The Bard at Hogwarts

Hogwarts curfew starts at 10:30 pm.

This may seem like a generous time, but in fact it is only open to students in fifth grade and above.

As for the little wizards under fifth grade, they need to return to the common room one hour earlier, that is, after nine-thirty.

…

At ten o'clock in the evening, Ino left the principal's office.

The castle is no longer bustling at night, after all, more than half of the little wizards have implemented a curfew.

He left in the fourth grade and now returned to the sixth grade. It was also the first time for Ino to experience the castle belonging to the senior class.

The eighth floor, the highest level of the castle, was level with Ravenclaw Tower.

Standing at the turning point of the moving stairs and looking down, you feel like you are in a Muggle university.

Looking at the students passing by, although many of the faces were vaguely familiar, the expressions on their faces were unfamiliar to him.

There was an obvious sense of distance.

Respect, awe, mixed with a hint of fear.

Familiar castle, familiar people, but somehow, the previous feeling has quietly disappeared.

When melancholy began to arise, a magnetic voice sounded in my ears.

"Does this feel strange to you?"

"A little!" Ino didn't look back, but he could tell who it was from the voice.

"This is normal. A raven flying in the sky, overlooking the whole world, is always lonely."

The voice behind him sounded again, but this time it had a sighing context.

"Have you experienced anything? Qiu."

Ino turned around and saw Qiu who had entered the seventh grade. The girl she once was had the charm of an adult woman.

"I'm fine, but you seem to be out of place."

While talking, Qiu also walked to the stairs, stood at the turning point of the eighth floor and looked down. Although it was already ten o'clock, the number of students passing by did not decrease.

A sentence that was out of place made Ino feel the same.

To be honest, he did feel a little strange returning to Hogwarts this time.

…

But it was at this moment that Ino gradually understood Dumbledore.

I understand why this legendary wizard always plays childish pranks, why he always hides and eats candy, and even pretends to be crazy and stupid to disguise himself...

All this is exactly what Qiu said, loneliness!

His ideals were shattered, he turned against his best friends, and became enemies with his brothers...

Even if he defeats Grindelwald, ends everything with his own hands, and returns to Hogwarts in glory, he still has to face the alienated and awed eyes in the castle.

present.

Ino stood quietly in the corridor on the eighth floor, silently looking at the bustling crowd below.

Similarly, the wisdom of Ravenclaw was also revealed at this moment. After Qiu finished speaking, she wisely chose silence.

The highest wisdom is sometimes silence.

Time passed by minute by minute.

a long time.

"It doesn't matter! It really doesn't matter! I won't pretend to be cute, but I can tell stories..."

In the corridor, Ino whispered to himself.

Years pass by, one generation lasts for ten years.

This generation may be in awe and alienation, but when the next generation of little wizards enter school, it won't be like this.

Moreover, he has countless stories.

…

Half past ten in the evening.

Ino returned to the familiar dormitory. After a year and a half, nothing here has changed.

As the dormitory door was pushed open, Draco was in sight.

The years have changed, and the youthfulness of the past has faded with time, and now Draco looks like a younger version of Lucius.

The only difference may be that Draco's hairline is obviously higher than Lucius's.

"What's wrong with you? You're listless."

Entering the dormitory, Ino took off his robe and hung it on the hanger behind the door.

The sudden sound in the room made Draco jump, but after seeing the person clearly, he relaxed again.

"You're back! It's great. I will wipe the things you left behind from time to time. They are well preserved."

Draco turned his head, the smugness in his eyes flashing away.

"Hahahaha, thank you, my friend!"

Ino saw the fleeting pride, and at the same time lamented that although they hadn't seen each other for a long time, the sense of familiarity had not disappeared.

Even though time has passed by, Draco's character has not changed, he is still the same proud little wizard.

Looking at the green wind-up alarm clock on the bedside, the ticking second hand kept ringing softly.

Familiar dormitory, familiar people.

All the things in the past are like gurgling water passing through rocks.

Although it took away the sand and dust, it also left traces of life. In a trance, Ino seemed to have returned to one afternoon in the second grade.

After a day of classes, when he returned to his dormitory, he found Draco messing with the alarm clock.

The reason turned out to be that with the alarm clock, he didn't need to be woken up, which made him very embarrassed.

"Tell me, what happened? You must know that you did not inherit Uncle Lucius's city. You can't hide anything on your face."

Ino easily pulled up a chair, sat down and said in a relaxed tone.

Perhaps out of trust in his friends, or because he suddenly heard his father's name, Draco decided not to hide anything anymore.

"Eno, I remember telling you that when I was a child, my mother and I lived in a safe house..."

Recalling the past, Draco talked about things deep in his memory little by little.

Although many details have become blurred over time, my father's tired and anxious face becomes clearer every time he comes home.

"...Yes, our Malfoy family is on the wrong side. After the fall of that person, my father always ran around to avoid being liquidated afterwards, and to avoid my mother and I from being affected..."

Draco spoke slowly, his voice was very calm.

After the second hand of the alarm clock turned ten circles gently, Ino also understood why the other party seemed absent-minded.

"Draco, theoretically, your father did the right thing!"

Ino spoke slowly, defining the nature of the matter.

In fact, no matter from which angle you look at it, Lucius's approach is not faulty at all.

What's more, the shocking change fifteen years ago also taught many people a good lesson.

No one could have imagined that the Dark Lord, who was once in the heyday, would be easily defeated, and defeated by a woman and a baby.

With such a precedent, Ino also understood Lucius's approach.

Similarly, it was this understanding that made him unable to dissuade him.

"Don't worry! Go home and have a good Christmas this year!"

Ino reached out and patted Draco on the shoulder.

"Christmas?" Draco looked up blankly.

The sudden change of topic made him unable to react for a long time.

Time passed for a long time.

Suddenly, Draco seemed to have figured out something, his eyes became brighter, and the whole person was no longer decadent.

"Okay! Christmas! This year I will give you a collection of Quidditch dolls, not the original ones made of goblin gold..."

"Hahaha, it's a deal!" Ino smiled and nodded.

After seeing Draco recover, he was relieved. Wizards are not afraid of excitement or being beaten, but they are afraid of wild thoughts.

Speaking of wild thoughts, Ino's mind suddenly flashed another black-haired girl in Slytherin.

As for Pansy, he also planned to find an opportunity to have a good talk, although they have been less in contact since entering the fourth grade.

But no matter what, some things still need to be made clear.

Before graduation, let the things of the student days end in the student days.