The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

At night, the full moon hangs high.

Edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Harry and Ron trudged toward the Whomping Willow in the snow, leaving a long series of footprints in the crystal snow.

"Honestly, this is the most tiring Christmas I've ever had..." Ron gasped, white mist with hot breath exhaled from his mouth and nose, and quickly dissipated.

"The Christmas holidays of the past two years have not been easy." Harry replied, looking at the Marauder's Map unfolded in his hand.

"There was Quirrell in the first grade, and there was the basilisk last year..." Ron's voice gradually trailed off. He turned away from the topic and leaned over to look at the map with Harry. "Moon face? What do you mean, Lupin?" When did the professor’s name change to Moon Face?”

On the worn and yellowed parchment, the small black dot that originally marked Lupine Remus was now replaced by a brief moon face.

Harry looked up at the full moon in the sky and was equally puzzled: "Moon Face? I know this is Professor Lupin's nickname, my dad is Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot, and the remaining one is Wormtail." "

"So when this map comes into your hands, it actually returns to its original owner, right?"

Harry pursed his lips and did not answer.

The two of them followed the map's guidance and headed straight for the Whomping Willow. The Whomping Willow is not too far away, only about half the distance from Hagrid's hut. You can get there by walking out of the castle, walking through the open space, and walking through the path between the greenhouse and the vegetable patch.

All the leaves on the branches of this magical plant fell off on the eve of the first snowfall, and they looked bare. Unlike other trees in the Forbidden Forest, there was no snow on the branches of the Whomping Willow.

When Harry and Ron arrived at the Whomping Willow tree, they happened to catch the Whomping Willow shaking its branches to clear away the snow. The long and hard branches shook rapidly, and the willow branches made a whistling sound like a whip, making a crunching sound, and the snowflakes fell to the ground and were smashed into pieces.

Ron was frightened for a moment. He didn't know whether it was because it was too cold or because he was frightened. He shivered and said, "Look on the map to see if it says how to deal with this tree. I don't want to be beaten into a pulp. "

"I remember both Loren and Professor McGonagall said that there is a knot on the Whomping Willow..."

Harry compared the Whomping Willow with the mark on the map, and was surprised to see that the little black dot marking Harry Potter suddenly turned into a little man. The little man came to the simple drawing of the Whomping Willow in three or two steps. In front of the willow, he jumped up and patted the knot on one of the branches of the Whomping Willow.

After looking at the directions on the map and then at the branches dancing like snakes, the two of them fell into silence in unison.

"We didn't catch it at a good time, right?" Ron muttered quietly, "If we come while it's resting, we can probably get past it."

Harry sighed in disappointment.

Just a few minutes after the two of them were at a loss to do anything about the Whomping Willow, Ron suddenly took out his wand and cast a levitating spell on a small stone under the root of the Whomping Willow tree, manipulating the stone to fly between the branches dancing like a snake. He got through and pressed on the knot.

The Whomping Willow suddenly stopped moving, as if it had turned into stone.

"Well done! Ron!" Harry looked at the Whomping Willow in surprise.

Ron was so proud that his eyebrows almost flew out: "I knew it would work, just like Quidditch!"

Within a few seconds, the two of them rushed to the root of the tree and slipped in through a dark hole.

…

Auditorium, long table.

After Harry and others left, several young wizards also left one after another. Professor McGonagall and Sybil broke up on bad terms, and the other professors also left after saying good night to each other.

Only Dumbledore and Snape were left.

The long table that was full of people not long ago was empty, and the colored lights in the hall were still bright, but these lights seemed a bit deserted now.

"Firecracker!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, handing the end of a large silver firecracker to Snape.

Snape gave him a flat look. He hadn't played with such childish things since the third year. But for the sake of the holidays...

Snape pulled reluctantly.

boom--

With a loud bang like a cannon, the firecracker exploded, revealing a large pointed witch hat with a stuffed vulture on top.

Snape turned his head in disgust, but Dumbledore didn't mind at all and put it on his head with a smile: "It's really interesting. We were the first to leave the banquet of thirteen people during the summer vacation, and now we stay here." Finally, what do you think, Severus?"

Dumbledore shook his head, causing the stuffed vulture on his hat to sway.

Snape: "..."

I feel even more blind.

Snape pursed his lips and said in a calm voice: "I didn't poison him, I just adjusted the formula of the wolfsbane potion."

