Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 534 A Once-in-a-Millennium Genius and the Greatest Principal in a Thousand Years

In the teachers' section, Helga and Rowena sat next to each other, their eyes constantly flashing with various lights.

Just seeing Godric sitting on the principal's special stool is worth the ticket price!

Godric became the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Salazar became the Student Council President this year—could there be anything more exciting? This year is going to be fun!

Helga and Rowena didn't believe Salazar would swallow this insult; he would surely reciprocate Godric's kindness, and then they would have a good show to watch.

After the Sorting Hat finished its song, the students focused their attention on the newly appointed Headmaster of Gryffindor. Everyone wanted to hear what this legendary figure would say on his first day in office.

Godric did not disappoint everyone's expectations, and stood up from the principal's chair under everyone's expectant gaze.

The auditorium fell silent.

"I believe most people already know my name," Godric said with a bright and cheerful smile, making it impossible for outsiders to tell that he actually didn't want this position at all. "I am Godric Gryffindor, the founder of this school, and Gryffindor House is named after me."

The young wizards below the stage also became serious, vaguely feeling as if they had stepped into some incredible historical moment.

More than half of the freshmen had heard of Godric's name, while the remaining half were filled with shock: they vaguely remembered that Hogwarts was an ancient school with a history of more than a thousand years, so how could the founder of this school still be serving as headmaster?

Yes, why is that?!

If Godric could hear the young wizards' thoughts, he would surely ask the same question. He couldn't understand why either; perhaps it was because they had made bad friends?

"You might not believe it, but this is my first time serving as the headmaster of Hogwarts. Because a thousand years ago, when my friends and I founded Hogwarts, none of the four of us held the position of headmaster."

The young wizards were completely captivated. Who could resist an old wizard from a thousand years ago recounting the secrets of bygone eras?

"However, a while ago, after we resolved the small trouble in the east, Headmaster Dumbledore approached me and said that he, at over a hundred years old, was too old and hoped that I, a fellow over a thousand years old, would take over as Headmaster of Hogwarts." Godric made a small joke, and after the laughter below subsided, he continued, "I agreed to his request."

"Under our supervision," Rice, Helga, and Rowena thought to themselves simultaneously.

"I still remember the scene from a thousand years ago vividly. Every brick, every tile, every blade of grass here evokes a sense of familiarity. This is Hogwarts, a school with a thousand-year history—I can attest to that." Godric's voice rose. "Hogwarts not only has its ancient side, but also its vibrant side. I've seen many changes, some good, some not so good, but change is better than stagnation and conformity."

"Now that I've taken over this position from Headmaster Dumbledore, I want to leave my mark on this school once again. This oldest of the old folks will be pushing forward with reforms for a new era—you've probably all heard about it during the holidays, haven't you?" Godric paused, looked around the Great Hall, and continued, "Hogwarts will be opening up postgraduate education—something we've wanted to do for years."

"The study of magic is endless, and we hope to give children who aspire to go further on this path an opportunity to understand the deeper mysteries of magic. The time was not right before, but now it is."

He changed the subject, his tone softening.

"As for why I'm telling you all this, about the reforms I'm going to implement, perhaps the first-year students know the answer."

Many people shifted their gaze from Godric to the freshmen standing at the college table.

"Because Professor McGonagall said something absolutely right: Hogwarts is your future home, and I wholeheartedly agree with that!"

Godric bowed to the students below the stage to indicate that his speech was over, and thunderous applause erupted in the hall, with many young wizards clapping until their hands were red.

Rice felt that Godric's words must have come from the bottom of his heart. Because if they weren't from the bottom of his heart, he couldn't have uttered such a long and eloquent speech.

A few minutes later, after the applause had subsided, Godric continued speaking.

"Next, there are some personnel changes for this academic year. First, Professor White will be resigning from her position as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts and will become Professor of Alchemy. She will be replaced by Professor Sophia Athena!"

Athena, who was in the teachers' seat, stood up and waved to the students below.

As a goddess descended from Mount Olympus, Athena's temperament was undeniable; she truly embodied both wisdom and beauty. This left a very good first impression on the students.

Rice narrowed his eyes slightly.

Why would the chief god of Mount Olympus become a professor at Hogwarts? Could there be some conspiracy involved?

Rice had heard from Daphne about the goddess becoming a professor back on the Hogwarts Express. Now it's confirmed.

Of course, many people also felt sorry for Professor White's transfer. After all, he was the first Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to break the "curse of the mysterious man" in so many years, and some people worried that the curse would return after Professor White left.

"I regret Professor Arias' departure, but thankfully she hasn't left us. She simply wants to bring her talents to the library, so please allow me to introduce to you Ms. Arias, the new wardens of the Hogwarts Library!"

Rowena stood up and bowed slightly to the crowd.

She was very satisfied with Godric's arrangements for her, and she had decided to spend some time reading through all the forbidden books in the library.

Of course, she wouldn't let go of books that weren't in the restricted area either.

"I also have someone to introduce to you all, someone I'm sure you're all familiar with. Diggory, come in!"

A person walked into the hall from the side room, immediately eliciting a gasp of amazement.

Cedric Diggory, former Hufflepuff prefect, former Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, former Hogwarts Schoolmaster, and recipient of the Hogwarts Distinguished Service Award.

Cedric waved to the familiar faces, eliciting cheers and shouts, the loudest coming from the Hufflepuff House table.

