Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 494 Fiery Fist Daphne and Blood Witch Astoria

Helga felt that although the destruction of the underworld seal was a very troublesome matter, everyone was still alive after all, and they couldn't just put everything aside because of this, could they?

In other words, life goes on.

For Hufflepuff, the Global Young Wizards Tournament is a top priority, and the competition must continue even with minor hiccups along the way.

The attack by Voldemort and the Secret Order did interrupt the match, but that cannot be a reason to cancel it.

Hogwarts was attacked, not occupied!

Now that everything has settled, it's time to continue the competition.

Burns and Dumbledore exchanged a glance, then realized that continuing the game was a powerful reassurance, more effective than a hundred press conferences.

"Okay, I'll make the arrangements right away. How about tomorrow?" Borns was a decisive person. Once he made up his mind, he would carry it out immediately.

Dumbledore also expressed his approval.

As for the two headmasters of magic schools who sided with the Secret Order, the British Ministry of Magic would not show them any leniency; they would face trial by Wizengamot and imprisonment by Azkaban.

Given the severity of their crimes, the probability of them receiving life imprisonment is extremely high.

However, none of the students from either school got involved; apart from the missing Yamashita Hide, they were all innocent. One of Vagado's top 16 players even fought alongside Daphne and her group.

When she learned that her headmaster had been involved in the Hogwarts invasion plan, she felt like the sky was falling.

Fortunately, the suspicion against her was quickly cleared.

After a short meeting, Dumbledore and his two companions established the basic principles for their actions going forward, and then began the post-war cleanup and recovery phase.

The survivors after the war didn't rush to wake the students who had fallen into a deep sleep under the influence of the incense. Waking them up now would only cause more trouble.

They first took the wounded to the dueling arena for basic pre-treatment, after which Madam Pomfrey would provide them with further, more intensive care. The St. Mungo's men were already on their way; the seriously wounded would be transferred to the Magic Hospital.

The bodies of the Secret Order monks killed in the battle were piled up on the faculty stand, to be registered and processed by the Ministry of Magic's commissioners before being buried in a centralized manner.

Those monks who surrendered when things turned against them, as well as those who had been knocked unconscious in the battle, were gathered and placed under guard. Once the Aurors and strikers from the Ministry of Magic arrived, they were handed over to the Ministry, where they would face interrogation.

The Ministry of Magic needs them to pinpoint the location of the Secret Order's headquarters and various branches, and then take targeted action.

Professors White and Arius of Hogwarts offered to help the Ministry of Magic eliminate the remnants of the Secret Order, and Minister Burns of the Ministry of Magic agreed.

Helga was somewhat surprised to learn that Rowena was also willing to travel to every corner of the world to eliminate the remnants of the Secret Order.

Because this doesn't really fit Rowena's style.

"I never expected you would agree—"

"The Secret Order is no ordinary dark wizard; they dare to launch repeated attacks against Hogwarts. They must pay the price," Rowena said righteously.

Helga felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She decided to go back to the Alchemist world and consult Salazar.

And so, a calamity vanished without a trace. As for its aftereffects, those will only gradually become apparent over time.

When the students were awakened from their slumber, they were completely stunned and could hardly believe what they were hearing.

The return of the mysterious man, the invasion of the Secret Order, the Battle of Hogwarts...

It sounded like a prank Fred and George had made up, but after seeing the battered stadium, the corpses piled up in the stands, and the wounded being taken away in batches from St. Mungo's Hospital, they believed the disaster was real.

However, the report in the Daily Prophet's supplement, the news that the tournament would resume tomorrow, and the seemingly omnipresent Headmaster Dumbledore put their minds at ease.

The invasion did not bring fear to Hogwarts; instead, it injected a sense of excitement.

Young wizards are most interested in things that are dangerous but don't pose a threat to their personal safety—which is why the Screaming Shack is a popular tourist destination, while no one in Azkaban has ever bothered to go up there.

Because the dangers of the Screaming Shack only exist in legends, while the dangers of Azkaban are real and tangible.

After order was restored, the young wizards couldn't wait to find out everything related to the battle, and students like Cedric who had actually participated were surrounded by countless people.

"It's nothing. It was quite dangerous back then. I was just protecting myself. The ones who really contributed were Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Arius..." Facing the students' eager eyes, Astoria tried to keep a low profile. However, some students from other schools also participated in the battle, and her and Daphne's outstanding performance in the battle could not be hidden.

"Those two silver-haired girls from your school are incredibly strong!" To prove that she had truly participated in the battle and clear her name, Black Pearl, a contestant from Vagado, answered almost every question.

"One of them can 'whoosh' draw blood from an enemy's body and then use that blood to attack and defend, while the other can manipulate magma! Just imagine being pierced through the chest by fists made of magma—they've defeated no fewer than a dozen enemies!"

With the Black Pearl's publicity, it's hard for Daphne and Astoria to keep a low profile now.

Some people even gave them nicknames, one called "Flame Fist" and the other "Blood Witch".

Daphne thought the nickname "Flame Fist" sounded pretty good, feeling it was in no way inferior to her ancestor's Dragonheart. Astoria, on the other hand, was thankful that her nickname wasn't something like "Bloody Hell," or she would have gone mad.

"It's a pity Rice isn't here. If he were, Voldemort could have been dealt with by himself," Daphne sighed.

She remembered Rice's previous request to her: to defeat Voldemort alone before graduation. At the time, she thought this task was a pipe dream, but now it seemed that the difficulty was not in defeating Voldemort, but in whether Voldemort would still exist at that time.

Astoria seemed thoughtful. She sensed that Rice was likely involved in the battle, because she noticed some of the corpses were mummified, and she hadn't killed them.

So, who else in the world possesses the ability to manipulate blood and would participate in the Battle of Hogwarts? That's a tough question to answer!

Of course, she didn't tell anyone else about this, because she felt that Rice might have her own reasons.

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. The next update will be a little later, so you guys go to sleep first.

(End of this chapter)