Although Lupin's name was not mentioned, both of them knew who was speaking. Dumbledore waved the vulture stuffed on his hat comfortably: "Of course, Severus, I believe in you more than I believe in myself."

"..." Snape was silent for a moment and said, "Then maybe you should go take a look at those two little things. Don't say you didn't notice, Dumbledore, they went out again not long after they came back from outside."

"Oh, Severus, it's vacation time."

"I hope you can say the same thing when that guy reveals his identity." Snape sneered, "If those two little things find out that a certain gentle Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a werewolf, according to his weak and weak character , I probably can’t stay in school anymore.”

"I know, Severus..."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed and he spoke softly, "But I also believe that if Remus entrusts his secret here, it is like sowing a seed... When he starts wandering again, he will Never be lost again."

"Why not Morgan and Granger?"

"I think it's probably because Harry doesn't know how to brew wolfsbane potion, and Ron doesn't care about the living conditions of werewolves."

Snape frowned: "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore did not answer, but shook the wizard hat on his head with great interest, causing the vulture specimen on the hat brim to sway.

…

Bah, bah—

Click, click——

As soon as Harry and Ron emerged from the dark tunnel, they heard strange noises coming from the attic.

The penetrating voice made Ron stiff. He trembled and whispered: "Do you think this sound is like a ferocious beast eating a human body? Professor Lupine... he... he can't have been killed. Alright?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Harry was also a little panicked.

Using the weak moonlight, they unfolded the Marauder's Map and confirmed that there was only Moon Face upstairs. The two of them became even more panicked.

Unfolding the invisibility cloak to hide their figures, Harry and Ron climbed up the stairs, and finally saw the source of the infiltrating sound at a dining table——

Two triangular erect ears are on the top of the head, the back is arched, tough gray rigid body hair covers the whole body, and the thick and long tail is constantly sweeping. It was munching on something on the table, and the strange sound came from there. Its wheezing and wheezing sound touched the heartstrings of the two of them.

At the same time, the ferocious beast seemed to have noticed something. It turned its head. There were still broken bones and stubble between the teeth of its bloody mouth. The wolf shook its nose and sniffed, and looked at the hiding place with green eyes. Harry and Ron under the invisibility cloak.

"Damn it..." Ron slowly opened his mouth wide and his eyes gradually became dull.

If it's broken, it might as well be beaten into pulp by the Whomping Willow.

If it were eaten by a vicious wolf, not even the bones would be left, but it would all turn into excrement that cannot be taken into account!

To think that I, Ron Weasley, haven't taken over the team yet, haven't yet become a prefect, haven't yet become president, and yet I'm about to die on Christmas night!

Just as Ron was fantasizing in his mind, the evil wolf suddenly tilted his head and asked in a very familiar voice: "Harry?"

"Ah? Ah!"

…

On December 26, there were small snowflakes floating in the sky.

Grandpa Bates disappeared early in the morning, and he didn’t know where he went to play.

Wendell and Monica were invited to attend a client's banquet. They took out dresses and skirts from the closet and dressed up for a long time, then took them off, put on heavy down jackets and drove off. They said they would put them on again when they arrived at the place.

After all the trouble, Hermione and Loren were tired of watching, and they prayed silently for the poor adults.

For dinner, I had rice pudding made by Loren. I used the leftover beef and mutton from Christmas Eve to tear it into strips, pour it on the sour and salty tomato red soup, and put it into my mouth with a spoonful. The rice grains were filled with the aroma of meat and meat. The soup was so good that I swallowed it without chewing much.

Hermione thought she had done too much at first, but ended up finishing a large plate without even realizing it.

Inhaling to tighten her abdominal muscles, and glancing at Loren who was eating while reading a newspaper, Hermione calmly pressed her belly, then slumped in deflation.

No matter, it should be okay to indulge and eat a little more during the Christmas holidays.

The TV not far away was playing the evening news of a certain British broadcaster, which was similar to the Daily Prophet. Most of it was Christmas celebrations in various places, and there were also some funny stories about silly things done during the holidays.

But as one of the largest media outlets in the UK, it can be seen that a certain British broadcasting company is trying its best to make serious news.

Six o'clock news: "According to observations from the Greenwich Observatory, fragments of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 orbiting Jupiter are constantly approaching Jupiter. The discoverers of the comet-Eugene Shoemaker and Caroline ·The Shoemakers are convinced that when Shoemaker-Levy 9, captured by Jupiter's gravity, breaks through the extreme distance, it will hit the surface of Jupiter at an alarming speed. This will be a spectacle that has never been directly observed by humans... Many astronomical observations Physicists predict that the impact will occur next year..."

