor Dumbledore made this decision after consulting with the other professors. We have already informed the other schools; the die is cast, and you must go on stage to dance."

Rice knew his face must be burning red. He'd caught a whiff of Rowena's strangeness in Snape's words!

Rowena is definitely behind this!

The "other professors" mentioned in the advice of other professors are probably Rowena Ravenclaw!

She did all this because she wanted to see herself dance on stage!

Rice's face was flushed, and at first glance, others would think he was very excited.

"It is a tradition. As champions representing Hogwarts, as representatives of the school, you must do as everyone expects. Therefore, each contestant must find a dance partner and participate in the opening dance of the ball," Snape said in an unquestionable tone.

Unlike Rice, Daphne was extremely excited upon hearing the news. Her gaze drifted to Rice sitting beside her, and then an image inevitably surfaced in her mind.

Upon seeing the figure who also had silver hair, Daphne was taken aback, and then a realization dawned on her.

The biggest competitor has emerged!

Seeing that Rice remained silent, Snape was satisfied.

"get out of class dismissed!" he announced, then quickly left the underground classroom, leaving the noise and commotion behind.

"that……"

Before Daphne could finish her sentence, Rice grabbed his bag and rushed out of the underground classroom.

Daphne: ...

The other students gradually realized what was happening as well.

Seeing that the Rice man had disappeared, Malfoy straightened his collar, walked to Daphne's table, and gave what he considered to be a very elegant smile.

"Miss Greengrass, may I have the honor of being your dance partner?"

"Get out!" Daphne's reply was equally crisp, as she was in a fit of anger.

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 everyone!

(End of this chapter)