Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 75 The Strongest Magic Wand

Looking at the silent Rice, Daphne frowned: this guy always gave off the feeling of coming from a secluded mountain village. But considering his usual behavior, Daphne thought it might actually be true.

A wizarding family that had been living in seclusion since the Middle Ages? Then why did he return to the magical world? Considering how much he cared about the seal deep within the Hogwarts dungeons, Daphne felt she had figured it out.

It's highly likely that something went wrong with the underground seal, which is why he "came out of seclusion," returned to Hogwarts to reinforce the seal, resolve the problem within it, and incidentally make contact with the modern magical world.

During the silence, Rice quickly recalled that he seemed to have actually seen a book called "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" at Flourish and Blotts. He hadn't read it back then because it was a collection of stories.

Thinking about this, Rice couldn't help but feel a little helpless: he had been cramming on modern magical knowledge for the past few months, yet he still made a fool of himself on some common-sense issues. But it was understandable; it was only unbelievable for someone living in the 11th century to have heard stories from the 15th century.

"So could you tell me the legend of the three brothers?" Rice chose to have Daphne tell him the story directly.

"Huh?" Daphne was slightly surprised, because the storyteller had always been Rice.

She naturally didn't want to miss this precious opportunity. Daphne put her tools aside, wiped her hands and robe clean with a handkerchief, and found a stool to sit down.

She seemed not to be telling a story, but rather performing a sacred religious ritual.

Once everything was ready, Daphne cleared her throat and began to vividly recount the legend of the three brothers.

Once upon a time, three brothers were traveling along a secluded, winding path. It was nearly midnight.

Rice raised an eyebrow: "They're rushing to get somewhere close to midnight. Are they in a hurry? Why don't they use teleportation magic or flying brooms? Don't they know how?"

As they walked, they came to a river. The water was too deep to wade across, and swimming was too dangerous. However, the three brothers were skilled in magic. With a wave of their wands, a bridge appeared across the treacherous water. When they reached the middle of the bridge, a hooded figure blocked their path.

Death spoke to them.

Death was furious; he had lost three new sacrifices—for travelers usually drowned in this river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers on their magic, saying that they had cleverly escaped death, and each would receive a reward.

Rice found another flaw in the story: a wizard who could conjure a bridge with a wave of his wand—would he really drown in the river? That doesn't make sense, unless there's something wrong with the river. But since it's a children's bedtime story, there's no need to dwell on it too much.

Then, the three brothers each asked Death for the most powerful magic wand in the world, a stone that could bring the dead back to life, and Death's invisibility cloak.

The eldest brother, who obtained the Elder Wand, had his throat slit in his sleep; the second brother, who possessed the Resurrection Stone, went mad because the people resurrected by the stone were not truly resurrected, and committed suicide; only the third brother, who possessed the Invisibility Cloak, had a peaceful end, finally meeting Death like an old friend, leaving the world on equal footing with Death.

After hearing the story, Rasmo stroked his chin.

Ignoring some minor flaws, the story is quite good and very educational.

Powerful force alone is unsustainable, and attempting to defy the laws of nature is futile. Only humility and modesty are treasures that one can possess throughout life.

As for Death, he knew it was the master of comings and goings, responsible for suppressing dark wizards whose souls were fragmented and unable to reincarnate, and for maintaining the normal order of reincarnation. Rhys didn't think Death would do what was depicted in the story, because to Him, any wizard would eventually come looking for Him; it was just a matter of sooner or later. If it didn't come today, it would come eventually; just wait, why get angry?

Of course, these are all fairy tales, and trying to find rationality in fairy tales is inherently irrational.

"So, the wand Slytherin made is more powerful than the Elder Wand?"

"I guess so?" Rice was also a little unsure. According to the story's setting, the Elder Wand was the strongest. But upon closer examination, the Elder Wand was something Death made casually, while his own Serpent Staff was made with Jormungandr's brain nerves as its core and the mistletoe branch that killed Baldr, the god of light, as its body—the materials alone consumed the lives of two false gods. How could it be weaker than the one made by Death?

However, the wand he made himself did have quite a few negative effects. If the Elder's Staff of Death didn't have any negative effects, it would indeed be more suitable for daily use than his own serpent staff.

"Cool!" Daphne didn't think too much about it; she was simply very excited. Compared to the ethereal Old Man Wand in fairy tales, the wand left behind by Slytherin felt much more real.

"Do you have any records of where Slytherin hid his wand before he died?"

Rice's face darkened: How dare you talk like that, you brat!

He cleared his throat and pointed out the error in Daphne's words: "Of the four founders, apart from Rowena, I mean Lady Ravenclaw, the whereabouts of the other three are unknown, so your conclusion that Slytherin is dead is inaccurate. On the contrary, I am more inclined to believe that the four founders have all continued their lives in some special way; after all, if you want to live, there's always a way."

For a powerful wizard proficient in magic, prolonging life is not particularly difficult; the challenge lies in prolonging life in a dignified manner. If one truly has no regard for dignity, one can always become a Horcrux. However, this is the lowest form of immortality, and Rhys scoffs at it.

Rice held pure contempt for wizards who sought immortality through Horcruxes.

"How can anyone live for a thousand years? Nicolas Flamel invented the Philosopher's Stone and only lived for a little over six hundred years." Daphne didn't believe what Rice said, but she soon noticed that Rice did not deny her question.

"You really know where that wand is?!" Daphne was shocked: How does Rice know everything? Could it be that, as he said, he is the true heir to Slytherin, and the Gaunt family are just adopted children?

"It's not something you can touch right now." Seeing that Daphne seemed to have some daring idea, Rice quickly poured cold water on her and brought her back to reality. If she rashly touched the serpent staff now, she would definitely go crazy.

"When you grow up, I'll take you to find it." Rice wrote a check for the future.

Daphne: !

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.

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(End of this chapter)