The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

The gradually brightening morning light shone on Grimmauld Place, and wisps of light entered the bedroom along the cracks in the window. The girl's long eyelashes were dyed golden, her eyelids trembled slightly, and she opened her eyes happily.

Hermione saw a somewhat unfamiliar ceiling, saw the sunlight falling on the desk by the window, and the half-empty ink bottle glowing with a mysterious blue-black light. Compared with the time she left not long ago, this spacious and tidy bedroom was a little smaller. It has a gloomy, damp smell of mold and rot, and the quilt has a bit of warmth from the sun.

She heard some noise coming from the direction of the stairs. It was the sound of slippers stepping quickly across the old wooden steps. It creaked and was slightly harsh.

Her right hand subconsciously explored her side, but found nothing. Hermione sat up and looked at the empty space beside the pillow in a daze. She felt dazed for a moment, feeling a little empty unconsciously. She realized it after a few seconds. My face felt a little hot.

Hermione patted her blushing face: "Oh...Hermione Granger, what are you thinking..."

The next bed was empty, but luckily Ginny was already up.

After gathering her unspeakable mood, she got up quickly, washed and straightened her hair briefly, put on a simple and smart plaid shirt, changed her shoes and opened the door. The sound coming from the underground kitchen suddenly became clear. She had not taken two steps outside when she saw Loren standing at the top of the stairs waiting for her. There were still traces of water on her hands. It looked like she had just washed up and gotten up.

"Good morning, Loren..." Hermione's eyes lit up, and she quickly avoided his eyes. The memory of getting up in the morning flashed in her mind, and she subconsciously did not dare to look into his eyes.

Loren glanced at the little witch suspiciously, stepped forward and patted her shoulder, holding her hand and walking downstairs: "What's going on, Hermione, why are you so weird like everyone else?"

"I didn't!" Hermione subconsciously raised her voice, her cheeks became a little hot, and she glared at the man fiercely, "Don't think I don't know, you wiped water stains on my clothes!"

Loren seemed to have heard nothing and frowned slightly: "Hermione, do you think that Harry and the others are hiding something from the two of us? Think about it, the two of us are out on a mission, and they are trapped in the old house. For a few days, he didn't bother us asking questions, and he didn't ask us for a small meeting at night. Something is wrong, very wrong..."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he was changing the subject, but continued to sort out her thoughts: "I also discovered that at the dinner table last night, Harry, Ron, Ginny, George and Fred, they all She didn’t dare to look into Mrs. Weasley’s eyes, but she had frequent eye contact with Sirius, so they must be hiding something from others.”

"What could it be..."

The two of them had arrived in the underground kitchen and saw that the fruit of Mrs. Weasley's early morning work - a sumptuous breakfast - was already placed on the dining table.

"Hermione, Loren, come sit down here and try the freshly fried bacon!" Ginny held a rough-shaped sandwich in her hand and greeted the two of them, "It must be hard to stay out these days. Have a nice breakfast, mommy made it up to you!"

"There are also sausages and jams. All the stock at home has been taken out..." Harry smiled brightly.

"Yeah!" Ron nodded, his mouth bulging.

"Go wash your hands quickly..." After finishing the finishing work, Molly walked out from the stove, smiled and ruffled their hair.

A few minutes later, a warm and steaming scene appeared on the long dining table. Cups and plates collided with each other and made crisp sounds. Arthur and Bill were eating breakfast while analyzing the newspaper. George and Fred were eating quickly, and Lupin was spreading his hands. Opening a piece of bread and calling to Sirius to pass over the marmalade...

"The list of items for the new school year at Hogwarts has been sent. I will take you to Diagon Alley tomorrow for shopping..." When Molly said this, she stared at the twin brothers. "The food at home is almost exhausted. Yes, I’m going to buy daily necessities today. You guys stay at home and pack your bags, and be calm, you know?”

"I obey your orders, my queen!" George nodded hurriedly with a bright smile.

Loren glanced up and found that several young wizards next to him also had the same weird smile.

Molly thought for a while and then added: "Stop tinkering with your inventions. Your father and brother are going to work at the Ministry of Magic. Remus has to go out to deal with matters in the United States. Sirius is the only adult at home to clean up." I won’t let you two cause any trouble.”

