Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 65 Daphne, Implicated

"Hmm?" Rice turned her gaze from the playground to Daphne.

The little witch wore a thick winter cloak, a silver-green scarf around her neck, her face was rosy, and her eyes flickered with a complex expression, as if she owed him a lot of favors and a large sum of money.

"I mean, we're friends, right? But I feel like I've been unilaterally taking advantage of you, whether it's the magic, the medicine for my sister, or that necklace—I'm wondering how I can help you in any way?"

Rice chuckled to himself.

Does he need help? Indeed, he wants to dispel the corruption clinging to Rowena Ravenclaw's soul, he wants to know the whereabouts of Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff, he wants to suppress those dark creatures, to ensure the continued existence of Hogwarts and the wizarding world, and he wants to reverse Slytherin's bad reputation…

He had so many things he wanted to do, but how could Daphne, a newly enrolled wizard, possibly help him with them?

Even at the height of my career, some things were quite difficult to handle.

"Help me with my homework." After thinking it over, he felt that this was the most reliable favor.

As for Daphne's thoughts, he roughly understood them. It was a good thing that the child was well-mannered, had a sense of shame, and knew how to repay kindness. However, the necklace was a gift from him as a teacher and friend, and the healing materials for Astoria were bought from him by her father with real money. He taught her magic only because he couldn't bear to waste her talent—her family background also played a very large role.

Both were hardworking and diligent children, but he didn't care about Hermione as much as he did about Daphne. It was something ingrained in him; he simply couldn't fully trust a young wizard from a Muggle family. However, he wouldn't be as obsessively prejudiced against them as some pure-blood families are nowadays.

Moreover, Daphne is going to contribute to Hogwarts, Slytherin, and the wizarding world after she completes her studies. Does she really think that learning magic is a waste of time?

Daphne rolled her eyes at Rice's words.

"I'm writing it for you right now! Otherwise, where do those papers on the history of magic and defense against the dark magic come from? Let's do something else."

Daphne's words even stirred a pang of guilt in Rice: How old are you, still making a little girl do your homework for you?

Writing that rubbish is a real waste of life!

"Daphne, for this kind of subject... next time, let someone else do your assignment for you. You're different from them; don't waste your time on these useless assignments." Rice made the decision.

Homework is important, but not every subject is equally important.

Daphne was taken aback, and nodded subconsciously.

She really hadn't expected this kind of thing to happen. Asking upperclassmen to write the assignments for her? But it did seem to make sense—she also felt that writing the history of magic assignments was a huge waste of time.

But she had more important things to do, so she put her homework aside for now!

Seeing Daphne's relentless pursuit, Rice felt overwhelmed. Fortunately, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and came up with a brilliant idea to kill two birds with one stone.

"Speaking of which, there is something I actually need your help with."

"Speak!" Daphne felt a surge of excitement.

"I think your deduction that day was correct. It's unlikely that there's only one three-headed dog in the corridor on the fourth floor. Could you help me investigate what Professor Dumbledore is hiding in the school? I really don't have time to investigate anymore. You know I've been very busy lately."

Daphne nodded repeatedly, her whole demeanor brightening: "If I can dig out the treasures Dumbledore has hidden, that would be helping Rice, right?"

As a result, her good mood didn't even last until sunset, because Daphne discovered to her utter despair that her exploration of the fourth-floor corridor was facing a problem: she simply couldn't find a way to break through Cerberus's defenses! The book didn't record Cerberus's weaknesses at all, what should she do?

Daphne was a little troubled. She couldn't very well go and learn how to make calming potions from Rice, could she? What would that be like?

Daphne thought she could help Rice, but found that she couldn't do anything, which made her so upset that she couldn't sleep.

As night fell, Daphne, unable to sleep, sat up in bed and walked straight out of her bedroom. She didn't intend to rashly rush into Cerberus's territory and beat him up with the necklace Rice had given her and the spells she had painstakingly cultivated; she simply wanted to wander around.

After wandering aimlessly for a while, Daphne found herself in front of the library.

She blinked, inwardly lamenting that she had come to the library far too often.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, a chilling scream suddenly rang out in the library. The sound pierced the silent night sky, and it wasn't a fleeting scream, but a high-pitched, continuous, and deafening scream.

Daphne: ?!

What's going on? She was stunned by the sudden turn of events. The next second, she didn't have time to be stunned, because she heard chaotic footsteps coming from both sides of the corridor at the same time.

The castle keeper and the professor on night watch!

Daphne's face drained of color instantly. She was filled with regret. She had studied magic with Rice for three months, so why hadn't she learned his Disillusionment Charm?

With both ends blocked, Daphne had no choice but to enter the library, hoping to find a hiding place inside.

She had just opened the door and run a couple of steps inside when she bumped into something.

Daphne: ? ? ?

Suddenly, Harry's head appeared in mid-air, and before Daphne could scream, his entire body appeared.

"Shh!" Harry gestured to Daphne, then covered her with a cloak of very strange texture.

Daphne felt like her brain had shut down, but Harry didn't care. He unleashed unprecedented strength and practically carried Daphne as he ran outside.

At the library entrance, the two brushed past Filch, whose furious, light-colored eyes stared straight through them. Harry and Daphne carefully avoided the enraged Filch, running frantically down the corridor like headless flies.

Harry caught a glimpse of Snape out of the corner of his eye, which spurred him to run even faster.

After running all the way, the two finally stopped in front of a locked door at the end of the corridor, panting heavily.

"Harry... Potter... what the hell are you doing?!" After resting for a while, Daphne recovered and questioned him in a state of shock and anger.

"Uh... I opened a book in the library, and then..."

Daphne's vision blurred. "Why are you touching the books in the forbidden section if you have nothing better to do?"

"curious."

Daphne: ...

She felt a throbbing pain in her temples.

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 provided.

I'll write tomorrow's update after I get off work, so it'll be tonight. Please read it after you wake up.

(End of this chapter)