Chapter 315: Anniversary Party

Heavy rain pattered against the window, flinging the curtains backward.

Jia Jia Siting closed the window, and the cottage returned to quiet warmth.

“Sorry, Harry, I might not make it either. Look at this pumpkin—I think I’ll carve a common room inside it.”

Jia Jia Siting looked apologetic.

“N-no problem.”

Harry sank deeper into disappointment—he shouldn’t have agreed so early.

“I—I also…”

Neville stammered out his refusal.

Harry slumped onto his chair, head slightly bowed, looking pitiful.

“This…”

Ron hesitated, torn—then caught sight of Wizard Sean sighing.

“You said yes, Harry?”

Wizard Sean asked.

“Yes… I suppose I can tell Sir, I’ve got something else to do…”

Harry murmured.

“A promise once given cannot be taken back.”

Hermione reminded Harry sternly,

“You said you’d attend the Anniversary Party—you can’t back out now.”

“I think… yes.”

Harry replied slowly, which made Hermione awkwardly add:

“What I mean is…”

“You mean we’re a team, right? Since Harry promised to go, we should all go together. But next time, maybe you could ask everyone’s opinion earlier.”

Jia Jia Siting hammered and nailed at the giant pumpkin until he carved out a window, then turned and said,

“You think the same way, Wizard Sean?”

Wizard Sean gave a slight nod.

Harry lifted his lowered head and saw everyone smiling at him.

Out of nowhere, he remembered Jia Jia Siting’s cheerful words:

“My mother said friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”

In the days past, time had eroded memories as usual, and friendship had become stones in a river—washed smooth by the current.

Outside, the rain poured relentlessly; to be beside his friends, Harry could think of no greater luck.

“Should we come back early? Maybe we’ll still make it to the Great Hall dinner.”

Jia Jia Siting placed the carved pumpkin into his oven, noticing Wizard Sean glancing at it unconsciously.

The discussion ended with the sweet scent of pumpkin, and in the end, all six decided to take a quick look—but not stay long.

Before long, afternoon arrived, shadows slanting with the setting sun.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team returned from training; Harry still had mud caked on him.

A broomshot past him, sweeping the ground with each step he took, then vanished the moment he changed clothes.

“A cleaning broom?”

Harry couldn’t help but think it resembled Wizard Sean’s invention.

It was practically a twin to the one in Hope Cottage.

Suddenly, Harry sighed—even without wind or rain, today’s training had been unpleasant.

Fred and George had been spying on the Slytherin team; they’d seen firsthand how fast the new Nimbus 2001 brooms were.

They reported back that the Slytherin players now appeared as seven faint green blurs, zipping through the air like jet engines.

This had become Harry’s burden—he didn’t want to lose to Slytherin.

But then something else distracted him: he was going to Hagrid’s hut the day after tomorrow, the day after Halloween.

Everyone would go, Wizard Sean would go too, and he’d even return to the castle with Hagrid.

This made Harry’s steps lighter on the way back.

Back at Hope Cottage, Harry strained his ears—everyone was talking about the Anniversary Party and ghosts.

And Wizard Sean, as always, stared out the window; Harry figured he was pondering deep knowledge like how to transform a wizard into a dragon or turn a table into a giant.

What about Wizard Sean?

He was wondering—if the essence of magic was a wizard’s belief, then how strong was his own faith in magic?

Watching Tila climb among ancient books in the wooden bookshelf, Wizard Sean’s thoughts drifted.

Rita and others were soon arriving at Hogwarts; for certain sharp questions, Hagrid might even take Veritaserum to answer.

His testimony would undoubtedly become powerful evidence.

At this thought, Wizard Sean paused,

Veritaserum?

Maybe… it wouldn’t be impossible…

It could force a wizard to speak the purest truth—if Wizard Sean drank a drop, he might find out.

He kept some Veritaserum in his vault—placed there by Professor Snape to fill the empty space—and now it seemed to have a special purpose.

So how could he retrieve it?

Wizard Sean quickly devised a plan.

…

The day before Halloween.

Rita arrived at Hogwarts, accompanied by several eager reporters.

They’d all been invited by the Fairy Tale Workshop, which, officially, stood equal to Hogwarts and Wagadu.

Under threat from an unknown African school—an outside force—they had to rely on the art of language to uncover juicier stories.

And as long as the stories were juicy enough, they could ignore the Ministry of Magic—a bumbling outfit, anyway; not all of them were British papers.

On this very day, Wizard Sean was stopped in the corridor.

“Great Green! Can you believe it? A second Weasley & Wizard Wheezes is opening! Yes, the second!”

“Oh, this is all thanks to you—”

Fred exclaimed dramatically.

“Whatever you’ve got planned for the day after tomorrow, toss it all in the trash!”

George’s eyebrows danced.

“You know how to get there.”

Fred winked.

“So, one o’clock the day after tomorrow—don’t be late.”

The twins scampered off, leaving Wizard Sean no time to react.

In truth, they’d planned this long ago—only now had they fixed the date.

But let's be honest, Wizard Sean could conveniently drop by.

“Wizard Sean, good morning.”

Outside Hope Cottage.

Wizard Sean arrived first again, beside him, Jia Jia Siting carried a small box.

It was enchanted with a constant-temperature charm, perfect for preserving food.

“Good morning.”

Through the white glass, Wizard Sean already saw tender beef sizzling with oil.

“Hmm, do you remember the Green Bookshop?”

Jia Jia Siting said, stepping into Hope Cottage.

“Opening soon?”

Wizard Sean was slightly surprised.

The Green Notes had sold nearly as well as the Weird Wizard Chess.

So Jia Jia Siting couldn’t handle it alone—he’d hired wizards to help, then even set up printing and shipping.

Eventually, they naturally began thinking of buying a shop.

“Wizards above third year can visit Hogsmeade—it’s a good place. I finally secured a shop there. Opening day: the day after tomorrow.”

Jia Jia Siting said gently.