Chapter 371: Hogsmeade Weekend
Chapter 371: Hogsmeade Weekend
Michael felt that if he rejected the girl's invitation, it would be embarrassing for her, so he accepted.
In truth, Michael had always maintained good relationships with many girls, and Padma was aware of this. But for some reason, this time, Padma was furious and even brought up breaking up after a big argument.
Michael tried to feign nonchalance, shrugging his shoulders and saying, "You know, it's normal to argue when you're in a relationship. We just need some time to cool off."
Vold handed the application to Filch and nodded with a smile to the caretaker.
"Approved," Filch said.
After leaving the gate, Vold asked Michael, "What were you thinking when you heard Padma say that silly 'Charlie' was cute?"
Michael fell silent, his face slightly grim, his lips forming a straight line.
"Think about it, Michael," Vold said. "I remember you telling me that you saw Padma in the Mirror of Erised... Don't forget what you truly want."
Michael climbed into the carriage and saw Vold looking ahead, then reaching out to touch something in the air.
He knew it was the Night Thestral, but no matter how hard he tried to widen his eyes, he could only see the empty air.
Soon, Neville hurriedly ran up to the carriage, accompanied by Hermione.
"Ah, thankfully there's still a carriage left," Neville said with relief. "I forgot it was Hogsmeade Weekend today. Luckily, Hermione called me before she left."
"Hermione?" Michael asked in surprise. "You didn't go with Harry and Ron?"
Despite their initial rocky start, after two years, Hermione had formed a close trio with Harry and Ron, as they were all from the same house, and their conflicts had gradually been resolved through their constant interactions.
"Don't mention him!" Hermione huffed. "I don't want to hear that guy's name today!"
Michael looked up at the sky, and the others couldn't help but follow his gaze upwards.
"What are you looking at?" Vold asked, puzzled, as the sky was clear and cloudless, not even a bird in sight.
"I wanted to see today's moon phase—" Michael said solemnly. "Is today some kind of special day? Everyone seems to be in a bad mood."
Neville took it seriously and looked up at the sky, saying earnestly, "But—there's no moon in the sky right now!"
Hermione, with a straight face, couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.
Then she explained the reason.
Hermione had bought a cat as a pet this year and named it Crookshanks. Although the cat's appearance was far from cute, Hermione adored it.
Ever since Scabbers turned into a bald man, Ron had kept his distance from rats.
Last Christmas, Vold had given everyone a puppet pet. Ron received a teacup poodle, about the size of a rat, but it was well-behaved, adorable, and could roll over and fetch. It naturally became Ron's favorite.
Yesterday, when they returned from class, they saw Crookshanks holding the teacup poodle in its mouth, as if it was about to bite it.
Ron completely forgot it was a puppet and rushed to retrieve his pet from the cat's mouth, shouting at Crookshanks to get away.
Hermione, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to defend her cat.
"You scared it, Ron! They were just playing, and the puppet wouldn't get hurt anyway!"
One thought the other was overreacting, while the other felt the other hadn't controlled their pet well enough. The surrounding students watched their argument and laughed.
Everyone else found it amusing, but the two involved didn't feel the same.
Ron was so angry that he didn't speak to Hermione all day. When it was time to go to Hogsmeade, he left with Harry and a few other boys, leaving Hermione behind.
Hermione didn't get along well with most of the Gryffindor girls, and she didn't bother trying to please anyone. So, in the morning, she deliberately dawdled, waiting for the others to leave before setting off herself.
Finally, as she passed by the common room, she saw Neville, who thought it was Hogsmeade Weekend the next day.
Like most of his classmates, Michael thought their argument was making a mountain out of a molehill, but at that moment, he was Hermione's friend and naturally took her side, joining in to criticize Ron.
As they spoke, Vold suddenly asked, "Did Carrel also go to Hogsmeade? Who signed his application?"
"Carrel?" Hermione thought for a while before saying, "I didn't see, but he submitted the application too... Professor McGonagall should know."
"It was Dumbledore," Neville said in a sullen voice. "I saw it when he passed by me."
"Dumbledore?" Michael asked, puzzled. "Is the Headmaster his guardian?"
