Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 72 War Potion: Compound Soup

After taking the Philosopher's Stone out of the mirror and putting it back, Rice gave up his spot and obediently moved to the side, no longer joining the queue. Harry, behind him, was a little confused, but the thought of seeing his family again soon made him put that aside and focus intently on the mirror.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Rice took out a small crystal bottle and shook a little bit of red dust from under his fingernails into the bottle. He even had the time to use magic to clean each fingernail clean.

Now is not a good time to use the magic stone.

The gun that appears on the wall in the first act of the play must fire in the third act.

Based on this idea, Rice believed that the mirror would definitely be moved to the secret space under the fourth-floor corridor to serve as the final level of the puzzle game. That would mean Dumbledore would definitely come into contact with the mirror again, making it unwise to take the Philosopher's Stone from it.

How big of a heart must Dumbledore have to send it into the secret space without even glancing at it?

Surely this headmaster from Gryffindor couldn't have inherited Gryffindor's thick nerves, could he? Even if it's a generational inheritance, it wouldn't be a thousand years apart!

So let's take a "sample" to study first, and then take it away later. It's quite a coincidence that Dumbledore chose to put it in Rowena's mirror. No matter where it's moved, he'll be able to find it.

So why do we need to learn this spell?

[In case someone steals this mirror someday, we can get it back.]

Okay, fine, I give up—does anyone really dare to steal your stuff?

After finishing these tasks, Rice was idle again. Harry and his two friends, however, were diligently taking turns looking at their reflections in the mirror, showing no sign of stopping. By the time they emerged from the room with the mirror, the faint sunlight was already visible on the horizon.

"So what did you see in the mirror?" Even though he had stayed up all night, Harry still looked radiant.

"I saw myself grow up a bit, become the student council president, and hold the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup in my hand." Ron became excited as he talked about himself in the mirror.

Daphne curled her lip: Dream on, the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup will eventually belong to Slytherin!

"I saw my father get a potion that cured my sister's illness." Daphne only told half the truth. The part she told was naturally her sister's recovery, but what she concealed was the person who provided the potion.

Three pairs of eyes simultaneously fell on Rice.

"I saw an endless supply of sweets around me, all kinds, from different countries—British, French, Turkish…"

Honestly, not a single word Rice said was false. He genuinely loved the desserts of this era; they were so delicious, almost dreamlike, something he could never have imagined before.

Rice's words were somewhat unexpected, but considering that everyone present had seen something different, they believed what Rice said.

When they returned to the lounge, the sun was almost rising outside the castle. Fortunately, it was the Christmas holidays, so they could sleep in as long as they wanted.

The holiday is almost over, and it'll be almost over soon.

"Here, this is your thesis on the history of magic." Daphne found Rice sitting in the lounge and handed him a completed thesis.

Rice looked up at her, and Daphne blushed slightly. "I bought it from a senior student."

A relieved smile spread across Rice's face: he certainly didn't want Daphne to waste her time on abstract topics like papers on the history of magic. She could ask him anything she didn't understand about things before the 11th century, and for things after the 11th century, she could simply look them up in books.

Besides her history of magic paper, Daphne also had someone help her and Rice with their holiday homework on Defense Against the Dark Arts. As for the other subjects, Rice thought they were all worth doing, so she didn't ask Daphne to find someone to help her with them.

After acquiring the two papers and Daphne's assignments for other subjects, Rice led Daphne to the secret room.

For some time now, Rice has been considering creating a new entrance to his secret room—the current route is still a bit too far, especially in the cold winter, when the distance from the lounge to the entrance seems incredibly long against the backdrop of the biting wind.

He knew of a kind of dark creature, and if he could encounter one, he could use it as a very convenient teleportation portal. Unfortunately, the dungeon was not suitable for entry at the moment, so he had to find another way.

Finally, he discovered that the new generation of wizards had invented a teleportation method called Floo Network, and he instantly had an idea.

Although various sources indicate that Hogwarts fireplaces are not normally connected to the Floo Network, Rice felt it wouldn't be a big problem; he could easily find two fireplaces and connect them together privately. If he wanted to be even more discreet, Rice could even build his own network, mimicking the Floo Network, though that would require considerable effort.

The Floo Net, invented by wizards, also opened Rice's eyes. Spatial magic is a very high-level spell, but the Floo Net made this high-level magic more accessible, allowing even the most rudimentary wizards to easily use teleportation spells.

This is progress.

Rice chose the fireplace in an empty bedroom. Because it was uninhabited, the fireplace was abandoned, but as long as a fire was lit, it could connect to a fireplace in the secret room, enabling teleportation.

After sprinkling a handful of homemade Floo Powder into the fire, Rice and Daphne teleported into the secret chamber one after the other.

"Today I'm going to expose you to something a little different." After Daphne regained her balance, Rice revealed his teaching plan for the day.

He felt that while teaching her spells, he should also try to cultivate her potion-making skills. Fortunately, the kind-hearted young wizard Severus Snape donated some potion-making ingredients, which was perfect for starting his plan.

Have you ever heard of this magical potion called Compound Decoction?

Daphne nodded; she had heard of this magical potion that could transform a person into another.

"Tell me briefly."

Daphne shared her knowledge of compound decoctions with Rice.

After listening, Rice nodded. What Daphne said was mostly correct, with no major flaws.

Do you know what compound decoctions were originally intended for when they were first invented?

"To transform into someone else's appearance?"

Rice smacked his lips.

"Compound decoctions are magic potions born for war, and their application in war is very widespread and frequent—the skin of the African tree snake is so hard to find now because this kind of magic potion has been used too much in the past."

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, second update will be a little later.

(End of this chapter)