The path winds.
The setting sun shines mottled through the treetops onto the bluestone slabs, draping the path to Hogwarts in a veil of gold and crimson.
At the end of the path.
The majestic castle seems to stand at the edge of the sky.
"You cunning little rascal, how dare you treat that girl like a servant, do you know who she is?" Snape seemed to have been keeping an eye on the situation behind him.
Watching Ian jogging up beside him, Snape, who originally intended to ignore Ian for the whole journey, couldn't resist reminding him.
"What servant? This is clearly voluntary help from a good friend!" Ian corrected Snape, raising his voice slightly at the end.
"I see you're courting death!"
Snape could hardly stand it, turned around and approached Aurora, who was lagging seven or eight meters behind, intending to take Ian's luggage from her.
"What are you doing?"
Unexpectedly, Aurora hid the suitcase behind her, dodging Snape's outstretched hand, even looking at Snape with a wary gaze.
"..."
Snape was speechless.
His wrinkled face twitched twice.
That hovering hand angrily waved the sleeve, his steps quickly retreated back, directly passed Ian, and headed back into the deep forest without looking back.
"I'll treat you to a secret house-elf meal when we return."
Ian stood still, and as Aurora walked over, he immediately promised confidently.
Aurora did not respond.
She walked alongside Ian.
Dragging a suitcase over the rugged path.
"I wonder if this thing is edible."
Ian saw a vine with large fruits by the roadside. After hesitating for a moment, he ran over, picked one, and carefully bit into it.
The soul from the East seems always curious about food.
"So sweet, want to try?"
Ian handed the unbitten side to Aurora.
"..."
Aurora remained silent.
"It really is sweet."
Ian continued to promote it.
Looking at Ian's somewhat distorted face, Aurora, who was usually good at managing her emotions, finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She sighed and responded reluctantly.
"This is sourberry, a main ingredient for making souring agents."
Clearly.
The German girl's knowledge of Herbalism was quite extensive.
"Even a dog wouldn't eat it." Ian, seeing his prank fail, was somewhat disappointed and disdainfully threw away the fruit in his hand.
"But you ate it and even tried to trick me into eating it."
Aurora's tone was calm as always.
"I wanted to share the hardships with you; how can that be called deception..."
This time, it was Ian's turn to be silent.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Fortunately, this strange silence did not last long. As the two continued to follow Snape through the forest path, the narrow road suddenly opened up.
A large lake appeared before them.
The black surface of the lake rippled slightly, and the evening sunset could not penetrate it, leaving people unable to see what might be hidden within the lake.
The Black Lake.
One of Hogwarts' famous attractions.
In front of it.
The ancient castle stood majestically among the mountains, with countless turrets and high towers.
"It's beautiful."
Ian gazed at the scene before him, feeling a surge of excitement.
"It's indeed much grander than the illustrations in the books."
Aurora's gaze also lingered on the castle for a long time.
"Hogwarts: A History?"
Ian took his suitcase from the girl, noticing her arms trembling slightly, perhaps from exertion along the way.
"It's The Rise and Fall of Hogwarts."
Aurora put her free hand behind her back.
Just then.
"Wait here, the students from the school bus will be here soon, and you two will take a boat to the school with them," Snape glanced deeply at Aurora.
He also shot a warning look at Ian.
"Can't you take us inside directly?"
Ian felt the temperature dropping, and rain might fall soon.
"It's the rule."
Snape replied coldly, and then, turning into a gray mist, he shot toward the Hogwarts castle like a rocket, in Ian's view.
"What are these inexplicable rules?"
Ian squatted by the lake, dipped his hand into the cold water, and idly stirred it.
"The four founders of Hogwarts took a boat across to build the school." Aurora, too, walked to the side of the Black Lake, her different-colored eyes searching the waters for something.
Ian began to ponder, and after a moment's realization, he said, "Maybe the rule was set by Slytherin, he got seasick himself, so he wanted others to as well."
Upon hearing this.
Aurora glanced at the boy still stirring the water.
"I don't think a wizard as powerful as him would have such childish whims," she said, her hand still clutching her suitcase, which might hold much forbidden knowledge.
"You don't understand, some men are petty to their dying day."
Suddenly, Ian felt his fingers in the lake tighten, and he quickly withdrew them to find a small squid wrapped around them.
"A juvenile giant squid."
Aurora's tone was slightly amazed.
"Not a merbaby, poor rating." Ian flicked his finger, sending the small squid back into the lake, and then pulled out a tissue to wipe off the slime.
"There are only Scottish lake monsters in this lake, both young and adult forms have quite an ugly appearance, I doubt you'd want to meet one."
Aurora reached into the water, hoping to catch a juvenile giant squid as well, but after waiting for a long time, nothing bit.
Perhaps out of boredom, she too began to stir the water like Ian.
"On the day we killed the Dark Wizard, Dumbledore accepted my admission application." Suddenly, Aurora made an unexpected statement.
"Hiss~"
Ian inhaled sharply, "Wasn't it you who killed him?"
Aurora turned her head to look at him.
"It's all the same."
After a slight hesitation, Aurora uncharacteristically elaborated on her typically succinct words, "I just made my move a moment before you."
She had clearly noticed Ian's actions that day too.
"Let's talk about starting school; why did you bring that up suddenly?" Ian observed the forest behind him, still seeing no signs of the new students.
"Craft said, this kind of hope-giving tactic at the last moment is typical of Dumbledore." Aurora's gaze remained fixed on the ripples on the lake.
"You need to remain cautious. He is better at playing with people's minds than my grandfather..." Her different-colored eyes shifted constantly, showing her inner emotions were fluctuating.
"Isn't that a bit too conspiratorial of a mindset?"
"Of course, being cautious never hurts."
Ian didn't deny the danger Dumbledore posed to those studying Dark Arts, but after several interactions, he still held a relatively positive view of his headmaster.
Speaking from the heart.
Reversing their positions.
As the greatest wizard of the twentieth century, facing constant harassment from various forces, Ian felt he might not be able to resist the urge to eat beef.
Self-control.
Was what made Dumbledore great.
"Maybe."
Aurora didn't express an opinion.
"Here they come."
Unexpectedly, the girl spoke under the lingering sunlight.
"What's coming?"
Ian had just started to ask.
Behind them.
Loud noises followed in succession.
The Half-Blood Giant led a group of curious yet apprehensive little wizards through the forest.