"I don't know, there must be a reason for it."
Hermione spoke casually, still upset with Ron.
Voldemort frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.
—Dumbledore must have his reasons for this arrangement.
Although Voldemort didn't understand, he couldn't say it was wrong.
...
"Do you want to hear your teeth chatter? Then you must try these two ice rats! And this super bubble gum—I guarantee its bubbles will last for at least five days!"
Mr. Fruhm, the owner of Honeydukes, was enthusiastically promoting his products to the students. Seeing a student standing by and just watching without any intention to buy, he understood what was going on.
He brought out a basket of milk toffees with a delightful aroma and started handing them out to the students in the shop:
"These are our new toffee samples, and they taste different from what you've had before! Try them, kids!"
A handful of candies were stuffed into Carrel's hands, and he held onto the obviously larger amount of candy compared to the others. He looked up and saw the shop owner smiling and nodding at him, then distributing samples to the other children.
Carrel patted his pocket, feeling the limited amount of change, and decided to take out a handful of Nats: "I want to buy this lollipop."
When they first arrived in the United Kingdom, they had a substantial amount of funds for their activities, both in the magical and Muggle worlds.
But of course, Carrel didn't carry all the money. By the time the three of them had died or escaped, and Carrel was caught and brought back by Dumbledore, he only had a few Nats left.
Dumbledore gave Carrel a bag of money according to the school's standards for funding impoverished students. However, considering that this was his budget for the entire semester, Carrel naturally had to be frugal.
"Blood Sucker Candy?" The shop owner asked, "This flavor is quite exotic, and usually only vampires like it—Are you sure you want to buy it?"
"I want to try it," Carrel insisted.
A few minutes later, Carrel was sucking on the lollipop with its strong bloody taste, trying not to look at the necks of his classmates around him. Instead, he curiously observed the buildings nearby.
The last time, they had hidden very close to Hogsmeade, but they didn't get a chance to enter the village. They could only see a small area through the lens of the Flowing Mirror.
But today's Hogsmeade was different. It was filled with Hogwarts students, and all the shops displayed their best products to welcome this group of customers.
Because of this, there were also many tourists in the village, some of whom had come specifically to visit their children.
It was also Halloween Eve, and the entire street was decorated for the occasion. Large pumpkins could be seen everywhere, and many windows had pale skulls displayed outside.
A ghost disguised itself as a Sunshiny Doll and hung under the eaves, swinging back and forth. Occasionally, it would suddenly shout, startling the nearby students.
There were also groups of magical bats flying in the streets, which the students happily watched, only occasionally bending down to dodge the flying bats.
Some bats hung under the eaves, like a silent wind chime. No doubt, the Halloween atmosphere would become even more intense at night.
Seeing the decorative bats, Carrel smirked and lowered his head to bite into the lollipop, making a loud crunching sound.
Unaware, he collided with a passerby on the road.
"Sorry," Carrel apologized without much concern. He was about to continue on his way after sidestepping the other person.
As they passed each other, the other person suddenly spoke: "Is an apology all you have to offer?"
The hoarse voice sounded familiar, with a hint of a smile.
Carrel abruptly raised his head and saw a man with an unusually pale complexion standing in front of him, smiling.
The man had a distinct tattoo on his face, and because of this, he wore a large hood to conceal his face.
Carrel's expression turned to surprise, and just as he was about to speak, the man raised his finger and shook his head lightly.
Carrel closed his mouth and simply followed behind the man, winding through the village until they reached a secluded corner.
The area was very quiet, and the surrounding houses were hidden among the trees. The noise from the commercial street was almost inaudible.
As they approached, the door of a house suddenly opened, and a slightly plump woman in a gray dress with her hair in a bun quickly stepped out, looking at Carrel with joy.
She covered her mouth, overwhelmed with emotion: "It's wonderful... Carrel, you're still alive..."
Carrel couldn't hold back any longer and rushed over to hug her: "Mom—"
The tattooed man looked around and pushed them into the house: "Go inside and talk, there are British Wizard spies everywhere here."
Entering the house, Carrel asked in both surprise and joy: "Dad, Mom, how did you end up in Hogsmeade?"
(End of Chapter)
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