"Yes, Mr. Diggory is Hogwarts' first graduate student, and he will be studying under Professor White in the field of Automaton making."

Cedric waved to everyone again.

The young wizards in the audience were instantly filled with excitement: this was a perfect example before their eyes. They wanted to study hard and become Hogwarts graduate students like Diggory.

All the young wizards who had some ambition for themselves had their eyes on the graduate school spots held by the professors.

The competition is extremely fierce. There are only nine places in total for three graduate courses, and even though two-thirds of the places have already been reserved for Hogwarts students, it's still a case of too many wolves and too few sheep.

However, compared to the competition from other schools, obtaining a postgraduate place within Hogwarts is undoubtedly much easier, since eligible wizards from all over the world are vying for those three spots.

It is said that Hogwarts has received nearly a thousand applications in recent days, most of which are for Helga's Automaton Combat Dolls class.

"Mr. Diggory is not only Professor White's graduate student, but he also takes on some of the teaching assistant work to relieve Professor White's workload."

Athena, sitting in the teachers' section, found this amusing.

Work pressure? A wizard of her level has work pressure? She'd be more likely to want to slack off!

As one of the very few people present who knew Helga's true identity, Athena couldn't believe that a mere teaching job could put pressure on someone comparable to a god. So she could only attribute it all to Hufflepuff wanting to slack off.

At that moment, Helga glanced at her and gave her a friendly smile. Athena, seeing this, quickly returned an awkward smile.

Helga deduced what the goddess was thinking from Athena's micro-expressions. She didn't take it seriously, because Athena's thoughts were reasonable.

However, Helga felt that if Athena gave those little giants a week's lesson, she would understand her.

Can Sophia, who was born a deity, really shoulder the responsibility of teaching students? Besides, Hogwarts is not Mount Olympus; she cannot punish students at will.

Helga thought there would be plenty of fun to see in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom over the next year.

After Cedric, the students thought the personnel changes for the year were coming to an end, but to their surprise, the Gryffindor headmaster still had something to say.

"Finally, I would like to introduce a student to everyone. His talent is top-notch, which is why he was promoted exceptionally."

From below the stage, Rice suddenly raised his head.

At the teachers' table, Helga put down her wine glass, Rowena sat up straight, and Godric called out the name with a strong voice.

"Rice Lint, Head of the Hogwarts Students' Council! Please come to the front!"

As Godric finished speaking, Rice felt hundreds upon hundreds of gazes fixed on his face. The combined light from these numerous stares even stung his eyes.

He clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly, looking extremely excited.

Helga and Rowena, sitting in the teachers' section, simultaneously changed their posture, crossing their hands, pursing their lips, their knuckles and lips turning white from the force.

The two of them were trying hard to control their facial expressions and not laugh out loud.

Is Godric's relentless pursuit of Salazar still not over? This is hilarious!

Clearly, Godric did not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to "persecute" his old friend.

Is the opportunity to publicly execute Salazar by dragging him out of the crowd a once-in-a-millennium chance? Godric absolutely could not allow himself to miss such an opportunity, especially since there might be even greater benefits involved…

He hadn't considered the consequences.

Rice felt his blood rush to his head.

He admitted that Godric's move was indeed ruthless. He preferred to stay in the shadows, but Godric insisted on dragging him into the spotlight.

Was it a twisted sense of humor? Or did he have ulterior motives? Rice tried to guess Godric's thoughts, but he quickly gave up—the guy's thinking was rather unpredictable, much like a type of sled dog used by Eskimos. There was no need to waste time guessing what he was thinking, because he probably didn't even know what he was going to do next.

Rice's gaze swept across Helga and Rowena's faces. He knew that the two of them had thoroughly enjoyed watching the show today, and his subsequent counterattack would only become a spectacle in their eyes.

For a fleeting moment, Rice considered simply going all out and reverting to their true identities.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Rice quickly regained his senses.

He wondered if this was Godric's purpose.

Each of the four had their own agenda. For Godric, the principal's seat was like a grill; he just wanted to get rid of it or bring in others to help share the heat—that was his primary need.

But he couldn't achieve this goal by himself alone, so he wanted to drag himself down with him?

Rice thought he had seen through Godric's little trick. But was this really something Godric could come up with? And what were Helga and Rowena's demands?

Rice's brain was racing, and he began to think and calculate.

……

"Rice? Rice!" Daphne gently shook Rice's arm, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He noticed that everyone was staring at him, and Godric was waving at him.

I realized that my behavior just now seemed like I had gotten too excited.

"Come up here quickly, let everyone take a good look at you!" Godric's thick beard couldn't hide his smile. "Let's welcome with applause the youngest student council president in Hogwarts' five-hundred-year history, and also a once-in-a-millennium genius!"

A thunderous applause erupted in the auditorium.

Rice took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and quickly walked to the teachers' table.

After the applause subsided, he bowed to his classmates and then cleared his throat.

Helga and Rowena behind Rice's eyes lit up immediately: Salazar's counterattack was coming!

"It is my honor, because not everyone can serve as the student council president under the greatest headmaster in Hogwarts' thousand-year history!"

Yes, Hogwarts has welcomed its greatest headmaster in a thousand years, and also the greatest of its four founders—Godric Gryffindor!

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~

The next update will be at midnight tomorrow night.

(End of this chapter)