Chương 88: Chapter 88: Daydreams and the Start of School
Inside the train compartment.
Ino subconsciously voiced his true thoughts.
However, he regretted it immediately after, especially when he saw the expressions on Draco and the others' faces.
"Haha, I was just rambling. After all, our current task is to study hard. By the way, I heard Lockhart is on this train too?"
Ino tried to change the subject, but he forgot about the early maturity of pureblood children and the cunning of Slytherins.
"I don't care about Lockhart," Pansy said disdainfully. "I want to know what you were really thinking, Mr. Ino Swinburne."
"Right!" Daphne echoed.
Draco nodded in agreement, "I'm curious too. Why do we suddenly feel a bit pitiful, though I can't quite pinpoint why."
Seeing the three of them determined to get to the bottom of it, Ino rubbed his temples helplessly.
"This is really hard to explain! How about this, after school starts, we can hold a storytelling session when we have some free time and discuss it then."
Faced with three curious babies, he could only resort to a delaying tactic. He thought that after school started, as time passed, this matter would eventually be forgotten.
"Alright, we'll talk about it then," Draco readily agreed.
Seeing Draco's change in attitude, Pansy and Daphne exchanged glances and also stopped probing further, instead starting to discuss the flying car.
The one most excited about the old topic was Draco.
"Really! The Weasley family is done for. They'll get skinned this time, even though they hardly have any Knuts left."
Daphne glanced at the overly excited Draco and poured cold water on his enthusiasm:
"Not necessarily. Have you forgotten old Weasley's position? He wouldn't leave himself without a backdoor."
"Well… fine, fine! You're right," Draco said dejectedly.
Ino watched their interaction throughout, an involuntary smile forming at the corners of his mouth.
At that moment, he couldn't help but marvel at fate's oddities.
Sometimes, Draco could be quite combative, but he always showed great tolerance towards Daphne, his future wife's sister.
After all, Eno had never seen Draco argue with Daphne.
Meanwhile, though Pansy was also chatting, she keenly noticed the smile on Ino's face.
"Did you think of something happy?"
"I was thinking about fate," Ino replied honestly.
There was nothing to hide; it was normal for wizards to ponder fate.
"For example?" Pansy asked further.
"For example?" Ino smiled. Unlike the previous sharp topic, this one was much safer.
"For example, I like this year because I can stay in the library until curfew, and in the morning and evening, I can explore every corner of the castle alone…"
…
The train traveled through the Scottish Highlands.
Time passed unknowingly during their conversation, and soon it was evening.
Perhaps learning from the experience of going hungry last year, both Pansy and Daphne had carefully prepared food this time.
Looking at the two appetizing lunchboxes, Ino and Draco did not hesitate to accept their sincere invitation.
After finishing the last piece of Wellington sandwich, Ino used a Cleaning Charm to clean the lunchboxes and the table.
"It's about time! Draco and I should take a walk outside and leave this place for the girls to change clothes."
Ino glanced at the gradually darkening sky outside the window, then pulled the dazed Draco up and walked out of the compartment.
It took less than a quarter of an hour.
The same announcement as last year echoed through the carriage: the train was about to arrive at Hogsmeade Station.
Soon, the train slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop on the tracks.
Like salmon swimming upstream, the young wizards pushed and jostled towards the doors, but Ino's compartment was towards the back, so there was no need to squeeze with those at the front.
He, Draco, and Pansy trailed behind the crowd leisurely.
"It seems like there are even more new students this year," Daphne remarked, looking at the crowd ahead.
"So we should never underestimate anyone's cunning," Pansy said vaguely, then gave Draco a playful look.
However, that one look seemed to hit a nerve.
"Why are you looking at me? I wanted to go to Durmstrang, but my mother insisted I come to Hogwarts."
As they spoke, they disembarked from the train and followed a quiet path to a spacious lawn.
After advancing to the second year, the young wizards no longer took the little boats across the Black Lake to reach the castle.
On the empty lawn were many magical carriages. They were magical because, apart from the carriages themselves, there were no animals pulling them.
Of course, this was the general view. In Ino's sight, he saw the magical creatures pulling the carriages: Thestrals, rated 3X by the Ministry of Magic.
They resembled horses but had skeletal bodies, leathery wings, and large eyes that glowed with a ghostly blue light.
Only those who had witnessed death firsthand could see Thestrals, which was why wizards often considered them unlucky creatures.
Ino boarded a carriage without paying much attention to the Thestrals.
After all, specialization mattered; he wasn't like Newt, who was passionate about magical creatures. The vast magical knowledge included enough in one subject, like Transfiguration, to study for a lifetime, not to mention Charms, Herbology, Potions, Divination, Alchemy…
Trying to learn everything meant learning nothing.
…
The Great Hall at Hogwarts.
As majestic and magnificent as always, countless floating candles cast a warm orange glow, making everything seem cozy.
At the Slytherin table, the second-year students, including Goyle and Crabbe, wore expressions ready to enjoy the show.
After all, they were the stars last year; now they were the audience.
At the front of the hall, Professor McGonagall, still wearing her signature square glasses and a gray-black vintage robe, held a parchment scroll tightly.
However.
In the midst of the highly anticipated Sorting Ceremony, Snape strode into the hall and walked straight towards Professor McGonagall, making sure everyone noticed him.
Professor McGonagall left, and Professor Flitwick took over the Sorting Ceremony.
Witnessing this dramatic scene, Ino was struck by a novel idea.
Perhaps, in the novel he promised Madam Pince, he could add a plot about a wedding being disrupted, where two sisters at their mother's wedding steal away their soon-to-be stepfather…
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