The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 168 Discussions with the Publishing House

The sun was shining obliquely, high in the sky.

In the quiet room, Ino was fast asleep when a crisp knocking on the window broke the tranquility.

"Knock! Knock knock!"

A grey scops owl stood outside the window, persistently tapping on the glass with its hard beak.

"Lina, answer the phone... no, open the window and let it in! It keeps knocking!" Lying in bed, Ino didn't even lift her eyelids.

After a long while, a cold response came from the ceiling:

"Are you sure? If it gets scared to death, it's none of my business!"

"Um... okay, I'll do it!" Forcing herself to stay awake, Ino opened her sleepy eyes and then rummaged around on the pillow.

With a wave of the wand, the window opened by itself using magic. The owl that had been waiting outside seemed to have grown impatient and flew in, swooping down onto the bed.

A few minutes later.

Looking at the letter in her hand, Ino reluctantly stood up and walked to the bathroom, where a letter with the wax seal of LAA Publishing House was lying on the bed.

"You seem busier than the king!"

Looking down at the listless figure on the spiderweb on the ceiling, Lina made a rare joke.

Upon hearing this, Ino stopped in her tracks and sighed softly, "You'll be just as busy sooner or later; the waters of that world run deep."

A giant blue, eight-eyed spider suddenly emerged from the spiderweb on the ceiling: "I know, but as long as their profound laws don't reject me, I won't cause trouble."

Hearing this sigh, Ino recalled his conversation with the dwarf Simon, and how Narnia rejected all outsiders.

He also realized why Santa Claus ultimately chose to deliver gifts.

First, there was his age; he was only 11 years old at the time, which fit the style of the Narnia world. Second, he released the talking rabbit, and his kind act led the High Codex to accept him.

And the one who carries all of this out is Santa Claus. Once he accepts those precious gifts, he'll never be able to leave Narnia for the rest of his life.

Then, Ino gently shook her head, shaking off these meaningless thoughts, and looked up at the ceiling:

"Although that story doesn't exclude different interpretations... well, we'll see when the time comes. After school starts, I'll take you to the Hogwarts Library, where there are many books that can't be bought."

He always held a grateful attitude towards Lina or the former White Witch, just as he had towards Snape.

Therefore, the best approach is to give each other some freedom, visiting each other like old friends every few decades, rather than forcibly keeping each other by your side under the guise of a shelter, treating them like pets.

This has nothing to do with stance or worldly views; it's simply a principle for dealing with things.

Ino knew very well that he didn't have much noble sentiment, but he did have the basic conscience of an ordinary person, and he felt that he should repay kindness.

……

3:30 p.m.

On the west side of Diagon Alley, just around the corner from the main entrance of Gringotts, at a side alley.

Holding a letter stamped with sealing wax, Ino slowly walked into the relatively quiet alley.

"Number 21 on the south side..."

He walked slowly, because finding a small house number in such a large area of ​​buildings was probably a difficult task.

"What a quirk of the rich..." Ino sighed softly as she looked at the relatively luxurious buildings on both sides.

The alley on the south side seems to be a wealthy area of ​​London. There isn't much population movement here, but both the environment and the surrounding architectural style subtly reveal one thing: the people living here are not ordinary.

A moment later, as time passed, he finally found his destination.

A white, five-story building with three light brown letters hanging in the middle: LAA

Looking at the luxurious building before her, Ino leisurely stepped onto the white marble steps.

Upon entering the hall, a cacophony of soft, noisy sounds immediately reached my ears.

This is a busy publishing company.

After handing over the letter at the front desk, he was led to an office on the top floor.

……

After the witch at the front desk left, Ino also looked around at the furnishings.

This is an unusually simple, even somewhat plain, office that seems out of place with the overall style of the building.

Although somewhat surprised, he wasn't particularly curious. He was here to publish a book and a record, and the office style had nothing to do with him.

With that thought in mind, he sat quietly on the wooden sofa and waited patiently.

About fifteen minutes have passed.

The office door was pushed open, and a hearty laugh came from outside.

"Haha, I've been waiting for this! Newt wrote to me about it earlier!"

Ino turned around and saw an old man with white hair and beard walking in from outside the door, but for some reason, the man's shrewd eyes made him feel somewhat familiar.

After thinking about it, he immediately stood up and said politely:

"Hello sir! I'm sorry I was held up by some personal matters."

"No need to apologize! We hadn't agreed on a specific time anyway." The old man walked into the office, then extended his hand, saying earnestly:

"Welcome to Laa Publishing, Mr. Swinburne! I'm the owner here, Knok Flint."

In an instant, Ino remembered where that familiar feeling came from—it was another Flint. This demeanor was exactly the same as Marcus Flint's back then—that extremely shrewd, reasoning-based kind of thing.

Although he was somewhat moved, he immediately extended his hand.

After shaking hands, old Flint said directly:

"Mr. Swinburne, I learned about you after receiving Newt's letter. To be honest, I think you have the potential to become the next eccentric sister, or even surpass them, but that requires packaging..."

The other party paused for a moment at this point, and Ino also recognized the tone of their words. This was probably a common tactic used to manipulate the conversation, likely in preparation for a better distribution of profits later.

However, things always take unexpected turns. After a brief pause, old Flint suddenly changed the subject:

"But these are minor matters. This is what we Laa excel at. Similarly, we will follow the standards of the eccentric sisters when it comes to profit distribution."

The more Ino heard this, the stranger it sounded; it didn't seem to follow any expected pattern. But after suddenly seeing those shrewd eyes, he gradually understood what the other person was thinking.

Flint probably shared the same thoughts as Lucius.

Throughout the history of magic, the majority of wizards have been mediocre. Simply put, they're all the same; 17 is a bottleneck for all wizards, which results in a relatively uniform level of ability among them.

However, there are always exceptions, and some people are able to break through this limitation, thus leaving a strong mark on history.

While Ino was pondering, Flint was also filled with joy. He had already been considering it for months after seeing the photos in the Daily Prophet.

However, after some investigation, he was disappointed to find that the Malfoy family had already beaten him to it, and the Flint family only had Marcus, with whom he had only a superficial relationship. This was the reason why he agreed to let Marcus repeat the year.

He thought things would end there, but a letter from afar brought him an unexpected surprise.

Money can be earned slowly, but opportunities must be seized. Many people are born different; they demonstrate unparalleled potential even during their school years—a fact documented throughout history, much like half a century ago…

At that moment, old Flint's eyes were filled with Slytherin-like shrewdness.

(End of this chapter)