More importantly, most ghosts were unlike Rowena. They couldn't even touch physical objects. Did that mean they would need someone to feed them every single time?
On the surface, Rhys seemed to have provided a solution, but in reality, it was much like those cancer miracle drugs that cost millions per injection in the Muggle world—fundamentally, it only served a select few ghosts.
Given Rhys's personality, at most he would provide the memory potion for Rowena, the Bloody Baron, and Helena. As for the rest of the ghosts, he didn't know them well and simply didn't have the patience.
Besides, this potion might soon become impossible to make. The final ingredient was the very herb Helga had given Rhys—Compass Grass, a plant that had been extinct for over a thousand years.
This plant had already been essentially extinct before the Roman Empire split into East and West. The only reason Rhys could still make potions with Compass Grass in the modern era was because, by sheer accident, he had directly brought Helga over from a thousand years ago.
If Rhys's plan to revive Compass Grass failed, then every drop of this potion Rowena drank would be one less remaining.
But there was no need to tell Rowena any of this. There was no point in spoiling her mood.
Over the next half hour, Rowena sampled nearly every kind of food and drink, and the potion in the crystal vial was almost gone.
After drinking another Tequila Sunrise, Rowena narrowed her eyes. As the number of doses increased, the sense of amazement brought by the Memory Bubbles was gradually fading, as if she were becoming numb to it.
Rhys noticed the change in Rowena's expression, so he produced a bottle of Forgetfulness Potion at just the right moment.
Not thrilling enough because she'd drunk it too many times? Then she could just forget that she'd ever had it. That would be the same as drinking it again for the first time.
And Rhys's version was specially customized for a wizard of Rowena's caliber.
When he handed the potion to Rowena, a look of delight immediately appeared on her face.
She guided the droplet into her head, gathered together all her memories related to the Tequila Sunrise, and let the Forgetfulness Potion absorb them.
When the last trace of memory was drawn in, the potion droplet flew out of her spirit body, carrying a rich scent of alcohol as it fell to the ground, while Rowena had completely forgotten the taste of that cocktail.
A brand-new experience again!
Rowena was delighted.
This Christmas had truly been wonderful.
After a bout of "eating and drinking to her heart's content," Rowena chatted with her two old friends. During the conversation, she learned a shocking piece of news from Helga...
Salazar had undergone a second awakening.
Rowena: !!!
However, she didn't find it particularly surprising. Even back when she was alive, she had felt that among the four of them, the first to undergo a second awakening would be either herself or Salazar.
After Salazar returned to childhood while retaining his memories, the effect of a fresh, living body made a second awakening almost inevitable.
A vibrant physical body brought with it an entirely different mental state. Under the influence of such flesh, a domain awakening again was relatively easy.
As for old fossils like herself and Helga, achieving a second awakening was extremely difficult. Their domains had already become a part of their souls, fused into them like organs of the body. Creating a major qualitative change under those conditions was exceedingly hard.
Still, that didn't stop her from being curious about Salazar's domain after his second awakening. She wanted to know what form her old friend's domain had taken.
Rhys gave her a simple explanation: previously, the scope of what he encompassed was only "water," whereas now it encompassed all liquids.
"Incredible, my Salazar!" Rowena exclaimed at Rhys's progress. At the same time, a faint idea stirred in her heart.
Her old friend's second awakening had inspired her, giving her a bit of direction regarding a possible second awakening of her own domain.
"Oh, right—Salazar, how exactly did you manage to undergo a second awakening?" As inspiration struck, Rowena also grew curious about how he'd done it. Surely it couldn't be as simple as falling asleep and automatically awakening again, right?
Rhys: "…"
Helga: ○( ＾皿＾)っ Hehehe.
Rowena: ???
Her puzzled gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them. A few seconds later, a look of sudden realization appeared on Rowena's face.
"So that's how it is… pfft." She couldn't hold it in either and burst out laughing.
She would bet that Salazar's second awakening definitely had something to do with Godric. Taking into account her old friend's current state, as well as Godric's long disappearance, Rowena felt that the root of the issue most likely lay with that little apprentice of his.
Salazar had brought her to meet that girl before, and Rowena's impression of her had been extremely "Adrian-esque."
"What's so funny? What's there to laugh about!" Rhys snapped. "Magma is within my domain now too! My student still takes after me!"
Rowena, Helga: hehehehe.
"Wait—" Rowena began, but the smile on her face suddenly froze.
"Did you just say magma?" she realized sharply.
Rhys: ehehe~
"Exactly."
The smile on Rowena's face vanished at a visible speed.
What Salazar had just said meant…? A horrifying possibility immediately sprang to her mind.
"Your student awakened a magma domain???" she shouted in disbelief.
You couldn't blame Rowena for overreacting—this news was simply too shocking. That Greengrass girl was still so young. How could she have already touched a domain?!
"No."
Salazar's reply made Rowena let out a breath of relief, but before her heart could fully settle back down, he added another sentence:
"She's only touched the threshold of a domain."
Rowena: !!!
So it was actually true! Salazar had quietly cultivated his student to this level!
And when she thought about how hands-off she had been with Hermione, a sense of urgency rose in Rowena's heart.
Fortunately, Helga hadn't taken on any students yet, RIGHT?
At least among the three of them, she wasn't at the bottom… she thought with a sense of relief.
However, sharp and perceptive Ravenclaw quickly noticed something was off. Helga's emotions were far too steady! And she seemed to have known about Salazar's student touching the domain earlier than Rowena did.
Rowena remembered that the last time Helga had been here, she had shown a very strong desire to take on a student. That made the current situation extremely strange.
Based on Rowena's understanding of her old friend, if Salazar's student had already reached the chapter on domains, yet Helga still hadn't taken on a student at all—and with an exceptionally grand competition coming up next year as a major premise—then Helga's behavior was truly abnormal.
So Rowena Ravenclaw didn't hesitate at all and directly asked, "Helga, your student's domain must be earth-type, right?"
"Haha, of course~~" Caught completely off guard, Helga blurted out the truth in one go.
Rowena: !!!!!!!!!!!
_____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI