Harry Potter: The Bard of Hogwarts

It has been said that the day after Halloween is essentially Christmas.

At first, Ino scoffed at this idea, but now he somewhat believes it.

Time flows.

Two months passed as swiftly as a phoenix's apparition. Before anyone could react, it was all over.

Outside the castle, Ino wandered alone on the lawn, carrying his suitcase.

As usual, he chose not to stay at school for the Christmas holiday. After all, it was nearly time for his next journey to begin.

No matter which story he ventured into, his suitcase was always an essential item.

In the magical world, he could use his sanctuary as a temporary storage space, but that didn't work in the story world.

After all, the story world essentially exists within the sanctuary. It's like entering a room within a room; unless you leave and come back in, it's impossible to manage.

Therefore, before leaving, he helped Hagrid transfer the magical creatures from the suitcase.

Together, they built a new hut deep in the Forbidden Forest to house the creatures Hagrid had collected. Otherwise, with just one trip in and out of the sanctuary, the suitcase would be empty except for the Acromantula.

Thinking of the Acromantula, Ino couldn't help but recall the recent scene.

The winged spiders had grown to the size of basins, likely due to their half-demon genetics. These hybrid spiders had also reached their growth limit.

The largest was only two feet long, with a pair of miniature wings on its back. Initially frightening, they became endearing once one got used to them—adorably ugly, even.

As for their highly valued venom and silk, nothing special had been found so far. They either didn't produce them at all or it wasn't the right time yet.

However, as time passed, Ino's interest in improving the Acromantula waned, leaving it to Hagrid to handle.

He was now more interested in Ancient Runes and Alchemy.

The Gaunt family's books opened a new door for him—human alchemy, or as they called it, blood alchemy.

The content was straightforward, easily summarized in one sentence: engrave alchemical circuits or Ancient Runes directly onto oneself.

For example, like the Runes under a basilisk's eyes, once understood and mastered, one could use the Gaunt family's method to engrave them onto their own eyes, thereby gaining the basilisk's lethal gaze.

Honestly, Ino found this knowledge tempting.

Of course, he wasn't planning to operate on himself but was intrigued by the properties of ice magic.

He also guessed the purpose behind Lina's gift of books—likely stemming from an offhand comment about wanting to transplant a basilisk's eyes onto an Ice Frost Serpent.

After reading the Gaunt family's heritage, he realized there was potential in engraving alchemical circuits onto transformed creatures.

This was all due to the properties of ice transformation.

In simple terms, it was about transforming volume and shape equivalently, like turning a one-foot ice block into a one-foot ice puppet.

Ice transformation magic completely abandoned the wonder of traditional transformation, such as turning a button into a pig.

Every benefit comes with a drawback.

Ice transformation didn't cut corners; it appeared simplistic but gained another trait—near permanence.

Like the Antarctic glaciers, as long as the temperature was appropriate, they would remain frozen and exist indefinitely.

Thinking of the endless magical possibilities of ice puppets, Ino couldn't help but feel a rare excitement.

This excitement was unrelated to age or experience, similar to how a man would never refuse a desired model figurine, especially one endowed with various magical abilities.

"Kula Diamond…"

Ino remembered a distant memory—a fighting game featuring a girl with frost powers, often nicknamed the 'Ice Girl.'

Compared to those cards or tiny figurines, a life-sized, one-to-one scale replica would be much more interesting.

"Who needs house-elves when you have such dolls!"

Walking on the path outside the castle, Ino hummed lightly.

Due to Dobby's presence, he had always hesitated to buy a house-elf, considering their convenience but also fearing betrayal from an unusual one.

Now, he didn't have to worry about such annoying decisions.

…

At the same time, in the Gryffindor common room, Harry signed his name on the permission slip for leaving school during the holidays that Percy had handed him. Although it was just a signature, the joy it brought was indescribable.

Unlike his past of having no home to return to, he now had a place to call his own—the ancestral home of the Black family at 12 Grimmauld Place.

Today, Harry received a letter from his godfather, which also included an invitation for Ino. He needed to deliver it before the Christmas holiday.

Seeing Harry's actions, Ron tugged at his friend's robe.

"Where are you going?"

"To deliver a letter to Ino!" Harry beamed.

"A letter?" Ron rolled his eyes, feeling Harry was acting somewhat impractical after signing the slip.

"Are you planning to enter the snake's lair alone or search the whole castle for him?"

Hearing this, Harry's expression froze, realizing that finding someone in the vast castle was unrealistic.

As for entering the Slytherin common room alone, that was out of the question. Gryffindors might be brave, but they weren't reckless about everything.

Seeing Harry's silence, Ron couldn't help but smirk and nod towards the other side of the room.

"Look, let her deliver it! She's the only one in Gryffindor who won't be hassled. The whole castle knows…"

Following Ron's gaze, Harry saw Hermione just coming out of the girls' dormitory.

"Are you two gossiping about me again?" Hermione glared at them.

Ever since she and Ino had taken a ride in the pumpkin carriage on Halloween, the rumors hadn't died down but had instead intensified over the past two months.

"No! We were saying you should deliver a letter to Ino from Sirius," Ron explained nervously, feeling guilty as three out of the twelve versions of the rumors circulating the castle were his own inventions.

"Harry?" Hermione turned her gaze to him.

Compared to the unreliable Ron, she trusted the more straightforward Harry.

"Yes, my godfather replied. He invited Ino to visit the ancestral home for Christmas, and the letter includes the address and time," Harry explained truthfully.

"Give it to me. I'll deliver it for you," Hermione said, glancing at the letter in Harry's hand.

…

Watching Hermione's departing figure, Ron turned uneasily.

"Mate, do you think she'll really go to the Slytherin lair? With that haughty look, it's more like she's going to make a point rather than deliver a letter."

Harry hadn't considered this, but Ron's reminder made him realize the potential issue.

The two exchanged a glance, then stood up in unison and hurried after her.

___

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