Chapitre 86: Chapter 86: The Unexpected Kiss
London, Diagon Alley.
Despite Diagon Alley being bustling every year before the start of the school term, today's commotion seemed even greater than usual. It felt as if the entire magical community of England had gathered here, making the whole street appear ready to boil over.
...
"So, you secretly bought a house in Hogsmeade during the summer?"
Hermione's eyes widened, her face full of regret. She had only spent a month in France with her parents, yet she had missed out on so much.
Ino chuckled lightly.
"Yes, otherwise, what could I do? I never had a stable place to stay in London. I couldn't keep living at the Three Broomsticks forever."
He turned his head and quietly observed Hermione.
In just one summer, Hermione seemed to have grown a lot. Her distinctive front teeth appeared to have been fixed, making them look more even and cute.
The girl standing before him was no longer the slightly awkward "Miss Bunny" he had met at the elementary school gate.
Hermione also noticed Eno's occasional glances at her, feeling a bit shy. Yet, being noticed in this way brought her a peculiar kind of joy.
"By the way, Ino, have you seen the list of items sent by Hogwarts?" Hermione suddenly remembered something, her voice filled with excitement.
"You simply won't believe it, Gilderoy Lockhart is going to be our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year!"
Hermione's eyes sparkled as if she had discovered something incredible.
"Lockhart, huh? He's quite the novelist."
Ino's tone was calm. He had briefly skimmed through Lockhart's novels at Madam Rosmerta's place. Admittedly, Lockhart's ability to captivate readers with his plots and pacing was quite remarkable.
"Don't you like him?" Hermione asked softly, with a hint of probing. She sensed that Ino didn't seem very fond of Lockhart.
"It's not that I dislike him. In some respects, Lockhart is indeed... huh?"
Halfway through his sentence, Ino suddenly stopped, his attention caught by a scene not far away.
Following his gaze, Hermione saw Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley grappling at the entrance of Flourish and Blotts.
From the look of things, the struggle seemed evenly matched. Both Lucius and Arthur had visible scratches on their faces, and their robes were covered in footprints, indicating how intense the fight had been.
This scene made Eno reflect. In many ways, the enmity between Lucius and Arthur mirrored the rivalry between Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. It was as if this adversarial relationship was predestined.
Ino turned to Hermione with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry, Hermione. I need to go over and say hello."
"No problem, I'll wait here for you," Hermione nodded slightly.
She also saw Ron in the crowd but knew that approaching now would only escalate tensions.
...
Moving through the crowd, Ino made his way to the scene.
Unlike the original story, Lucius was alone this time, with no sign of Draco. However, this was a minor detail.
Observing the two men fighting, Ino didn't rush in. Instead, he discreetly surveyed the surroundings.
Finally, amidst the scattered items on the ground, he spotted Tom Riddle's vintage diary, likely dropped by Lucius during the scuffle.
The moment he confirmed the diary, he felt a sense of confronting a dark, malevolent entity with an eerie, corrupting influence, albeit faint.
With the diary identified, Ino turned his attention to breaking up the fight.
Unnoticed, a thin layer of frost had formed on the ground beneath Arthur and Lucius, causing them both to slip and fall.
"Ouch..."
"Help me up..."
The two men, now on the ground, found themselves in an awkward position, their lips accidentally touching.
"Merlin's beard... Arthur's having an affair! And right in front of Mum!"
"Does this mean we'll have a Slytherin brother?"
"Great, we can replace Ron then. I never liked him anyway."
Fred and George's playful banter continued, their eyes wide with amusement as they watched the scene unfold.
"You two, break them up already! Are you trying to embarrass us even more?"
Molly Weasley's voice was stern as she noticed the crowd that had gathered.
Some onlookers clapped and whistled, adding to the spectacle.
Meanwhile, Ino approached, dispelled the frost, and helped Lucius to his feet.
"Good day, Uncle Lucius."
He greeted him politely, avoiding any mention of the fight to preserve the man's dignity.
"Sorry to make you witness this," Lucius forced a smile upon seeing Ino.
"I think it's best if you head back now. Whatever the issue is, it can wait."
Ino gestured subtly to the surrounding crowd.
Lucius noticed the gathered onlookers and nodded.
"You're right, Ino. I should go."
Lucius stood up, glanced at the Weasley children, and then at Arthur.
"Pick up your things. This is the best your great father can give you."
With that, Lucius quickly left the scene.
As the crowd dispersed, the line outside Flourish and Blotts reformed. After all, they hadn't come just to watch a fight; they were there to get Lockhart's autograph.
...
"Excuse me, sir, could you please move? You've stepped on my things."
A soft voice brought Ino back to the present. Turning, he saw a young girl with bright red hair, looking shyly at the ground where several blank parchments lay scattered.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Eno crouched down to pick up the parchments.
As he did, a memory of a timid, tear-prone girl from the orphanage flashed through his mind. The image of that girl overlapped with the one of Ginny Weasley standing before him.
In a moment of impulse, Ino opened his briefcase in Muggle mode and took out a set of brand-new stationery.
A complete set from Wen Ren Ju's latest collection: an automatic quill, two bottles of ink, and three soft-cover notebooks.
"I really like that vintage notebook of yours. Can I trade these for it?"
Since he was going to report the diary to Professor McGonagall anyway, he figured he might as well be the one to do it. Dumbledore would inevitably find out.
"Get away from my sister!"
An angry voice interrupted them.
Looking up, Ino saw Ron Weasley, his face red with fury.
"I accidentally stepped on this young lady's parchment and wanted to make it up to her," Ino explained calmly, suppressing his irritation.
"We don't need your stuff. Ginny, let's go!"
Ron picked up the vintage diary and, grabbing Ginny's arm, turned and left without another word, leaving the scattered parchments behind.
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone