The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

Second week of December.

The wind and snow were flying all over the sky, and ice edges grew on the outer walls of the castle like ivy branches. Frost condensed on the blackened pear peels. The snow pressed the grass blades to crawl, crushing the wild roses that grew wantonly. The frozen The forests and hills were covered with glass, and they were completely white and desolate.

The fire burned brightly in the common room fireplace all night long, and the warm residual heat of the kitchen rose from the Great Hall floor, so it was comfortable most of the time.

Potions and Astronomy classes were difficult to endure. Professor Snape's classes were in the underground classroom. The biting cold of the Black Lake seeped through the stone walls. The students' breath and the boiling cauldron emitted clouds of white mist, which was cold and damp. Professor Sinistra's class was held in an open-air tower at night. The cold wind passing through the wilderness mercilessly affected the exposed skin of the students. They were wearing gloves and it was inconvenient to operate the telescope. After the class, many students' hands and cheeks were even frozen. Gotta lose consciousness.

On Friday afternoon, the fifth-year Gryffindor students who had just finished class hurried through the drafty corridors and ducked into the Charms classroom.

Christmas is approaching, and Professor Flitwick's classroom has been decorated. Green ribbons of mistletoe and holly hang on the walls, decorated with small flowers of different colors. Those colorful lanterns will turn into real fairies. When the little wizards are in class, they will flap their wings and sprinkle crystal powder on the side.

"Dear students, in this class we are going to learn the Existence Spell. In the long years of magic, the definition of the Existence Spell has been controversial. When Miranda Gorshak compiled the textbook, she described the differences from 23 aspects. …”

Loren sat in the last row by the window on the left side of the podium, with his hands in his pockets and "Standard Spells: Advanced" on the table.

The page turned to the chapter on the Existence Curse. There were no notes. It was almost brand new, with a dried ginkgo leaf sandwiched in the middle.

A naughty fairy landed next to a ginkgo leaf and looked at it curiously. Finally, he was attracted by the plant's fragrance and leaned over lightly. At this moment, Loren puffed up her cheeks and blew on the ginkgo leaf. The whole leaf covered the fairy head-on, pushing her staggering and falling onto the page.

The fairy looked at this guy angrily, flapped her wings and hit him hard, scattering a ball of crystal clear powder.

Then, regardless of how much damage it caused him, he raised his chin and left proudly.

There is basically no feeling at all with that little intensity.

Loren chuckled, rested his chin on the desk, slowed his breathing, and continued to wait for the next fairy to fall into the trap.

Hermione sighed helplessly, this man had a really bad character.

"...As the key content of O.W.L.s, you need to memorize all the definitions of the existence curse and be proficient in casting spells..."

Hearing Professor Flitwick's slightly shrill voice, Hermione tightened her quill with her white fingers and wrote down detailed and neat notes in her textbooks and notebooks, the fragrance of ink dissipating.

Just as she was paying attention to the lecture, something flashed past her out of the corner of her eye, and the next moment something was suddenly stuffed into her mouth.

Sweet?

The fruity aroma is rich and unique, the taste of dried mango.

Hermione pursed her lips tightly and turned to stare at him with wide eyes.

Loren tilted his head to his shoulders, showing doubts at the right time, and then suddenly realized: "Oh... another piece?"

Before she could retort, another hawthorn piece was stuffed into her mouth. The sweet taste was preceded by an obvious sour taste. The unique taste of hawthorn stimulated the taste buds, and saliva was secreted rapidly. Within a few seconds, her mouth was full of sour and sweet flavors. the taste of.

Hermione gulped.

At this time, Professor Flitwick on the podium raised his voice:

"Can anyone tell me what circumstances the existence spell is applicable to?"

We have been taking classes together for five years. When we heard the professor's slightly difficult question, almost everyone's eyes immediately turned to Miss Know-It-All, who was in the last row on the right by the window.

Professor Flitwick also looked at her with a smile: "Miss Granger, can you help us answer our questions?"

"..."

Hermione was a little devastated.

I have been teased by this person in Transfiguration class since I was in the first grade. After five years of getting along with him, I thought I would never be fooled again. Who would have thought that even in the fifth grade, I would still be teased.

Loren raised his right hand calmly and said calmly: "Professor, let me answer. The Existence Curse originated in the 12th century. Ancient wizards used it for..."

"Perfect answer. I couldn't be more detailed. Five points added to Gryffindor."

"..."

Recess.

