The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 372 The Truth About Everything (Xiao Di thinks this chapter is important)

The silent, cold winter has quietly arrived.

The once silvery, rippling river surface is now covered with ice and snow.

……

On the riverbank, in a sheltered tree hollow.

A tiny sea otter burrowed under the black swan's wing.

The real velvet, soft and warm, made the sea otter squint its eyes.

a long time.

"Ino, I don't really want to go back!" Hermione said.

She feels very happy with her current life; it is peaceful, tranquil, and far away from all the noise and hustle and bustle.

Although there were things she disliked in the forest, such as the cunning fox or the noisy ducks, it didn't affect anything.

They embraced, and Ino could sense Hermione's emotions, but he was powerless to help.

"No one can stay in the story! When the story ends... we have to leave."

"But what about later?" Hermione asked with some reluctance.

"Let's leave the future to the future. There are many things I don't know..."

Ino spoke calmly, and compared to Hermione's reluctance, he cared more about Hans's answer.

Almost a year has passed, and the ugly duckling has undergone tremendous changes. When the other party transforms into a beautiful swan, all the problems should be resolved.

As Ino finished speaking, Hermione stopped asking questions.

After more than a year of being alone, she learned a lot, and she also realized that Ino sometimes couldn't make decisions and often just passively accepted things.

The chat came to an end, and the little tree hole fell silent.

Only the cold wind outside the tree hollow, carrying its own sound, became the sole main theme.

……

It has been said that the arrival of winter actually means that spring is not far away.

When the snow melts and the grass sprouts new shoots, it heralds the start of a new year.

The forest, with its warm spring weather and blooming flowers, is as beautiful as ever.

Under a clear, azure sky.

One black and one white, two swans walking side by side.

But what's amazing is that on the back of the black swan, there was also a sea otter that was a foot and a half long.

A suitcase was tied to the sea otter's back with two ropes. From a distance, it looked like a child carrying a schoolbag.

"Odette, go back! You don't need to see us off anymore! The world ahead is not for you."

In the sky, Hermione turned her head and spoke to the white swan beside her.

"Will we ever meet again?" Odette, once the ugly duckling but now a swan, asked sadly.

I don't know! But I will never forget you.

Hermione's tone was also somewhat sad.

In the sky, Ino remained silent, flying quietly as if he had transformed into the best coachman.

Actually, he didn't know what to say either. For a year and a half, Hermione had always been the one doing her best in raising the Ugly Duckling.

From feeding and accompanying her in her early childhood to teaching her as she grew up, and even when the Ugly Duckling was bullied, Hermione would always swing her little otter paws to fight back.

It's fair to say that the Ugly Duckling was truly raised by Hermione.

At the same time.

The flying swan seemed to be very obedient, and after Hermione's persuasion, she stopped following.

Before leaving, it plucked a feather from its own body with its rose-colored beak and gave it to Hermione, then turned and flew towards the dreamlike forest behind it.

……

Just as they came, they departed at dawn.

As the sun rose, Ino carried Hermione through the sky.

As evening fell, the two returned to the fishing village by the sea.

It was the same beach, the same bitter tree, and the same man sitting under it, middle-aged Hans, who seemed to be waiting for something.

Ino slowly descended, and the moment she touched the ground, the black swan and the sea otter disappeared, replaced by two figures of almost the same height.

Eighteen months later, Hermione had long since shed the naivety and immaturity of her student days, and was now just like the former Beauxbatons warrior, Fleur.

With her tall figure and sculpted features, she looks exactly like a grown woman.

"I'll wait for you here!" Hermione said, shaking her head slightly.

She knew very well that there were some things she could participate in, and some things she shouldn't.

Just like now, with Ino meeting with middle-aged Hans, she doesn't intend to participate, even though she has learned everything about the matter over the past eighteen months.

After Hermione finished speaking, Ino nodded slightly and walked alone toward the bitter tree.

……

under the tree.

A year and a half later, middle-aged Hans had not changed much, except that his expression had become increasingly melancholy.