"We promise not to cause trouble for Sirius! We won't mess around in the house!" Fred solemnly promised, trying hard to keep his face from laughing.

Harry and others next to him lowered their heads, their expressions were a little tense, and their shoulders were twitching.

Even Sirius moved his eyes away and looked up, as if the patterns on the chandelier were particularly attractive.

Loren and Hermione looked at each other, confirming their suspicions that there must be something wrong with these people!

After breakfast, some adults went to work, some went out to handle business, and some went out to do shopping.

George and Fred got together, murmuring over their recipe for skipping candy, concentrating on studying the dosage of Humeizi venom, and picking up the experimental records from time to time to check. Ron copied the history of magic papers and completed his homework by combining the strengths of others. Harry and Ginny were studying the Seeker's tactical manual, one of them was talking with flying tongues, and the other's eyes were shining as he listened.

Loren and Hermione sat together, seemingly lowering their heads and talking quietly, but they were always paying attention to these people.

When the final closing sound came from the foyer, the atmosphere suddenly changed. The remaining young wizards sat around on the other side, narrowing their eyes to look at the two people at the end of the long table.

Ginny gave Hermione a reprimand with her eyes, but Hermione remained unmoved.

Harry and Ron condemned Loren, but Loren refused to respond.

George and Fred sent congratulatory messages, and Loren raised his eyebrows, seeming to understand something.

The two sides' eyes met and they stared at each other for several minutes before Ginny finally couldn't help mumbling: "You two traitors actually sided with the adults and collaborated to hide important information from us!"

Loren spread his hands, his eyes were innocent and his expression was blank: "I don't understand what you are talking about."

"Damn it, you still want to hide it from us. Kreacher told us that you clearly found Slytherin's locket and gave it to Dumbledore to destroy!" Ron scolded.

Harry nodded heavily, but just when he wanted to say something more, he was interrupted by Sirius reaching out. He raised his head and looked at the two of them solemnly: "Loren, Hermione, let me tell you the truth. I am listening to Klee. After Che told about Regulus, we plan to go to the cave to retrieve Regulus' body. We have been planning this for several days, and today is the best time..."

Hermione frowned and said, "What's there to hide about this matter? Why not tell Mr. Weasley and the others?"

Sirius opened his mouth, with an embarrassed look on his face: "Harry...Harry and the others also want to get involved. If you tell Arthur and Molly, this matter will have nothing to do with Harry."

"Mrs. Weasley is thinking about safety!"

"We have discussed this..." Sirius defended without confidence, "Kreacher has told what happened in the cave that year. We believe that even the last poison is not fatal. As long as it can block the inferi, it will be enough." …There’s not much danger.”

"You..." Hermione opened her mouth, wanting to refute his words, but seeing the expectant looks in Harry and Ginny's eyes, she couldn't hold back any words for a long time.

Loren lowered his eyes and fell into thought, rummaging through the memories deep in his mind to find out all the traps in the cave, and nodded slowly: "We will go with you, but after this is over, I still have to tell Mrs. Weasley "

"no problem!"

Before Sirius could say anything, George and Fred were already cheering.

"School is about to start anyway!"

"I will be nagged by my mother for at most two days. Let's finish the adventure first!"

"..."

Sirius rubbed his face silently. The little guys could hide back in school, but he had no place to hide, especially since he was the adult principal culprit.

Forget it, let’s talk about it after the case is over.

"Kreacher! Let's go!"

…

Kreacher is very old, only half a man tall, with pale skin that always hangs down, and bat-like ears with a lot of white hair. For a skinny little house elf, having to teleport 8 people at one time is inevitably a bit inadequate.

As the people being carried, Loren and the others felt very bad, as if they were squeezed into a thick rubber tube, unable to breathe, and every part of the body was squeezed until it exceeded the limit of the little wizards' endurance. , after feeling a slight suffocation, the invisible tube suddenly burst open——

An adult wizard, seven underage wizards, and an old elf appeared on the coast, breathing in the fresh, salty air.