Loren finished the last spoonful of risotto, drank the last sip of coke from the cup, and let out a nice burp.

Hermione raised her eyes and glanced at the Coke bottle on the table. There was still less than half a cup left, but she felt her bloated belly again and could only look away sadly.

Hermione frowned and looked at Loren: "Drinking like this is bad for your teeth and bad for digestion."

"Well, what then?"

Without raising his head, Loren continued to read the stupid wizard jokes in the Daily Prophet.

Hermione felt even more uncomfortable.

Loren looked up after reading the newspaper. Hermione had already cleared up the messy kitchen and dining table with a wave of her wand, and was staring blankly at the remaining Coke with her hands in front of her belly.

"Don't worry, it won't be wasted." Loren picked up the Coke bottle and drank it, smiling casually, "Look, there's not a bit left."

Hermione's face was expressionless, her eyes following the Coke bottle.

"By the way, let's go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to buy mandrake blades. We've been waiting for news from Gringotts to no avail."

"..."

"If we encounter danger, we can just apparate away..." Loren noticed the silly-looking girl and asked hesitantly, "How is it?"

"..."

"Hermione? Hermione?"

"I know!" the girl responded sadly.

…

After lunch the next day, the two met and went out, teleporting directly from the garage to the alley next to the potion materials store in Diagon Alley.

During the holidays, the streets of Diagon Alley are filled with streamers of various colors. Although many shops are not open, almost all the shops that are open have a Christmas tree in front of them, decorated with all kinds of magic ornaments.

There were even fairies holding bluebells at the entrance of Madam Malkin's Robe Shop, soliciting customers. The colorful and soft light lit up in the small bluebell flowers. The fairies shook a few times from time to time, shaking off the sparkling pollen from the stamens. Very nice.

The signboard of the potion ingredients store was full of dirt. Loren looked at it for a long time before he could see the words Slug \u0026 Giggs from the black stains.

Pushing open the door and walking in, this is a weird place filled with all kinds of strange things. On the ground were a row of barrels of sticky substance, and against the wall were various jars of powders and herbs. Bundles of feathers, fangs and claws hung from the ceiling.

The whole dispensary smelled really bad, it smelled like a mix of rotten eggs and rotten vegetables. The two bought ten mandrake blades as quickly as possible, and then rushed out of the drugstore to take a deep breath.

Cold air poured into his nose, and his head was colder than his throat. Loren covered both sides of his nose in an attempt to warm it up: "No, my nose was attacked by magic!"

Hermione couldn't help but sneered, even though her nose was also red: "Let's find a place to drink something hot. How about trying the butterbeer from the Leaky Cauldron?"

"agree!"

When they walked into the Leaky Cauldron, before they had time to shake off the snowflakes on their clothes and hats, they saw familiar figures sitting on a small table in the right corner of the bar - three professors.

"Your violet water -" Mr. Tom, the bar owner, held a shallow saucer of champagne glass with his thick fingers and handed it over. After he stabilized it, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Merlin, Minerva, even the ghosts have no way of knowing. , how hard it is to find a clean glass for violet water in my bar.”

Professor McGonagall smiled and said, "I knew you could do it."

"Yes, yes!" Tom smiled and looked at Professor Flitwick, "What about you, Filius, what would you like to drink?"

“A soda with ice and snail cherry syrup, thank you!”

"What? No, no, they don't have anything like that in the Leaky Cauldron!" Tom said with a deliberately stern look on his face, "How about Gump's Old Social Wine?"

Hearing this, even the most serious Snape couldn't help but lift the corners of his mouth and smile faintly.

——

Note: After the implementation of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1692, the then Minister of Magic, Ulric Gamp, made an exception and allowed the Leaky Cauldron to continue operating as a safe haven and refuge for members of the wizarding society.

While insisting on the use of many powerful hidden spells and asking all patrons to behave appropriately, Gump actually understood the psychological needs of wizards who wanted to vent during this difficult time. He also further allowed the owners to let people into Diagon Alley from their backyards, as the shops behind the Leaky Cauldron also needed protection at that time.

Out of gratitude, the owners of the Leaky Cauldron brewed a new beer - Gump's Old Courtyard. The drink was so unpalatable that no one could drink a pint, even with a reward of 100 galleons.