Return of Salazar Slytherin

When Rhys entered the Slytherin common room and saw the two delicate figures in the corner, he couldn't help but feel a sense of inevitability.

Honestly, if the Greengrass sisters weren't waiting here for him, that would've been unusual.

"I hope you both had fun at the Deathday Party," Rhys said as he sat across from them, placing his food box on the table.

"The fact that you can say something like that means you barely stayed at the party," Daphne couldn't help but retort.

Her sister chimed in agreement.

"That was definitely the worst party I've ever been to."

"For the dead, though, it was probably quite well done," Rhys said, offering a fair defense on behalf of poor Nearly Headless Nick.

Daphne and Astoria both laughed. The Deathday Party had indeed been a great success—except for one flaw: Sir Nicholas had been a bit too noisy, distracting everyone from enjoying the Headless Hunt's performances.

"Oh, right! The food you asked us to pack for you earlier should still be warm. Hurry up and eat!" Daphne suddenly remembered, quickly retrieving a food box from under the table.

Rhys was a bit surprised. He had assumed they'd already eaten everything themselves. To his surprise, they'd saved it for him.

Rhys felt a small sense of satisfaction. 

Some people, without thinking, would eat up every scrap of food and then dash into the Forbidden Forest to hunt once their stomachs started growling again. 

"I also brought a few dishes from the kitchen," Rhys said. Since Daphne and Astoria were so generous, he wasn't going to keep everything for himself. 

He opened his food box and laid out the exquisite dishes it contained. 

"Wow!" 

"That smells amazing!" 

Daphne and Astoria couldn't tear their eyes away. 

The level of refinement in these three dishes rivaled the meals served at their own family dinners. For two girls who were starving, the temptation was impossible to resist. 

"Go ahead and eat; I brought them for you," Rhys said, conjuring three sets of tableware with a casual flick of his wand. 

Hearing this, Daphne and Astoria didn't hold back.

They picked up the knives and forks and quickly began devouring the food on their plates. 

"So, what did you and the Bloody Baron talk about?" Daphne asked after swallowing a bite of lamb tongue, her curiosity piqued. 

"Some old stories. The Bloody Baron was one of the first ghosts to 'move in' after Hogwarts was founded—a living relic. You can get a lot of interesting information from him," Rhys replied.

Daphne appeared thoughtful.

Rhys, on the other hand, felt secretly relieved. With today's stories as groundwork, he could use the Bloody Baron as a shield in the future whenever he shared bits of obscure wizarding lore.

Anything about ancient wizards'? Of course, I heard it all from the Bloody Baron!

Now their is one more shield other than mentioning the Ancient Letters!

Thinking this made Rhys rather pleased.

As he chewed on a piece of tender veal, Rhys glanced over at Astoria.

The little girl was carefully using her fork to pick out the olives from the side dishes and place them onto her plate.

Noticing Rhys's gaze, Astoria blushed slightly before hesitantly moving one of the olives from her plate to his.

Rhys: "..."

I swear, I wasn't eyeing your olives!

"How have you been feeling lately?" Rhys asked, switching the topic to Astoria's health.

"Mhn.. Not bad. I've been taking the potions on time, and I can sleep well now," Astoria said. Her practiced ease in discussing her illness tugged at Rhys's heartstrings.

"Good sleep quality is a positive sign," Rhys said, nodding with satisfaction at the efficacy of his potions. 

Noticing that the two had shifted to discussing treatment, Daphne put down her knife and fork, wiping the sauce from the corner of her mouth with a napkin. 

"What's going on? Is it time to prepare new potions?" Daphne asked, her gaze fixed intently on Rhys. 

"Yes. I acquired a rare and precious ingredient today," Rhys replied, not hiding the good news from the sisters and sharing it with them right away. 

The Riddle in the diary had been weakened to its limits, making it an opportune time to use it to absorb the "taint" affecting Astoria's soul. 

Rhys was extremely cautious when dealing with a Dark Wizard's Horcrux. He had no personal concerns, but when it came to using it for Astoria, he knew he had to be doubly careful. 

If the Horcrux were directly used to draw out the curse on Astoria's soul, there was a risk that her soul could merge with Voldemort's.

In such a case, Voldemort's soul fragment could gradually take over, turning Astoria into a vessel under his control—ending in the same tragic fate as Quirrell. 

Rhys suspected that Quirrell had not initially intended to revive Voldemort.

Quirrell wasn't a Death Eater; what reason would he have to resurrect the Dark Lord?

Most likely, he had tried to exploit Voldemort for personal gain but ended up playing with fire, becoming a vessel step by step. 

"So, how are you planning to treat me?" Astoria asked, her wide eyes brimming with curiosity. 

"Well, it's like this..." Rhys began to explain the basic principles of his plan. 

"It's a bit like putting activated charcoal into dirty water to absorb the impurities."

"So, you're saying...?" Daphne seemed to have a vague guess—Rhys must have gotten hold of a soul fragment.

"Yes."

"Isn't that too cruel..." Astoria hesitated, her heart uneasy at the thought of an innocent soul being tainted by her own curse.

"Huh?!" Rhys quickly realized that the two girls seemed entirely clueless about Horcruxes. Taking the opportunity, he explained the concept in detail.

"Then... whose Horcrux is this?" After listening to Rhys' explanation, Daphne immediately understood that his evening's activities were far more complex than merely "chatting with Barrow."

"His name is Tom Riddle, though he goes by the name Voldemort."

Pffft!

Splat!

Both Daphne and Astoria simultaneously sprayed their food out of their mouths.

"What is it?" Rhys couldn't quite understand their reaction. 

"That's the Dark Lord's Horcrux—oh my gosh, does that mean he's really still alive?!"

Astoria finally realized the implications, covering her mouth in shock as goosebumps rose all over her body. 

Using the Dark Lord as medicine?! This was absolutely insane! 

"You two seem really afraid of him?" Rhys raised an eyebrow. 

"Of course we are, he's the Dark Lord!" Astoria was much more agitated than Daphne—after all, she was the one who would be taking the "medicine." 

"The Dark Lord?" Rhys sneered dismissively. 

He'd noticed when reading before that the modern wizarding world avoided saying Voldemort's name, preferring to call him "the Dark Lord." 

Originally, Rhys had assumed this figure must be someone extraordinary.

But after actually encountering him, he was thoroughly disappointed: just an average dark wizard!

Well, quite suitable as a medicinal ingredient. 

"I want the two of you to start saying his name—Voldemort. He's not some invincible figure, and there's no reason to fear him. If all goes well, your sister should be capable of taking him on by the time she graduates." 

Astoria and Daphne stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. 

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