The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 101 Halloween Dinner and the Pumpkin House

The history of magic has come to an end. Although Professor Binns' final answer was somewhat unreasonable, magic has never been about reason; it seems that only alchemy makes some sense.

That evening.

The sweet aroma of pumpkin filled the entire castle, which meant that Halloween was just around the corner.

The auditorium was decorated with live bats, just like it always is at this time of year.

The giant pumpkins from Hagrid's species also came in handy, being carved into lanterns.

There are even large pumpkins that have been transformed into pumpkin houses that can accommodate three or four people.

The most interesting, or perhaps the most terrifying, feature is the enormous spider web hanging from the top of the auditorium's porch, with a giant black spider "crawling" on it, occasionally twitching its hairy legs.

Moreover, the giant spider will randomly select a young wizard who is passing by. Once selected, a silver-gray web will fall from the sky and completely cover the young wizard below.

Of course, whenever such a prank occurred, it would make the people around laugh out loud, especially a few young wizards who would stand aside and wait to see this magical scene.

"Snap!" A crisp sound was followed by a flash of white light.

Colin was excited, feeling like it was all a dream, from receiving the letter from the owl, boarding the Hogwarts Express, to rowing to the castle.

Everything here seemed incredible to him, especially today, his first festival and first dinner since starting school.

The countless amazing scenes made him start to worry that he was running out of film.

On the other side of the auditorium, when Ino saw the flash of white light, she belatedly realized a question.

He can be a bard in a fantasy world, and also a professional photographer.

You know, there are so many regrets and so many partings in these stories that have been experienced over the past three years. If only we had a camera earlier.

Old John's town square, the White Witch's ice castle, the elves in the forest, the final battle beneath Lonely Mountain—if only all of this could be preserved…

"Looks like I'll have to get Old Devis to modify a camera again tomorrow."

Just as Ino was distracted, he heard Draco's voice in his ear.

"Why are you so late? Hurry up! I had Gore steal a pumpkin house a long time ago."

When Draco invited him, Ino did not accept as usual.

Because he knew very well the purpose of the pumpkin house, which was also known as the Halloween couple's house at Hogwarts, and was in high demand every year due to its limited quantity.

Just imagine, a guy inviting another guy into a couples' room... that seems really weird no matter how you look at it.

"What are you thinking!" Draco exclaimed, somewhat annoyed after realizing what was happening.

"Pansy and Daphne are already inside. Goyle grabbed a big pumpkin that can easily seat four people."

"Oh! Let's go then!" Ino nodded easily, but the moment he heard the invitation, he felt a surge of pressure.

Walk along the edge of the auditorium.

Before long, Ino saw the pumpkin carriage that Gore had seized. No one knew what method Hagrid had used, but he had managed to grow a perfectly good pumpkin into the size of a small car.

"Ino, come in quickly!" A small head suddenly appeared at the small window of the pumpkin house. Daphne was leaning against the pumpkin window, greeting him with a smile.

Crawling inside the large pumpkin, you'll find a stem in the center that resembles a small table. Hollowing out all four sides and leaving a raised ring, you can lay a mat on top and it becomes a natural seat.

Pansy and Daphne were sitting opposite each other, with a small table in the middle filled with all kinds of candies and snacks.

"This is my first time inside, and I never expected it to be like this." Ino looked around the pumpkin house with great interest.

Honestly, it's hard not to like such a safe and secure little house.

"Last year I let Goyle steal one, but Quirrell ruined the dinner," Draco said with some pride, referring to his achievement.

Just as the three were chatting, Pansy, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly said seriously:

"Ino, isn't our current situation just like what you said on the train, except that the rats hide in the sewers, while we hide in the castle and the pumpkin house?"

To be honest, Pansy's words were a bit of a mood killer at a holiday dinner.

However, as Pansy finished speaking, Draco and Daphne also fell silent.

Seeing the inquisitive expressions on their faces, Ino felt a bit overwhelmed. He hadn't expected that even after more than two months, they would still remember this matter.

This was quite unexpected.

However, after a moment's thought, he decided not to delay any longer. After all, this had already proven that Slytherin wizards were not easily fooled; if they could remember something once, they could remember it countless times.

"Alright! Let's talk about it then! Although this topic is a bit heavy."

Ino sighed softly, then looked around. The small pumpkin house shielded her from the gaze of everyone around her, including the portraits hanging on the walls of the auditorium.

"Before discussing this topic, we need to understand one thing: the 'International Confederation of Wizards' Secrecy Act' signed in 1689, and the changes in wizards' lives after it officially came into effect in 1692..."

To be honest, if he hadn't happened to hear Professor Binns talk about the Muggle Exorcism Curse today, he would have had a hard time reciting the information from those years so readily.

Time passed by, second by second.

Unlike the bustling auditorium, the atmosphere inside the small pumpkin house was very quiet.

"...Finally, let us remember this turning point in history and pay tribute to the pioneers who sacrificed their lives. Without their efforts and struggles, we could not be sitting here enjoying delicious food and having such a lively conversation."

It took about half an hour for Ino to give another lecture on the history of magic that Professor Binns had given that morning.

Unlike Professor Binns' dry and lengthy presentation, this time he removed a lot of meaningless narration and simplified it to retain only the key points of history.

"We really are like rats in the sewers..."

Draco was the first to react, muttering in disbelief.

"How pitiful!" Pansy and Daphne nodded in agreement.

The three people's inexplicable reactions left Ino completely bewildered. He had simply edited Professor Binns's version without adding any embellishments or subjective interpretations.

"Hey, do you guys really need to go on like this? This is all Professor Binns talked about today! And he even talked about the Muggle Exorcism Charm. If you're interested, I can teach you about it another day."

"Professor Binns? History of Magic? And he taught magic?" Draco's eyes widened as he posed the fatal three questions.

"Yeah! History of Magic. Who told you guys to always be sleeping!" Ino rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"That old ghost's voice is magical. I want to listen to the lesson, but I just can't control myself," Daphne said pitifully.

As Daphne finished speaking, Pansy slowly said:

"Ino, you'll be our lecturer. You're the only one in Slytherin who can put up with Professor Binns' nagging. From now on, like today, we'll sit together after each History of Magic lesson. And I think many people will participate too, since last year, apart from you, everyone else got either a P or an A in History of Magic."

Faced with his real estate creditors, Ino thought about it and agreed.

It's a small favor; after all, there's only one History of Magic lesson a week. It's not worth hurting Pansy's feelings over something so trivial.

"No problem, after we finish the History of Magic series, I'll find a place for you to review it all again."

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(End of this chapter)