The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

The third Wednesday of December.

The semester ended, and the young wizards left school one after another.

As the students left, the whole Hogwarts became quiet, along with the Forbidden Forest and hills wrapped in silver.

The heavy rails revealed two black lines on the silver-white snow, extending into the distance as if there was no end. The broken ice and snow particles vibrated slightly, and the alchemical creation disguised as technology drove along the rails into the distance, leaving a bright red shadow, and the black coal smoke was particularly eye-catching under the snowy sky.

In the last compartment of the last section of the carriage, Harry unfolded the invitation in his hand, staring at the unfamiliar name at the signature in a trance, and whispered it over and over again, as if he felt that this would allow him to get familiar with the godmother he had never met and relieve the unspeakable strangeness in his heart.

"Betty Carver..."

"Trivia: the inventor of Betty's Every Flavour Beans is also called Betty, Betty Bott." Loren hugged Crookshanks, the fluffy lazy fellow who was reluctant to move in winter. He half-reluctantly stayed in his arms, squinting his eyes in comfort, not feeling at all that he was being used as a hand warmer, soft and warm.

Ron bit a multi-flavored bean and nodded hurriedly: "I know, I know! There's this person on the chocolate picture!"

"..."

Hermione stroked the spectacled owl with one hand, quietly staring at the snow flying by outside the window, frowning slightly: "Harry, how did you convince Dumbledore to let you take the express train? This will make your safety unsafe. The You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters may attack from the dark at any time."

"In fact, I didn't say anything at all. Instead, it was Dumbledore who kept persuading me."

Harry closed the invitation in his hand, revealing the Black family emblem on the cover: "He said that the Death Eaters cannot reveal their whereabouts yet. There are Aurors patrolling near the station, and Moody is also bringing people to guard in secret. I will not be in any danger. More importantly... I must be with Sirius at the most important moment in his life."

Hermione opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but considering that it was the decision made by the headmaster after all, she just sighed silently.

Loren thought this was very Gryffindor and Dumbledore. He scratched Crookshanks' chin and asked casually, "Will the wedding be held at the Black Mansion? Will it be inconvenient for guests to come and go?"

"I'm not sure about the specific situation. Dumbledore and Professor Moody seem to have moved the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix..." Harry pushed his glasses, "As for the guests, there are actually not many guests. The woman has few relatives and friends. Some particularly distant relatives have stopped communicating a long time ago, not to mention Sirius."

"Oh, keep everything simple..."

Loren nodded, teasing Crookshanks with his fingers, his thoughts drifted out of the window and drifted away with the flying snow.

Since Dumbledore has arranged it this way, there should be no security issues...

The wedding of wizards and Muggles sounds very interesting...

I don't know what he thought of, he stopped his eyes on Hermione's face, his eyes flickered.

Hermione didn't react at first, but after a few seconds she vaguely realized something, and moved her eyes slightly unnaturally, concentrating on appreciating the snow scene outside the window.

...

In the evening, the express train arrived at King's Cross Station.

Perhaps because of the urban heat island effect, the temperature in London is warmer. Unlike the pure white snow in Hogwarts, the snow on both sides of the street outside the station absorbs more car exhaust and dust, and looks dirty, gray and yellow.

There was a gray fog floating in the city, and the sky was a mediocre grayish white.

Harry and Ron were going back to No. 12 Grimmauld Place. Mad-Eye Moody came to pick them up. When they met, they had a tedious and complicated inspection and instructions. It was said that they would drive the flying car later, go around a few circles and then go back.

"Then we'll go first..."

Loren and Hermione smiled and waved goodbye.

When I walked out of the station, there was a group of people holding signs outside to protest against the privatization of the railway. The leader was a middle-aged woman in her forties with a sharp voice and the loudest voice. She always opened her mouth to the limit when shouting slogans, holding a handwritten placard in her left hand and waving her arms with her right hand to cheer. It can be seen that she must have worked very hard at the beginning. Her voice was hoarse, but she still shouted meticulously.

There was an old man with short stubble and gray hair on the edge of the crowd. He was straight-backed and polite, but his question was a bit strange: "Madam, after the policy is implemented, do all train operations need to be obtained through bidding?"

"That's right! Trains, railways, freight...those greedy guys don't let go of anything!"

Bates' eyes were clear and energetic: "Suppose there is a train, just a hypothesis, suppose this train is privately produced, only serves a few people, and is almost unprofitable, how should such a train bid for the right to operate?"

But the lady who participated in the protest glared at him, thinking that he was here to make trouble and didn't want to pay attention to him.

"..."

Loren and Hermione saw him at a glance, not because of his fancy clothes, but because there was a clear blank area around the protesting crowd. He was the only one standing happily next to them, chatting with them in an interesting way.

"Grandpa Bates, go home."

Loren patted his shoulder calmly.

Bates pushed his hand away with disdain: "Wait a few minutes, I'm asking how to bid for the operating rights of the Hogwarts Express!"

"..."

A few minutes later, Bates adjusted the driver's seat belt while shaking his head, feeling very sorry: "If the express train can be contracted, I will drive it myself, and it will run every weekend, so that you can go home every week."

Loren looked helpless, and Hermione seemed to think this idea was very interesting, and smiled and discussed with him.

"The Ministry of Magic has connections with the Muggle government. It is said that many parties have wizard contacts... Although the express train is produced by the Ministry of Magic, it is actually an asset of Hogwarts, and it should not be operated by others..."

The girl has white and smooth skin and bright eyes. She is not wearing any makeup, but just sitting there and talking in a low voice, she looks bright and charming.

"..."

Christmas is coming, and the streets are full of bright red silk, various gifts and greeting cards are placed in glass windows, and the light of light yellow shines down from above, making the girls and children on the street unable to walk.

The street lights in Hampstead Gardens on the outskirts of the city were dim, and most people along the way had a Christmas tree in their yards, some big and some small, with similar decorations, colorful, but no apples.

The Granger family's Christmas tree was still covered with a cloth. When Hermione led him past, Loren took a look and saw a label on it:

"Norway Spruce - £27"