Hermione hit the man's arm hard, gritting her teeth at first, almost wanting to throw him out of the window, and then turned to grief and anger: "Look at the good thing you did! Professor Flitwick must have seen it, he asked me to answer the question He was warning me...he must have thought I was a bad student..."

Loren still had hawthorn slices in his mouth at this time, and his words were a little vague: "Would you like some strawberries?"

Hermione continued to pat his shoulder: "Can you... stop eating!"

Loren stuffed a strange-flavored candy into his mouth, enjoyed the girl's slightly heavier massage, and leaned leisurely against the window, admiring the snowy scenery outside.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a group of birds suddenly sprang up from the treetops in the distance, chirping angrily downwards, as if the tree they were perching on had just been uprooted by someone. Not long after, Hagrid, wearing a moleskin coat, dragged a thick fir tree out of the deep forest and walked toward the castle.

So Loren knew that it should be one of the castle's Christmas trees this year.

Hermione, who didn't use much force but made herself tired, gave him a squeeze. After seeing him grinning in pain, she was finally satisfied and hummed happily: "Are we going to stay in school this Christmas?"

"Don't stay."

"But Voldemort and the Death Eaters are still lurking in the dark and may come back at any time to cause a big mess. Stay home and the news is lagging behind."

"Then stay."

"But Grandpa Bates has complained many times. We haven't been back for Christmas since the second grade."

"Then don't stay."

"But Death Eaters..."

"..."

Loren squinted his eyes and stared at this person, pondering for a moment: "Think about it from another perspective, can we go home this Christmas?"

"Is there any difference from this angle?"

"Don't worry about it, just answer it."

"Then...go home?"

Loren looked refreshed and said in a brisk tone: "The news about returning home will be delayed."

"No return?"

"My parents will complain if I don't go home."

"..."

Hermione reacted and rolled her eyes speechlessly.

Just when the two were about to continue discussing this issue, they saw another group of birds flying in the air in the Forbidden Forest in the distance, hovering angrily above the treetops. The two people chatting and laughing looked at each other and tacitly guessed that there would be a few more Christmas trees in the castle this year.

…

Gryffindor common room.

"Mibu Mibao."

Prefect Parvati said the password for tonight, said hello to the Fat Madam, and entered the portrait hole with the student registration form in her hand.

The common room is always lively on Friday nights. The sounds of various noisy games are mixed together, but it does not seem noisy, but adds a bit of warmth to the cold winter day.

The banging sound was caused by the crackling exploding cards, which made a group of people dizzy. The shrieking sound was the little wizard who was sprayed with disgusting slime by Gobstone. The shouting and yelling was the unconvinced knight of the wizard chess game, as well as a group of students. Sitting around the fire, seriously designing plans to deal with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Although those plans were impossible to implement, it was always a pleasure for Gryffindors to talk about them.

After walking out of the tunnel, Parvati was somewhat surprised to find a square table at the entrance of the cave. It was filled with all kinds of candies. Judging from the brand-new packaging, it was a luxurious Christmas gift box from Honeydukes Candy Shop. There were many styles and ample portions. , surrounded by young wizards who were in lower grades and could not go to Hogsmeade, their eyes were bright as they ate.

Parvati's heart immediately skipped a few beats. She stepped forward and patted first-year Euan Abercrombie, and asked softly and affectionately:

"Euan, who put this candy gift box here?"

Euan Abercrombie was a little confused at first, then hurriedly swallowed the chewy toffee and shouted loudly: "It's Prefect Longbottom!"

Parvati breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little.

"No!" Dennis Creevey on the side immediately interrupted, "It's the kind-hearted Loren Morgan. Prefect Longbottom wanted to give him the big gift box, but Loren refused several times without convincing Prefect Longbottom. He distributed the gift boxes to everyone, saying that Prefect Longbottom invited everyone to eat..."

Parvati's heart was completely settled, she touched their hair and solemnly warned: "Be sure to watch these candies and don't let George and Fred get close to them, the redheads of the Weasley family, you know? ?”

"knew!"

Parvati glanced up and saw Neville standing under the escalator, waving his wand, raising the golden and red ribbons and fixing them on the wall, assisting the professors in completing the Christmas decorations of the castle. This was part of the prefect's job. Working in the common room was relatively safe, but in the corridors you had to keep an eye out for the mischievous Peeves.

Loren and Hermione sat at the round table by the window, which was their regular spot.

Parvati shook the registration form in her hand and walked over.

"..."

"Okay, think it through and give me an answer, no later than Monday."

