The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 302 Excellent Servant

In the valley of the shelter.

Ino looked at the food in front of her with great interest: a plate of freshly baked flower cakes, freshly baked bread, crispy biscuits, and a cup of honey water with the fragrance of olives.

Although the food looked exquisite, it confirmed the Blue Light's capabilities.

A little elf who abides by the rules of the magical world.

"I'm sorry, Master, there aren't many ingredients to choose from, so this is all I can make."

Blue Lantern lowered his head slightly and said somewhat shyly.

"It's alright, that's enough!" Ino didn't seem to care about that.

Only by following the rules can one feel at ease. If the blue light in front of him could actually break the rules of magic, it would actually make him a little uneasy.

"Your task from now on will be to take care of the herbs in the valley. I will send you a book on how to do it later. Now you can go and water them."

As the sound faded, Ino noticed that after Blue Lantern bowed slightly, its body gradually became transparent and then disappeared.

At the same time, a thin layer of dark clouds rose in the valley, followed by a continuous drizzle.

"As expected of a wizard's ability..."

Watching the moving dark clouds, his guess was confirmed once again.

The Blue Lantern's potential is roughly on par with that of a wizard; it cannot conjure food out of thin air, but it can create water.

The more than 100 acres of land in the valley will likely not be irrigated in the short term.

Ino glanced one last time at the clouds floating in the sky, then turned his gaze to the other two oak trees.

I took down the seven-inch diameter crystal ball, and sure enough, it was as unremarkable as the oak tree that grew it. It didn't react at all when I held it in my hand, like a Muggle ornament.

Although it looked ordinary, Ino carefully put the crystal ball away.

Because he remembered a joke he had once seen: finding glass beads in a box full of gold. It couldn't be glass beads, but some other kind of gemstone you didn't recognize.

Similarly, this crystal ball is probably the same.

After putting away the crystal ball, the last harvest was left: a whole tree full of dazzling gems.

This time, Ino didn't use magic again. Just like a real farmer, she picked the fruit one by one by hand.

Of course, this is not some kind of sentiment or strange hobby, but a reasonable speculation.

After all, harvest festivals generally represent diligence and simplicity.

……

Half an hour later.

After a lot of hard work, the harvest of various gemstones was plentiful.

At first, Ino quietly recorded the numbers, but later on, she stopped caring too much.

Looking at the mounds of gems piled up on the ground, I roughly estimated that there were at least one or two hundred of them.

He was genuinely happy about these gems.

Unlike gold, gemstones have a wider range of uses in the magical world, from potions to alchemy. Some truly rare gemstones are even priceless and unavailable for purchase.

A bountiful harvest is always a source of joy.

After sorting through all the harvest, Ino watered the three oak trees, looking forward to a new harvest next year.

After doing all this, he bent down, picked up the breakfast that Lan Deng had prepared, and disappeared into the valley in a flash.

After all, wasting food is unacceptable, especially for someone who has truly experienced hunger.

……

Slytherin dormitory.

"Is this a new dish in Hogwarts' kitchen?"

After Draco got up and washed up, he noticed the food on the table in his dormitory. The exquisite presentation and the fragrance of flowers aroused his appetite, and he subconsciously swallowed.

"It wasn't made in the kitchen, I bought it outside! But you can eat whatever you like."

Leaning against the bed, Ino could easily see Draco's subtle expressions and movements.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Upon being invited to try it, Draco didn't hesitate and immediately grabbed a flower cake from the table and put it in his mouth.

In the quiet room that followed, the sound of swallowing food could be heard.

After eating two flower cakes and several cookies, Draco wiped his mouth, still feeling unsatisfied.

"Ino! Durmstrang's people might arrive this afternoon, but before that, I'd like to go to Hogsmeade. Is there anything you need to buy?"

When Draco asked, Ino was momentarily dazed. These past few days, her mind had been preoccupied with those three oak trees, and before she knew it, the day had come for the Goblet of Fire to be lit.

"I'm asking you, do you need me to bring you anything?" Draco asked again when he didn't get a response.

"Hogsmeade?" Ino instinctively wanted to decline, but then she thought of the blue lights in the valley.

"Could you bring me a book, 'A Thousand Amazing Herbs and Mushrooms'? And if there's time, could you also buy some toffee from Honeydukes?"

Since Blue Lantern was put in charge of managing those herbs, it would naturally involve harvesting and storage, so having a book as a reference was essential.

"Leave it to me! I'll be back before noon," Draco assured him, showing no curiosity whatsoever about why he bought duplicate textbooks.

A dozen minutes later.

Draco left the dorm room with a cheerful expression, along with a whole plate of flower cakes that had disappeared from the table.

Looking at the empty plates, before Ino could even use a cleaning spell, she noticed a slight vibration coming from the bedside drawer.

……

Astronomical Tower.

This is probably the loneliest place in Hogwarts.

Aside from evening astronomy classes, the Astronomy Tower is quieter than Snape's Potions office on weekdays.

The tranquil astronomical tower is bathed in the gentle sunlight of an autumn morning.

Hermione stood alone on the edge of the tower, her plain witch's robes outlined in gold by the rising sun.

On her feet were a pair of khaki women's ankle boots, one foot firmly planted on the ground, while the other foot lightly rose on tiptoe, the slender toe unconsciously kicking the weathered stone wall of the Astronomical Tower.

Seemingly bored, Hermione turned and walked toward the edge of the Astronomy Tower after standing there for a while.

He gently placed his hands on the cold wall and quietly gazed at the forbidden forest in the distance.

But what Hermione didn't notice was that the moment she turned around, the tranquil Astronomy Tower flashed with a reddish-orange light.

……

A burst of orange-red light swept across the scene.

Ino's figure appeared on the Astronomical Tower.

However, thanks to the phoenix's ability to teleport, all of this happened silently.

Upon arriving at the Astronomical Tower, he saw a beautiful painting.

At the tranquil top of the tower, a tall young woman rests her hands on the edge of the wall, gazing quietly into the distance.

Bathed in sunlight, her long, slightly wavy brown hair seemed to be gilded with a golden glow, each strand shimmering with a soft light.

Although everything in front of me seemed so beautiful, like a meticulously painted oil painting.

But in this painting, Ino sensed a touch of loneliness.

This feeling reminded him of three years ago. It was a sunny morning, and he was sitting on the banks of the Thames, eating a cheap breakfast and watching the passing boats and people.

Despite the lively scene, a sense of loneliness seeped into my very bones.

Being a stranger in a strange land, that's pretty much what it's like.

For some reason, Ino suddenly felt that Hermione seemed to have never truly integrated into Hogwarts.

Unlike the original story, the trio forged a deep friendship during their adventure together.

But in the current story, Hermione is still alone, even after four years, this proud girl remains outside of Gryffindor.

(End of this chapter)