Ino sat quietly beside the other person, without asking any questions first, just like when she first entered the fantasy world.

"This was an accident!"

As Ino sat down, the middle-aged Hans slowly began to speak:

"It all started by accident... I just wanted to make my story more interesting..."

As they spoke, the middle-aged Hans took out a simply bound book from his cloth bag.

"Take a look! All the answers you're looking for are in there..."

Upon hearing this, Ino had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, but he still took the book.

……

The paper in the book is somewhat rough, and appears to be made from palm leaves.

As the book is opened, the contents written in red and blue ink on one side become clearly visible.

Familiar names, familiar stories... this is probably the earliest version of "The Hans Story".

As Ino turned the pages, he discovered many differences. The red ink, like an outline, always appeared at turning points, while the remaining 95% of the story was written in blue ink.

Take "The Ugly Duckling" as an example. There are only three places in red ink: at the beginning, a swan egg is accidentally found in a duck's nest; in the middle, the ugly duckling is bullied; and at the end, the ugly duckling turns into a swan.

The book doesn't contain much content; it consists of dozens of stories, some long and some short, and it's almost over in less than an hour.

However, upon turning to the second half, Ino came across his own conjecture:

A little boy accidentally pushed open the bathroom door and entered a magical world...

Honestly, he wasn't surprised when he saw this.

But as I flipped through the book, a feeling of surprise welled up inside me.

This is a rather long story. The beginning is quite good, and it's about a little boy who escapes from an orphanage and his various fantastical experiences afterward.

Honestly, Ino thought this was normal, but what surprised him was what happened next in the book.

After the story of Old John the Shoemaker.

The story then becomes largely blank, filled with either snowflake-like symbols, intricate and dazzling inscriptions, or even various mysterious characters that appear in Greek mythology...

As Ino turned to the last page, the long-absent red text reappeared, and for the first time ever, it appeared three times on a single page:

The grown-up boy returned to the same place he used to be.

Following this sentence, the blue text describes the war at Hogsmeade and Hermione's death.

Seemingly noticing the casualties, the red text reappeared: 'The little boy saved his friend with the golden apple.'

Ino also saw the following content, including his experiences with Hermione during this time.

As your gaze moves to the end of the page, the last red text reappears: 'Hans' story ends here!'

……

After closing the book and handing it back to Professor Hans, Ino fell into deep thought.

Without a doubt, his miracle was due to Hans.

He should have continued to travel through various fairy tales, but an unexpected event occurred.

After leaving old John's town before the start of the first school year, the story no longer echoes what it was before...

Although the memories are from a long time ago, Ino still clearly remembers that after entering Hogwarts, the first story was Narnia, followed by The Lord of the Rings, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Greek mythology...

This turning point seemed to have occurred only after he entered Hogwarts, which made him think of magic.

At this moment, Hans's voice rang out again:

"I'm so sorry! It was all an accident..."

"I saw your fear and longing in the orphanage, and I wanted to bring a change to my own story, so I took the liberty of inviting you."

"But then, as you see! After you entered that castle, something unknown happened, and the story became uncontrollable."

At this point, a hint of helplessness crept into Hans's voice.

"I can't pry into your past, but to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, I'm planning to call you back!"

"In fact, the unexpected still happened!" Ino continued.

"Yes!" The middle-aged Hans nodded in agreement, let out a soft breath, and then said:

"Fortunately, the ending wasn't bad! While I still have the ability, I revised the story..."

……

Listening to this explanation, Ino suddenly felt a sense of loss, almost like a bard finishing his story and about to take his final bow.

"teacher……"

"Listen to me!" the middle-aged Hans interrupted. "Do you remember what I told you when you first arrived?"

Based on the tacit understanding between master and apprentice, Ino thought for a moment and then blurted out:

"The years may fade, but they may wear down the skin; but when passion is lost, the soul will surely decay."

"Yes! I am not afraid of the passage of time!" The middle-aged Hans nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the vast and magnificent sea.