As the cool sea breeze blew in the face, the slightly salty breath penetrated into the nose, and the sound of the roaring waves rang in the ears. Everyone stood on a high black rock above the sea, watching the rolling waves in the distance. And when it arrives, it stirs up snow-white foam.

Loren turned his head and looked back, and saw a steep rock wall falling straight down. It was so dark that he could not see his face. The area nearby was bare and desolate. Apart from the vast sea and rocks, there was not a single tree or grass in sight. and beach.

"Where is the entrance, Kreacher?" Sirius's voice mixed with the waves, sounding as if it was coming from far away.

Kreacher's thin body trembled slightly, staring straight at the cliff, the huge spherical stone above. It took a long time to hear Sirius's call. He didn't speak and walked tremblingly along the rock protrusion.

There are many jagged grooves on the rock for stepping on, leading to the giant pebbles below that are around the cliff and half exposed to the sea. Sirius asked them to follow Kreacher, and he was responsible for the rear, all the way to the bottom of the cliff. , the low rocks are slippery with moss and algae that smell like sea.

There was a narrow gap not far ahead. The waves hit both sides of the gap and swirled. It was pitch black inside and nothing could be seen clearly.

Kreacher slid into the sea water almost without stopping, and swam toward the crack in the ravine, splashing with cold water. The cloth on his body was soaked in an instant and became bulging and heavy.

Harry and Ron hesitated for a moment, then slowly crouched down, trying to follow Kreacher into the water and swim, when Loren's slightly teasing voice came from behind.

"If you make your clothes dirty, I'm afraid you'll get a beating from Mrs. Weasley." Applewood's wand tapped the two people's shoulders, and a gentle force lifted them up and followed. Kreacher floated forward behind him.

Loren followed closely behind, and Hermione held Ginny's hand and floated lightly. George and Fred were not very skilled. Sirius, who was at the end of the team, helped them, and the three of them swayed together.

A group of people floated into the crack and moved deeper along the secret passage. The passage became narrower and narrower. The muddy rock walls on both sides were only three feet apart. After an unknown period of time, a row of steps suddenly appeared on the water surface in front of them, extending upwards into a cave.

Entering the cave, the air around them was silent and cold.

The secret perception conveyed ominous feelings to them. Under some unknown pressure, Ginny and Ron calmed down. Except for the twins, everyone else's heart was slightly raised. Even though they had heard Kreacher talk about the structure here and knew the hidden mechanism ahead, they still dared not relax.

Like a low sobbing wind blowing from the cracks in the rocks, it seemed to be wrapped with ominous malice and desperate whispers, and the dampness and coldness stubbornly drilled into the bones. Kreacher's teeth were chattering, and he trembled and said: "This is just the front hall, the entrance hall, we need to go inside... Now what is blocking us is the mechanism set by the Dark Lord. There is no danger, but..."

George and Fred approached the rock with great interest, put their hands on the rough rock wall, and carefully studied and explored. After finding nothing, they took out hammers and knocked, trying to directly chisel a path.

Unexpectedly, they really made a sound, and the outline of an arch appeared on the rough rock wall, reflecting a dazzling white light.

Before the two were happy, the outline disappeared, and the rock returned to its original state.

"But you need to pay a price to pass through, the price of blood." Kreacher uttered the unfinished words, adding a bit of coldness to the cave.

Loren approached the wall cautiously, looking at the powerful and evil magic, which swirled and gathered in the shape of an arch. There was no malice of a deadly curse, nor a powerful force that was about to explode, but a desire, a bloodthirsty desire.

He took out some animal blood from the pendant and sprinkled it on it. The dazzling white light appeared again, but soon converged and disappeared.

"It seems that Voldemort only recognizes human blood..." Loren held his chin with his hand and began to think whether his door-opening spell was suitable for opening this door.

"Let me do it."

Sirius pushed a few people away, lifted his sleeves, and swiped the wand across his forearm lightly. A faint light flashed, and a stream of bright red blood splashed out, gradually covering the surface of the rock.

The dazzling white arch outline appeared on the cave wall again, and it became clearer and clearer, gradually revealing the real doorway, leading to the endless darkness inside.