Time always passes by unnoticed.
The next morning, the first golden rays of sunlight, like a punctual artist, unfurled the canvas of the sky on time, no matter how troubled the world might be.
At 8 a.m., Ino arrived at the library once more. Unlike his previous casual visits, he came here with a purpose today.
On the second floor of the castle.
The ancient and solemn oak doors of the library slowly opened, as if imbued with some magical charm, causing every young wizard who passed through to subconsciously quiet down.
Ino was no exception. After a silent nod to Madam Pince, he made his way to the Restricted Section, but not before glancing discreetly into the area.
Unnoticed by anyone, a palm-sized, ice-blue Acromantula appeared on the floor.
In a fleeting moment, the blue-eyed Acromantula vanished into a corner of the Restricted Section.
This was a solution Ino had thoughtfully devised—rather than purchasing valuable books, he decided to temporarily place Lina in the Restricted Section. Although her form had changed, her memories remained intact, and having a legendary witch learn on her own was more effective than any other aid.
After setting this up, Ino calmly began selecting books related to Boggarts.
---
At the same time.
In Gryffindor Girls' Dormitory, with a few minutes still to go before the alarm was set to ring, Hermione had already opened her eyes.
She then went through her morning routine of washing up and dressing, before picking up the schedule to check it.
"Wednesday... I'm really such a mess!"
Looking at the empty slots on the timetable, Hermione sighed absentmindedly.
With twelve classes a week, plus frequent use of the Time-Turner, even though only a week had passed since the school year began, she already felt overwhelmed.
Mixing up schedules and even forgetting dates was becoming a frequent occurrence.
Since she had no classes today, Hermione decided to enjoy this rare moment of leisure. She sat quietly by the window, gazing out at the Forbidden Forest in the distance.
In September at Hogwarts, autumn was already in the air.
The cool September breeze carried a hint of chill, drifting through the gaps in the window and scattering the last traces of summer's heat.
The fresh air mixed with the scent of the forest, filling her with a long-lost sense of tranquility and relaxation.
However, this tranquility was soon broken by a burst of excited chatter.
"Have you heard? Ino's new book is finally out! I pre-ordered it, and I heard it'll be delivered by noon today from Lihen Bookstore, with a 10% discount on the second copy!"
The speaker was her roommate, Lavender Brown. Though her voice was not loud, each word stirred up ripples of excitement like pebbles dropped in a calm lake.
Hermione frowned slightly, discontent with such overly familiar terms of address, especially since they were not very well acquainted. It struck her as impolite and lacking the reserved demeanor typical among young women.
But she knew well that some things and some people could not be stopped with mere words.
"Why do some people always have to talk about others so loudly in public?"
Hermione sighed inwardly as she turned her gaze back to the window, trying to shift her focus.
At that moment, an owl soared gracefully through the sky not far off.
It was a strong gray barn owl, a seasoned messenger. From just a few dozen meters away from the top of Gryffindor Tower, it tucked in its wings and glided elegantly into the window.
The owl deftly delivered a package to Hermione and then soared back into the blue sky.
Hermione looked down at the package on her lap, puzzled as she hadn't ordered anything recently.
However, a glance at Lavender and her excited conversation provided the answer.
This package was likely the new book they were talking about.
Hermione gently touched the package, feeling its warmth and texture, a warm current flowing through her heart.
---
Today, Hogwarts' sky was destined to be noisy.
At the Owl Post Office, countless small messengers were lightly burdened with small packages tied to their claws.
Dumbledore, Snape, Professor McGonagall, Madam Pince, Hagrid, Pansy, Draco, Neville, George, Fred, Ginny…
At this moment, numerous people received packages delivered by owls.
Of course, most of these packages had been purchased at Ino's own expense.
This was not done to show off, but rather out of necessity. Ino understood that if he didn't actively distribute these books, many friends would buy them out of friendship, which would, in turn, diminish the value of the gesture.
Moreover, the price of eleven Sickles might be trivial for professors, but it was a significant amount for students.
---
As everyone was unwrapping their packages.
Ino quietly left the library, while Lina had already woven a new web in a corner of the Restricted Section.
Of course, there was a small incident along the way. Madam Pince, upon receiving the package, immediately sought him out for a signature.
But the incident was just a minor hiccup.
After leaving the library, Ino cheerfully made his way to Hagrid's hut.
Standing on the grass outside the castle and looking out, the smoke rising from the chimney at the edge of the Forbidden Forest indicated that Hagrid was likely free at the moment.
Though he thought about it, he quickened his pace.
Soon, he arrived at the hut, followed by the sound of barking dogs from inside.
"Bang!" The door to the hut was abruptly opened, and Hagrid's large head emerged, scanning the surroundings with vigilance.
Upon seeing Ino, Hagrid's expression relaxed immediately.
"Ino, come in! The little ones are a bit too energetic; I'm afraid they might run around everywhere."
Seeing Hagrid's obvious attempt to hide his excitement, Ino could only shrug. This was just his nature; he couldn't keep a secret.
However, stepping inside the hut, Ino realized he had underestimated Hagrid's enthusiasm—or rather, his interest in crossbreeding magical creatures.
At that moment, the small room had become a veritable biochemistry lab for magical creatures.
Everywhere were various small magical creatures: juvenile Acromantulas, goblins, knarls, imps, fire crabs, and toadstool dragons…
While he didn't know where Hagrid had found all these creatures, one thing was clear: Hagrid shared the common flaw of researchers—getting so absorbed in experiments that he lost track of everything else.
Ino couldn't ignore the mess of magical creatures running around. After all, he had initiated this whole project, and if anything went wrong, it wouldn't just be Hagrid who would take the blame.
"Hagrid! I need to talk to you. We can't continue experimenting here; it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong." Ino pointed at the various magical creatures scattered around.
"Go wrong? No way! I've got Fang keeping watch!" Hagrid instinctively denied it.
Facing Hagrid's stubbornness, Ino reminded him of the past: "Do you remember the dragon from two years ago? I'm not saying the experiments should stop, just that we need to move to a different location."
"Then? Move to the Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid asked uncertainly.
"No need. I'll lend you the box temporarily! Don't worry, it won't interfere with your experiments."
Ino proposed his solution, which was only fair as the initiator of the research. He couldn't leave everything to Hagrid.
As for the Acromantulas in the box, it was simpler. While they had their own social structure, the first generation was always hatched under his protection.
In terms of controlling the spider colony, his commands always took precedence over Lina's, though sometimes he was just too lazy to enforce them.
On the other side, upon hearing that he could move his experiments to the box, Hagrid stopped talking and just kept nodding and smiling.
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