Harry Potter: The Bard of Hogwarts

The Leaky Cauldron.

Ino downed half a glass of freshly squeezed grass juice, looking gratefully at the person across from him.

"Professor, thank you for this. Otherwise, they would have sent me a warning letter sooner or later."

"It's not that serious," Dumbledore shook his head.

"The magical awakening of a young wizard is irresistible. Since you weren't intentionally using magic outside of school, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't be unreasonable."

"But I received my acceptance letter from Hogwarts three years ago..." Ino stopped mid-sentence.

However, the underlying meaning was clear: if he was only now awakening to his magic, what had the past three years been about? It didn't make sense.

"There's an explanation for this, recorded in history," Dumbledore said with a chuckle.

"Magic is like a meticulously painted thousand-petal daffodil. No matter the angle from which you view it, it reveals different nuances and beauty, offering a new experience from every perspective."

"So, I changed my perspective?" Ino gave him a bemused look.

He had always been the one speaking in riddles, and now he was on the receiving end of one.

Sensing Ino's frustration, Dumbledore abandoned metaphors and spoke plainly:

"My point is, no one can fully explain magic, and no one understands all its aspects."

"Your situation is rare, but not unheard of. In the long history of magic, there have always been a few extraordinary stars."

Hearing this straightforward explanation, Ino decided not to delve deeper.

As Dumbledore had said, no one could fully explain magic. Besides, if magic could be completely explained, it might cease to be magic.

Although he stopped seeking the origin, he was still curious about the consequences or benefits of this so-called second magical awakening.

Taking advantage of Dumbledore's presence, Ino asked what he was concerned about.

"There's nothing particularly special, just like a young wizard's first awakening, the benefit is an increase in your magical power," Dumbledore explained calmly.

Hearing that it only increased his magical power, Ino shrugged indifferently. With the miracle of the Sanctuary, the passive growth of magical power was the least of his concerns.

Although the answer was somewhat uninspiring, he was still curious about his magical power's standard.

After all, magical power, a rather intangible concept, had few references for comparison besides age.

"Professor, what is the approximate level of this increase?" Ino asked tactfully.

His cautious inquiry was met with Dumbledore's straightforward answer.

"Haha, you can now duel with Severus. Of course, provided you have the corresponding dueling skills," Dumbledore said with a slight wink, looking expectant.

"He's my head of house!" Ino said, exasperated.

Though Dumbledore remained as irreverent as ever, he gave the answer Ino wanted.

Now his magical power was roughly on par with Snape's.

Feeling pleased, Ino ordered another glass of grass juice from old Tom and a honey lemonade for Dumbledore.

...

Evening, Hogsmeade.

In the empty room, as the fireplace flared with a green glow, Ino returned to his small house.

Lying alone on the soft bed on the second floor, he reviewed the afternoon's conversation in his mind.

The employees of the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures might not have noticed, but he didn't believe Dumbledore was unaware.

Yet, surprisingly, during their entire conversation, the old headmaster hadn't mentioned the Boggart once.

"Lame duck knows more than the head of the household..." Lying in bed, Ino marveled at Dumbledore's wisdom.

Sometimes, feigning ignorance was much wiser than seeking answers.

After all, most of the time, asking for clarity also implied distrust, and once distrust arose, many problems would follow.

...

Lying on the soft bed, Ino felt like a carousel was spinning in his mind.

The day's events had unfolded one after another.

Now, in the sudden silence, he remembered to check on the Boggart's changes.

When his attention shifted to the second perspective, a pitch-black mist began to flow out of the shadows.

Unlike the previous small palm-sized cloud, after absorbing the fear of several people, the Boggart had grown significantly.

If it had been the size of a cup before, it was now more like a small kettle.

Gazing at the black mist floating in the air, he felt an urge to let it spread, especially in a wizarding village like Hogsmeade.

"Magically infused fear..." Ino licked his lips lightly.

He roughly knew where this urge came from.

The Boggart was inherently formed by magic, a conscious entity of fear. Although its consciousness had been erased by the Sanctuary, its instincts remained.

Previously, the Boggart might have been too weak to have an effect. But after absorbing new fear today, its instinctual craving had emerged.

Facing this inner craving, Ino decisively waved his wand:

"Expecto Patronum!"

The shimmering silver cloud appeared again.

...

In the second-floor room, a black and a white mist floated quietly.

They were not only opposites in color but also in emotional representation.

The Patronus symbolized the joy of harvest, while the Boggart embodied deep fear.

With the appearance of the Patronus, Ino found that the previous urge had quietly disappeared.

However, his heart felt a familiar stirring again, a reminder of entering a new story.

Immediately, he waved his wand again to dispel the magic.

The silver Patronus dissipated into the air, and the black Boggart melted back into the shadows.

...

The snow-covered Sanctuary.

As the mist on the main road slowly dispersed, a bustling town scene unfolded, filled with the hustle and bustle of people.

Through the scene, he could clearly see that the town was set in a classical era, predating the medieval period.

The attire and means of transportation of the townspeople indicated this world's level of productivity.

In just a few seconds, he observed that everyone in the scene wore grey and white linen clothes, with only hand-pushed carts and various simple ox carts as their tools.

Glancing at his azure robe, Ino decisively changed into his old attire from Trader's Town.

Grey coarse linen robes, palm-leaf woven sandals, and his suitcase wrapped in cloth and slung over his shoulder in local fashion.

In his other hand, he held a two-meter-high serviceberry staff. This outfit not only fit the era's background but also made him look like a wandering traveler.

With everything in place, Ino stepped through the snow into a new story world.