The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

"Who's next?"

Slughorn sat on the chair with a big belly, looking very impressive. He smiled eagerly and looked to the right, like a host introducing a celebrity guest, and said in an excited voice: "Oh, it's our Harry Potter!"

Harry faced the eyes of the crowd and forced a smile.

"Where should I start?" Slughorn put his arm around his shoulders, "The meeting during the Christmas holiday was unexpected and the process was hasty. We only touched the surface of our acquaintance. A deeper friendship is waiting for us to build..."

Harry felt a chill in his heart. He felt the hairs on his arms stand up one by one. If he lifted his sleeves at this time, he would definitely see dense goose bumps.

"I had high hopes for your mother, Lily, when she was in school, but after that terrible night, Lily, James..." Slughorn said softly, and seeing Harry's slightly stiff expression, he subconsciously paused for two seconds, and then continued slowly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't mention this in front of you, but the legendary story of that night has spread all over the world... The child who escaped death, the savior of the wizarding world, the famous savior star, the newspapers and media now call you that." He stared straight at Harry, trying to see something from his expression, but could only see the embarrassment written on his face. "Of course, no one knows which is real news and which is false news fabricated by unscrupulous reporters to attract attention." Slughorn said slowly, "This Christmas holiday is really full of rumors. Everyone knows that the Daily Prophet often publishes false information, and their credibility has long been overdrawn..." Loren carefully observed Slughorn and thought this professor was very interesting. Perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps for other reasons, the old professor was clearly very concerned about the news about Voldemort, but he pretended to be just curious.

"They probably wouldn't have thought that the witness of the incident was sitting next to me..." Slughorn picked up the cup and took a sip of the strong tea in the cup, as if he was just casually saying, "Maybe this request is a bit presumptuous, just to satisfy the curiosity of an old man like me, can I ask about the real situation at the scene?"

He rambled on and on for a long time, all of which became the foreshadowing of this question. His slightly turbid eyes stared straight at Harry, and his eyes occasionally glanced at Ron, Loren and Hermione.

As he himself advocated, the connections accumulated in his youth were all over the world, and he often knew some secret news.

For example, these students all appeared in the Ministry of Magic on the day of the incident and entered the mysterious prophecy hall...

"As you said, professor, these are all false news spread by reporters." Harry's smile was a little stiff, "There is no savior star at all. How can we, a group of students who have not graduated yet, deal with Voldemort... the mysterious man?"

Ron nodded hurriedly.

"How humble, how humble, no wonder Dumbledore likes you so much..." Slughorn looked at him deeply, turned to Loren and Hermione and said, "Alas, those reports are too wonderful and exciting, making people simply don't know what to believe and what not to believe, such as... the legendary prophecy ball?"

Loren chuckled and said, "Professor, we have never heard of any prophecy ball."

"Well... it seems to be another false news."

Slughorn had expected the answers of the three students involved, and he did not expect to get a direct answer when he raised this topic.

Just as he had learned from others before, whether it was the staff of the Ministry of Magic or the editor of the newspaper, they were all vague when talking about the relevant events. Some people were restricted by the Ministry of Magic, and some people were afraid of Voldemort's existence.

From a certain perspective, he didn't know what kind of answer he wanted.

If the student who asked about the Horcrux was destined to be defeated by someone, he would probably feel better.

Slughorn paused, a moment of loss flashed in his eyes, and he came back to his senses and lightly skipped the topic: "I forgot to introduce them. These two are Loren Morgan and Hermione Granger, the best students in the fifth grade. Even if the stupidest troll comes, it can be seen that they will have great prospects in the future..."

"Thank you for your compliment, professor."

"Let me see who else hasn't been introduced..."

Slughorn turned his head and looked at the two people sitting in the corner: "Draco, Theodore, cheer up and smile."

Draco and Theodore Nott showed a very standard smile, gentle and polite, without any warmth. Maybe pure-blood families have similar training, and even the curves of their mouths are very similar.

"I know what you are worried about. Are you worried about the Wizengamot trial?" Slughorn didn't care about it. "An old professor's advice, please believe in your family and fathers. The Malfoy and Nott families can last for a thousand years and will not fall so easily."

"Thank you for your blessing."

"This is how students at your age are like this. When you are in your prime, you always feel that there are all kinds of worries every day, endless papers to write, beloved boys and girls who cannot respond, and a certain professor who always makes things difficult for you. Cherish it for yourself, and when you look back decades later, you will feel that this age is the most carefree," Slughorn said with deep emotion.

"I remember dear Gwenog told me, of course I meant Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies..."

In the next few hours, the classroom echoed with Slughorn's chattering voice. He talked endlessly about various topics, and in the end they all involved some past events and the outstanding students he once taught. wizard.

To be honest, these anecdotes sound pretty interesting if you ignore Slughorn's braggadocio.

Time passed unconsciously, and the hourly bell sounded outside the room.

"Oh, it's time to turn off the lights! You'd better go back to your dormitory quickly. We'll meet again next week..." Slughorn said with a smile, and he imitated Dumbledore and winked at the students. , "If you meet the administrator or the patrolling professor on the road, you can tell me my name, not just tonight."

The club's exclusive privileges won cheers from some students, and Slughorn was very pleased to see their excitement.

"McLaggen, you must come over and borrow that book about the giant-tailed beast when you have time..."

"Draco, Theodore, you are welcome to come to me at any time..."

"I almost forgot!" Slughorn saw the young couple walking at the end and suddenly shouted, "Loren, wait for me."

Loren turned around after hearing this and looked at him doubtfully.

"Severus left something in the office. Dumbledore asked me to pass it on to you." Slughorn took out a cage from somewhere and handed it over.

"Professor Snape...left something?"

Loren looked down.

A weak and thin hamster huddled in the corner, its black eyes full of fear.

…

The entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

The Fat Lady was exchanging breath-taking techniques for coloratura sopranos with Madame Violet.

"Light of Wonderland..." Harry covered his ears and said the password, and was the first to get into the portrait hole. "I really shouldn't refuse Hagrid's invitation. It may be boring to listen to Grawp practice simple sentences, but it is definitely better than It’s fun to listen to Professor Slughorn’s stories.”

"Hagrid must be very happy to hear this." Loren looked down at the hamster in the cage.

"Grawp will be happy too."

"Then you can use this reason to refuse Slughorn's invitation next time."

"Forget it..." Harry sighed, "I still want to get the memory of the Horcrux in his mind. This is the task assigned to me by Dumbledore."

"Voldemort will be very happy to hear this."

"..."

Harry looked at the extremely thin hamster and couldn't help but ask: "Why did Dumbledore leave this hamster to you? According to your story, Walton McNeil was a cruel man. A cold executioner, a sinister and ruthless Death Eater..."

"It's not Dumbledore, it's Professor Snape."

"Then why did Snape leave a Death Eater for you?"

"Well... we'll keep it a secret for now."

Crookshanks, who was lying on the carpet in front of the fireplace, heard their voices. He opened his eyes lazily and sniffed with his nose. He immediately got up and came to Loren, arched his body and stretched out his paws. , roaring a warning at the hamster in the cage.

"You can't eat this. A certain professor still hopes to get back on it..."

Loren knelt down and gently smoothed the ginger-colored persimmon-faced kitten with fried fur. He originally planned to give it the job of guarding the hamster and feeding it regularly, but now he had no choice but to give up.

…

February 10th, Hogsmeade event weekend.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, Loren and Hermione walked out of Honeydukes Candy Shop.

He was holding a not-heavy brown paper bag in his hand, which contained a variety of new candies. Boss Froom was very confident in the products. In order to attract customers, all new products were discounted by 50%. The students who returned from the holidays were very excited. Cleared the inventory.

Loren took a new magic wand candy from Hermione's pocket. The box was a multi-flavored package with various flavors, and he chewed it:

"Tsk, the cashier lady's eyes are filled with mosquito repellent coils when she is doing the accounting."

"..." Hermione ate the strawberry magic wand silently.

"Calculating the price is actually very simple, but finding change is really time-consuming."

"..."

"You said who studied the wizard currency exchange rate system?"

"The goblins of Gringotts formulated it together with the Ministry of Magic."

"Tsk, I just said that the entire magical world lacks popular education in mathematics."

"..."

"This orange and mango flavored magic wand is really good." Loren reached for another one.

Hermione raised her head and glanced at him, with a calm expression but a strange tone: "If something tastes like an orange and tastes like an orange, we usually call it an orange."

"Learn to talk like me?" Loren grinned and punched her arm: "It's no use, I'm famous for my double standards."

"..."

Leave Honeydukes Candy Store, go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink and lunch, and then go to Mrs. Puddifoot's teahouse in the afternoon to learn some advanced kissing positions. The couple's activities on weekends are simple and unpretentious, but pleasant.

When the distant sky was slightly yellow, the two set foot on the path back to school.

It was not completely dark yet, and some shops had already lit up colorful lights. Those weak lights seemed a little dim, only illuminating a small part of the signs, but they could make people feel the warm atmosphere.

Walking out of the village, the snow on the roadside had melted, but the temperature seemed to be even colder, with a hint of spring chill. Some residual frost was left, stained with the color of muddy water, slightly turbid and dirty.

When passing the intersection where the Screaming Shack was located, for some reason, Loren vaguely sensed something, subconsciously stopped, and looked in the direction of the Screaming Shack.

Behind the sparse bushes, a faint stream of light was looming, the dark blue light was faintly black.

"This is..."

Loren stepped forward and lifted the sparse branches of the bushes. The water droplets on the leaves dripped down. The next moment, he heard a faint sound of hooves coming from behind the branches.

A young deer rushed out. The stripes on its body were dyed into a strange blue-black color by magic, and a strange light flashed in the deer's eyes.

"Professor Snape!" Loren stood at the fork in the road, looking at the strange creature that suddenly appeared in surprise and surprise, with some surprise in his eyes.

Hermione also looked at the young deer in surprise. She had heard that Voldemort had once parasitized a snake and hid in the forest of Albania for a long time. She didn't expect Professor Snape to be in this state, and she didn't expect Loren to recognize it at a glance.

Loren's lips moved, and thousands of words turned into just one sentence: "Professor, your look is very unique!"

The young deer's eyes rolled up slightly, revealing a very human disgust. He gave a look, then turned and walked towards the Screaming Shack, leaving a series of hoof-shaped footprints along the way.

Loren and Hermione looked at each other and followed him wisely.

Enter the door and close the door.

The Shrieking Shack, a famous haunted house attraction in the wizarding world, everything inside is still the same as it was two years ago, with a dark foyer, shaky stairs, a spacious but dusty bedroom, gray curtains and a four-poster bed, and scattered paw prints on the walls and tables.

The fawn jumped onto the bench nimbly, then onto the table, looking at the two of them with calm and indifferent eyes, and a childish but hoarse voice came out of his throat:

"The first thing is to go back to school and tell Dumbledore that Voldemort has found out the identity of the blond man, and learned from the Austrian Ministry of Magic that he took the man away, so he should be prepared in advance..."