Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 86 Daphne, the Frugal Housewife

Hagrid, accompanied by his hound Fang and three young wizards, entered the Forbidden Forest. After he led the three young wizards into the forest, a figure gradually emerged from beside Hagrid's hut.

Rice raised an eyebrow as he watched the four people and the dog walk away: Minerva McGonagall is really something, sending first-year students into the Forbidden Forest.

Even a thousand years ago, this would have been incredibly audacious. A first-year wizard wouldn't be able to handle the various unexpected situations in the Forbidden Forest, but with Hagrid, the experienced gamekeeper, around, nothing too serious was likely to happen.

Rice cast an illusion spell on himself again and quietly followed—after all, they were entering the Forbidden Forest, and he needed to keep an eye on things to avoid any accidents. He could also observe Daphne's performance in the Forbidden Forest and assess her strength.

Daphne maintained a calm demeanor, but her heart was in turmoil.

Unlike the clueless Harry and the stubborn Ron, she was well aware of the risks of venturing into the Forbidden Forest.

Putting everything else aside, Rice told her many stories about the four founders clearing land in the Forbidden Forest when they first established Hogwarts.

This vast forest, near the natural water source of the Black Lake, is a paradise for magical creatures. Although Hogwarts is situated on a cliff, it's not geographically isolated from the Forbidden Forest. So why haven't any magical creatures ventured from the Forbidden Forest into Hogwarts Castle over the millennia?

The answer is that all the magical creatures that dared to do so were eliminated by the four founders and their students. Not only those with a strong aggressive drive, but also those with a strong sense of territory—any magical creature that posed a threat to the castle was killed.

Even intelligent beings were not spared: the goblin tribes on the edge of the Forbidden Forest were wiped out by Slytherin, Ravenclaw destroyed the merfolk kingdom in the Black Lake, and Hufflepuff exterminated all the werewolves near the castle. Only the centaur tribe was somewhat fortunate; they were found by Gryffindor, who, after a few duels, made them swear an oath never to step outside the Forbidden Forest on their own initiative.

It was the efforts of the founders that allowed Hogwarts Castle to remain peaceful for a thousand years. As the saying goes, "A single punch can prevent a hundred punches," and back then, Rice and his friends didn't just parry one punch; they severed all the "hundred punches" around them.

However, they deliberately left some less dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest to provide a training ground for the students.

Daphne's concern was precisely this part that had been preserved. Now it seemed the Forbidden Forest harbored powerful monsters capable of killing unicorns. Facing such beings, they had to be extremely vigilant.

"Fred and George always said they would sneak into the Forbidden Forest to play, and now I'm considered someone who's been there," Ron said to Harry with a hint of pride. In the future, when Fred and George bragged in front of him, he could puff out his chest and say that he had been to the Forbidden Forest and that it was no big deal.

Upon hearing Ron's words, Hagrid couldn't help but snort: those Weasley twins had caused him quite a bit of trouble. He'd expended considerable effort trying to expel them from the Forbidden Forest.

Harry was also quite helpless, not understanding what Ron was trying to achieve by saying this in front of Hagrid. If Hagrid hadn't had a good relationship with them, he probably would have already lost his temper.

"Did you know? It's said that there are werewolves and all sorts of other monsters in the Forbidden Forest—Hogwarts sometimes announces that students are transferring, but in reality, it's said that every single one of them has told their friends that they want to go on an adventure in the Forbidden Forest," Daphne said quietly.

Most of this passage is fabricated by Daphne.

Hagrid raised an eyebrow. Perfect timing; it was time for him to announce the "little surprise" he had prepared for Ron.

"What?! We're actually going to split up?!" Ron was stunned when he heard Hagrid's arrangement.

After about a minute, he finally reacted and stammered, "But... but wouldn't it be risky to spread out?"

Hagrid laughed.

"This is confinement, Ron, it's a punishment for us," Daphne sighed.

In the end, Hagrid decided to travel alone with Ron, while Harry, Daphne, and the Hound Tooth would travel together.

This choice pleased everyone present, including Rice, who was following behind the group.

He believed that the current grouping was the safest possible. If Daphne were to be grouped with Hagrid, he would have to follow Harry and Ron.

"Alright, if anyone finds a unicorn, fire a green spark with your wand; if anyone runs into trouble, fire a red spark, and we'll all come looking for you. Alright, everyone be careful—let's go." Hagrid waved his hand, and the Forbidden Forest team split into two groups and set off.

Harry and Daphne walked silently along the dark path, illuminated by the faint glow of their wands and the bright moonlight. Perhaps finding the light from the Illumination Charm too dim, Daphne simply extinguished the glow on her wand and instead summoned a ball of fire, just like Rice had done.

"It's brighter and warmer," she explained her intention succinctly.

Harry, of course, couldn't object.

After walking deeper into the forbidden forest for a while, the two stopped at the same time: a ray of moonlight shone through the gaps in the branches, illuminating a patch of silvery-blue bloodstain in the grass.

"That is..." Harry hesitated.

"Unicorn blood." Rice had introduced this potion ingredient to Daphne before, so she was very certain.

"What attacked the unicorn? Was it the werewolf you mentioned?"

Daphne shook her head. "That was something I made up to scare Ron. In reality, werewolves are no different from ordinary wizards for most of the month. They only transform during a full moon, and it wasn't a full moon recently. Besides, why would werewolves attack unicorns?"

"Also, unicorns possess very powerful magic... anything that can injure or kill them should not be underestimated."

Hearing Daphne say this, Harry felt goosebumps all over his body.

"Let's go, let's go quickly." He couldn't help but urge her on, but Daphne not only didn't move, but squatted down in front of the bloodstain.

Under Harry's bewildered gaze, she pointed her wand at the bloodstain and patiently used magic to "extract" it from the grass. The clump of silvery-blue blood floated in mid-air, giving it a metallic sheen. After completing this step, Daphne took out a crystal bottle from her pocket and placed the clump of blood inside.

After collecting the blood with effortless grace, Daphne carefully sealed the crystal bottle with a stopper and then placed the bottle back into the pocket of her robe.

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. The second update will be a little later. I'll try my best to write it. If you can't wait, read it tomorrow morning. Love you all.

(End of this chapter)