Hogwarts Raven

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The path wound its way through the trees, the setting sun filtering through the leaves and dappling the bluestone path with golden-red light. It cast a warm glow over the trail leading to Hogwarts.

At the end of the path, the majestic castle stood proudly at the edge.

"Boy, how dare you treat that girl like a servant? Do you even know who she is?" Snape's voice cut through the air as he seemed to have been keeping an eye on the situation behind him.

Seeing Ian jogging up to his side, Snape, who had originally planned to ignore him for the rest of the journey, couldn't help but warn him.

"What servant? This is clearly voluntary help from a good friend!" Ian corrected Snape, raising his voice slightly at the end.

"You're digging your own grave!" Snape snapped, unable to contain his frustration. He turned and walked toward Aurora, who was about seven or eight meters behind, intending to take Ian's suitcase from her.

"What are you doing?"

Unexpectedly, Aurora hid the suitcase behind her, dodging Snape's outstretched hand. She looked at him with a wary expression.

Snape was momentarily speechless. His wrinkled face twitched in irritation, and his suspended hand flicked his sleeve violently as he quickly walked back, passing Ian without a glance and heading straight into the depths of the forest.

"I'll treat you to a secret meal made by house-elves later," Ian said, standing still and waiting for Aurora to catch up, confident in his promise.

Aurora didn't respond. Instead, she walked side by side with Ian, each dragging a suitcase along the rugged path.

"I wonder if this thing is edible," Ian mused, noticing a vine by the roadside laden with large fruits. After a moment's hesitation, he plucked one and cautiously took a bite.

The soul from the East always seemed curious about food.

"It's sweet. Want to try?" Ian offered the untouched side to Aurora.

Aurora remained silent.

"Really, it's sweet," Ian insisted, trying to entice her.

Seeing Ian's somewhat twisted expression, Aurora, who usually had excellent emotional control, finally couldn't hold back. She sighed and responded helplessly, "That's called a Sourspurt Berry. It's the main ingredient for making acid potions."

Clearly, the German girl had quite a bit of knowledge of herbology.

"Even a dog wouldn't eat this." Disappointed by his little trick, Ian tossed the fruit away with disdain.

"But you ate it, and you tried to trick me into eating it too," Aurora pointed out, her tone as calm as ever.

"I just wanted to share the experience with you. How can that be called a trick..." This time, it was Ian who fell silent.

The atmosphere grew awkward, but fortunately, the strange quiet didn't last long. The two followed Snape through the forest path, and the narrow trail suddenly opened up.

A vast lake appeared before them.

The surface of the Black Lake rippled slightly, and the setting sun's glow couldn't penetrate it, making it impossible to see what lay beneath.

The Black Lake—is one of Hogwarts' famous landmarks.

In front of it, the ancient castle stood majestically among the mountains, with countless turrets and towers.

"It's beautiful," Ian said, gazing at the scene with excitement.

"It's indeed more magnificent than the illustrations in the books," Aurora agreed, her gaze lingering on the castle.

"Hogwarts: A History?" Ian asked, taking his suitcase from her. He noticed her arm trembling slightly, perhaps from overexertion during the journey.

"The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts," Aurora replied, placing her now-free hand behind her back.

At that moment, Snape spoke up. "Wait here. The students from the train will arrive soon. You two will enter the school with them by boat." He gave Aurora a deep look, then shot a warning glance at Ian.

"Can't you just take us in directly?" Ian asked, feeling the temperature drop and sensing that rain might be on the way.

"It's the rule," Snape replied coldly, then transformed into a gray mist, shooting toward Hogwarts Castle like a rocket in Ian's eyes.

"Ugh, what kind of nonsensical rules are these?" Ian squatted by the lake, dipping his hand into the cold water and stirring it idly.

"The four founders of Hogwarts arrived by boat to establish the school," Aurora said, also walking to the edge of the Black Lake, her heterochromatic eyes seemingly searching for something in the water.

Ian pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked enlightened. "Maybe the rule was set by Slytherin. He got seasick and wanted others to suffer too."

Hearing this, Aurora tilted her head to look at him. "I don't think such a powerful wizard would have such childish malicious interests." She was still holding her luggage, which likely contained many forbidden books.

"You don't understand. Some men remain petty until they die." Ian suddenly felt his fingers tightening in the water. He quickly pulled them out, only to find a small squid wrapped around his finger.

"A baby giant squid," Aurora said, her tone surprised.

"Not a Merperson baby. Disappointing." Ian flicked his finger, sending the baby squid back into the water. He pulled out a tissue to wipe off the slime.

"This lake only has Scottish lake monsters. Both the babies and adults are quite ugly. I don't think you'd want to encounter one."

Aurora also reached into the water, trying to catch a baby giant squid. But after a while, nothing bit. Perhaps out of boredom, she began stirring the water like Ian.

"The day we killed that dark wizard together, Dumbledore approved my admission," Aurora suddenly said coldly.

"Gasp~" Ian sucked in a breath. "Wasn't it you who killed him?"

Aurora turned to look at him. "It's the same."

After a slight hesitation, she added, "I just acted before you did." She had clearly noticed Ian's actions that day.

"Let's talk about the admission instead. Why bring that up suddenly?" Ian glanced at the forest behind them, but no new students had arrived yet.

"Grindelwald once said that giving you hope at the last moment is one of Dumbledore's favorite tricks." Aurora's gaze remained fixed on the ripples in the water.

"You need to be cautious. He's better at manipulating people than my grandfather..." Her heterochromatic eyes flickered, clearly reflecting her inner turmoil.

"That's way too much of a conspiracy theory for you," Ian replied, trying to lighten the mood.

"Of course, being cautious is never wrong," Aurora said, her tone serious.

Ian didn't deny the danger Dumbledore posed to dark magic learners, but after several interactions, he still held a relatively positive view of his headmaster.

In all honesty, if their roles were reversed, as the strongest wizard of the 20th century, constantly being targeted and harassed by various factions, Ian felt that if it were him, he might not be able to resist wanting to "stop eating beef" (a metaphor for losing patience).

Self-control— that's what truly makes Dumbledore great.

"Perhaps," Aurora replied, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

"They're here," She said suddenly, her voice cold as she bathed in the setting sun's glow.

"Who's here?" Ian asked, just as a cacophony of noise followed behind them.

A half-giant led a group of curious and nervous young wizards through the forest.

(End of chapter)