The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 232 The Order of Merlin Medal

Time slips by.

Three days have passed quietly, but after the last standoff, Slytherin is more united than ever before.

Basically, it means that no matter who is blocked or bullied, there will always be someone to stand up for them.

……

Third year of Slytherin, girls' dormitory.

Do you think leaders are born?

Pansy held a one-inch-thick copy of "Das Kapital," as if asking a question, or perhaps talking to himself.

She had noticed the changes in Slytherin recently. And the cause of this phenomenon was simply one person, and a few words from them.

"I don't know what's gotten into you this time," Daphne said to her roommate with a helpless expression.

"But I'm very clear on one thing: Ino's ability to do all this was no accident. From his first storytelling, his first appearance in the newspaper, to even being the first to stand up on a train surrounded by Dementors..."

Daphne paused slightly, as if the name Dementors had brought back unpleasant memories.

After a brief pause, she continued:

"What I mean is, Ino's achievements and prestige were built up little by little. Although I don't know what you've been through, what I want to say is, don't try to copy anyone's path. We have ambition, but we're not crazy!"

After Daphne finished speaking, she looked at Pansy with some concern.

After the Christmas holidays ended, she noticed that the other person was a little different. To be precise, Pansy seemed to have grown up a lot overnight.

"Your worries are unnecessary!" Pansy smiled. She knew about her own changes, but she didn't think it was a bad thing.

Although the mirror in the prize display room on the fourth floor corridor is gone, the scene displayed inside is still fresh in her memory.

That mirror seemed to have opened a new window for her, and the beauty reflected in it captivated her.

……

At the same time.

Inside the Great Hall of Hogwarts, Draco, accompanied by Goyle and Crabbe, was pacing back and forth with an air of arrogance.

Judging from their posture, it's as if they're selecting some auspicious burial site.

But in fact, he was simply choosing a prominent location.

With the appearance of the second mirror, the previously tiresome scenery was successfully replaced.

The story in the second mirror is also quite interesting. The scene takes place in a valley, and the main characters are magical creatures made of ice and snow: a giant and a goblin.

Although the film only lasts for a few tens of minutes, it's filled with laughter throughout. The silly troll Tom and the clever goblin Jerry, when paired together, always manage to do things that are both hilarious and absurd.

While looking forward to the next installment, Draco didn't forget his current task and placed the mirror he had seen earlier in a prominent place in the Great Hall.

Let everyone see what Slytherin has accomplished.

Of course, the job originally belonged to Gore, but he took it from him.

But none of that matters now; he has already spotted Scarface and his red-haired henchman.

"Goyle, come with me! We're going to meet Scarface! Crabbe, grab the mirror, you're done for if you break it."

Draco turned and gave the order, then strode arrogantly toward the Gryffindor table.

As if they were truly telepathic, Harry turned around and noticed the figure approaching them.

"Malfoy! What are you trying to do now?" Ron stood up immediately and stood in front of Harry without hesitation.

"What am I doing?" Draco looked arrogantly at the red-haired man before him. "I'm just broadening your horizons! So you won't spend your whole life without any knowledge, you poor Weasley!"

A year later, Draco once again stirred up trouble with a single sentence.

Before Ron could retort, Ginny had already stood up. "Our family may be poor, but we don't need your mockery, you wavering Malfoy!"

Unlike Ron, George and Fred stopped watching when Ginny stood up and appeared on either side of her.

Seeing that the situation was escalating, Crabbe, who had been pretending to be honest and simple, spoke up for once:

"This is an alchemical artifact made by Mr. Swinburne, a very interesting mirror. He called it a 'video mirror' because you can see interesting images."

"Ino?" George and Fred exchanged a glance, and gradually lowered their guard.

In the magical world, some people's names seem to possess a real magic, gradually drawing in many people who were prepared to watch a good show.

Not only the Gryffindors, but also Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

The little badgers, in particular, squeezed in boldly after seeing Cedric appear, as if they had found a powerful backer.

"Ahem!" As the crowd gathered, Draco cleared his throat with restraint.

"What I'm about to show you is the greatest alchemical artifact of this century..."

Outside the crowd, Ron muttered a quiet "tsk." He couldn't stand Malfoy's smug look; what was there to be proud of in running an errand?

Although he couldn't stand it, he didn't choose to leave; instead, he squeezed in several spaces.

"...Take a look, a video mirror!" Draco yanked off the velvet cloth covering the mirror.

A three-foot mirror was placed steadily on the auditorium table by Crabbe.

……

The auditorium was bustling with activity.

Laughter also filled the principal's office on the eighth floor.

The modified Tom and Jerry not only made Dumbledore laugh out loud, but also made the portraits of past headmasters on the wall laugh heartily.

The twenty-odd minutes of the plot flew by amidst laughter.

As the image in the mirror disappeared, Dumbledore took off his glasses, which were stained with tears from laughter, and he had to gently wipe them with a handkerchief.

"This is amazing! Unbelievable!" Dumbledore exclaimed, wiping his eyes as he looked at the three-foot mirror.

At that moment, he understood why Ino had sought the Mirror of Eris in the first place, but what surprised him even more was that only two short months had passed...

"Ino, you've surprised me once again. This alchemical talent... perhaps you should meet someone."

"You mean Mr. Lemaître? Wasn't the Philosopher's Stone destroyed?" Ino asked, somewhat surprised.

Although Nicolas Flamel is not mentioned in the original story, he always believed that Flamel had died after the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed.

"The Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed, but a legendary alchemist would not die so easily, although Nico had long been prepared to face death."

"But before that, I need to tell you some good news! This..."

"A cinematic mirror, Professor!" Ino said.

"Yes, the Mirror of the Vision! I will apply for a second-class medal from the Knights of Merlin for you. Wizards haven't had any innovations in a long time."

Dumbledore's tone was somewhat downcast. There were some things he saw clearly, even more clearly than anyone else.

"Wizards need to broaden their horizons!" Ino chimed in, stating his position.

He didn't have much ambition, but the wizard's mindset needed to change; at the very least, communication could no longer rely on old-fashioned letters.

"Open your eyes..." Dumbledore pondered the words carefully.

After a moment, he slowly nodded.

Xiao Di's sharing today: Hippocampus, the sea monster with a horse's head and a fish's tail.

British Magic Classification Level: xxx

Origin and distribution: The horse-headed fish-tailed sea monster is a large monster native to Greece and can often be seen in the Mediterranean.

Physical characteristics: The Horse-Headed Fish-Tailed Sea Monster has the head and forebody of a horse, while its tail and hindbody are fish-shaped. The eggs laid by the Horse-Headed Fish-Tailed Sea Monster are large and translucent, through which the baby Horse-Headed Fish-Tailed Sea Monster can be seen.

(End of this chapter)