The Admiral of Hogwarts

In the time that followed, Hugo and his friends enjoyed a delicious meal filled with exotic flavors, and then plunged into exploring the pure-wizard village. Their final stop on the tour was the Shrieking Shack, located on a small hill.

"Do you think this house could be sold?" Veneto suddenly asked, looking at the lonely building on the hilltop through a wire fence.

"Probably," Hermione said, thinking for a moment. "After all, even though this place is known as the most haunted location in all of Britain, I didn't find the Shrieking Shack's name listed in the Ministry of Magic's registry of dangerous buildings."

"I estimate the price of this place wouldn't be too high, but anyone who wants to buy it must master the skills of ghost-banishing. Otherwise, the cost of hiring professionals from the Ministry of Magic to complete these tasks would skyrocket."

After descending from the hill where the Shrieking Shack was located, it was already past 4 PM. So, the three of them returned to Hogwarts Castle with a large pile of loot they had just purchased.

At this time, Filch was standing in the entrance hall, just like in the morning, holding a magical detector in his hand, staring at the incoming and outgoing young wizards, occasionally ordering a certain student to stop for him to check.

Mrs. Norris circled around him, staring vigilantly at the entering students from time to time.

Clearly, after each Hogsmeade day, the amount of various contraband in the castle would reach a peak. And Filch was now planning to ban those dangerous items from entering from the source.

Fortunately, Filch's main target was students from Gryffindor, so Ravenclaws like Hugo and his friends could easily blend in with the crowd and slip directly into the school to avoid inspection.

After entering the castle, they didn't immediately return to the Ravenclaw Tower, but waited in an empty classroom on the third floor. A few minutes later, the Weasley twins walked into the classroom, playfully bickering.

"Alright, here are your things." Seeing the Weasley twins enter, Hugo and his friends took out some of the raw materials they had asked them to bring into the school.

When faced with Filch's search, the Weasley twins naturally had some ways to resist. And the simplest way was to specifically ask people to help them bring the contraband into the castle separately.

Of course, there was a selection process for whom they asked to help bring things. For example, if it was Hugo and his friends, they would only ask them to carry things like raw materials, and would not carry those prank toys.

"Thanks," Fred said, then counted the packages and asked, "You seem to have given us some extra things."

"These aren't for you," Hugo said with a smile, shaking his head. "You should know that Harry can't go to Hogsmeade this year because he didn't get his permission slip signed, so we, as friends, plan to bring him some snacks and treats."

"Understood, we will help you deliver these things to Harry," George said earnestly, taking the box.

They knew that Harry had been living with the Granger family almost every day since last summer when he stayed at the Burrow, so they understood Hugo and his friends' current practice of sending gifts to Harry.

After asking the Weasley twins to give those gifts to Harry, Hugo and his friends returned to the Ravenclaw Tower to tidy up and prepare for dinner, because it was Halloween, so this year the Great Hall was decorated in Halloween style as in previous years.

Hundreds of pumpkin lanterns hung in the hall, along with a group of fluttering bats and many orange streamers spitting flames, lazily floating under the ceiling, like brilliant water snakes.

"Every time I see these decorations, I always marvel at the greatness of magic," Hugo said softly to Veneto after sitting in his seat. "At least these bats are much cleaner than real bats."

"You're right," Veneto nodded in agreement, watching a group of bats fly over the dishes. "So, I'm now very curious, how exactly did they make those European medieval pies with dozens of live birds inside them?"

"I think they probably wouldn't eat that pie, because—" Unfortunately, Hugo was interrupted by Hermione before he could finish speaking, "My dear brother, it's dinner time now, so don't talk about those disgusting topics."

"Okay, sister." Hugo smiled at his sister next to him, and then began to change the subject. Fortunately, there were always many things worth talking about at the Halloween feast.

Especially since today was the first Hogsmeade day for the third-year students, so as long as they talked about topics related to Hogsmeade, it would always arouse a lot of resonance.

However, this Hogsmeade day also brought some not-so-good side effects. For example, Hugo saw many third-year students and some higher-grade students at the table looking at the rich food on the table with tangled expressions.

Obviously, they had eaten too many snacks and other things in Hogsmeade, so that now when they saw the delicious food on the table, there wasn't much space in their stomachs to hold them.

Fortunately, Hugo and Hermione had thought of this beforehand, so they bought a lot of snacks but managed to resist the temptation to eat them, so they could just enjoy this feast. As for Veneto, her appetite was much higher than ordinary humans.

Everyone at the banquet was very happy, even Lupin, who was about to face a transformed werewolf, was in high spirits and chatting with Head of House Professor Flitwick about something.

Finally, the entire banquet ended with an entertainment program provided by the ghosts of Hogwarts. The ghosts suddenly appeared from the walls and tables to perform a parade; Gryffindor's Nearly Headless Nick successfully recreated the situation of his beheading that year.

This night was so pleasant. The rich and delicious food and wonderful performances made every young wizard feel satisfied, so that everyone was chattering all the way back, appearing very happy.

However, just as everyone entered the common room, had just changed into some more comfortable clothes, and was preparing to chat for a while before going to sleep, Professor Flitwick suddenly climbed up from the bottom of the stairs, and then asked them to bring their wands and some necessities to gather in the Great Hall.

"What happened, Professor?" Prefect Penelope asked. At this time, the students also focused their attention on Professor Flitwick.

"An emergency has occurred. The Fat Lady's portrait at the entrance of the Gryffindor common room has been destroyed. According to the Fat Lady's accusation, the one who committed this atrocity was the wanted criminal Sirius Black."

Professor Flitwick briefly described what had just happened, and then amplified his voice to say to everyone present.

"So now everyone must gather in the Great Hall, and then the teachers will conduct a large-scale search of the entire castle."

Hearing Flitwick say this, everyone present became nervous, so soon everyone packed their things and followed Professor Flitwick out of the common room. As if Sirius Black was hiding in the common room, ready to attack everyone at any moment.

When everyone arrived at the Great Hall, they found that the people from the other three houses were already all here because the common rooms were closer, but many people's faces were half dazed and half fearful.

"The teachers and I will conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore said to the students after everyone had arrived. At this time, Professor McGonagall and Flitwick closed all the doors of the Great Hall.

"For your own safety, I think you may have to spend the night here. I ask the prefects to stand guard at the entrance of the Great Hall, and the male and female student presidents to stay in the Great Hall to be responsible for management. Report anything to me immediately."

After speaking, Professor Dumbledore magically moved away the tables and chairs, and then waved his wand to conjure hundreds of sleeping bags. Then he closed the door and walked out of the Great Hall.

And after Professor Dumbledore left, a burst of excited whispering immediately sounded in the hall: many people went to inquire with familiar Gryffindor students, in order to find out what had happened before.