Stay Away From Conspiracy Theories!

The path wound ahead.

The setting sun filtered through the treetops, casting dappled light onto the bluestone path and draping this trail leading to Hogwarts in a veil of golden-red.

At the end of the road.

The towering castle seemed to stand at the edge of the horizon.

"You cunning little brat, you actually dare to order that girl around like a servant? Do you have any idea who she is?" Snape seemed to have been keeping an eye on the situation behind him the entire time.

Seeing Ian trot up to his side, Snape, who had intended to ignore him for the rest of the journey, couldn't help but speak up to offer a warning.

"What servant? This is clearly the voluntary assistance of a good friend!" Ian corrected Snape, raising his voice slightly on the final words.

"I think you are courting death!"

Snape truly couldn't stand to watch any longer. He turned and walked toward Aurora, who was trailing seven or eight meters behind, intending to take Ian's suitcase from her hands.

"What are you doing?"

Unexpectedly, Aurora hid the suitcase behind her back, dodging Snape's reaching hand, and even shot him a look of wariness.

"..."

Snape was utterly speechless.

His wrinkled face twitched twice.

His hand, left hanging in the air, flicked his sleeve as if in frustration before he turned and strode away, quickly passing Ian and heading into the depths of the dense forest without looking back.

"I'll treat you to a secret set meal made by the house-elves later."

Ian stood in place, and as soon as Aurora caught up, he immediately made a solemn promise.

Aurora did not respond.

She walked side-by-side with Ian.

Dragging a suitcase in each hand, she moved forward along the rugged path.

"I wonder if this thing is edible."

Ian spotted a vine covered in large fruits by the side of the road. He hesitated for a moment before running over to pick one, bringing it to his lips to take a cautious bite.

A soul from the East always seemed to possess a curiosity for food.

"It's so sweet, want a taste?"

Ian held out the side he hadn't bitten toward Aurora.

"..."

Aurora remained silent.

"It's really sweet."

Ian continued his sales pitch.

Looking at Ian's face, which was twisted and distorted, Aurora, who usually had excellent emotional control, finally couldn't hold it together. She let out a sigh and responded helplessly.

"That's a Sour-Crisp Berry, the main ingredient for making acid-enhancing agents."

Clearly.

The German girl's knowledge of Herbology was quite extensive.

"Even a dog wouldn't eat this." Seeing his little prank had failed, Ian was somewhat disappointed and tossed the fruit away with a look of disgust.

"But you ate it, and you tried to trick me into eating it too."

Aurora's tone was as calm as ever.

"I wanted to share the joys and sorrows with you; how can you call that trickery..."

This time, it was Ian's turn to fall silent.

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

Fortunately, this strange quiet did not last long. As the two followed Snape through the forest path, the narrow trail suddenly opened up.

A massive lake appeared before their eyes.

The black surface of the water rippled slightly, and the afterglow of the setting sun could not penetrate its depths, making it impossible to see what exactly was hidden within the lake.

The Black Lake.

One of the famous landmarks of Hogwarts.

In front of it.

The ancient castle in the mountains stood tall and imposing, with countless turrets and towers.

"It's truly beautiful."

Ian gazed at the scene before him, his heart surging with emotion.

"It is indeed much more magnificent than the illustrations in the books."

Aurora's gaze remained fixed on the castle, lingering for a long time.

"Hogwarts: A History?"

Ian took his suitcase from the girl's hand. He noticed her arm trembling slightly, though he couldn't tell if it was from overexertion during the journey.

"It's The Rise and Fall of Hogwarts."

Aurora tucked her now-empty hand behind her back.

Just then.

"Wait here. The students from the school carriages will be arriving shortly; you two will take the boats into the school with them." Snape cast a deep look at Aurora.

He then shot a warning glare at Ian.

"Can't you just take us in directly?"

Ian felt the temperature dropping; it looked like it might rain.

"Those are the rules."

Snape replied coldly, then transformed into a wisp of gray smoke. To Ian, he looked like a firework rocketing toward Hogwarts castle.

"Ugh, what kind of inexplicable rules are these?"

Ian crouched by the lake, plunged his hand into the icy water, and stirred it around out of boredom.

"The four founders of Hogwarts arrived by boat to build the school on the other side." Aurora walked over to the edge of the Black Lake, her heterochromatic eyes searching the water for something.

Ian fell into thought, then suddenly looked enlightened. "Maybe Slytherin made the rule. He probably got seasick and wanted everyone else to suffer, too."

Upon hearing this.

Aurora tilted her head to look at the boy still stirring the water.

"I don't think a wizard that powerful would have such childish, petty tastes." She kept dragging her luggage; there was no telling how much forbidden knowledge was packed inside.

"You don't understand. Some men remain petty until the day they die."

Ian suddenly felt his fingers, submerged in the lake, tighten. He quickly pulled his hand out to find a tiny squid wrapped around his finger.

"A Giant Squid Cub."

Aurora's tone held a hint of surprise.

"Not a mermaid cub, zero stars." Ian flicked his finger, tossing the little squid back into the water, and pulled out a tissue to wipe off the slime.

"This lake only contains Scottish Lake Monsters. Whether they are cubs or adults, they possess quite hideous appearances. I don't think you'd want to encounter one."

Aurora reached out, hoping to fish up a Giant Squid Cub of her own, but she kept her hand in the water for a long time without a single bite.

Perhaps out of boredom, she began to stir the water just as Ian had.

"The day we killed that dark wizard together, Dumbledore approved my application for enrollment." Aurora suddenly spoke out of the blue.

"Hiss—"

Ian drew a sharp breath. "Wasn't it you who killed him?"

Aurora turned her head to look at him.

"It's all the same."

After a brief hesitation, Aurora, for the first time, provided a concise clarification to her own words: "I just happened to strike a moment before you did."

She had clearly noticed Ian's actions that day.

"Let's stick to talking about enrollment. Why bring this up now?" Ian scanned the forest behind them, still waiting for the first-years to arrive.

"Kraft said that giving you hope at the very last moment is a typical Dumbledore tactic." Aurora's gaze remained fixed on the ripples in the lake.

"You need to remain cautious. He is even better at manipulating hearts than my grandfather..." Her heterochromatic eyes flickered, revealing the inner turmoil she was experiencing.

"Isn't that a bit too much of a conspiracy theory?"

"Of course, being cautious is never a bad thing."

Ian didn't deny that Dumbledore posed a danger to those who studied the Dark Arts, but after a few encounters, he still held a relatively positive view of his headmaster.

In all honesty.

If he were to swap places with him.

As the most powerful wizard of the twentieth century, constantly being harassed and targeted by various factions, Ian felt that if it were him, he might not be able to resist going on a rampage.

Self-restraint.

That was, in fact, the reason for Dumbledore's greatness.

"Perhaps."

Aurora remained noncommittal.

"They're here."

The girl, illuminated by the glow of the setting sun, spoke abruptly.

"What's here?"

Ian's words had barely left his lips.

Behind him.

A cacophony of noise followed in quick succession.

The half-giant led a group of curious and anxious young wizards through the dense forest.