Ancient wizards return to Hogwarts.

Once back in the common room, Rice was surrounded by Slytherin students - word had spread that he was in possession of Salazar Slytherin's wand.

This is the wand of the founder, Slytherin! Almost no student of Slytherin House can resist the temptation to look at this wand.

Faced with the enthusiastic students, Rice was not stingy and directly took out his wand to let them watch closely.

"As expected of Master Slytherin's wand, I can tell just by looking at it that this wand is extremely powerful."

"I can almost see Salazar Slytherin himself standing in front of me. What a profound sense of history!"

"It's so funny! Do those barbarians from Ilvermorny deserve to possess the Hallows of our Hogwarts?"

The students worshipped the founder's magic wand earnestly and talked about it. Rice stood quietly by, watching their expressions and body movements, feeling deeply moved: he had never enjoyed such treatment when he was alive, but enjoyed it a thousand years after his "death".

Although his students back then respected him, they didn't go to the extent of forming a circle to observe his wand.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shook his head helplessly.

The era of himself and the other three old friends had passed so long ago that they had become legendary figures. In other words, most of the people who were watching the wands now came with the intention of taking a look at the cultural relics.

But since they wanted to watch, Rice had no reason to stop them, so he let the Slytherin students watch as much as they wanted.

After the classmates dispersed, Les saw Daphne and Astoria huddled in a corner of the lounge, but both pairs of eyes never left him, and it was obvious that they didn't want to join the crowd.

Les walked straight over, sat down in the seat in front of the two people, and placed the snake staff in front of them.

Daphne and Astoria immediately came over, held their breath, and carefully studied this legendary wand - they were actually very interested in the wand of the founder of Slytherin House, and had been waiting anxiously.

Seeing the two of them being so cautious that they didn't even dare to breathe, Rice just found it funny.

"Take it and have a look. You guys are not tired at all!"

After hearing what Les said, Daphne and Astoria blushed, and then their brows suddenly lit up. Just now, so many people gathered together to watch, and Les didn't let anyone touch the wand. They thought they were the same, but they didn't expect to be treated differently.

"Is this really possible?" After getting Les's permission, Astoria was delighted, but couldn't help but confirm it again.

"Of course." Les nodded slightly. In the future, this wand might even be passed on to one of them, so what would it matter if she just touched it?

Daphne and Astoria had no idea what Rice was thinking. If they knew, they would definitely be shocked. After getting Rice's permission, they couldn't wait to pick up the legendary snake staff and feel it carefully.

Perhaps it was a psychological suggestion, or perhaps the snake wand was extraordinary, but the two felt that this wand was very different from any wand they had touched before. It felt cold and smooth to the touch, as if they were holding a snake instead of a wand, and they could even faintly hear the snake's "hissing" sound.

"It's worthy of being the wand used by the legendary wizard!" Daphne praised it repeatedly, almost praising the wand to the sky.

Listening to Daphne's words, Les was greatly pleased and told her the story of this magic wand.

After hearing the story, Astoria also began to ask questions that concerned her.

"Les, what's going on with that Jack?"

The change that happened to Jack on the dueling stage had given Astoria a big shock.

A mediocre person could gain such powerful strength with just a bottle of magic potion. This made Astoria eager to understand the principle behind it.

"That level of change can't be achieved with just a potion." Rice said confidently, "That Jack also had his own [adventures] in the alchemy world."

Rice said it very tactfully, but the meaning was conveyed.

Jack had already given up his identity as a wizard during the first stage of the competition. When he came out, even though he still had a human appearance, he was already an alien inside.

"What do you think of this method?" Rice deliberately asked this question with the intention of testing the two of them.

"It's so weak, I wonder how many punches its scales can withstand from me?" Daphne's confidence was almost overflowing. In her opinion, Jack was just a bluff, but could he really withstand a beating like a real fire dragon?

Her magma fist can even take out the real heart of a fire dragon!

Astoria remained silent.

"Astoria, what do you think?" Les asked. You two must answer this question!

"It is indeed easy to defeat that guy, but we must also admit that the dragon magic has greatly improved his combat effectiveness." Astoria felt that among the students of Hogwarts, the only five who could surely defeat Jack after he turned into a dragon were Les, herself, her sister, Hermione and Cedric.

The other students may not be able to beat the other side.

The scales were easily removed by Rice, and could not withstand his sister's fists, but they could still block the spells of other students. After all, they were dragon scales, which naturally had strong magic resistance.

Astoria wasn't naive enough to think that Jack's scales simply looked like dragon scales.

So the question is, faced with the temptation of power, how many people would choose to take this path?

The advantages and disadvantages of dragon magic are very obvious. The advantage is that it can improve combat power in a very short period of time, and become one of the strongest in the school. The disadvantage is that it will become neither human nor ghost, and be despised by others.

Anyway, Astoria asked herself, even if Rice had not taught her those advanced magical knowledge, she would not have chosen the dragon transformation magic, because her appearance after the transformation was too ugly.

"There may be some people who can't resist the temptation and choose this path. I just don't know if Jack can restore his human form after the transformation." Astoria expressed her point of view.

"You hit the nail on the head." Les looked at Astoria with approval.

Compared to her simple-minded sister, she thought much more deeply, which made Les extremely pleased.

If Astoria said, "It's so weak. I can drain all the blood from its body with just a snap of my fingers," he wouldn't know where to cry.

"We must be on guard against some students who are short-sighted and attracted by these unorthodox ways." Rice didn't know whether the dragon transformation magic would affect the study of the flow of magic power and thus become an obstacle to the comprehension of the field, but he had to be prepared in this regard.

