Rhys carefully studied the elderly woman in front of him.
To be honest, she looked far too unremarkable—dusty and travel-worn, her face etched with deep lines. If it weren't for the fine quality of the robes she wore, she could easily be mistaken for a common countrywoman from the English countryside.
Anyone who knew her name would undoubtedly be stunned—because aside from a select few like Rhys, almost no one would believe that this was the legendary witch, Helga Hufflepuff.
While Rhys was observing Helga, she was also sizing up the young boy before her.
To her, opening the doors only to see a living person inside this ancient Egyptian ruin—left behind thousands of years ago—was utterly shocking.
With her level of power, she could easily discern whether the figure before her was a human or some humanoid creature. That only made it all the more unbelievable.
"Who ..are you?" Helga didn't attack the boy standing before her, but instead questioned him calmly.
She was a kind-hearted person; she would never resort to killing over something unusual. Of course, her confidence came from her unmatched strength. There weren't many who could defeat her in the desert—not even her old friends.
"It's been a long time, Helga... It's me. I'm Slytherin," Rhys steadied his emotions and greeted his old friend across a millennium, his voice trembling slightly.
The conflicts of the past had long faded with the passage of time. Now, all that remained was the longing between old friends.
Well… unfortunately, that longing was entirely one-sided—felt only by Rhys.
Helga Hufflepuff, upon hearing those words, looked completely baffled: Never mind how you got in here—first explain yourself. Did you just say your name is Salazar Slytherin?!
She widened her eyes and stared intently at the young boy before her for a long moment. She had to admit—he did bear a bit of resemblance to that proud old snake.
And then—
"You're Salazar's child?" Helga drew what seemed to be the most logical conclusion, assuming Rhys to be "Little Salazar."
In her eyes, the person before her was likely the offspring of that sly snake after he left Hogwarts—some old blossom bearing late fruit.
Knowing that guy, it wouldn't be hard for him to sweet-talk some naïve young girl. The only question was—whose daughter had fallen for him? Judging from the hair color, the Greengrass family could probably be ruled out.
Rhys: "…"
"No, I am Salazar," Rhys said, spreading his hands. "I didn't go off and have children after leaving Hogwarts—not in the way you all thought. And as far as I know, none of you did either."
Helga Hufflepuff fell silent.
"It's really been a long time, Helga. You have no idea—after I left the school, I—"
"You! You still have the nerve to mention Hogwarts?!" Helga's emotions erupted in an instant, and she raised her hand, flinging a dark curse straight at Rhys.
Rhys: ?!
What the hell?!
Why does every old friend want to hit me the moment they see me? Ravenclaw was like this, and now Helga too?!
But he didn't have time to dwell on it—Helga's attacks surged forward like crashing waves, one after another, overwhelming and relentless.
Rhys hurriedly raised his wand, countering each of Helga's incoming curses. He was certain of one thing: if he failed to block even one of them, this old friend of his definitely wouldn't go easy on him—he might end up bedridden for the next year.
Fortunately, most of the curses Helga used were outdated.
Over the past thousand years, they had been studied and optimized by generations of wizards, with far more effective counter-curses now available. Rhys was easily able to dismantle her spells.
Helga's brows furrowed. The moment they exchanged blows, she completely believed his identity—the fighting style was identical to that arrogant snake's, and the precision of his spellwork was exceptional.
Who else could this possibly be but Salazar himself?
And clearly, Salazar's magical abilities had improved significantly in the years they'd been apart!
After Rhys casually dissolved one of her fiercest curses, Helga couldn't help but click her tongue in secret: He deflected it with that method? That's absolutely wild!
The approach was so unorthodox it bordered on genius.
Helga began to suspect that trying to teach that old snake a lesson with spells alone was going to be tough. So, she dropped the idea altogether—and activated her domain without hesitation.
Oh, shit!
Seeing Helga open her domain without so much as a word, Rhys had the sudden urge to curse out loud: You're an earth-based witch, and you choose to fight a water-type wizard in a desert by clashing domains? Helga, have you no shame?!
Helga, of course, felt no guilt whatsoever. As soon as her domain activated, the entire great hall was swallowed in golden sand, chasing Rhys around as he scrambled to avoid it.
But Rhys was fast—absurdly agile, in fact. She couldn't pin him down right away, and he even managed to seize a few openings to stretch out a thin thread of his own domain.
Helga gave a cold snort and thrust her wand into the ground. Immediately, the earth trembled, and a mud puppet—identical in appearance to Helga herself—rose up from the floor.
Rhys: "…"
He knew perfectly well—if he didn't come up with something quick, he was definitely going to suffer today.
So he shouted desperately, "Wait! Stop!"
But the moment he opened his mouth, a gust of sand rushed in and choked him, making him cough and sputter uncontrollably.
"Salazar, never thought I'd see the day," Helga Hufflepuff snorted coldly, though her movements began to slow.
"Ack—Ack! This welcome is a little too enthusiastic," Rhys muttered as he spat out the last of the sand that had gotten into his mouth.
"If that's all you came to say, then you can—" Helga and the earth-made puppet beside her simultaneously raised their wands.
"Wait! Why are you and Rowena exactly the same? It's been a thousand years since we've seen each other, and the first thing you do is greet me with a domain battle!" Rhys cast a quick spell interrupt, forcing Helga to cancel the spell she'd been building up.
"A thousand years? Salazar, what nonsense are you spouting?" Helga narrowed her eyes slightly. "Have I gone senile, or have you overdosed on potion fumes and started hallucinating? It's only been—"
"It really has been a thousand years. Or more precisely, I'm from a thousand years in the future. You're speaking to the me from a millennium ahead in time!" Rhys declared, firm and unwavering.
His statement only confused Helga even more. There were so many strange details, she didn't even know where to begin picking it apart.
But Rhys had already achieved his goal: Helga had stopped attacking. And once she began to think, that was his chance—who would want to keep clashing with her in the middle of a desert?
"I know you have a lot of questions. I can explain everything—why don't we sit down and talk this through?"
Looking at the young face of her old friend, Helga accepted the suggestion. There would always be time to punch the old snake later—but this opportunity might only come once.
If she gave in to impulse and beat him up now, getting any answers out of him later might become impossible.
So, she lowered her wand and even conjured two stools from the sand.
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