The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 86 A Sudden Kiss

London, Diagon Alley.

Although Diagon Alley is always bustling with people before the start of each school year.

But today's commotion seemed even greater than in previous years, as if the entire magical world of England had gathered together, and the whole street looked like it was about to boil over at any moment.

……

"So, you secretly bought a house in Hogsmeade during the summer vacation?"

Hermione's eyes widened, her face filled with regret. She had only spent a month in France with her parents and had missed so much.

Ino smiled casually.

"Yeah, what else can I do? I've never had a stable place to live in London. I can't just stay at Three Brooms forever."

He turned his head and also quietly sized up Hermione.

After a summer break, Hermione seemed to have grown quite a bit taller, and her signature front teeth looked even neater and cuter, as if they had been trimmed.

The girl in front of me is no longer the slightly naive little rabbit standing at the entrance of the elementary school.

Hermione also felt Ino's gaze falling on her from time to time, and couldn't help but feel a little shy.

But this feeling of being noticed also gave her a strange kind of joy.

"By the way, Ino, have you seen the list that Hogwarts sent?" Hermione suddenly remembered something, her voice tinged with excitement.

"You simply won't believe it, Gilderoy Lockhart has become our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year!"

Hermione's eyes lit up, as if she had discovered something extraordinary.

"Lockhart? He's certainly a talented novelist."

Ino said in a flat tone that he had only glanced at Lockhart's novels briefly at Ms. Rosmerta's place.

To be fair, the other author has a great grasp of the reader's psychology in terms of both plot and pacing.

"Don't you like him?" Hermione asked softly.

Her words carried a hint of probing, and she could tell that Ino didn't seem to like Lockhart.

"It's not that I dislike him; in a way, Lockhart is... huh?"

He stopped mid-sentence, his gaze drawn to a scene not far away.

Following the line of sight, Lucius and Arthur were seen wrestling at the entrance of Flourish and Blotts.

Judging from the current situation, this struggle seems to have ended in a draw.

The fact that both Lucius and Arthur had obvious scratches on their faces, and that their robes were covered in footprints, showed how intense the fight had been.

This scene made him secretly reflect that, to some extent, the struggle between Lucius and Arthur was reminiscent of the conflict between Malfoy and Harry.

This fateful antagonistic relationship seems to have been predetermined.

Ino turned to Hermione apologetically and said, "Sorry, Hermione! I have to go say hello."

"It's alright, I'll wait for you here." Hermione nodded slightly.

She also saw Ron in the crowd, but reason told her that going there now would only create more conflict.

……

As she moved, Ino squeezed her way to the front line.

Unlike the original story, this time only Lucius is present; Draco is not seen.

Of course, these are all trivial matters.

Seeing the two fighting, Ino did not rush in rashly. Instead, she first calmly surveyed her surroundings.

Finally... among the clutter, Tom's old notebook was found, which must have been accidentally dropped by Lucius during the fight.

The reason he was so certain was because this notebook gave him the feeling of facing a giant spider in a dark forest, an evil with the power to erode and bewitch, even though the bewitchment power in the notebook was very faint.

Now that the notes have been confirmed, all that's left is to mediate the dispute.

Before anyone knew it, a thin layer of frost had quietly formed on the ground where the two were wrestling.

"Ouch……"

"Help me up..."

Arthur and Lucius, who were wrestling together, both slipped and fell to the ground.

However, by sheer coincidence, after falling down, the two found themselves looking into each other's eyes, and their lips even touched.

"Merlin... Arthur cheated on me! He even brazenly kissed someone else right in front of my mother."

"Does that mean we'll have another Slytherin brother?"

"That's perfect for replacing Ron; I don't like him anyway."

George and Fred, standing to the side, kept making witty remarks, but they were both staring wide-eyed, afraid of missing a single exciting moment.

"You two, go and separate them! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?!"

Molly looked up and saw that a crowd of onlookers had gathered around her.

There were even many people who didn't mind making things worse, clapping and whistling.

At the same time, Ino quietly walked up and, as she dispelled the spell, pulled Lucius up.

Good day, Uncle Lucius.

He merely greeted them without mentioning anything about the battle.

After all, this concerns a man's self-esteem.

"I'm sorry you had to see this." Lucius looked up and, upon seeing that the person helping him was Ino, forced a smile onto his face.

"I think you should go back now. Whatever it is, we can talk about it later."

Ino deliberately made a gesture of looking around.

Sure enough, Lucius also noticed the crowd around him.

"Ino, you're right, I have to leave."

Lucius stood up, his eyes flickered a few times, and then he looked at the Weasley children standing to the side.

"Quickly pack your things, they're scattered all over the floor! This is the best your great father could give you."

After saying that, Lucius quickly squeezed out of the encirclement.

As the person involved left, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed, and two orderly lines quietly formed in front of Flourish and Blotts Bookstore.

After all, the most exciting part was over, and they weren't there just to watch the spectacle; waiting in line for Lockhart's autograph was the important thing.

……

"Sir! Could you please move aside? You accidentally stepped on my things."

A soft, sweet voice reached her ears, and Ino couldn't help but turn around. In front of her was a young girl with a youthful face and bright red hair.

The girl clutched the hem of her clothes tightly with her small hands, looking at the ground with a slightly timid gaze. There were several blank parchments there, scattered like withered leaves in autumn.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

Ino crouched down and picked up the parchments one by one.

During this process, for some reason, a figure involuntarily appeared in his mind: the little girl in the orphanage who was always timid, fearful, and prone to tears.

The little girl's figure gradually overlapped with Ginny's image before her eyes.

In an instant, or even less.

Ino opened his briefcase, put himself in Muggle mode, and then took out a brand new set of stationery.

The latest set from Wenrenju includes an automatic ink-absorbing quill pen, two large-capacity ink bottles, and three softcover notebooks.

"I really like that notebook on the floor; it has a really retro style. So, can I trade it to you for one of these?"

Since we're going to report it to Professor McGonagall anyway, let him do it. Dumbledore will definitely see it eventually.

"Get away! Stay away from my sister."

A voice filled with anger rang out.

Seeing Ron's furious expression, Ino suppressed her anger and explained:

"I accidentally stepped on this lady's parchment, so I'm going to make some amends."

"We don't want your stuff, Ginny, let's go!"

Ron picked up the vintage notebook from the ground.

Then he grabbed Ginny's arm, turned and left without saying a word, not even bothering with the scattered parchment on the ground.

New book release, a new journey begins. Thank you to all the big names for your support!

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(End of this chapter)