Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 535 A Letter from Ras Lint to the Freshmen: Be a True Slytherin

Godric's facial muscles twitched; he hadn't expected Salazar to say something like that.

If he can even say something like "the greatest of the four founders," what else can't he say?

Salazar Slytherin, your face disgusts me!

Unlike Godric, Rowena and Helga had an urge to burst into laughter.

Salazar's hat on Godric was classic; they'll have to call him that a few times in front of Godric in the future—the greatest founder, ha!

While Rowena and Helga were enjoying the new nickname Salazar had given Godric, Godric, the person involved, was reminded of something extremely terrifying.

He remembered that Salazar had composed a song...

To be honest, Godric, who had once faced the gods head-on without fear, was now afraid, and a few beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Just minutes ago, he recklessly thrust Salazar into the spotlight. Now, Godric realizes he can't afford the consequences.

He lowered his head and glanced at Salazar, only to find that Salazar was also looking up at him.

Their eyes met in mid-air, instantly conveying a wealth of information.

Godric: Is it too late to reconcile now?

Rice: Aha!

"Classmates, let's give a round of applause to the world's greatest wizard! Shout with me—Godric, the man of men, the wizard of wizards!"

Rice ultimately let Godric off the hook.

This wasn't because he was indecisive, but because he understood that a crossbow bolt was most effective when it was nocked. Therefore, he wouldn't use this tactic lightly.

Once it's been used, what will be left to restrain Godric?

However, it is necessary to give Mr. Gryffindor a little intimidation, so that he won't cause any more trouble in the future.

After Rice finished speaking, the young wizards were taken aback for a moment, then quickly reacted and shouted along with Rice, "Godric, a man among men, a wizard among wizards!"

Hundreds of people shouted in unison, almost lifting the ceiling of the auditorium.

Godric clenched his fists tightly.

Fortunately, Salazar only made a small threat and did not actually sing the full version of the song.

After the slogans were shouted, thunderous applause erupted. Once the applause in the auditorium had subsided, Rice smiled and waved to the students.

"Let us cherish every moment, for Hogwarts has entered its greatest age!"

There was another round of cheers and applause, but Godric felt that he had developed a psychological aversion to the word "great".

What was originally intended as torture for Salazar has instead become an interrogation of Godric himself.

Finally, Rice finished speaking, bowed to the audience, and returned to his seat. Godric, on the other hand, couldn't wait to announce that the students could go back to sleep—forgetting to even mention the latest list of contraband provided by Filch.

"First-year students, come with me!" After Rice returned to his seat, Astoria wanted to say something to him, but suddenly remembered that she was the new prefect and had the obligation to guide the freshmen back to the common room.

So she hurriedly jumped up from her seat and ran to give directions to the new students.

Rice calmly stood up from his seat and returned to the Slytherin common room.

After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, the Slytherin students just wanted to get back to their house’s common room as quickly as possible, take a hot shower, and go to bed.

However, when they entered the common room, they found Rice standing in the middle of the room, looking like she had something to say.

After Rice accomplished that great feat, the young wizards of Slytherin House held him in high esteem. But they were eventually a bit tired, so after a little thought, they decided to keep a low profile, quietly circle around behind Rice, and slip into the dormitory.

However, when they reached the entrance between the common lounge and the dormitory, they discovered that a transparent air wall had appeared there at some point. They could see the dormitory doors, but they were not allowed to cross the barrier.

"Please wait a few minutes, I have a few words to say," Rice's voice rang in everyone's ears.

Faced with this "let me say a few more words" approach, the young wizards present were naturally angry but dared not speak out.

Despite having a thousand and one complaints in their hearts, they obediently returned to the common lounge, found a sofa to sit on, and quietly waited for the other students to return.

When Astoria entered with a group of rather inexperienced young wizards, the Slytherin common room was already quite crowded.

With the arrival of the new students, all the students of Slytherin gathered in this not-so-large hall.

Rice also spoke up.

He didn't use any spells like "loud voice" on himself, but everyone could hear his voice very clearly, as if he were speaking right next to their ear.

In fact, even if the audience present were deaf, Rice could make them "hear" their own voices.

It's just a small, wonderful use of magic.

"I'm sorry to stop you when you're most tired and take up some of your time, but I think tonight is the best time to talk about these things, and I hope that what I say before you go to sleep will accompany you into your dreams."

None of the Slytherin students present stood up to say anything; everyone stood or sat in their seats, quietly listening to the speech of what was possibly the "youngest" student council president in the school's history.

"First of all, welcome to Slytherin House."

A round of applause, not particularly loud, rang out in the lounge; everyone was exhausted.

"I believe most of you knew about Slytherin before joining, right?" Rice's gaze swept across the new students, then randomly settled on a boy with light blond hair. "Can you tell me about him?"

The boy was a little nervous. He swallowed hard and stammered, "Um... my dad told me that Hogwarts, Slytherin... the noblest and purest house, and that Headmaster Professor Snape is very capable, uh..."

"Go on," Rice said with an encouraging smile, gesturing for the boy to speak freely.

"He also said that senior sisters Astoria and Daphne, as well as you, are all very capable and talented wizards in the academy, and asked me to maintain a good relationship with you."

Rice's smile deepened.

"What's your last name?"

"Borsd, Brian Bursd."

The Bursts are one of the pure-blood families.

"That's not surprising," Rice nodded.