"Okay Prefect, no problem Prefect."

Loren assured simply and neatly, watching Parvati slowly walk away, shaking her shoulder and bumping into the little witch holding "A Joke Book" next to her: "Did you hear that? I'll give you a reply before Monday at the latest! "

"Can't you be more decisive and help me make a decision?" Hermione buried her head in the book like a squirrel, and spoke in a long and unclear voice, showing the unique naivety of a girl.

"Then go home."

"But--"

Before the two of them could start a new round of procrastinating and endless arguments, Harry moved over slowly, his expression slightly dazed, and he hesitated for a while before handing over the delicately patterned envelope to the two of them.

"What's this?"

"Sirius's...wedding invitation."

…

Malfoy Manor.

The spacious and flat road led to a very respectable mansion. Narcissa Malfoy followed her husband, her footsteps hurried, her body like smoke, and the two extraordinary wrought iron doors creaked on the gravel-like snow. Go towards the front door of the house.

Entering the foyer, the luxurious carpets covering the floor were brightly colored. Narcissa paused, as if she was afraid of her own mansion.

Go upstairs, turn right, turn the bronze handle, and push the door open.

The scene in the living room is the same as before. In the marble-carved fireplace hearth, orange flames are burning brightly. The thin sound of the flames is mixed with the popping and crackling sounds of matches from time to time, bringing a strange kind of silence and depression.

The originally well-decorated round table was replaced by a long table that could accommodate more seats. Narcissa followed her husband to the empty seat on the right side of the long table and sat down. She said nothing and watched silently as more and more new faces opened the door and took their seats, or Said these were old faces from long ago.

August Lukewood, Anthony Dolohov, Batan Lestrange...

And the other one, Snape, was sitting closest to the Dark Lord.

She tried not to think about the similarity between the pale face of the Potions Professor and the Dark Lord, and not to imagine what was hidden behind this similarity...

At this moment, the Dark Lord, who had a pale face and crimson pupils, suddenly turned his head. He glanced at her or her husband with interest, with a teasing smile on his face.

Narcissa was stunned for a moment, forced out a smile while suppressing the discomfort in her heart, and nodded lightly.

Lucius grabbed his wife's hand under the table, feeling a sense of warmth and comfort, and looked at the host with sincere eyes: "I'm sorry, Master, I accidentally drank too much in order to let Cornelius Fudge accept the invitation. 1 o'clock, so the night out was delayed."

"Is that so?" Voldemort looked at him with a smile, his venomous gaze almost solidified, and when it swept over his skin, it made the hairs stand on end, "I thought it was me who disturbed your normal life and made you feel Unpleasant and uncomfortable, what do you think, Lucius?"

Lucius said with fear: "We discussed this issue last time. Master, it is our honor to have you staying in our home. There is nothing more gratifying than this."

"Really?" Voldemort said casually, "So your son will not stay in school during the holidays and will join us with great joy, right?"

Narcissa's face suddenly turned pale, her hands under the table clutched her husband tightly, and her eyes filled with tears of fear.

Lucius opened his lips slightly, but he quickly reacted and said in a slightly tight voice: "Yes, Master, Draco will be back."

Voldemort showed a satisfied smile, withdrew his gaze, tilted his head slightly to the other side, and looked at the tall man who was very close: "August, how is your work done?"

"Everything went well, Master." August Rookwood's hair was even oilier than Snape's and his face was pockmarked. "I met Broderick Bird on his way home and talked with him about old times." ” Until late at night, it was confirmed that the Department of Mysteries had not changed much over the years and was the same as before. but……"

"What?"

"Bode told me that Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody entered the Prophecy Hall two years ago, and he didn't know exactly what they did..."

Seeing Voldemort's displeasure, Rookwood said cautiously: "If you can control Cornelius Fudge, no matter what they do, you can successfully enter the Department of Mysteries and get the prophecy ball."

"This plan has unpredictable risks..."

Snape interrupted, looking at him calmly: "Although the master has conquered death, everyone here has not. If an accident happens... we will have no chance to wait for the rise again."

The people around the table slowed down their breathing, burying their heads and barely daring to look at the expression of the host. The atmosphere was a little stagnant for a moment. They all understood that Snape was talking about the kind of accident that happened more than ten years ago.

The Dark Lord might be defeated again, and he could plot his resurrection, but these Death Eaters didn't have another fourteen years left.

Voldemort slowly turned his head to look at him, expressionless: "Then what suggestions do you have, Severus?"