The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 144 Preparations for Summer Vacation

At dawn, as the sun rose above the eastern horizon, the sky was tinged with a faint orange-red hue, and the imposing and solemn castle shone brightly in the rising sunlight.

The last day of the second school year has quietly arrived.

At nine o'clock in the morning, all the young wizards will leave Hogwarts as agreed.

Some people leave temporarily, while others never return.

……

The Hogwarts Express.

In a closed cubicle.

Hermione was quite happy because, just before leaving school, Ino had accepted her invitation to visit during the last week of summer vacation.

As for the travel plans she had made before, to hell with them all. Although she had just started her vacation, she couldn't wait for time to pass.

"Why is time moving so slowly? Tomorrow is the last week of summer vacation, that would be so great!"

Hermione murmured unconsciously, but her shocking words struck the other three people in the cubicle like a thunderbolt.

"What kind of spell have you been cast on? It's only the first day of vacation, less than a day, and you're already looking forward to school starting soon?" Ron's eyes widened in disbelief.

Similarly, Harry and Ginny couldn't understand why anyone would think summer vacation was going by so slowly.

"I'm not under some kind of spell, I just love studying! Is that a problem? If I were you, I'd be thinking about how to go home and explain my report card full of Ps and A's. Good grief, not a single E in any of my subjects. At least Harry had one E."

Hermione never showed any mercy to Ron and retorted without hesitation.

Harry looked at Hermione somewhat innocently. He was just watching the show, could you please not mention him? Having only a "good" grade on his report card is not something to be proud of.

But at the same time, he was also glad that Aunt Penny never cared about his grades, and Uncle Vernon was even more indifferent.

"I don't need to think about explaining my grades! Because nobody has time to pay attention to these things this summer. We have big things to do!" Ron said nonchalantly, his words filled with pride.

Although he stopped halfway through his sentence to keep everyone in suspense, he successfully piqued Harry and Hermione's interest.

Harry looked at Ginny with even more curiosity.

"Ron is right, my mom probably won't have time to take care of him this year." Ginny lowered her head slightly, her voice sounding a little soft.

"We're rich! We won the lottery!" Ron blurted out before his sister could reveal the secret.

"A whopping 700 Galleons! The Daily Prophet's grand prize! Although it will take some time to complete the procedures, we've already made plans. The whole family will travel to Egypt and visit Bill, who works there."

……

Hogsmeade.

Two weeks after summer vacation.

Wearing a light blue "ice silk" long robe, Ino stood on the balcony of the cottage, her arms resting on the iron railing, quietly gazing at Hogsmeade in the afternoon.

Although bathed in the summer sun, there was no heat at all; instead, there was a faint sense of coolness.

All of this is thanks to Lina's special nature. It seems that she has truly been favored by fate. Not only does Lina's appearance differ from that of ordinary eight-eyed giant spiders, but even the spider silk she spits out is light blue ice silk.

After discovering this, he made a special trip to Diagon Alley and paid a Galleon for a custom-made ice silk robe by Madam Morkin.

Thinking of this, I subconsciously glanced at Lina hanging from the ceiling. In just two weeks, she had grown even bigger and now looked to be the size of a bathtub.

Seemingly sensing the gaze upon her, Lina quietly retreated, curling her entire body up in the spiderweb: "Don't look at me! I really can't vomit anymore."

Sensing Lina's distress, Ino smiled and comforted her, "I don't need spider silk, and one piece of clothing is enough. Let's wait a while! I'll take you out to play and let you see the outside world."

He didn't make empty promises to Lina; he just had a feeling that it was almost time for her to enter the fantasy world.

"You stay here and watch the house. I'm going out to buy some things, and I'll also buy you some good food so you won't go hungry when you go out to play."

After saying that, Ino walked straight down to the fireplace.

……

Diagon Alley.

As the only commercial area in the magical world of the British Isles, its prosperity far surpasses that of Hogsmeade.

Here, you can basically buy anything you can think of. If you really can't find it, then go to the next alley, Fandao Lane.

Break the Cauldron Bar.

As the green flames rose, Ino had just stepped out of the fireplace when he heard a familiar teasing voice.

"Oh ho! Our big celebrity is here again! What would you like to drink? Old Tom's on the table!"

"A glass of freshly squeezed herbal juice!" Ino chuckled as she sat on a round stool in front of the bar. "You're always treating people. Don't wait until Hannah inherits the bar only to find that the entire book is in the red."

"I'd rather she succeed in her studies and work for the Ministry of Magic than inherit the bar."

As they were talking, Old Tom came over with a glass of bright green beverage. After putting the glass down, he sighed and said, "You think you can make me lose money with just a glass of grass juice? That's underestimating the Abbott family."

"Well, rich old Tom, I underestimated you." Ino picked up the cup on the table and took a sip, the faint aroma of grass filling his taste buds.

"Please prepare some more dragon meat for me soon, about 500 Galleons' worth. I'll pay an extra 10% as per the rules, but the quality must be guaranteed. If you don't have enough dragon meat, the flesh of other magical creatures will do."

Upon hearing this, old Tom did not answer immediately. After thinking for a moment, he whispered:

"There's really not enough dragon meat, but those Frenchmen secretly brought in a batch of divine horses, so there's definitely enough. They've probably hit the jackpot; not only is the price discounted, but they also have stock available right now without any pre-orders."

……

Overturned Alley.

Ino carried her suitcase and walked into a secluded and dark alley.

He made no attempt to conceal it, and thanks to the publicity from the Daily Prophet, few people would dare to provoke him now.

After all, even a dark wizard probably has a brain and reads newspapers; before taking action, he would always consider whether he could withstand the overwhelming flames.

As for the brainless dark wizards, they mostly study in Azkaban.

Ignoring the lurking gazes around him, Ino entered a dilapidated, unmarked three-story building.

Half an hour later.

When Ino came out again, he seemed to be surrounded by an inescapable aura of blood.

Somewhat helplessly, he truly hadn't expected these Frenchmen to be so audacious, actually smuggling live divine horses.

Left with no other choice, in order to pick up the goods as soon as possible, he had to help with the slaughtering and butchering.

Walking down the street, feeling the strong smell of blood on her body, Ino frowned. It seemed she wouldn't be able to go to the Leaky Cauldron. Reluctantly, she drew her wand.

"Apparition!"

(End of this chapter)