Daphne picked up Riddle's diary from the ground.
Without even bothering to flip through it, she walked straight to the corpse of a nearby Acromantula.
"This thing is kind of like... one of the alchemical artifacts mentioned in those books I got from—It needs to be destroyed in a special way," Hermione caught up and almost said something she shouldn't have. Fortunately, she stopped herself in time and changed her wording.
"I know," Daphne waved her hand dismissively, then forcefully stabbed the diary onto the Acromantula's fangs.
A scream, unlike any human sound, came from the diary. At the same time, thick black blood gushed out from the spot where the fang pierced the diary. Along with the blood, dense black smoke billowed out as well.
This process lasted for over ten seconds before everything returned to normal.
When the dust settled, Daphne, Astoria, Hermione, and Harry had together resolved the crisis in the Forbidden Forest.
"It's over. The monster lurking among your kind has been dealt with," Daphne said, holding the still slightly smoking diary as she walked past Aragog.
"Thank you, young and outstanding child," Aragog tapped its massive pincers as a sign of respect and added with a sigh, "It's a pity there is no one as talented as you among my descendants."
Being praised by a giant spider felt rather strange. Daphne shook her head, suppressing the bizarre feeling, and left the Acromantula's nest together with the other three.
Once the spider nest was far behind them and the distant silhouette of Hogwarts Castle became faintly visible, Daphne began to worry about Rhys's safety. She was eager to know how things were going on his side.
At this moment, Rhys was chatting with Ravenclaw.
"So, how about it? The student I trained isn't bad, right? She handled everything properly and methodically—at first, I actually thought she was going to set the spider nest on fire," Rhys said with a cheerful expression.
In his view, Daphne and Astoria completely deserved a perfect score for tonight's assessment.
"Indeed," Ravenclaw's voice carried a trace of envy. "That Granger child still needs more experience, though the final monster's strength was a bit on the weak side."
Rhys shrugged. "Nothing to be done about it. You're the one who drove it so insane it could barely use any of its original magical power. Besides, that final soul-targeted attack was still very dangerous. If the Nightmare hadn't been there, that Potter boy would've suffered a bit."
"Looks like the next teaching objective is to strengthen the children's soul-level defenses."
Rhys sighed. "Rowena, you know as well as I do—there's no shortcut on that front. The only proper way is to study magic diligently and make one's soul stronger and stronger."
"Can't you make a few magical artifacts?"
"It's very difficult…"
"I've saved up a few things over the years. There might be something among them that can help you."
"That might actually work."
In just a few words, Rhys and Ravenclaw had settled the deal—Ravenclaw would provide him with some special dark creature materials, and he would attempt to create defensive magical artifacts on the spiritual level.
When the conversation was almost over, Rhys jumped down from the tree, ready to head back to the castle.
"You can't go back yet. Theoretically, you should still be trapped inside the seal, fighting desperately alongside me," Ravenclaw's faint voice echoed, making Rhys freeze.
"Oh, right! That..." Rhys couldn't help but cover his forehead. He needed to find a place to kill time for the night.
But it was just one night. He didn't dare delay any longer; if he dragged it out and ended up breaking down Daphne and Astoria's mental defenses, it would completely backfire.
Who knew what they might end up doing!
Thus, early the next morning, when Daphne walked into the common room with dark circles under her eyes, she saw that familiar figure once again.
In an instant, her eyes turned red with tears.
"Rhys!!!" She rushed over, running straight to him, then stood frozen in place, too overwhelmed with emotion to say anything.
Seeing Daphne's expression, Rhys felt a trace of guilt flash through his heart.
Please forgive me, my student.
Maybe next time I won't use this excuse again. But this is something that must be experienced on the path to becoming a mature wizard.No one can guarantee that things like this won't happen in the future...Study magic diligently, child!
That trace of guilt existed in Rhys's mind for only a second before it completely vanished. He reached out his hand, smiling as he looked at Daphne.
"Daphne.."
"Y-Yes?"
"My package, it's time you gave it back!"
Daphne: "..."
Rhys's words instantly broke Daphne's emotional momentum. With his interruption, the excitement that had first surged in her heart disappeared without a trace.
Daphne rolled her eyes at him irritably, then took out the package Rhys had previously entrusted to her from inside her robes.
Watching Rhys tie the package back around his waist, an uncontrollable curiosity welled up in Daphne's heart—she even slightly regretted not opening the package yesterday to see what was inside.
But yesterday, she clearly hadn't been in the mood. Today, even though she was curious, the opportunity had already passed.
"Take a guess?" Faced with Daphne's question, Rhys dodged giving a direct answer.
Daphne: ...
"It's not a bunch of letters from medieval wizards, is it?" Daphne joked.
"Correct."
Daphne's expression instantly became one of utter shock: You really collected a pile of medieval wizard letters?!
"Don't believe me?" Rhys raised an eyebrow.
Of course Daphne didn't believe him—she had always thought the so-called "letters from ancient wizards" were just an excuse Rhys made up. How could they actually exist?
"Want to bet?"
Rhys's confident attitude made Daphne hesitate, but the wager he proposed clouded her judgment.
"If I can't produce those letters, I'll answer one of your questions—any question at all. But if I can show you the letters, you'll have to help me with a trivial task," Rhys said, his eyes gleaming with cunning.
He really needed his student's help right now!
"Any question at all?" Daphne, like a fish lured by bait, was hooked by the temptation.
"Of course. I swear on the honor of Slytherin House that I will truthfully answer any question," Rhys said.
Daphne was immediately tempted.
She felt Rhys was clearly bluffing!
At this moment, she had already convinced herself completely, to the point where no matter how she reasoned it, she would reach the same conclusion: Rhys was stuck, forced into a corner by her, and could only use the so-called "bet" to try and brush her off, hoping she would back down.
I won't fall for it! Daphne showed a confident smile and accepted Rhys's wager.
Then she watched, dumbfounded, as Rhys pulled out a thick stack of parchment from that small package.
"Here, take a look. I've got plenty more," Rhys said as he placed the first stack of parchment on the table, then pulled out a second stack from the package.
Daphne: !?
Still unwilling to give up, she picked up the parchment and flipped through it, only to find that they really were letters written in Latin by ancient wizards!!!
"I lost. Go ahead, tell me what you want me to do," Daphne said, her eyes vacant and her face pale, like a fish caught and pulled ashore, giving up all struggle.
Rhys softly voiced his request.
Daphne immediately widened her eyes: You call helping you cheat on an exam a trivial matter?!
Rhys laughed happily. "Otherwise? What, you expect me to obediently take the exam properly?"
_______
Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: HornyFBI