The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 426 Extra - Lina

In the mysterious and magnificent world of Middle-earth.

The Shire is like a secluded paradise, lying quietly on the vast green plains.

The summer sun shines gently, its golden rays intertwining with the verdant fields to create a breathtaking scene.

The air is filled with the fragrance of fresh flowers and grass, and in the distance are rolling hills covered with lush trees, like nature's most exquisite green carpet.

A babbling brook flows by, its crystal-clear waters blending with birdsong to create a melodious pastoral poem.

The villages of Shire are scattered across the fields in a charming, rustic way. Each cottage looks so cozy and simple. Wisps of smoke rise from the chimneys, contrasting beautifully with the blue sky and white clouds, creating a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

As evening fell, the setting sun painted the sky a golden-red hue, enveloping the entire town of Shire in a dreamlike glow.

After a day's work, the hobbits came out of their homes and, as usual, gathered in the village square to enjoy this rare moment of leisure.

Young children chased and played on the grass, their laughter filling the space. Adults sat together, sharing their stories and joy.

But today's topic of conversation is the long-forgotten Bag End, Bilbo Baggins' legendary hobbit home.

"The lights are on again, and so are the lights next door."

"A full thirty years..."

The older hobbits reminisced about the past, while the younger ones listened quietly. For them, listening to their elders tell stories was one of the few good opportunities to broaden their horizons.

After all, many hobbits never left the Shire in their entire lives.

……

Opposite to Bag Bottom Cave.

A two-story wooden building.

This is the wooden house that Ino built for Aunt Julia.

Although no one has lived here for many years, if you are lucky enough to enter the room, you will find that everything inside is brand new.

Inside the wooden house.

A tall woman sat quietly in a high-backed oak chair.

With her beautiful features and snow-white skin, if it weren't for her lively eyes, one could easily mistake her for a pretty doll.

Time passed by, second by second.

The quiet room contrasted sharply with the lively square outside.

A while later.

"Sigh..." A sigh, devoid of any discernible tone, echoed in the room.

As the sound faded, a flash of silvery-white light appeared, and the spot where the halo landed was precisely on the smooth, mirror-like wooden table in the room.

On the table, the unopened letters, as the light fell, turned into pure white snowflakes.

Lina silently watched the snowflakes scattered in the air.

These letters were left behind by her over the years, but none of them have been opened.

The letter went unread, perhaps due to the passage of time, or for some other reason.

But as that constraint disappeared, Lina already had the answer in her heart.

Especially after the elderly hobbit returned, his frequent disappearances and sudden reappearances made her even more certain of her answer.

……

in the room.

Through the window, Lina saw the old figure across the way.

Compared to her previous aged appearance, she could clearly sense the latent vitality within the other person's body, which seemed to be even more abundant than before the last time they disappeared.

But even so, she felt a little disappointed.

Sitting in her chair, Lina quietly reflected on the past and realized that she seemed to have never found a sense of belonging.

No, Narnia was not. Although she had lived there for a long time, she was a true outsider.

Today, this world called Middle-earth is not one of belonging either...

Gradually, a frozen path, only six feet wide, came to mind.

Despite the constraints deep within his soul, he couldn't shake off that path.

She escaped from Narnia, was reborn as an ice flower, and then, by a twist of fate, possessed the body of an eight-eyed giant spider...

Scenes from the past are being replayed like a play on a stage.

What was once seen as a burden now seems to be the only connection between them.

……

half an hour.

Lina slowly stood up, her tall figure appearing somewhat out of place in the low-ceilinged room.

This time, instead of using magic to leave as before, she strode towards the door that hadn't been opened for decades.

The door was pushed open, and the cool summer night breeze and the lively sounds from the square arrived as expected, seemingly injecting vitality into the dusty room.

But beautiful things always seem to be fleeting.

A moment later, as the door closed again, silence once more became the only theme in the room.

Even the snowflakes that had formed from the letters on the table had fallen steadily to the ground and were visibly melting away...

……

Step out of the wooden house.

Lina didn't give a second glance to anything around her, but instead walked towards the apple orchard she used to cultivate.

Time flies, and the apple tree that was once only as thick as an arm has now grown strong and lush.

Looking at the orchard she had cultivated with her own hands, Lina's face lit up with a smile.

Perhaps, in this world, only this place still holds a connection with her.

Since there is a connection, then it must be taken away.

Thinking of this, Lina emitted a faint blue light, which slowly spread as if it were alive.

Soon, as the light spread out like ripples, completely enveloping the one-acre apple orchard, the lush trees suddenly became somewhat ethereal.

In an instant, or even less.

The entire orchard seemed to have been erased from existence by an invisible hand, as if wiped clean with an eraser.

But this was not the end. With the disappearance of the apple trees, the bare ground was given a new growth: the Shire's specialty – thriving tobacco plants.

"What you cultivated is now returned to you..."

Standing in the orchard, Lina turned her gaze to the dwelling of the old hobbit.

Under the cover of night, Bag Bottom Cave in the distance looked very cozy.

The orchard where she lived seemed rather lonely.

……

moment.

Lina withdrew her gaze and looked at the boundless night sky, as if they were communicating with each other.

Suddenly, the faint blue light surrounding his body became intense and dazzling in an instant, transforming into a beam of light three feet in diameter, which then disappeared into the vast night sky.

Amazingly, despite this striking scene, the hobbits in the distant square seemed oblivious, as if nothing had changed, still raising their glasses and chatting and laughing.

……

"Bye now!"

Within the pillar of light, Lina's figure slowly floated up.

The constraints of the past are gone, and the only apple orchard that belonged to her has been taken away. It's time for her to leave.

As a legendary witch, Lina is capable of leaving once the bonds are broken, just as she did when she ran from the world of Chann to the world of Narnia.

The reason I didn't leave was simply to wait for a farewell.

But those unopened letters also seem to offer an answer.

Lina didn't think the other party hadn't noticed, after all, she always lit the oil lamp in the cabin after the old hobbit returned.

Since we couldn't wait for a farewell, then there was no farewell.

……

night sky.

Lina's figure flew higher and higher, and in a daze, she seemed to have seen the other end of the pillar of light.

On the snow-covered earth, stood a girl in a long blue dress.

Before the girl, a magnificent castle suddenly rose from the previously empty ground. The castle, made of ice and snow, shimmered with a crystal light.

Seeing this, Lina suddenly smiled.

Although she can travel between different worlds, she cannot pinpoint her location precisely.

The icy world on the other side was clearly created intentionally.

Just as she was about to leave, a deep blue camellia flower reappeared before her.

Like a work of art, the flower blooms and withers in just a moment.

But this fleeting moment only made Lina's smile even brighter.

……

Farewell seems to be presented in a different way.

As the ice flowers withered, Lina's figure disappeared into the night sky of Middle-earth.

The lively sounds in the square of the Shire continued, as if it were all a dream.

No one knew anyone had come here tonight, and no one knew anyone had left.

Only in that dusty wooden house, the oil lamp that had always been brightly lit suddenly went out.

Perhaps tomorrow, this will become another topic of conversation among the hobbits, another interesting story to be told to others.

(End of this chapter)