Chapter 318: Hogsmeade Trip

“I didn’t sign any autograph photos,”

he protested vehemently,

“if Lockhart is still spreading this rumor—”

But he saw Hagrid smiling.

“I’m joking,”

he affectionately patted Harry on the back, knocking Harry’s face against the table,

“I know you didn’t. I told Lockhart you don’t need to do that. You’re already more famous than he is without trying.”

After speaking with Harry, Hagrid feigned casualness and turned to Wizard Sean Green beside him:

“Wizard Sean, I, I…”

At moments like this, Hagrid could never control his emotions.

The young wizard had helped him too much; sometimes he thought the title “Little Dumbledore” suited him perfectly.

Outside, the clouds parted, revealing a golden sun.

The decades-old snow piled in this room had melted into trickling streams not long after he arrived.

…

That day.

Hogwarts buzzed with activity; students in third year and above freely came and went from Hogsmeade.

First- and second-year witches and wizards were envious.

“If we’re going to Hogsmeade, you’ll have to figure something out, Wizard Sean.”

Inside the castle, Jia Jia Siting held several volumes of the Green Notes, the brand-new edition they were about to release, covering nearly all second-year material.

Now, Wizard Sean had to sign them, to be sold as collector’s editions.

“Hmm.”

Wizard Sean nodded; the twins had already poked their heads out from behind a painting of a wheat field.

“Great Green!”

Fred seemed to have rushed back; crumbs from biscuits clung to his clothes.

“Please hurry and get it out.”

George said eagerly.

Under Jia Jia Siting’s puzzled gaze, Wizard Sean pulled out the Marauder’s Map.

He drew his wand and tapped the parchment lightly, saying:

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

The scene was genuinely funny; both twins and Jia Jia Siting found the phrase unbelievable.

“To Hogsmeade,”

Fred, covering his mouth, traced a route with his finger,

“there are seven. Filch knows these four—”

he pointed them out one by one,

“—we believe these three are known only to us. Don’t consider the one behind the fifth-floor mirror. We used it until last winter, but it’s now collapsed—completely blocked.

We think no one has used this one either, because the Whomping Willow grows right over its entrance.

The remaining one leads straight into Honeydukes’ cellar; we’ve used it many times. You’ve probably noticed—the entrance is just outside this classroom, behind the hump of the one-eyed witch.”

The twins finished speaking and hurried off, looking thoroughly occupied.

The Marauder’s Map had an interesting feature: when a wizard used it, it could Making Guide them how to act.

Like now.

Jia Jia Siting was startled to see a new black dot appear on the map, labeled Wizard Sean Green.

The black dot stood exactly where Wizard Sean stood—in the middle of the fourth-floor corridor. Jia Jia Siting stared closely; the tiny dot Wizard Sean seemed to be tapping the witch with a miniature wand.

Jia Jia Siting looked from the black dot on the map to the expressionless Wizard Sean.

Suppressing a laugh, he quickly drew his real wand and tapped the statue—but nothing happened. He looked again at the map: a tiny, tiny bubble had appeared beside Wizard Sean’s dot, reading—Dissendium.

“That’s fascinating—Dissendium!”

Jia Jia Siting whispered, and tapped the stone statue again.

Instantly, the hump of the statue opened, revealing a passage wide enough for a slender person to slip through.

“That’s truly magical—”

Jia Jia Siting marveled again,

“Shall we go?”

Wizard Sean nodded; Jia Jia Siting promptly dove headfirst into the hole and moved forward.

“Lumos. (Illumination.)”

Wizard Sean’s wand glowed like a lightbulb, illuminating the path ahead.

They slid a long way down a stone chute, then landed on cold, damp earth.

Then they advanced a short while through a narrow, low earthen tunnel—twisting and winding, more like a giant rabbit hole.

Ten minutes later, they reached the bottom of a crumbling stone staircase, extending upward into darkness.

As Jia Jia Siting prepared to climb, Wizard Sean waved his wand.

From another place, a staircase spontaneously grew.

It carried them upward.

“Watch your head.”

Wizard Sean hadn’t finished speaking when Jia Jia Siting ducked, narrowly avoiding a trapdoor about to slam down.

As the trapdoor opened, lively shouts and noise surged forth:

“Grab another box of Jelly Slugs, dear—they’ve bought us out completely—”

A woman’s voice said. The two glanced surreptitiously; the woman had turned to look.

“Not good—”

Jia Jia Siting gasped, casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself; when his wand pointed toward Wizard Sean, the young wizard had vanished from the stairs.

Only a black cat stared calmly at him.

“They say cats’ reactions are seven times sharper than humans’.”

He said it out of nowhere.

…

Honeydukes was packed with Hogwarts students.

Wizard Sean and Jia Jia Siting squeezed through the crowd, scanning the surroundings.

Shelves lined with delicious, juicy candies: creamy yellow almond fudge, glittering pink coconut ice, honey-colored toffees, hundreds of neatly arranged chocolates, a large barrel of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, and another large barrel of Fizzing Whizbees…

Along the opposite wall were the “special effect” candies:

Extendable Ears (which filled the room with bluebell-flower-colored bubbles that lasted for days), the strange, brittle, crumbly Muggle-tooth Mint, tiny black Pepper Imps (“Set your friends on fire!”), Ice Mice (“Hear your teeth squeak!”), Toad-shaped mint ice cream (“Actually jumps in your stomach!”), sugar-threaded crisp feather candies, and Exploding Bonbons.

“Let’s go to Green’s Bookshop—it’s about to open,”

Jia Jia Siting pulled out a map-like object marked with Hogsmeade’s buildings,

“I have to say, Wizard Sean, we still don’t have enough staff.

In the past, when we weren’t open, we could delay distribution, but now that we have a shop, we need to set a proper schedule…”

The two moved through Hogsmeade.

Jia Jia Siting beamed; he saw snow drifting from every eave, and as he spoke, Wizard Sean murmured quiet replies beside him.

At this moment, Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card: thatched cottages and shops dusted with fresh snow, holly wreaths hanging on doors, trees adorned with enchanted candles.

It always snowed here, and it was always noisy.

They fell silent for a moment, hearing only the soft rustle of snow.

But as they passed the Three Broomsticks, Wizard Sean spotted an unexpected figure.

A figure with his face hidden beneath a hood.

Wizard Sean easily recognized him—Remus John Lupin.