Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts.

Chapter 48 Nobody knows the school rules better than me

"A duel assistant? Me?!" Rhys was momentarily stunned upon hearing Malfoy's request. The last time someone had asked him to be a duel assistant was a thousand years ago.

"Malfoy, you—" Daphne wanted to refuse on Rice's behalf, but Rice raised his hand, telling her not to rush.

"Draco Malfoy, are you sure you want to go to the duel?" Rhys's interest was completely piqued by Malfoy.

A duel! This is a duel!

But who did Malfoy have such a deep grudge against that he had to fight to the death?

Malfoy swallowed hard, nodded, and added, "But it's not the kind of duel that has to be a fight to the death. I just want to settle some personal scores with that Potter from Gryffindor."

Rice nodded: That made sense and fit his speculation. It would be strange if Malfoy insisted on fighting to the death with someone, and it would be quite difficult for a wizard of this age to kill someone with magic.

"One hundred Galleons, give me one hundred Galleons and I'll be your dueling partner."

"Why don't you just rob it?!" Malfoy's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

One hundred Galleons! That's almost enough to cover the annual expenses of an average wizarding family of three, enough to drain Malfoy's savings dry.

"This is already a discounted price." Rice spread his hands, indicating that the price was already as low as it could go.

A thousand years ago, you thought you could hire him as a duel assistant for a hundred gold coins? What kind of dream is that?

Of course, one was a life-or-death battle with a powerful dark wizard, while the other was standing up for a child; the difficulty of the tasks was worlds apart. But given his status and the fact that his relationship with Draco Malfoy wasn't particularly close, after careful consideration, Rice decided to charge a fee of one hundred Galleons.

If Malfoy can afford it, he'll go through the motions; if Malfoy can't afford it, then there's no point in even talking about it.

Malfoy's facial muscles twitched twice, as if asking if he could get a discount. After being refused, he gritted his teeth and agreed to Rice's offer.

"But you have to pay afterwards!"

Rice rejected him again decisively, because it was against the rules.

"Then, could you pay half the money first? I'll give you the rest after the duel." Malfoy's voice was almost squeezed out between his teeth.

After a moment's thought, Rice suddenly remembered that when his ancestors had asked him to officiate their wedding, they had also paid half a deposit upfront. He felt a sense of destiny intertwined with his own, and thus agreed to Malfoy's request.

When fifty gleaming Galleons were placed on the table, Rice could almost hear Malfoy's heart bleeding.

Watching Malfoy stagger away from the library, Rice couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion: a thousand years ago, the Malfoy family's ancestors sent him money, and a thousand years later, the Malfoy family's descendants are still sending him money! This family has remained true to its word.

Looking at Daphne, who was sitting across from him in a daze, Rice smiled and said, "Making money is really easy; you can earn a hundred gallons just by playing house with a child once."

"No, I just think your calming candles and curse-repelling fruit are too cheap." Daphne shook her head, as if she had found a bargain.

"It's a life-saving medicine; there's no need to make too much money off it. Those few hundred gallons were enough for me back then."

Daphne: "Dad is very rich, there's no need to be polite with him—he's wasted who knows how much money he's spent on those quack doctors who treated my sister all these years."

Rice clicked his tongue, unsure how to respond to that.

"Excuse me, just a moment." Hermione's voice suddenly came from behind the bookshelf next to her.

"Rice, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I have to remind you, you absolutely cannot wander around the school at night. Just think about how many points you'll lose if you get caught!" Hermione appeared carrying a stack of books.

"It's Slytherin's points that are being deducted, what does it have to do with you, a Ravenclaw?!" Rice was stunned. What a broad and loving mind this was!

"I'm just trying to be helpful as a friend, reminding you that this is against school rules!" Hermione looked a little angry.

Rice held up two fingers and said to her very seriously, "Two things. First, I won't get caught; they can't catch me. Second, this special circumstance is permitted under school rules."

"Huh???" Hermione was stunned. She subconsciously ignored the first point Rice mentioned and focused all her energy on the second point.

"Article 479, Paragraph 3 of the Hogwarts Rules stipulates that the school guarantees students' right to accept duel invitations, and if the duel time coincides with curfew, the duelists may disregard the curfew. This rule was established by Godric Gryffindor." Rice knew the school rules all too well; no one in Hogwarts knew them better than him, after all, he and his friends had created them while drinking.

Hermione was stunned after hearing this.

A few seconds later, she hurriedly left, and after a while she came running back carrying a very thick book. Judging from the dust on the book, no one had borrowed it for a long time.

The book was titled "The Rules of Hogwarts Explained," and it detailed the school's rules. Hermione flipped through the pages quickly and found the very rule Rice had mentioned.

"See, I didn't lie to you." Rice shrugged.

He really is lying!

He was using his knowledge of the school rules to fool Hermione. Using a duel as an excuse to break curfew only works if the head of the student's house is aware of the duel, and it would be a miracle if Snape knew about it.

Rice's partially concealed truth deceived Hermione, who left with a feeling of "I don't understand, but I'm deeply shocked."

At 11:30 p.m., Rice sat up in bed. Draco had already left; he said he needed to go to the duel location early to familiarize himself with the terrain.

Rice donned his robes, picked up his wand, and quietly left the common room. He climbed the stairs to the third floor, crossed a corridor leading to the prize display room.

Malfoy is not here.

Rice heard footsteps behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Harry and Ron.

Rice's face instantly darkened; he roughly guessed what had happened.

"It's you, Rice?!"

"Where's Malfoy?"

Harry and Ron were also taken aback to see Rice standing alone in the prize room. They didn't have a strong impression of Rice, only remembering that he was very good at Potions and Charms.

"Wait a moment, hopefully Mr. Malfoy has just had diarrhea." Rice took a deep breath, telling Harry and Ron to calm down.

Time ticked by, but Malfoy did not appear. Instead, the voice of the castle caretaker, Filch, rang out from next door.

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, hehehe!

I have something to do tomorrow morning, so the update will be postponed until tonight.

Thank you to reader 1338459675374563328 (Mingyue Dalao) for the donation!

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mua! (*╯3╰)

(End of this chapter)