The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 313 Magic Can't Do It, But Fairy Tales Can.

The next morning.

Under the influence of her powerful biological clock, Ino quietly opened her eyes, and then disappeared again.

The air in the shelter valley was damp.

You can always smell the scent of soil in your breath, which means that Blue Lantern has just finished watering.

After washing up in the house in the valley, Ino went to the path that had been covered in snow.

It's been a long time since he came to the valley. He rarely comes here anymore, but the ice flower and the snow python have always been his original companions.

But having nothing to do today, he took a leisurely stroll around the area.

The red maple trees by the path have leaves that tell stories from the continent of Arad. As you get closer, the leaves, covered with words, sway gently, like long-lost friends greeting each other.

Ino reached out and gently patted the tree trunk, a silent response in itself.

However, it's not just the red maple trees that greet you; ice flowers and anacondas also do so.

In particular, the anaconda, which had not been noticed for a long time, had grown much larger again, even reaching a length of 70 feet.

Its icy blue body, textured scales, and indifferent expression made it look like a cold-blooded and ruthless creature.

Snakes, though they crawl and wriggle along the ground, look completely different when they raise their heads.

The same applies to anacondas. When they stop swimming, stop, and raise their heads, looking down from a height of over six meters, a sense of oppression known as the fear of giants always arises unconsciously.

However, these are only feelings towards strangers.

At present, not to mention being in a sanctuary, Ino has absolute control over the anaconda simply by virtue of its creation of ice and snow.

He ignored the anaconda beside him and instead went to check on the ice flowers.

……

After a while.

Ino approached the ice flower and bent down to look at it.

What was once a seedling with only a few leaves has now grown into a lush plant, over two feet tall, looking as pure and beautiful as a work of art.

However, unlike before, the ice flowers are now not only mature, but have also formed an ice-blue bud, making them even more pleasing to the eye.

The ripening of the ice flowers seems unexpected, yet it is also within reason.

Considering that the last Middle-earth event alone took ten years, during which many magical herbs in the valleys had matured, there's no reason why the Ice Flower should remain unchanged.

Moreover, as the earliest plant in the shelter, this timeframe is far greater than ten years.

……

Looking at the plant that resembles a work of art, a faint sense of familiarity arises spontaneously.

Ino reached out and gently touched the leaves of the ice flower, but in that instant of contact, a flood of information overwhelmed her mind.

To be honest, after so much time has passed, he has gained some understanding of this strange flower.

Some have even speculated that this thing is likely a magical item that can be used for escape.

However, at this moment, the message that the ice flower conveyed to him after it formed a bud confirmed this.

This flower is a backup plan for resurrection or escape.

The White Witch, it seems, also achieved resurrection through this method, but she ultimately went awry, or perhaps the method itself was inherently flawed.

A clear example is when Lina and the White Witch appeared at the same time in Rohan's blacksmith shop, and he initially thought it was just the effect of magic.

Now that I understand the function of ice flowers, upon closer reflection, I've also discovered the differences.

The most obvious difference is their personalities. One is a queen who has ruled Narnia for hundreds of years, while the other, although also aloof, lacks the majesty of a king.

This is not a joke, but a genuine feeling. It's like the same person playing both Merlin and King Arthur, with very obvious differences.

At first, Ino thought that the White Witch's disillusionment and change of personality was due to the control of the sanctuary.

But now it seems that this is not the case at all.

It seems to be somewhat similar to the effect of a Muggle cloning pod; the White Witch is Lina, but Lina is not the White Witch.

"Two sides of the same coin, sharing the same memories..."

Ino gently stroked the leaves of the ice flower, lamenting the capriciousness of fate.

Although he was slightly disappointed with the ice flower after learning about it, he could not deny its effectiveness; its power was undeniable.

This is especially true for some people, such as those who have lost loved ones, lovers, or even parents.

Most importantly, the magical world possesses a soul.

……

The magical world has souls.

Or, to put it another way, a wizard's soul exists after death.

There is no doubt about that.

Because whether it's the ghosts of Hogwarts, or at the end of the story, Harry seeing Dumbledore at the Platform of the Dead, the ugly infant remnant of Voldemort, or even his parents during the duel, and the death of Cedric...

Too much evidence proves the existence of a soul in this world.

The soul combined with ice flowers... seems to be able to repair the original imperfections, because it is not only the same in memories, but also the same in soul.

Gradually...

Ino made many connections, thinking of Gamp's law of transformation, Gobalot's third law, and that magic cannot bring the dead back to life.

But just because magic can't do something doesn't mean fairy tales can't.

……

A brief moment of reflection.

Ino already had a rough idea in mind, and the key point was that the ice flower was not a disposable item, as Lina was the best proof of.

However, after conceiving the idea, he also began to calculate the time.

"Planted during the summer vacation of first grade, it blossomed after the start of fourth grade, entered five fantasy worlds in between, plus the final ten years in Middle-earth..."

He was surprised to find that the flower buds had been forming for nearly twenty years, and were not even mature yet.

Let's put the timeframe aside for now; after all, he can afford to wait.

However, the most critical issue is still the mechanism of the shelter.

Because no matter what, this is an unavoidable issue; even a legendary wizard like the White Witch cannot escape being controlled.

But on second thought, even with so many drawbacks, the merits outweigh the flaws.

Compared to genuine regret, the idea of ​​control is a joke; in the face of life and death, these issues are insignificant.

Of course, this also requires the willingness of both parties.

……

"What a pleasant surprise..."

Ino stood up with a sigh. What was supposed to be a simple walk had yielded unexpected rewards.

Similarly, today's harvest made him feel that fate is like eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans; you never know what the next one will taste like.

That's really how it is, just like how he once naively believed that when the ice flowers bloomed, a beautiful flower fairy would be born...

But in reality, things in life are not always as we imagine them to be.

(End of this chapter)