Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 483 The Child Raised by Snakes

A streak of light, invisible to the naked eye, streaked across the night sky.

Originally, this stream of light would have randomly landed in some corner of the world, allowing the soul enveloped by the light to begin a new life. However, shortly after leaving the train, the stream of light was drawn by a faint force from the unseen world, causing its direction to change.

call out--

A shooting star streaked across the night sky over the Scottish Highlands.

Standing atop the Astronomy Tower, Dumbledore looked up. The shooting star was reflected in his lake-blue eyes, but it could not dispel the turmoil in his heart.

It was the day after the end of the second phase of the World Young Wizarding Championship, and bad news pulled him back to reality from the joy of Hogwarts' victory in the championship.

Rhys Lint of Slytherin has gone missing, and charred remains, resembling a human body, have been found in the Astronomy Tower.

Dumbledore was able to remain calm after hearing the first piece of news, but the second piece of news was quite explosive.

Upon learning of this, Dumbledore rushed to the scene. He quickly determined that the charred remains were indeed human remains.

Given the news of Les Lint's disappearance, it's pretty clear who this charred mess is.

But this is precisely what puzzled Dumbledore.

He was well aware that this student was unusual, so this could not be regarded as an ordinary disappearance; the matter behind it was very complicated and had to be treated with caution.

"Aurora, is anyone else aware of this?" Dumbledore asked in a deep voice.

Astronomy Professor Aurora Sinister immediately replied, "No, Professor Dumbledore, there are no astronomy classes these past two days. I reported to you immediately after discovering the body, without alerting the other professors."

"Very good." Dumbledore nodded. "Don't mention this to anyone else."

"Yes." Professor Sinister's expression also became more serious. She also realized the gravity of the situation; this couldn't be viewed as a simple murder case.

"Let's go downstairs first." Dumbledore carefully collected the charred remains and gestured for Professor Sinestadt to come with him back to the Headmaster's office.

As Professor Sinister turned around, Dumbledore drew his wand—

"Forget everything, and all is emptiness!"

Professor Sinister looked bewildered.

Dumbledore sighed inwardly: Aurora, I'm sorry.

Then he strode over to Professor Sinister and said with a smile, "The sky was indeed wonderful just now. Please arrange for the students to come to the Astronomy Tower for astronomy class as soon as possible."

The confusion in Professor Sinister's eyes gradually faded, and then she remembered the purpose of her meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore that evening: she had requested an extra astronomy class because the weather was perfect for stargazing.

"...Oh, okay! I'll go tell the children right away!" Professor Sinister walked away quickly.

Dumbledore watched her figure disappear around the corner of the spiral staircase and sighed.

The matter was of utmost importance, and he had to do this; keeping the news under wraps was essential.

After a moment's thought, Dumbledore returned to his office.

Sure enough, there were already two people waiting for him in the office.

"Professor White, Professor Arius, good evening." Dumbledore greeted the two first, then sat down in the armchair opposite them.

"Professor Sinister just told me that she found what appears to be human remains on the Astronomy Tower." As he spoke, he took out the remains he had collected and placed them on the table.

"Based on my observation, this is indeed a human corpse."

Professor White and Professor Arius remained silent, so Dumbledore had no choice but to continue.

"I've also heard that Rhys Lint of Slytherin is missing. No one has seen him since the players returned from the arena yesterday."

Finally, the two of them spoke.

Rowena asked Dumbledore if anyone else knew about the discovery of the body in the Astronomy Tower.

"No. Professor Sinista's memories have also been altered by me," Dumbledore said.

"Very good." Rowena nodded in satisfaction.

The fewer people who know about this, the better. If too many people know, Salazar's identity will be ruined.

"Rice Lint has temporarily suspended his studies because he was cursed during the competition." Helga thought for two seconds and then gave Salazar a reason for not showing up for the time being.

"Nothing happened on the Astronomical Tower," Rowena added, and with a flick of her wand, she collected the charred corpse from the table.

Dumbledore was taken aback at first, then realized that, just as he had suspected, there was an extraordinary secret hidden behind it.

"Can I know what happened?"

Helga and Rowena exchanged a glance, feeling that Dumbledore, as the current headmaster, seemed to have some right to know.

"He will naturally return after a while," Helga said with a confident tone, but she couldn't help but think of the prophet's prediction.

This prophecy sounds ominous, but considering that Salazar said the prophecy would continue, only to be interrupted due to the prophet's lack of strength, it may not be entirely a bad omen.

"He got injured while helping me with some personal matters, which is why he was ambushed by the thugs who infiltrated the school. But it's not a big deal; it was all within our expectations."

"Hmm?" Dumbledore looked up alertly. He had heard some terrible news.

"This wicked man..." Dumbledore's eyes gleamed with a thirst for knowledge.

"It's the person you're thinking of."

Dumbledore's eyes widened instantly. They had previously hinted that the man claiming to be Gryffindor was untrustworthy; now, was there finally concrete evidence?

Why did they both stand by and watch that person commit such a crime? What was the deeper meaning behind their actions?

"The situation behind this is quite complicated and it's hard to explain in a short time, but we have our reasons for doing this. Professor Dumbledore, please rest assured, things are not out of our control."

Upon hearing Professor Arias's words, Dumbledore's anxiety immediately subsided. He didn't even feel inclined to continue investigating.

Why worry about this? It's unnecessary!

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No need." Rowena shook her head again. She didn't think Dumbledore would be of any use getting involved; even in battle, he wouldn't be a fighting force at all—his fire domain was completely countered.

It's best to leave the matter to her and Helga. Besides, Salazar's plan isn't exactly aboveboard, so it's better not to let this white wizard know.

Seeing Professor Arias's decisive refusal, Dumbledore realized that he could no longer obtain any information from them.