"However, I've lost my initial enthusiasm. Perhaps the moment I invited you in, my story was destined to end."

For some reason, Ino noticed that Hans, the teacher in front of him, had suddenly aged a lot. It wasn't visual aging, since his appearance was still the same; what Ino sensed was an aging in his demeanor.

If one had to find a metaphor, it would be that Gandalf, after destroying the One Ring, was like someone weary and aged after completing his mission.

"Miss Sea Otter!" middle-aged Hans called out.

The sound was very soft, but with the help of the sea breeze, it reached Hermione's ears clearly.

"Mr. Hans!" Hermione slowly walked to the bitter tree.

"I'm so sorry, because of me, you had to experience death!" The middle-aged Hans raised his eyes, a hint of apology flashing in his sea-blue pupils.

"To be honest, I have nothing to compensate you with! After all, I am just a poor bard."

The middle-aged Hans chuckled softly, and under the watchful eyes of Ino and Hermione, he slowly tore open the book.

And the torn page happened to be the one where the little boy pushed open the bathroom door.

"As a bard, all I can offer you is a story... and of course, the pen to tell it."

The middle-aged Hans took out another item from his pocket: a chestnut tree trunk about nine inches long with one end sharpened.

"As for you, my student!" The middle-aged Hans looked at Ino again, gently patted the winged harp at his waist, and said in a relaxed tone:

"This harp is yours! Don't think I don't know you've secretly played it many times..."

……

In an instant, Ino had a bad feeling.

But before he could speak, the figure of Teacher Hans in front of him emitted a soft starlight.

The glowing body, connected to the torn half of the book, slowly floated into the sky.

Thirty feet above the ground, the glowing body suddenly transformed into countless points of light.

They are like fireflies in spring, like the starry sky of a midsummer night, like oil lamps in the cold winter...

As the light point flew into the night sky.

present.

Whether it's a fantastical forest, a majestic city, a remote mountain village, a continuous snow-capped mountain range, or an endless sea...

Animals, humans, elves, mermaids, and even the hidden old witch and devil all involuntarily raised their heads.

The summer night sky is truly beautiful, with countless stars twinkling and shining brightly.

……

On the beach at the seaside.

The waves were still lapping at the shore, and the gentle sea breeze continued.

Time seemed to have passed before Hermione broke the silence by speaking first:

"Is this the end of your story? At the cost of Hans's death?"

Without realizing it, Hermione stopped calling him Mr. Hans and started calling him "Teacher".

"Teacher Hans's story is over!" Ino looked up at the starry sky.

"But our story has only just begun! Besides, Mr. Hans is not dead!"

He knew very well that for someone like Professor Hans, life and death could no longer be measured.

It's like a bard who has finished telling a story, finds a simple inn, and gets a good night's sleep.

When the sun rises the next day, they will be ready to set off again to spread the story to distant places.

"That's good! To be honest, I don't hate him at all." Hermione gently stroked the book and chestnut pen in her hands.

In fact, the moment she received these things, she sensed a mysterious space in her mind.

It was a frozen path, lined with red maple trees that seemed to tell a story, a swaying ice flower, and even a seventy-foot-long ice serpent.

Amazingly, Hermes felt he could control this space at will.

She tried to urge the anaconda forward, for at the end of the path lay a valley bursting with flowers and a rainbow-colored river.

Unfortunately, she could only see the valley, but could not disturb anything inside.

……

At the same time.

Ino bent down and picked up the wing-shaped accordion.

Gently pluck the strings, and a melodious sound arises, sounding very gentle accompanied by the sea breeze.

"Let's go back! It's been eighteen months! Perhaps we've already been forgotten."

"Yes, that's true! I miss my mom and dad too." Hermione nodded in agreement, then took Ino's hand.

As a sea breeze blew by, the two figures disappeared together on the shore.

The story of Mr. Hans has come to an end, and the story of Ino is about to begin, along with the Brothers Grimm and other interesting tales...

(End of this chapter)