In the Apocalypse, I Can Enter Hogwarts

Chapter 72 Unwilling to Be Bound

……

As Hermione drew closer, Ian suddenly caught a whiff of the girl's delicate fragrance. Unlike perfume, Hermione's scent was like the light, lingering fragrance of orchids in bloom, a scent that was both pleasant and refreshing.

The flavor captivated him, but now was clearly not the time to savor it; there was plenty of time. Seeing Hermione's expectant gaze, Ian said mysteriously:

Do you know about divination?

Hermione shook her head instinctively, but then paused, saying uncertainly, "You mean the Divination class in the third year?"

"Yes, but it's a course that places a lot of emphasis on talent, and I happen to have some talent..." Upon hearing Hermione's immediate expression of wanting to object at the mention of talent, Ian quickly switched gears:

"Let me finish. What I'm trying to say is that Harry has his own destiny, and I hope you can try not to get involved in his affairs in the future. Although you are friends, if you want, you can offer him advice, but don't get involved..."

Ian looked intently at Hermione, then said seriously, "Magic is a fairy tale, but it's not entirely a fairy tale. At school, you have me, professors, and the headmaster, but what about when you go back to the Muggle world? For your own sake and for your family's sake, okay?"

Perhaps Ian’s gaze was more powerful when he was serious, because Hermione was made uneasy by his sudden gaze, and a blush quickly spread across her cheeks.

Hermione nodded gently and said in an extremely soft voice, "I understand. Can't you come home with me...? Our house is really big anyway..."

"What did you say?" Ian was relieved to see Hermione nod, but the last sentence was so soft that it was a real test of one's hearing, so he had no choice but to ask one more question.

"I said I understand!"

Ian heard clearly this time, but he was met with a girlish eye roll.

……

The camping picnic lasted until 11 o'clock. If Ian hadn't had classes in the afternoon, he estimated they could have stayed there all day because the atmosphere was really great and made them all feel relaxed.

"Perhaps this is what they mean by 'not tiring to be with someone'..." he thought to himself.

Magic is really convenient. After camping, the trampled grass and some food scraps can be restored to their original state with just a simple cleaning spell and a repair spell.

After getting everything ready, he and Hermione walked side by side down the path they had come from. But before they even reached the castle gate, Ian’s sharp eyes had already spotted two furtive figures.

"Looks like your two friends have something urgent to tell you again," Ian said with a hint of teasing. He also gestured for Hermione to look at the Savior and his henchmen not far away, who were looking around.

Upon hearing this, Hermione turned around and saw Harry and Ron standing dumbfounded in the corner, giving her meaningful glances. Helpless, she covered her forehead with her hand and said somewhat dejectedly, "I'll go over there and see what trouble they've gotten into this time."

Ian suppressed a laugh and simply nodded. After yesterday's events, it was clear that Hermione's relationship with them had improved somewhat.

Ian didn't intend to interfere. He had said what needed to be said, and Hermione had clearly taken it to heart, which was enough. Therefore, he didn't want to meddle in any of Hermione's actions; after all, everyone has their own world, and no one is anyone else's appendage.

"The wrong person will only teach you how to grow up; but the right person will always be there to help you grow. I really don't want to restrict your freedom..."

After watching Hermione leave, Ian felt rather bored and went straight back to his Ravenclaw bedroom.

……

Time flows quietly and methodically. More than ten days have passed since the last picnic on the lawn, and the days have quietly entered the last month of the year—December.

Meanwhile, the young wizards at Hogwarts were visibly getting restless, not for any other reason than that the most anticipated holiday of the year—Christmas and its holidays—was just around the corner.

Because Ian had his own study plan and was still following Snape's research on dragon blood, unlike the other young wizards who felt that time was passing by too quickly.

I closed the book in my hands, silently walked to the window, and gazed at the deep blue sky outside—vast, boundless, serene, and sublime…

In that instant, Ian seemed to truly understand Rowena Ravenclaw's lifelong dedication and pursuit. At that moment, it was as if her serene face appeared on the distant horizon. Their gazes seemed to traverse a thousand years of time and space, meeting at this moment, and they looked at each other with a gentle smile.

"We are all lonely, just in different ways. It's time to go to the library and get some new books..."

Ian silently stared at the countdown in his mind: 58:07:32...

……

Two days later, one morning, as the countdown reached zero, Ian's figure slowly disappeared into the bed curtains.

At the same time, his figure gradually reappeared in the apocalyptic room.

"A dream of Nanke must eventually end, life is but a dream, all is emptiness." Looking down at the magic wand in his hand and the infinitely extending backpack at his feet, he felt an unreal sense of illusion after each time he traveled through time, and couldn't help but recite two famous lines from the past.

Because of the constancy of time, what is morning at Hogwarts is evening here in the apocalypse.

Ian quietly put the infinitely extendable backpack back into the living room, opened the spatial entrance, and then returned to his room.

Gazing at the clear, star-sparse, and silent night sky, Ian suddenly recalled a scene from Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey" in his past life. There, during the scene with the Black Mountain Demon, Tang Sanzang quipped, "Just finished sleeping in India, and now you're sleeping again? Jet lag, bro."

Thinking of this, Ian chuckled to himself. Unlike at Hogwarts, he felt very relaxed and free in the apocalypse, or rather, he was living a very real life.

Laugh when you want to laugh, play when you want to play wildly. For other survivors, it's an apocalyptic struggle, but for Ian, it's a free space to break free from constraints.

"Huh? I don't remember these being cropped pants..." Just as Ian changed into his pajamas and was about to lie down in bed, he suddenly realized that his pajama pants seemed to be a bit too short.

"Show yourself immediately!" (Aparecium)

Ian instinctively cast a revealing charm to prevent anyone from playing pranks on him. Only after casting it did he realize that he was in his apocalyptic home, and he involuntarily put down his wand and covered his forehead with his hand.

"Sigh, this is turning into paranoia... There are always treacherous subjects trying to harm me. But why did it suddenly become two inches shorter... Oh well, I'll find a new one tomorrow."

Just as Ian was about to give up thinking, he glanced at the calendar on the wall: "December 5th, huh? The 5th?"

A bolt of lightning flashed, instantly tearing through the fog, and he suddenly realized where the problem lay.

"Double the time, double the cost, I should have expected this... Fate has already secretly marked the price for everything..."

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(End of this chapter)