He leaned back in his chair and earnestly assured the two professors that he would do everything in his power to help them if needed.

Dumbledore's sincere words did not move Rowena. The two concealed themselves and left the headmaster's office.

They didn't want the imposter to know they had been in Dumbledore's office, as that would increase their risk of exposure. Now, the longer they remained hidden, the greater their chances of success.

The two men arrived and left in haste, their purpose being merely to clean up some loose ends for Salazar, lest he be in a too passive position upon his return.

Imagine what it would be like if Salazar returned to find that Hogwarts had already held Ras Lint's memorial service.

Although Rowena was eager to see what Salazar's expression would be, she was also afraid of angering him, so she did her best.

Soon, the young wizards learned that Ras Lint, a contestant at Hogwarts, had withdrawn from the tournament due to injury and had moved into St. Mungo's.

This only sparked a brief discussion before the controversy subsided. Hogwarts currently holds a significant advantage and doesn't need Rice's points. While Rice's withdrawal due to injury is somewhat regrettable, its impact is limited.

Apart from a handful of people, no one continued to pay attention to this issue.

Upon hearing this, Loki chuckled inwardly, assuming that Dumbledore was simply too proud to admit his mistake and had concealed the man's death. After all, this was during the War of the Champions, and such negative news absolutely could not be leaked.

"If he knew that the person who died wasn't an ordinary student, but the founder of Hogwarts, his expression would be absolutely priceless." Loki couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

……

Splash, splash—

It's the sound of water.

A small wooden tub floated downstream, swirling at the edge of the river before coming to rest under a tree at a bend. The baby inside the tub frowned slightly, but remained fast asleep, undisturbed by the swaying.

The riverbank is bordered by a vast forest, home to a large number of wild animals.

Animals often linger by the river, either to drink water, or for the saline solution on the mudflats, or predators come to find food.

Soon after, the bushes near the wooden basin trembled, and a huge brown bear emerged from them.

It twitched its nose a few times and quickly spotted the baby cubs in the wooden tub.

They are small and have little meat, not worth mentioning compared to plump big fish, but they are easy to obtain.

Just as the brown bear decided to have a pre-meal appetizer, a rustling sound came from the dense forest behind it, like something being dragged on the ground.

The brown bear immediately raised its body alertly, its nose twitching rapidly, and then a great fear flashed in its small eyes.

It's that monster!

The brown bear immediately forgot about the food offered to it, plunged into the river in front of it, and swam vigorously towards the opposite bank without even looking back.

A few seconds later, the small bushes parted again, and a giant green snake emerged from within, its tongue flicking.

It had originally come for the plump brown bear, but now a small creature by the river had piqued its interest.

The giant snake circled the wooden tub twice, then wrapped its body around it.

It raised its head, looking down at the baby in the wooden tub, and a glimmer of wisdom, unusual for a reptile, gradually appeared in its eyes.

After thinking for a few seconds, it opened its mouth wide, swallowed the baby, and then quickly darted back into the dense forest.

Despite their enormous size, these giant snakes are incredibly agile in the jungle, moving almost as if they are flying close to the ground.

A few minutes later, it arrived in front of a big tree.

This is a very tall mulberry tree, nearly twenty meters high.

Hundreds and thousands of snakes coiled in and around the tree canopy, as if the place held some extraordinary attraction for them.

The giant snake swam to the base of the tree, twisted its body, and disappeared into a hole at the base of the tree.

As soon as it entered the tree hole, it spat out the baby it was holding in its mouth, onto the moss inside the hole.

It was almost a miracle that this giant snake, which could terrify anyone with just a glance, did not harm the baby.

The baby was still fast asleep, as if nothing had happened.

After the giant snake spat out the baby, it left. A dozen minutes later, it returned to the cave, this time carrying a mother wolf with a bulging belly.

The terrified mother wolf was thrown into the cave and didn't dare to move, completely terrified by the giant snake, while the baby was awakened.

He rolled over, crawled under the mother wolf's belly, and began to suckle.

The mother wolf's milk became his nourishment. As he suckled, wisps of silvery-white mist seeped from the exposed tree roots at the top of the cave, falling on the infant and being absorbed by his skin.

The giant snake hissed in satisfaction and coiled its body up.

In the days that followed, two more guests entered the snake king's private cave: a baby and his wet nurse.

Days passed, and the baby grew into a teenager. By human reckoning, he was eleven years old.

Compared to ordinary children, he was strong and healthy because he was raised by snakes. When he opened his mouth to speak, he did not speak human language, but rather made a hissing sound.

Unlike ordinary children, he was unusually calm. He didn't like to wander around and spent his days hiding in a tree hole under a snake tree, absorbing the silvery mist-like substance emanating from the tree roots.

……

Meanwhile, it was already midsummer in the outside world, and the final stage of the championship had arrived.

The top sixteen players in the second stage of the competition will advance to the third round of the championship.

This time, the match will be held inside the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts.

The school rankings are now finalized, and the third round is entirely a competition for individual honors among the players.

They will compete on the dueling platform, surrounded by countless onlookers, to determine the winner and rank themselves through a duel.

The entire Hogwarts was filled with an atmosphere of excitement.

However, not everyone is focused on the final stage of the tournament at this moment, such as Professor White, who teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Royna, it's time." Helga pushed open the door to Royna's office once again, urging her to get started.

It's time to welcome their old friends back to the alchemical world.

It's time to find out whether Salazar's "experiment" was successful or not.

Rowena glanced at her old friend and then nodded.

"Why isn't it working—" Helga's words trailed off. She hadn't expected Rowena to actually agree this time! Before, when she approached Rowena, he had always been against it!

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~

See you at midnight tomorrow night!

(End of this chapter)