Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 63 Gemini Meteor Shower

After mentioning the fourth-floor corridor and the three-headed dog there that day, Rice never brought up the topic again.

Daphne didn't bring it up again, but she started paying attention to books and materials related to Cerberus while studying in the library. Hermione helped her a lot in this regard—the young girl spent almost all her free time in the library, so her understanding of the library was better than most graduates.

"The book 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' will definitely feature the Cerberus, and it's also mentioned in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'—they are fantastic beasts native to Greece."

"Thank you!" Daphne said sincerely.

"So why did you suddenly want to look up information about Cerberus?"

"I'd like to keep one at home." Daphne lied as naturally as she breathed.

Hermione fell silent. In her mind, Cerberus was an animal used to guard the gates of Hell. But then she thought of the wealthy people in the Middle East who kept lions and leopards, and she felt relieved.

It makes perfect sense that a wealthy Muggle keeps a lion, and a wealthy wizard keeps a Cerberus.

The little girl was very tactful and didn't ask if it violated the laws of the magical world.

Looking at Hermione sitting at the next table with a stack of books, Rice remarked, "She's really hardworking. I feel like the chances of finding her in Ravenclaw Tower are much smaller than the chances of bumping into her in the library."

These words seemed to provoke Daphne, and the little girl studied in one go until the library closed, as if in a fit of pique.

Rice seemed thoughtful: Some educational books suggest using encouragement, but it seems that occasionally praising a child's peers also has a surprising effect?

As he walked out of the library, a snowflake was swept into the corridor by the cold wind and landed on Rice's hand. Feeling the slight chill in his palm, he realized that winter had arrived.

Along with winter comes Christmas and the Christmas holidays that little wizards look forward to the most.

Rice also eagerly anticipates Christmas. Although Christmas is a Christian holiday, that's not important at all; what matters is the festive atmosphere and the holiday. If Hogwarts celebrates Holi, Eid, or Lum's Day and gives everyone a day off, Rice will look forward to it just as much.

A biting wind arrived before the Christmas holidays. Although a roaring fire burned inside the castle, the corridors were still chillingly cold. Almost every moment, the windows rattled and rattled in the strong wind.

The worst classroom environment wasn't Potions, located in an underground classroom—where at least a dozen cauldrons were set up for each class, and the flames beneath them provided considerable warmth. The most dreaded class in the dead of winter was Astronomy, where students would climb the exposed Astronomy Tower at night, shivering in the cold wind, to observe the stars.

This segment cannot be cancelled due to weather conditions, as the Geminid meteor shower, one of the three major meteor showers in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs in mid-December. As Professor Sinister, who teaches astronomy, puts it, "Even if you have to go to Mrs. Pomfrey's for medicine after class, you can't miss this meteor shower."

"I don't know what the founders were thinking, choosing such a terrible place for the castle."

Rice glanced at the Hufflepuff boy named Justin Finley.

What, you're not convinced?

"This is already one of the best places in the Scottish Highlands. Beauxbatons has a pleasant climate. If you'd like, you can ask Professor Dumbledore to write you a transfer letter," Rice retorted to the cheeky little wizard while assembling the telescope.

Hogwarts is considered to be in a relatively good environment; further north, it gets even colder. Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry, founded by my friend Nerida Vokano in Normandy, are just as cold as winter here for three-quarters of the year.

I wonder how Durmstrang is doing now? This school strictly adheres to his admissions philosophy and focuses on developing war magic, and Rice genuinely hopes for its success.

Despite her sharp tongue, Rice found a basin and lit a magical flame inside, warming the surroundings a little.

"Oh dear, it's because I can't learn French. What proper Englishman learns French?" Justin wasn't angry at all. Seeing that Rice had lit a fire, he happily grabbed his binoculars and ran over to warm himself by the fire.

"You've also studied French?" Daphne, who was standing next to her, was slightly surprised. She hadn't expected that this seemingly ordinary person would have this skill.

"I learned a little bit when I was little, limited to things like 'hello,' 'thank you,' 'croissant,' and 'goodbye,'" Justin smiled a little embarrassedly.

"fine."

"All I know is Latin."

As the group chatted, a meteor shower began. Hundreds of stars streaked across the night sky, as if blown down from the darkness by the north wind; the phrase "blown down, stars like rain" became a reality at that moment.

"It is said that magic originated from the stars. A few stone tablets fell with a meteor in the Nile River region of North Africa, giving ancient Egypt its first wizards in human history, and thus the prosperous and splendid ancient Egyptian civilization took shape—the starry sky truly contains infinite secrets and possibilities." Looking at the meteor shower that was no different from that of a thousand years ago, Rice was deeply moved.

A thousand years ago at this time, my friends and I stood here gazing at the night sky, the brilliant starlight reflecting on our faces. Today, I return to this place, but my friends are nowhere to be found, and only shooting stars still streak across the desolate night sky.

"Hmm. I said, Rice, are you going home for Christmas this year?" Daphne interrupted Rice's thoughts. Rice's legend about the origin of magic hadn't captured her attention. More than that, she wanted to know if Rice was going home this year.

"I won't reply."

Okay.

A few days later, when Vice Principal Minerva McGonagall began compiling the list of students staying on campus for the holiday, Rice was surprised to find Daphne's name on it as well.

Why didn't you come home for Christmas?

"Going home means being dragged around by Dad to meet all sorts of random relatives like a doll. I'd rather stay at school and learn magic! Quick, think of some spells you can teach me during Christmas!"

Since the student was eager to learn, Rice had no objections and provided as many spells as she wanted. Daphne's control over magic was already very proficient, and she had mastered the most basic offensive and defensive spells quite well. Rice felt that the next step should be to teach her some potion recipes so that she could practice making potions properly.

She's a Slytherin student, how could she not be good at making potions?

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 here!

There will be more at midnight!

(End of this chapter)