Chapter 404: Halloween and the Forgotten Hagrid
Time flies.
Quiet life always passes by suddenly.
It was the end of October 1996.
It had been almost a month since the last immersive dream.
But no matter how time passed, the joys and sorrows of the little wizards in the castle were always uninterrupted, just like the change of seasons.
It was less than three days away from Halloween.
The entire castle had already begun to be decorated.
Although Hagrid was a stable professor of magical animals, he had never fallen behind in his "work" that had lasted for decades.
Outside the castle, in the vegetable garden behind the cottage, Hagrid would still plant large pumpkins in advance when spring came, and wait until Halloween in November every year to decorate the castle.
…
The Black Lake in late autumn also formed a thin layer of frost due to the sudden drop in temperature.
By the lake, Ino walked slowly along the familiar path. The surrounding withered grass and the bare Whomping Willow contrasted with each other, adding a bit of bleakness to the place.
"Are you ready?"
Hermione asked again worriedly on the quiet path.
Although she had asked many times, she was still a little worried. Because this year's Halloween dinner, her boyfriend was going to do something thrilling.
"Don't worry! Maybe I can come back and bring you candy before the dinner is over."
Hearing the inquiry again, Ino promised tirelessly.
"You always have to be careful!" Hermione still worriedly told:
"If anything happens to you, I can only go to Arad to find a way. After all, I don't have any teachers, and I don't have any golden apples..."
Hermione's tone was a little low. She inherited the shelter, but there was only one door leading to Arad.
As for the valley, even if she tried her best, she couldn't push open the door of the tavern.
"Don't worry, I'm sure! Besides, there is Professor Dumbledore, the accompanying special correspondent."
Ino interrupted the previous heavier topic, and also mentioned Dumbledore half-jokingly.
Dumbledore's name seemed to have a magical calming effect no matter when and where. After listening to it, Hermione really didn't say anything more.
...
To be honest, it seemed a bit silly to choose to walk along the Black Lake in the cold season of late autumn.
But this so-called stupidity did not affect the two people's interest in continuing to walk.
Especially Hermione, whenever the autumn wind was bleak and she saw the lake, she would always think of the time when she turned into an animal.
"I don't know what happened to Odette. Do you think we can go back?"
Hermione stared at the frozen lake, as if there were a group of swans and wild ducks playing on it.
"Of course!" Ino nodded decisively.
"Wait until Halloween is over! I'll try to take you into the story of the ugly duckling."
"Can you still get in?" Hermione turned around in amazement, with a tone of disbelief: "Didn't Mr. Hans already..."
"He just fell asleep, and we have an invitation." Ino interrupted:
"Remember the feather that Odette gave you? If you still keep it, then we can definitely go in again."
As time passed, and after several conversations with William, he became more and more familiar with the magical tavern, especially after Jacob planted the seeds he took away.
One of the points is that you can enter the story you have entered before. Of course, this also has a prerequisite, such as something given by the protagonist of the story, or something left in the story.
As the protagonist of the ugly duckling, Odette's feather is undoubtedly the best invitation.
Similarly, Ino also thought of another almost forgotten thing, a brass key.
As the protagonist of The Hobbit and the protagonist of The Lord of the Rings, Baggins and Frodo jointly gave something, and it is also the key to Bag End, the starting point of the story.
This is not a key, it is simply a pass to enter Middle-earth.
At the beginning, when the valley changed, the road to Middle-earth also disappeared.
For a moment, Ino still felt a little sad. After all, Middle-earth not only has many former friends, but also Lina who once stowed away, and Doris who is still in the jungle.
In any case, for the old friends, there is no formal farewell after all.
...
Outside the castle.
The two chatted while walking aimlessly along the lake.
Soon, they saw two small houses with white smoke rising from their chimneys.
The houses were Hagrid and Moody's residences.
"Why don't you say Hagrid uses magic?"
Hermione was a little confused. It seemed that Hagrid had never used magic in her impression. No matter what, he relied on a pair of big hands like a futon.
"Hagrid? Magic?" Hearing this, Ino couldn't help but pat his head.
As the story changed, he really forgot about Hagrid.
In the original story of the second year, with the basilisk being killed, Hagrid, who had been wronged for fifty years, was also cleared of the charges.
But now, although the basilisk was also killed, both the corpse and the skin comparable to that of a fire dragon have long been used as various alchemical materials.
Lacking exposure and newspapers, Hagrid is still nominally a wizard with a broken wand. Maybe no one cares about this now, but no matter how big or small this matter is, it is still a pity.
"I will solve this matter tonight. It just so happens that I haven't communicated with Fudge for a long time."
Standing on the withered grass, Ino quietly looked at the cottage in the distance.
At this moment, Hagrid was holding a pumpkin as big as a warthog, carefully stacking it in the small yard outside the house.
Although the thick beard made it difficult to see his expression, the brisk pace alone seemed to explain Hagrid's mood.
"Is there a reason why Hagrid doesn't use magic?" Hermione asked after hearing Fudge's name.
"There is a reason, but it's all a misunderstanding." Ino shook his head gently, then retracted his gaze to look at Hermione.
"Thanks to you today, otherwise God knows when I would think of this."
Ino felt fortunate, after all, making up for past regrets is also the inherent meaning of the story.
"I want to know the reason here." Hermione said quietly standing on the lawn.
It seems that the curiosity of Gryffindor has quietly awakened again.
...
Time flies, and the seasons flow.
Three days passed in a flash.
On Halloween, the lively Hogwarts and the peaceful English magic world, everything seemed normal.
Of course, the owl that flew from afar in the early morning made the ten-foot-tall Hagrid cry loudly.
A belated apology letter, a brand new wand, and compensation of seventy-five Galleons and twelve Sickles.
Moody stood outside his hut, listening to the deafening crying next door, and smiled.
In his hand, he held a copy of today's Daily Prophet.
At the bottom of the front page of the newspaper, a three-inch area, there was a prominent title written - "Fifty Years of Wrong"
Meow, today is over, I wish everyone a happy life.
