Chapter 279: Hogsmeade Weekend
Chapter 279: Hogsmeade Weekend
Human nature always seeks a middle ground.
This is true even for a creature like Fidelius.
If it were forced to be Sherlock's slave for life, forever showing obedience to the young man who had defeated it twice, it would rather choose to dissipate its soul than agree to such a fate.
However, after Fidelius clearly expressed its determination to resist to the bitter end, Sherlock made some modifications to the magical contract.
He changed all the clauses that involved slavery to "cooperation" and altered the requirement of serving Sherlock without pay to "working to earn freedom."
The work period was set to 100 years, after which Fidelius would regain its freedom.
When viewed this way, the "equal" magical contract seemed much less unbearable.
Fidelius, being an entity capable of independent thought, was adept at finding a way to save face.
Slavery had become cooperation, which meant it hadn't lost its dignity.
Working for 100 years to earn freedom was not an unacceptable proposition for Fidelius, who had nearly infinite life. After all, it had already spent a century imprisoned in the German Ministry of Magic, and enduring another century didn't seem like a big deal.
Moreover, this wasn't exactly imprisonment; following Sherlock meant there were opportunities to get out and stretch its legs.
After all, they were in an "equal" partnership!
Even though it had found a way to save face, Fidelius still acted reluctant when it came time to sign the soul contract, trying to act resistant and push Sherlock to make the terms more lenient.
But Sherlock simply threw down the pen and said, "Sign it if you want, or explode. I'll just lie in bed for a couple of months, heal up, and still be a lively man."
Seeing that there was no way to negotiate for better terms, Fidelius finally signed the modified contract, albeit pitifully.
What Fidelius didn't notice was a tiny clause written in ancient runes at the end of the contract, which would normally go unnoticed.
"Sherlock Forest has the final interpretation of this contract."
In the end, the control over Fidelius was secured without major incident. With the successful signing of the contract, Fidelius no longer needed to be confined in the four wooden boxes.
Being an incorporeal entity, the Straw Golem form was just a shape Fidelius found most intimidating.
In general, it could transform into small trinkets and hang around Sherlock's neck, not drawing much attention.
When the one and a half hours agreed upon with Silke for entering the Room of Requirement passed, Silke promptly opened the door from the outside.
Seeing that Sherlock was not in any abnormal condition, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"I told you it would be foolproof."
Sherlock, feeling smug, walked out of the Room of Requirement with Silke. At that moment, he suddenly remembered how he had entered the Room of Requirement.
"Why did you kick me when I was entering?"
Silke, reassured that he was fine, didn't even look at him.
"Nothing, I just felt like it."
"What do you mean, 'just felt like it'? Don't be disrespectful, you'd better explain yourself clearly!"
"Tomorrow, I want to go to Hogsmeade for a stroll."
"Don't change the subject!"
"Are you coming?"
"Fine, I'll go."
Harry and Ron's relationship still hadn't improved.
Even on this Hogsmeade weekend, Harry firmly refused to meet Ron, preferring to go out wrapped in the Invisibility Cloak.
Hermione, though she claimed it was silly to talk to the air and that she wouldn't walk with Harry if he wore the Invisibility Cloak, ended up accompanying him out of Hogwarts Castle.
"People keep staring at me", Hermione complained, "they probably think I'm talking to myself."
They had just come out of Honeydukes, and there were many students around.
"Try not to move your mouth so much when you speak, and they won't pay attention", Harry tried to teach Hermione how to blend in.
But Hermione wasn't really bothered by the idea of being seen as a strange person who talks to herself. Her real intention was to trick Harry into taking off the Invisibility Cloak, so that he might "coincidentally" run into Ron at the Three Broomsticks and perhaps reconcile.
However, Harry wasn't about to fall for it. No matter what Hermione said, he refused to take off the Invisibility Cloak.
As it turned out, Harry's decision was the right one. After leaving the candy store, they encountered a particularly annoying woman—Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet reporter who had recently interviewed Harry.
If she spotted Harry, it would undoubtedly lead to a lot of trouble.
"Why isn't she leaving!" Harry grumbled from under the Invisibility Cloak.
Hermione, used to such situations, replied, "She'll probably stay here until the match officially starts. The interview with you wasn't a big enough achievement for her."
Once Rita Skeeter and her camera assistant left the pub, Hermione and Harry entered.
The pub was quite crowded, almost full, as Hogsmeade only had three pubs. Compared to the disheveled Hog's Head and the romantic Madam Puddifoot's, the Three Broomsticks was the best place for friends to have a drink.
Hermione found an empty table and sat down with Harry. To the outside world, it looked like Hermione was sitting alone, drinking Butterbeer.
"This is really silly", Hermione grumbled again, then pulled a book out of her bag. "At least I always have this with me."
Harry saw the title of the book: The Communist Manifesto.
"I never understood what good reading these books does", Harry muttered quietly. Having lived with the Dursleys, he was somewhat familiar with the content of the books Hermione had been reading recently. "The Wizarding World is different from the Muggle world."
Hermione looked serious.
"Any society composed of people, in essence, is similar. It's just that in the modern era, wizards haven't been divided into classes by the means of production. But that doesn't mean classes don't exist; they just appear in a different form in the magical society."
Harry found her explanations overwhelming and confusing.
As he sat there, bored, his gaze drifted to the pub's entrance. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
(End of Chapter)
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