Now, everyone in the pure-blood families wants to get involved with me and the Greengrass family. Having their children curry favor with the upperclassmen at school is obviously a good way to do that.

This is still in modern society. If this were in the Middle Ages, countless people would have flocked to him wanting to be his servant or Astoria's maid.

"Besides these, do you know any other people who have described Slytherin House?"

Brian Burst's expression changed instantly.

Clearly, aside from positive terms like "the noblest" and "the purest," other adjectives used to describe Slytherin House are not very suitable to be used here.

Brian's face was soon covered in sweat, and his eyes were watery, as if he was about to cry at any moment.

"Say it without worry, no one will blame you, because it was me, Les Lint, who told you to say it."

Having received Lint's promise, Brian became much bolder. He finally gritted his teeth and spoke the description of Slytherin House that he had heard, which did not come from his father.

"They say...we are the cradle of dark wizards, the worst house at Hogwarts. They say the students here look down on and hate Muggles and students from Muggle families."

boom!

The lounge erupted in uproar.

Although everyone knew what the little boy was saying, many things cannot be said in public just because they are true.

"This is slander!" A seventh-grade boy slammed his fist on the table next to him and jumped up.

"They're jealous of us!" a girl shrieked.

"These ungrateful bastards—"

The lounge suddenly became abuzz with excitement, with many people loudly criticizing something in order to vent their emotions.

"But that's the truth, isn't it?" A voice rang out, instantly silencing the room. The voice belonged to the school's new student council president, the pride of Slytherin House, Rhys Lint.

"Did they say anything wrong?" Rice looked around, his gaze sweeping over each student's face. "Should we calculate the percentage of Death Eaters who are from Slytherin? Or do you think that by hurling insults at them here, people won't think we're such awful people?"

Rice's voice echoed in the lounge, and no one dared to make eye contact with him.

The students in the lounge looked like wilted eggplants, all of them dejected.

If anyone else had said that, an unrestricted fighting match would have started in the lounge by now, but it was Rhys Lint who said it.

Putting aside the incessant nagging from their parents before the start of the school year, these students simply couldn't muster any thought of resistance, considering the relative strengths of both sides.

If a real conflict breaks out, they might not even last a second, and they might have to spend the first day or even the first week of school in the school hospital.

More importantly, the real big shots in the academy haven't even spoken yet, so how could someone like me have a chance to speak? However, it's hard to say which side Daphne and Astoria will take.

"If Rice, your purpose in keeping us here tonight is just to say this, then all I can say is, I want to go back to shower and go to sleep." Malfoy stepped forward when everyone was silent.

Of course, Malfoy regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. However, almost everyone present was watching him, making it impossible for him to back down, so he could only stand there awkwardly and pretend to be okay.

Malfoy is now filled with regret, regretting that he impulsively said such a thing. He was so reckless!

Just a few seconds ago, I seemed to have lost control of my tongue and blurted out this sentence without thinking.

Feeling the gazes of everyone, Malfoy felt a chill run down his spine.

"Would I be sent to Azkaban after graduation because of that?" A name flashed through his mind, making him even more anxious.

Rice quietly flicked his fingers, dispelling the remaining magic power that lingered on them.

He never expected that his prestige within the academy would rise to such a height without him even realizing it, to the point that no one dared to stand up and refute him even when he unleashed his full power right in front of him. Tom Riddle's dominance back then was probably not even as high as his own.

Therefore, he could only resort to some means, using other people's words to say what he wanted to say.

Now we can move the plot forward.

"Oh? You want to challenge me to a duel?"

Sure enough, Rice's gaze fell on Malfoy's face, and he asked a question that sent chills down the spines of the others.

"I..." Malfoy wanted to back down, but what came out of his mouth was, "I just can't stand these things! Aren't pure-blood wizards born superior to other wizards?"

Malfoy: !

Oh no, how did I blurt out my innermost thoughts? I shouldn't have secretly drunk alcohol at the banquet!

Daphne slammed her hand on the table beside her, her wand sliding into her hand as she stared at Malfoy with a dangerous look.

Malfoy, are you testing the power of my spell?

Unfortunately, Malfoy is already completely terrified, otherwise he could have simply pulled out his wand and said, "My spells are just as powerful," and he would have become famous.

Rice reached out and patted Daphne on the shoulder to calm her down.

What you said... makes some sense.

To Malfoy's surprise, Rice actually affirmed what he said to some extent.

The young wizards present were quite surprised: How could there be such a big difference in Les Lint's attitude before and after?

Rice didn't care what the young wizards were thinking; he just kept talking about what he wanted to say.

"The ideas conveyed by Mr. Malfoy are known by other wizards as pure-blood supremacy. According to modern wizards, the source of this idea is Salazar Slytherin, the founder of our house."

"Have you considered why Slytherin prefers students from wizarding families?"

After a moment's thought, the wizards present came to a perfectly reasonable answer: because purebloods are more noble.

"Hahaha!" Rice laughed a few times.

"The answer is wrong. It's because students from wizarding families are more reliable."

The students present stared wide-eyed: this was the first time they had ever heard of such a claim.

Rice then told the children about the situation when the school was first established.

"In this kind of atmosphere, is it strange to want to recruit students from wizarding families?" Rice asked rhetorically, then posed another question: What do you consider to be pureblood?

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~

See you at midnight tomorrow night!

(End of this chapter)