If Helga could have seen what Cedric was thinking, she would have been furious. You little brat—can't you think something nice about me for once?
Still, surviving such a powerful attack was something Helga could rightfully be proud of. That had been the Allfather's hymn full-force strike—ordinary people would have been reduced to dust by the mere shockwave.
Even those who had mastered domains would not survive unless their domains were exceptionally strong. Yet Helga Hufflepuff had not only endured the attack but also managed to counter and slay the God of Light, Baldr. Who else in the world could boast of such a feat?
Meanwhile, her three companions had also defeated their respective opponents and were making their way toward her…
Helga's memory ended abruptly there, and Cedric once again found himself standing in the quaint little village.
"Professor, what happened afterward?" Cedric asked anxiously, itching to know how the story continued.
But Helga had no intention of continuing the reenactment. Recreating such grand, lifelike scenes consumed a great deal of magic, and her goal—to broaden the child's perspective—had already been achieved. There was no need to go on.
"We used Baldr's remains to open the gates of Asgard," Helga explained, "and brought a true Ragnarok to the false gods of the North. From that moment on, there were no more so-called gods in this world.
"If you're asking what happened after Ragnarok… well, we traveled for a while longer, cleaning up the remnants of those divine forces. During that time, we began to feel weary and recalled the dreams of our youth. So we left the remaining tasks to a friend of Salazar's and returned to Scotland, where we founded a school of magic—you should know which one I mean. Salazar's friend stayed in the North and founded a school of his own, gathering all those with the potential to become wizards under his banner."
Listening to Helga's words, Cedric was filled with excitement. So this is what it's like to study under Professor Hufflepuff? You get to hear ancient secrets like it's nothing!
He had just heard, with his own ears, the story of Hogwarts and Durmstrang before their founding! He never would have guessed that the school known for its preference for Dark Magic had actually been established with such noble intentions.
After learning about these thousand-year-old events, Cedric also began to understand why Professor Hufflepuff showed such an unusually tolerant attitude toward Dark Magic—when it came to survival, some things simply ceased to matter as much.
"All right," Helga said, closing that chapter of history. "I've shown you the pinnacle of magic. Now, let's begin the actual lesson."
With that, she shifted from storytelling to instruction, explaining to Cedric the concept of magical flow.
Only after her detailed explanation did Cedric finally realize that the little box she had used for student selection earlier hadn't been a random whim at all.
"Now, use your feet to touch the ground—it will help you sense the flow of magic and resonate with your surroundings." Having explained the principles of magical movement, Helga decided it was time for practice.
She led Cedric to the fields outside the village and instructed him to try using magic to make himself float. Upon hearing the word float, Cedric immediately thought of someone—and he had a faint guess as to who another heir might be.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Cedric followed his teacher's instructions.
He stood barefoot on the soil, closed his eyes, and tried to feel what Helga had called "the rhythm of the earth." At first, he struggled to stay focused—he could feel ants crawling across the tops of his feet.
But as he gradually calmed his mind, that ticklish sensation slowly faded away.
Cedric's breathing grew slow and steady, gradually merging with the rhythm of the earth itself. He could clearly hear the beating of his own heart, and slowly, that pulsing sound no longer came only from his chest—it spread through his entire body, then seeped gently into the ground. He could truly feel what his teacher had described as the "heartbeat of the earth."
The earth was pulsing—just like his own heart.
As his thoughts expanded, the soil beneath his feet began to ripple in rhythmic waves, mirroring a heartbeat.
Helga: ???
Cedric's progress was far beyond what she had expected. She knew he was talented, but his gift was so exceptional that it even surpassed her imagination—this wasn't the kind of talent a Hufflepuff student was supposed to have!
Maybe that Sorting Hat really is defective!
The thought flashed briefly through Helga's mind before she quickly dismissed it.
What am I thinking?! Am I not allowed to have a genius in my own House? Stop admiring others and belittling yourself!
Helga took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and outwardly resumed her usual composed expression.
After about an hour, Cedric opened his eyes and, with a tone of guilt, told Helga that he had failed to make himself float using magic.
Whenever he tried to rise into the air, the soil beneath his feet would become sticky, almost like glue, holding him firmly in place.
"Professor, I've let you down," Cedric said sadly. He hadn't been able to meet his teacher's expectations.
"It's not a big problem." To Cedric's surprise, Professor Hufflepuff showed not the slightest trace of disappointment. Instead, she calmly explained that the fault lay in her method of instruction.
Cedric's magical affinity was remarkable—so remarkable that his resonance with the earth had become too strong, making it difficult for him to lift himself through magic alone. In the future, once his connection with the earth deepened further, he might regain the ability to fly using only his magic. And if not, it didn't matter—there were always broomsticks, after all.
"For now, try to see if you can return to the state you were in earlier," Helga said. She didn't want to interrupt Cedric's attunement with nature and urged him to reestablish his connection with the earth.
If that earlier state had been only a fleeting moment, it would be a pity—so Helga didn't want him to drift too far from it.
Still unsure of her intent, Cedric obediently closed his eyes again.
Helga whispered softly beside his ear, "If you start to feel sleepy, don't fight it. Just let yourself sleep."
Cedric followed her words and drifted off.
Soon, the soil beneath Cedric's feet began to pulse rhythmically once again, and he slowly drifted into slumber.
Watching her student reestablish resonance with the earth, Helga smiled with deep satisfaction. This is my Hufflepuff student! Do Slytherin or Ravenclaw have anyone this exceptional?
Their pupils might have learned all sorts of flashy spells, but could they command the wind or the water as he did? The very thought made the curve of Helga's lips impossible to suppress.
As she gazed at the sleeping Cedric, a bold and somewhat mad idea crossed her mind.
Once he was fully asleep, Hufflepuff sat down silently across from him and quietly activated her own domain.
She was going to attempt to awaken a domain within Cedric!
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