For those young wizards with little talent, this kind of spell is not impossible to learn. After all, it can really improve combat effectiveness.

But for students like Daphne and Astoria, it is a real pity that they cut off their path to advancement in their field because they were greedy for a momentary improvement.

Les’ idea was: wouldn’t it be possible for him to develop a similar magic on his own?

As long as I can get Jack's memory while no one is paying attention, and see clearly how he did it, then sooner or later I will be able to research similar magic. Since I can transform into a dragon, why can't I transform into a phoenix, a thunderbird, or a snake king?

After chatting casually with Daphne and Astoria for a few minutes, seeing that it was getting late, Les took the wand back from them and went back to the dormitory to rest.

……

In the days that followed, Rice lived a very fulfilling life.

He sneaked into the Hogwarts Hospital, browsed Jack's memories in the alchemy world, learned the method of dragon magic, and then began to study in this area, but the progress was slow.

At the same time, he was also developing a special medicine that could fight the plague to increase the contestants' chances of survival. But the progress in this regard was also not fast - this was a magic potion he developed personally, if it was so easy to crack, there would be no need to place high hopes on it.

Time flies, and soon it is the end of November.

Life at Hogwarts was peaceful during this period, as students shifted their focus back to their studies, while the contestants took advantage of the rare off-season to begin preparations for the next stage.

This peace lasted until the last day of November.

After the bell rang throughout the dungeon, Snape did not announce the end of get out of class as usual, but instead announced a piece of news with a strange look on his face.

"According to the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament, the school will hold a Christmas ball on Christmas Eve to strengthen communication with guests from other schools. The ball is only open to students in the fourth grade and above, but if the senior students are willing, they can invite a junior student." Snape's voice echoed in the dungeon classroom.

It was the first time for everyone to hear about the Christmas ball. Everyone couldn't help but want to talk about this event with their friends. However, since Snape was standing on the podium overlooking everyone, although everyone was shocked, they didn't dare to act rashly.

"The ball will be held in the Great Hall at 8 o'clock on Christmas evening and will end at midnight. You must wear formal gowns. The Christmas ball is a relaxing occasion, but that does not mean that the code of conduct for Hogwarts students no longer exists. If a student brings shame to the college or the school in any way..." Snape's tone became stern, and the implication was very obvious.

Anyone who brings shame to the academy will definitely pay the price!

Rice supported his chin with his hands, his face full of "boredom" and "uninteresting".

He was not interested in the Christmas ball at all. If he had a choice, he would rather stay in the library or his own secret room to work on the problem at hand.

Of course, he would not openly express his opposition. It was just a dance party, he could just hide in a corner and do what he wanted!

Rice had made up his mind, but Professor Snape on the stage seemed to have something to say.

"As for the contestants who are eligible to represent Hogwarts in the competition, you have more special requirements."

Les:? ? ?

He raised his head, and the look on his face turned into alertness. He knew very well that the probability of hearing from Snape that "the contestants don't have to attend the Christmas ball" was not high.

What Snape is going to announce is most likely bad news.

"You must prepare your partners and bring them to the Christmas ball. You must dance on the stage because according to tradition, the ball is opened by the warriors and their partners."

Rice couldn't believe his ears. Why did they want to dance? He overturned his decision made a few seconds ago that he would not stand up and express his opposition.

"Professor, this is the tradition of the Triwizard Tournament. What does it have to do with the World Young Wizarding Championship?" As his own interests were involved, Rice asked directly.

Snape glanced at Les indifferently. He had extraordinary patience towards this student whom he was most optimistic about. If it were Potter from Gryffindor, Snape would have used a smooth combination of deducting points and making sarcastic remarks on him.

"The tournament was born out of the Triwizard Tournament, so many traditions have been inherited. As for the ball, Professor Dumbledore made this decision after listening to the advice of other professors. We have already conveyed this message to other schools. The matter is settled, and you must go on stage to dance."

Les knew that his face must be very red now. From Snape's words, he keenly smelled a strange smell of Rowena!

Rowena is definitely behind this!

The “other professors” in “listen to other professors’ advice” might be Rowena Ravenclaw!

She did this because she wanted to see herself dancing on the stage!

Rice's face was flushed, and others thought he was very excited.

"This is a traditional practice. As warriors representing Hogwarts and representatives of the school, you must do as everyone expects. Therefore, the contestants must find a dance partner for themselves and participate in the opening ceremony of the dance." Snape said in an unquestionable tone.

Unlike Rice, Daphne was extremely excited after hearing the news. Her eyes drifted to Rice who was sitting next to her, and then a figure inevitably emerged in her mind.

After seeing the figure with the same silver hair, Daphne was stunned, and then a flash of enlightenment came into her mind.

The biggest competitor has appeared!

Seeing that Les stopped talking, Snape was satisfied.

"get out of class is dismissed!" After he announced the end of get out of class, he quickly left the basement classroom, leaving the noise and bustle behind.

"that……"

Before Daphne could finish the rest of her sentence, Rice grabbed his schoolbag and rushed out of the basement classroom.

Daphne:......

The other students gradually reacted.

Seeing that Les had disappeared, Malfoy straightened his collar, walked to Daphne's table, and gave a smile that he thought was very elegant.

"Miss Greengrass, may I have the honor of being your dancing partner?"

"Get lost!" Daphne, who was already angry, responded very straightforwardly.

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Here’s the update, good night everyone!