Chapter 47: Steering Clear of Conspiracy Theories

The narrow road wound its way forward, the setting sun filtering through the treetops and painting a patchwork of golden-red on the flagstones. This path led straight to Hogwarts, its distant castle rising like a silhouette on the horizon.

Snape had seemingly kept one eye on the scene behind him the whole time. Spotting Ian jogging to catch up, he finally broke his silence:

"You sly little brat. Do you realize who that girl is? How dare you treat her like a servant?"

He clearly hadn't missed the fact that Aurora was hauling Ian's trunk.

"Servant? This is a friend doing me a favor of her own free will,"

Ian corrected him, his voice slightly raised near the end.

"I'd say you're courting disaster!"

Snape, apparently unable to stand it any longer, turned back toward Aurora, who lagged about seven or eight meters behind. He tried to take the trunk from her.

"What are you doing?"

Aurora hid the trunk behind her, avoiding Snape's outstretched hand. Her wary gaze made it evident she was prepared to defend the luggage if needed.

"…"

Snape stood there, momentarily at a loss. His sallow face twitched. Then, with a frustrated flick of his sleeve, he strode quickly forward again, bypassing Ian and heading into the deeper woods without a backward glance.

Ian stopped and waited for Aurora to catch up. The moment she did, he declared confidently:

"Next time, I'll treat you to a special meal prepared by a house-elf."

Aurora didn't respond. Instead, she fell in step beside him, carrying Ian's trunk with one hand along the uneven path.

A short distance later, Ian spotted a vine bearing large fruits by the roadside. Pausing, he eyed it curiously:

"I wonder if this is edible…"

He picked one of the fruits, hesitated, and then cautiously took a bite—an echo of his ever-present adventurous streak.

"It's pretty sweet. Want some?"

Ian offered the unbitten side to Aurora.

She remained silent.

"Honestly, it's sweet."

He tried again—though his own grimacing expression contradicted him. At last, Aurora sighed:

"That's called an acid-berry. It's the primary ingredient used in making acidifiers."

Evidently, the German girl had a fair grasp of Herbology.

"Even a dog wouldn't eat this."

Disappointed by the failure of his little stunt, Ian flung the half-eaten fruit aside.

"Yet you ate it—and tried to trick me into doing the same."

Aurora's tone stayed level as always.

"I just wanted us to share hardship and joy. It's not trickery…"

At that, Ian fell silent, leaving an awkward lull between them.

With Snape leading the way, the pair continued through the narrow forest path, which soon opened onto a spacious lakeshore. A broad expanse of black water stretched out before them, rippling gently. The sun's waning rays could not penetrate its depths, concealing whatever lay beneath.

It was the Black Lake—

one of Hogwarts' famed landmarks.

Beyond it, perched in the mountains, loomed the ancient castle. Towers and turrets rose against the sky in a display of timeless grandeur.

"It's breathtaking,"

Ian said, his heart pounding at the sight of the castle.

"Indeed. Far more imposing than any illustration I've seen,"

Aurora replied quietly, transfixed.

Ian retrieved his trunk from her, noticing her arm trembling slightly—possibly from the strain of carrying his luggage so far.

"From Hogwarts: A History?"

he asked.

"Actually, The Rise and Fall of Hogwarts,"

Aurora answered, slipping her free hand behind her back.

Snape halted and turned, casting Aurora a significant look before directing a sharp glare at Ian:

"Wait here. The students traveling by the Knight Bus should arrive soon. You two will cross the lake with them by boat."

"Why not just take us inside right now?"

Ian asked. The sky looked as though it might rain at any moment.

"Those are the rules."

Snape replied icily. And before Ian could say more, the potions master dissolved into a swirl of grayish smoke—like a rocket shooting skyward—and zoomed toward the castle.

"Strange rules."

Ian crouched by the water's edge, swirling his hand in the cold lake.

"According to legend, the four founders traveled by boat across the lake when they first established Hogwarts,"

Aurora explained. She stood beside the lake, her mismatched eyes watching ripples on the surface, as if searching for something beneath.

Ian paused, then grinned suddenly:

"Maybe Salazar Slytherin got seasick and wanted everyone else to suffer, too."

Aurora glanced at him, still stirring the water:

"I doubt a wizard of his stature had such childish motives."

She continued carrying her own trunk—a mystery how many forbidden volumes it might contain.

"You don't get it. Some men remain petty till their dying day."

Just then, Ian felt something tightening around his submerged fingers. Drawing them out, he discovered a baby squid clinging to one.

"A juvenile giant squid,"

Aurora observed, sounding surprised.

"Not a baby merperson, then. Disappointing,"

Ian joked, shaking his fingers gently to free the creature. He wiped the sticky residue off with a tissue.

"You'd only find Scottish merperson here—and frankly, their looks are notoriously hideous, whether they're young or adult. I doubt you'd enjoy meeting one."

Aurora also tried placing her hand in the water, seemingly to catch another baby squid, but none appeared for her. Possibly bored, she ended up just swirling the water like Ian.

"Right after we—together—killed that Dark wizard, Dumbledore approved my admission,"

Aurora said abruptly.

"Huh? But you're the one who dealt the killing blow."

Ian frowned in confusion.

Aurora turned toward him:

"It's all the same."

She hesitated before clarifying further—something she rarely did:

"I just struck first. You were about to do the same."

So, she had noticed Ian's intentions that day, too.

"Let's talk about Hogwarts. Why mention this now?"

He glanced at the forest behind them, finding no sign of any new arrivals.

"Kraft told me that handing you hope at the very last minute is Dumbledore's usual tactic,"

Aurora said, her gaze never leaving the gentle waves of the lake.

"You should be cautious. He's better at manipulating people than my grandfather ever was…"

A flicker of emotion stirred in her two-toned eyes.

"Isn't that a bit too conspiratorial?"

Ian admitted Dumbledore posed a threat to those immersed in Dark Magic but felt the headmaster wasn't necessarily malicious. After all, if Ian were in Dumbledore's shoes—hailed as the twentieth century's strongest wizard and targeted by countless enemies—who knew whether he'd keep from lashing out.

Self-control,

Ian believed, was what made Dumbledore great.

"Perhaps,"

Aurora said, noncommittally.

Then her gaze shifted to the forest behind them:

"They're here."

"Who's here?"

Ian began to ask.

But at that moment,

a commotion broke the forest's stillness.

A half-giant, leading a small throng of apprehensive yet curious young witches and wizards, emerged from the trees.

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