The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 196 The Bloodline Alchemy of the Gaunt Family

Some have commented that Christmas is the day after Halloween.

At first, Ino scoffed at this claim, but now he's starting to believe it.

Time flows.

Two months passed, like a phoenix's fleeting illusion. Before people could even react, it was all over.

Outside the castle, Ino strolled alone on the lawn, carrying a suitcase.

He did not choose to stay at school during the Christmas holidays as usual, after all, a new trip was about to begin.

No matter which story you visit, a suitcase is an essential item.

In the magical world, he can use the sanctuary as a temporary storage space, but that won't work in the story world.

After all, the story's world is essentially within a shelter.

It's like having to go into a room and then go back into another room; unless you go out and then come back in, it's simply impossible.

Therefore, before leaving, he also helped Hagrid move the magical creatures from the box.

Together, the two rebuilt a small hut deep in the Forbidden Forest to house the little creatures Hagrid had collected. Otherwise, after just one round trip to the sanctuary, the chests would be devoid of any living creatures other than the eight-eyed spiders.

The thought of the eight-eyed giant spider brought back memories of what had just happened.

The winged spiders have grown to the size of a washbasin, probably because they have half of the Little Devil's genes. These hybrid spiders have also been restricted in their size.

The largest one is only two feet long, with a pair of miniature wings on its back. It looks a bit scary at first glance, but once you get used to it, you can also find its advantages - cute and ugly.

As for the most valuable toxic substances and spider silk, nothing particularly special has been found so far. Either they are not produced at all, or it's not the right time yet; it boils down to these two points.

However, as time went on, Ino lost interest in improving the eight-eyed giant spider and left everything to Hagrid to do on his own.

He is now more concerned with ancient things such as Nehemiah and alchemy.

The Gaunt family's books opened a new door—human alchemy, or, in the Gaunt family's terms, bloodline alchemy.

The content is actually very simple and can be summarized in one sentence: inscribe alchemical pathways or ancient runes directly on your own body.

For example, like the runes in the basilisk's eyes, if one can understand and master them, one can use the techniques passed down in the Gaunt family to etch them into one's own eyes, thus gaining the ability to kill instantly by looking directly at the basilisk.

To be honest, Ino was somewhat tempted by this knowledge.

Of course, he didn't want to harm himself, but rather he was thinking about the characteristics of ice and snow magic.

He also guessed Lina's purpose in sending the books; it was nothing more than her casual remark that she wanted to gouge out the basilisk's eyes and give them to the Frost Serpent.

Now, after reading the Gaunt family heritage, he discovered that inscribing alchemical circuits into shapeshifting species was indeed a viable business opportunity.

Because everything is based on the inherent properties of ice and snow deformation.

To put it simply, it's a change in volume and form, turning a foot-long block of ice into a foot-long slushy snowflake, it's that simple.

The transformation magic of ice and snow completely abandons the wonder of traditional transformation magic, such as turning a button into a pig.

But everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

The ice and snow deformation was not done with any shortcuts. At first glance, it looks a bit silly, but it also gained another characteristic - it is almost eternal.

Just like Antarctic glaciers, they will remain frozen and exist indefinitely as long as the ambient temperature is suitable.

The thought of the ice golems possessing countless magical powers made Ino feel unusually excited.

This has nothing to do with age or experience. Just like how no matter how old a boy is, he will never refuse a figure he likes, let alone a figure that can have all sorts of magical abilities.

"Kura Diamondo..."

Ino recalled a distant memory: a fighting game featuring a girl with frost blood, who was once jokingly called the "Ice Girl".

Compared to those cards or figurines that are less than a foot tall, a life-size figurine of someone who is 169cm tall is much more interesting.

"Why would you need house-elves when you have puppets?!"

On the path outside the castle, Ino hummed lightly.

Because of Dobby's existence, he has been hesitant about buying a Pokémon to raise. On the one hand, he thinks about the convenience of raising Pokémon at home, but on the other hand, he is afraid of buying a different kind and thus betraying it.

Now, I finally don't have to think about these annoying problems anymore.

……

At the same time.

Gryffindor Common Room.

Harry signed his name on the promise to leave school for the holidays that Percy handed him. Although it was just a name, the joy he felt was indescribable.

Unlike his previous homelessness, he now has his own home, the ancestral home of the Black family: 12 Grimmauld Place.

Today, Harry received a letter from his godfather, which also included an invitation to Ino, which he plans to deliver before the Christmas holidays.

Seeing Harry's actions, Ron grabbed his friend's robe.

Where are you going?

"Send a message to Ino!" Harry exclaimed with a broad smile.

"Deliver a letter?" Ron rolled his eyes helplessly, sensing that Harry had become a bit unreliable after signing the document.

"Are you going to venture into the snake's lair alone, or are you going to search the entire castle for someone?"

Upon hearing this, Harry's expression froze, and he realized that searching for someone in such a large castle was unrealistic.

As for entering the Slytherin common room alone, that's out of the question. Gryffindors are not lacking in courage, but they are not reckless in everything they do.

Seeing Harry remain silent, Ron couldn't help but purse his lips, while gesturing for Harry to look in the other direction.

"Look, let her deliver it! She's the only one in all of Gryffindor who won't be bothered. After all, the news's spread throughout the castle..."

Following Ron's gaze, Harry also saw Hermione coming out of the girls' dormitory.

"Are you two gossiping about me again?" Hermione looked at the two of them with displeasure.

On Halloween, she and Ino rode in a pumpkin carriage, but almost two months later, the gossip not only didn't fade away with time, but actually intensified.

"No! We were saying we wanted you to deliver a letter to Ino, it was from Sirius." Ron explained somewhat guiltily to Hermione's serious expression.

Ultimately, of the twelve versions of gossip circulating in the castle about Hermione, three were fabricated by him after much thought.

"Harry?" Hermione turned her gaze to the side.

Compared to Ron's unreliability, she still trusted the more honest Harry.

"Yes, the Godfather replied. He invited Ino to visit his ancestral home during the Christmas holidays, and the letter included the address and time," Harry honestly explained the situation.

"Give it to me, I'll deliver it for you." Hermione glanced at the letter in Harry's hand.

……

Watching Hermione's departing figure, Ron turned his head somewhat awkwardly.

"Dude, do you think she's really going to Slytherin's lair? Judging from her arrogant expression, she's more like she's going to show off than deliver a message."

Harry hadn't thought much of it at first, but after Ron pointed it out, he belatedly realized there was a problem.

The two exchanged a glance, and as if on cue, stood up and chased after him.

Today, Xiaodi shares amazing animals:

Quintapaed / Hairy MacBoon

British Magic Classification Level: xxxxx

Origin and distribution: The five-legged monster is found only on the Isle of Deria, the northernmost point of Scotland. Because of the presence of the five-legged monster on the Isle of Deria, the island is designated as unmappable.

Appearance features: The five-legged monster's body is close to the ground, covered with thick reddish-brown fur, and each leg ends in a deformed foot.

Habits: The five-legged monster is a highly dangerous carnivore with a particular fondness for humans and is extremely hostile to them.

Related knowledge: In ancient runes, this five-legged creature symbolized the number "5".

(End of this chapter)