The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 73 Hello, Gandalf

In the courtyard of the farm.

From dawn to noon, Bi Weng either chops wood, feeds the livestock in the pen, or harvests honey from the beehives behind the yard.

In short, it's like there's always work to be done.

Ino also remained quite patient, silently waiting for the other person to finish the work.

The sun was high in the sky when I watched as Bion finished cleaning the last sheep pen.

Ino slowly began to speak:

"Mr. Bion! If it's alright, I'd like to invite you to lunch and have you try some candy from my hometown. It would also be a way of paying for your stay last night."

"Alright! Ask whatever you want to ask." Bion raised his head blankly, then turned his gaze to the mountains not far away.

"It seems you won't have time to leave today. Set off again early tomorrow morning. Head east along the Misty Mountains, cross the Anduin River, and you should reach the nearest human town by evening."

"Ha! Thanks for clearing things up, of course! Lunch is still a must." Ino chuckled sheepishly.

At this moment, he also put aside his contempt. This skin-changing human who had lived from the Second Era to the present seemed to have wisdom and size in direct proportion. He was not only big, but also very wise.

……

Half an hour later.

Ino laid out piles of chocolates and a considerable amount of toffee on the large dining table.

Considering Bion's size, these candies were also successfully stripped of their elaborate wrappers with the help of family magic.

To put it simply, it's naked candy, which you can just grab and eat with your hands.

Similarly, as the farm owner, Bion also brought out freshly baked whole wheat bread, two large bowls of honey, and some freshly picked fruit.

Looking at the wooden bowl on the table, as big as a washbasin, filled with freshly scooped honey, and even with a few bees floating on top of it.

Instead of showing any disgust, Ino happily picked up the bread, dipped it in honey, and ate it.

This kind of pure, natural honey is sometimes really hard to come by.

"Mr. Bion, have you encountered any dwarves in recent years?" Ino asked casually while eating his bread.

"Dwarves? Greedy, obsessive, and stingy." With that, Bion shook his head in denial. "It's been so long since any dwarves have appeared here, so long that I've almost forgotten about time."

"Really? To be honest, I don't like dwarves either. If they could put aside their greed, their civilization might be even more brilliant."

Ino was just casually sharing his opinion, saying that in Middle-earth, if the dwarves could truly rid themselves of their greedy dragon disease, they might actually create another brilliant civilization.

However, due to their greed, the dwarves continued to do as they pleased, despite suffering countless misfortunes and disasters, without changing in the slightest.

Of course, Thorin Oakenshield, the last king of the Dwarves of Lonely Mountain and the protagonist of the Smaug story, although he successfully broke the curse of the dragon disease, also died in the Battle of the Five Armies.

Throughout the history of the dwarves, they truly seem to be neglected and unloved, whether in the Moria Mines era or the later era of the Kings of the Mountain, their fate has always been fraught with hardship.

Ino understood this to some extent, since, in terms of the order of creation, the firstborn elves and the youngest humans always received more favor from Ilúvatar.

As the dwarves ranked second, it's understandable that they were subconsciously overlooked.

……

A dozen minutes later, Bion finished the last piece of bread in his hand.

"These are really good candies, especially the milk candy. It gave me a subtle feeling of happiness. There must be some magical stuff in it."

Upon hearing this, Ino put down the food in her hand and said with some surprise:

"Maybe! But I've never thought about that; I just think it tastes really good."

"Illusory happiness can sometimes be intoxicating." As he spoke, Bion slowly closed his eyes.

A moment later, he opened his eyes again, his gaze becoming somewhat profound:

"I don't know why you came here, but the Misty Mountains have changed. Darkness has permeated the forest, and the woodland elves have only shown restraint and retreated..."

"If possible, let's leave first thing tomorrow morning! I haven't seen a human wizard in an entire era."

Ino seemed to have guessed why he was being treated well.

Because he sensed a hint of longing and gratitude in Bion's tone.

"I'll be leaving!" Ino said calmly. "To be honest, I really have no purpose; I'm just passing through."

"Oh! Whatever you wish." Bion nodded slowly, then said:

"After dusk, you'd better stay inside. I admit you have some of the flair of a former human wizard, but your power is still somewhat weak; at least, you can't inflict a fatal wound on me."

"I'm not going out today!" Ino blurted out without thinking.

……

After lunch, Bion got busy again, seemingly driving the cattle, sheep and horses to graze.

With nothing else to do, Ino used her shapeshifting magic to turn a stone into a rocking chair woven from vines.

I lay there leisurely in the courtyard, basking in the sun and making up for the sleep I lost from staying up late the night before, and drifted off to sleep peacefully.

At dusk.

A gentle breeze swept through the Misty Mountains, carrying a touch of coolness as it passed through the courtyard.

Ino slowly opened his eyes; he had slept very soundly.

After all, the name of Bion the Skin Changer was well-known throughout the dark forces.

In the story, the pale orc leader Azog, even with a small squad of elite wolf riders, dared not attack the farm, and could not even harass it.

Upon waking, Ino looked around the courtyard but couldn't find Bion. It seemed that Bion had once again changed his skin into a giant bear and gone to the Misty Mountains to take revenge on the orcs.

After learning from the conversation at noon that no dwarves had appeared recently, the timeline was actually determined.

It should be before the events of the Smaug dragon story, and during this period, if you went to the human world, you would enjoy a relatively peaceful time.

This also led him to decide that he would set off early the next morning, heading east across the Anduin River to live in St. White City for a period of time.

As for Smaug's story, it will happen as it will happen, and it will end as it will end.

……

Before nightfall.

Just as Ino was preparing a simple dinner, the same rumbling sound of the giant bear running yesterday came from outside the farm gate.

This made him instinctively pick up his wand, then put it back in his pocket a moment later. Beon wasn't a werewolf; although he was somewhat irritable after changing his skin, he still retained basic rationality. Otherwise, let alone livestock, the manor would have been completely barren long ago.

The sound grew closer.

The manor gates were suddenly opened.

"Philip! Quick... Bumble, run! It's going to bite your butt!"

A boy who was about five feet tall, or about thirteen or fourteen years old in human years, suddenly squeezed in from outside the door.

Then, just like dumplings being dropped into a pot, one, two, three, four...

"close the door!"

As one of the dwarves gave the order, everyone worked together to close the farm gate, almost getting their noses caught in the process.

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(End of this chapter)