Naturally, Rhys and the other two had no objections to Godric's request.
After waking up, their own first thought had also been to see what Hogwarts looked like a thousand years later.
Well, that was not entirely accurate.
The first thought Rowena, Helga, and Godric had upon regaining consciousness had been to beat Salazar up...
Seeing modern Hogwarts came second.
Rhys himself, however, had never realized this.
The four followed a narrow passage out of the dungeon and arrived in the first-floor hall.
Godric's eyes widened.
So many torches, and candles too. Hogwarts had really become wealthy.
And all these oil paintings on the walls looked quite nice. Even that suit of armor in the corner looked pretty impressive!
He glanced around like a country bumpkin entering a city for the first time, almost wishing he could take in everything at once.
When he entered the Great Hall, Godric's eyes widened completely.
Even Odin's temple could not compare to such lavish decoration.
Still, traces of the Hogwarts from their era could be seen in some of the larger structural elements, such as the iconic enchanted ceiling.
While the three of them were showing Godric around the castle, Dumbledore appeared.
The old man had not left the school immediately when the holidays began. Instead, he had remained at Hogwarts for some time, maintaining contact with the Headmasters who had chosen to stay within Britain.
Once the Underworld invasion began, he became even busier.
Every day, he had to reply to piles of letters, urging wizards around the world to remain calm. From time to time, he also had to accept newspaper interviews and requests for help from senior Ministry officials.
In this unprecedented upheaval, Dumbledore experienced firsthand what it meant to live through troubled times.
Under such intense pressure, he had become physically and mentally exhausted.
No matter how powerful his magic was, he was still a man over a hundred years old.
At his age, most elderly people were doing well if they could still take care of themselves, let alone continue working.
And now, Dumbledore's responsibilities had practically become equivalent to saving the world.
Even he felt that without the support of his domain, he might one day lie down in bed and simply never wake up again.
At such a critical moment, he had decided to seek help from the great figures hidden within Hogwarts, the school's true foundations, hoping they could share some of the burden on his shoulders.
Yet when he reached the first-floor corridor, he saw those three gathered together with Godric!
Dumbledore froze for a moment, then was overjoyed.
Given the nature of those three, there was absolutely no possibility they would let Loki out for some fresh air.
So the person standing before him could only be the real Godric Gryffindor!
That was excellent news, especially at a time like this.
Hogwarts, and indeed the entire wizarding world, needed the strength of these four.
Dumbledore strode toward them.
The moment he saw their faces, he felt as though all his exhaustion had been swept away, and his body seemed thirty years younger.
"Professor Dumbledore, you still haven't..."
Helga had originally intended to say "gone home," but considering that Dumbledore was now just as homeless as they were, she quickly changed her wording.
"...started enjoying your holiday?"
That did not sound much better.
Dumbledore sighed and gave a bitter smile.
"Professor White, you should know. The Underworld is invading, and the entire world is in chaos. How could I possibly enjoy a holiday?"
After all, Dumbledore was not merely the Headmaster of Hogwarts.
He was also Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and held a string of other titles.
If he carried such titles, then he also had to bear the responsibilities that came with them.
Dumbledore could not simply ignore what was happening to the wizarding world.
Although he had spent most of the past half-century rooted to Britain like a spirit bound to the land, he would still provide whatever assistance he could.
Hufflepuff nodded, acknowledging that she had misspoken.
Godric, however, froze where he stood.
What did they mean by an Underworld invasion?
Hadn't the four of them sealed the Underworld?
Seeing the confusion on Godric's face, Helga took the initiative to explain what had happened to Hogwarts at the end of the previous school year.
Gryffindor immediately fell silent.
He had not expected that after so many years, the moment he awakened again, he would still have to deal with such a mess.
Was his fate simply to keep running from one crisis to another?
Godric could not help complaining inwardly that he seemed to have enjoyed hardly a few peaceful days in his entire life.
But after sensing the presence of his three old friends beside him, Godric quickly calmed down again.
His old friends were still here.
At worst, the four of them would simply go to war together one more time.
They had already defeated the Norse gods at the height of their power.
They had no reason to fear a few beings that had crawled back out of the Underworld.
"First, we should guarantee the safety and stability of Britain," Rhys said softly. "Otherwise, Hogwarts' prestige will suffer."
Dumbledore glanced down at the boy, who stood a head shorter than him, and thought to himself, So you've finally stopped pretending, have you?
Rhys met Dumbledore's gaze openly.
He was merely an ordinary fourth-year Hogwarts student who had come back during the holidays to visit his teachers.
"Oh, right. There's something I forgot to tell you."
Rhys told them how he had casually saved an entire airplane full of people on his way back.
Helga and Godric stared at him in stunned disbelief.
Had the old venomous snake changed his nature?
Why would he actively go out of his way to save Muggles?
Back when they had adventured together, Salazar had always followed the principle that less trouble was better than more.
If the other party could not offer him something valuable enough to interest him, he would absolutely choose to stand aside and watch.
And someone like that had voluntarily saved an entire plane full of Muggles?
What happened?
Loki possessed Gryffindor's body, so did Gryffindor's homeless soul turn around and possess yours?
Rowena, however, understood Salazar's reasoning halfway through the story.
"That airplane was still inside British territory, wasn't it? Then you did the right thing. We couldn't possibly stand by and let those evil spirits trample on the rules Headmaster Dumbledore established."
Rhys nodded.
His intervention had indeed been entirely out of respect for Dumbledore and, more importantly, the Hogwarts he represented.
"Oh!"
"So that's why!"
Helga and Godric exchanged smiles.
Now that made sense.
That was definitely something Salazar would do.
He might have all kinds of flaws, but in the end, he still belonged firmly on the side of order.
Dumbledore, meanwhile, was rather surprised.
He had not expected his reputation to carry enough weight to move someone of this level into defending his promise.
But he quickly realized that it was probably only because he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts that this person had been willing to cooperate.
If it had been anyone else, they would not have been given nearly as much consideration.
The four people before him had already reached the very pinnacle of humanity.
They were truly capable of doing whatever they wished.
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI