Return of Salazar Slytherin

Helga's applause pulled the students out of their thoughts.

"Mr. Lint is absolutely right. If you want to defend against Dark Magic, you must first understand it—otherwise, it's like this." Helga Hufflepuff crouched down and pulled a cage of rats out from under the podium.

Seeing the cage full of lively, squirming rats, Rhys raised an eyebrow: See, not all rats have the same fate. Some 'rats' get to lie comfortably in a cage, drugged and sleeping peacefully each day under the influence of potions, while others end up as a teaching aid for an old witch.

Daphne subtly shrank back at the sight of the large rats.

Helga showed no sign of disgust toward the cage of rats—this is nothing, she thought. Back in the day, she had roasted field mice before, and they'd actually tasted quite good.

She drew her wand and tapped the cage lightly. With a soft click, the cage door sprang open.

Daphne edged back again, trying to put as much distance between herself and the podium as possible.

Squeek! Squeek Squeek Squeek~~!!

Sensing the taste of freedom in the air, the rats immediately grew more active. But Helga wasn't about to let them have their way. She used a Levitation Charm to lift out one particularly fat rat, then promptly shut the cage to prevent her hard-earned experimental subjects from escaping.

"Watch closely…" Helga tapped the rat's body with the tip of her wand, then dropped it onto the floor.

The moment it realized it was free, the rat didn't hesitate—it bolted straight toward the classroom door.

The classroom instantly erupted into chaos. The girls quickly pulled their feet up onto their stools, with a few even scrambling onto the desks. Some of the boys quietly lifted their feet off the ground, while others drew their wands, ready to "bring justice" to the fleeing rat.

"Let it run," Helga Hufflepuff stopped the students who were preparing to cast spells.

The rat had only run a few steps before something strange began to happen to its body. Its already plump figure started to swell like a balloon.

The students' expressions changed dramatically. They could vaguely sense that something bad was about to happen. Several of them began to rise slightly, preparing to dart aside at the first sign of danger.

At that moment, Helga acted. With a single Petrificus Totalus, she froze the rat in place mid-sprint. Then, with a Summoning Charm, she brought it back to the podium.

"You guessed right. A few more steps, and this rat would have gone boom—blown to pieces. So now I ask you: does anyone here know how to counter this curse?"

The young witches and wizards fell completely silent. They didn't even know what curse Professor White had used—how could they possibly counter it?

"That will be today's homework. Use any means necessary to figure out what curse I used and how to break it." Helga's face still wore a warm and gentle smile. "Next class, I'll pick a student at random to try countering my curse."

Seated below, Rhys smiled slightly. Of course, he knew what spell Helga had used.

It was a particularly vicious curse. Once hit, the victim's body would begin to bloat uncontrollably the moment they moved—and "movement" included the internal flow of magical energy.

A wizard unfamiliar with the curse might panic and try to cast a counterspell, only to accelerate their own death.

As for why Rhys was so familiar with this curse… well, that was because he was the one who invented it. What Helga Hufflepuff had used today was actually a weakened version.

The full version of the spell had to be paired with a potion. The potion would be splashed onto the cursed individual, and when they died by explosive rupture, their body would transform into a poisonous mist.

Anyone who inhaled the mist would also be cursed, triggering a terrifying chain reaction. The curse would continue spreading until the potion's effects were fully exhausted.

This curse was particularly effective for wiping out the faith networks of the false gods in the Norse pantheon.

Rhys had once planned to further develop the potion—designing it to reproduce within the host's body in order to massively extend its duration—but his three old friends had intervened and stopped him.

On top of that, the ingredients for the potion were difficult to obtain, so Rhys had eventually abandoned his plan to improve the curse.

Meanwhile, the young witches and wizards were all diligently recording the homework assigned by Professor White on their parchment. Rhys looked at them with a trace of sympathy—it wouldn't be easy to find documentation about this particular spell.

Afterward, Helga began pulling out the remaining rats from the cage one by one, using them to demonstrate various dark curses—over half of which had been invented by Rhys and Rowena.

By the time the class bell rang, the last rat had just been used, and there wasn't a single rat corpse left in the room.

"Well then, that concludes today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. This lesson gave you all a glimpse of what dark magic looks like—next time, I'll show you how to defend against it. Class dismissed! Don't forget the homework—I will be checking!"

With Helga's closing words, the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the term came to an end. The young wizards filed out in a line, animatedly discussing Rhys's bold statements from class—and how Professor White had supported him.

How should we view Dark Magic?

Like a stone thrown into a still pond, this question stirred waves upon waves of thought, destined to spark deeper discussion.

But the person who had started it all didn't give the impending storm a second thought.

After class, Helga Hufflepuff didn't rush off to lunch. Instead, she carried a basket and strolled out of Hogwarts Castle.

She planned to take a walk through the Forbidden Forest, curious to see how it had changed after a thousand years—and whether it now housed any new, adorable creatures.

With light, cheerful steps, Helga entered the forest.

Along the way, she ran into Professor Lupin and his assistant, Hagrid. She greeted them warmly but gently declined their offer to accompany her.

To Helga, even with all the changes the Forbidden Forest had undergone over the past millennium, entering it still felt no different than taking a walk through a backyard garden.

She soon ventured deep into the woods and, in a small clearing, came upon a family of unicorns.

There was one male unicorn, three females, and two foals—a complete unicorn family.

At the sight of them, Helga's eyes lit up: Wonderful! Today's my lucky day.

She hadn't expected unicorns to still inhabit Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest—what a rare and precious surprise.

Seeing a stranger approach, the male unicorn snorted loudly, issuing a warning to the intruder—Helga Hufflepuff. But Helga paid no attention to it whatsoever.

She completely ignored the unicorn's threat and walked straight toward a visibly pregnant female unicorn.

Realizing its warning had failed, the male decided it was time to teach this intruder a lesson—perhaps put a hole through her. But just as it was about to move, it discovered its limbs had sunk deep into the earth.

"Old snake's magic is still pretty useful," Helga muttered to herself as she walked up beside the female unicorn, reached under its swollen belly, and gave it a gentle pat. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

"Let me borrow a bit of milk. Don't worry—I'll compensate you for it," she said as she crouched down.

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