Chapter 512: Hogsmeade Approval (4k)

“—Promise to be a good kid and not leave the castle?”

Harry said gloomily.

“Not exactly.”

Mr. Weasley said, Harry had never seen him so serious.

“Harry, promise me you won’t go looking for Black.”

Harry was stunned.

“What?”

Before Mr. Weasley could answer, a loud whistle sounded first.

The enormous Knight Bus, which Harry had seen before and was said to transport wizards anywhere—except over water—appeared.

The conductor stood by the door, lazily greeting passengers.

“Promise me, Harry,”

Mr. Weasley spoke faster,

“no matter what happens—”

“Why would I go looking for someone who clearly wants to kill me?”

Harry asked, confused.

“Swear to me, no matter what you hear—”

“Arthur, hurry up!”

Mrs. Weasley had already reached the side, calling out.

There was no more time for farewells; Harry could only watch as Mr. Weasley carried the luggage toward the bus, joining Wizard Sean ahead.

Ron lagged behind; he hadn’t left the Leaky Cauldron—he was staying here with Harry.

“I wish they’d just leave already, even though they’ll be back soon,”

he said,

“at least I can get rid of Percy. He’s yelling at me again for spilling tea on Penelope Clearwater’s picture. You know,”

Ron made a face,

“she’s his girlfriend. She hid her face behind the frame because her nose was all smudged…”

The bus gave a violent lurch and sped off.

Harry and Ron waved at the Weasleys by the window, who had just hugged Wizard Sean and were setting the young wizard down at the pub’s entrance.

Finally, the bus turned a corner and they were out of sight.

Wizard Sean’s hair had been mussed by Mrs. Weasley; with a light tap of his wand, it smoothed back into place.

Turning around, he could see Harry looking bewildered, Ron scowling, and Jia Jia Siting and Hermione talking.

In the distance, a wizard in a long black robe was approaching.

Wizard Sean immediately recognized him as Professor Snape; the professor always arrived precisely on time to pick him up.

But before Professor Snape arrived, Harry came first:

“I need to talk to you.”

Harry whispered to the group.

“What?”

Ron was baffled.

“Oh, sure, no problem.”

Jia Jia Siting nodded.

“Where’s Wizard Sean?”

Hermione looked around.

Wizard Sean walked over silently, joining the worried Harry and the curious group inside the pub.

Upstairs, a black dog couldn’t help barking twice.

“I’ve rarely seen a wizard keep a black dog as a pet.”

Ron muttered.

“That’s not a wizard…”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, speaking hesitantly.

She had seen that goblin-like creature before—Wizard Sean had brought it to Hogwarts.

Why it was here now, and why it kept a black dog, remained unknown.

“Its owner is Pukki, a distant relative of goblins.”

Jia Jia Siting patiently explained to Ron.

“That’s even weirder…”

Ron frowned, turning to Harry,

“By the way, Harry. What did you want to tell us?”

Harry recounted exactly what the Weasleys had argued about, and what Mr. Weasley had warned him.

When he finished, Ron stared in shock, Jia Jia Siting frowned silently, and Hermione covered her mouth with both hands.

Finally, she lowered her hands and said:

“Sirius Black escaped to find you?”

Oh, Harry… you must be extremely, extremely careful.

Don’t go looking for trouble, Harry…”

“I’m not looking for trouble,”

Harry snapped,

“trouble always finds me.”

“Going after a madman who wants to kill him? Isn’t that just stupid?”

Ron shuddered.

Harry hadn’t expected them to take the news so seriously.

Ron and Hermione seemed more afraid of Black than he was; Harry turned to Wizard Sean.

Fortunately, Wizard Sean remained calm, which gave him slight relief.

But then he felt a pang of shame.

He should handle his own problems—he couldn’t keep relying on Wizard Sean.

“No one knows how he escaped from Azkaban,”

Ron said uneasily,

“no one’s ever done it before. And he was a high-security prisoner.”

“But they’ll catch him, right?”

Hermione said earnestly,

“I mean, they’ve got all the Muggles searching for him too…”

“What’s that sound?”

Ron suddenly asked. A faint, distant whistling came from somewhere.

They looked around the compartment.

“It’s coming from your pocket, Harry.”

Ron said, staring at Harry.

Soon, he pulled out the Pocket Sneakoscope from Harry’s robe.

The Sneakoscope spun rapidly in Ron’s palm, glowing brightly.

“Is that a Sneakoscope?”

Hermione asked, interested, standing up to get a closer look.

“Yeah… to be honest, it’s a cheap one.”

Ron said,

“I tied it to Errol’s leg to send it to Harry, and it suddenly stopped working.”

“Weren’t you doing something ridiculous at the time?”

Hermione asked sharply.

“No! Ugh… I shouldn’t have used Errol. You know, he’s not actually capable of long flights… but what else was I supposed to use to send Harry his gift?”

“That’s strange.”

Hermione said, glancing at Jia Jia Siting, who nodded, and at Wizard Sean, who still stared into the distance.

Wizard Sean, of course, knew why.

Ron’s Sneakoscope had never broken—it had detected Scabbers. Now, it was likely detecting Professor Snape.

Professor Snape always carried dark magical artifacts; after all, he was a Dark Arts master.

Oh, right—he’d been teaching Wizard Sean how to identify such artifacts.

“Turn it off,”

Harry said, hearing the Sneakoscope’s shrill whistle.

Ron shoved the Sneakoscope into a pair of particularly ugly old socks in his bag; the noise instantly stopped, and he closed the lid.

“We can take it to Hogsmeade to get it fixed.”

Ron sat back down and said,

“Dervish and Banges, the magical supplies shop, sells this too—Fred and George told me.”

“Do you know a lot about Hogsmeade?”

Hermione asked eagerly,

“I’ve read about it so many times in books—it’s the only place in Britain with no Muggles at all—”

“Yeah, I suppose so,”

Ron said with casual indifference,

“but I don’t care about that. I just want to go to Honeydukes!”

“That candy shop?”

Hermione asked.

“That’s the one,”

Ron said, a dreamy look on his face,

“they’ve got everything… Pepper Imps—they make smoke come out of your mouth—and giant chocolate balls filled with strawberry jam and cream, and these amazing sugar quills you can suck on in class while everyone thinks you’re thinking up your next line—”

“Hogsmeade is a very interesting place,”

Hermione sniffed,

“The Magical Sites and Monuments says the pub was the headquarters of the Goblin Uprising of 1612; and the Shrieking Shack is supposedly the most haunted house in Britain—”

“—and there are these huge jelly-filled treacle tarts that lift your feet inches off the ground when you suck on them.”

Ron said, clearly not hearing a word Hermione was saying.

Hermione turned to face Jia Jia Siting and Wizard Sean,

“It must be wonderful to leave school sometimes and visit Hogsmeade, don’t you think?

You’ll go, right? Jia Jia Siting? Harry?”

“Mm.”

Jia Jia Siting nodded with a smile.

“Of course.”

Harry’s spirits lifted especially much—he remembered the note Petunia had slipped him, granting permission.

Even though he had blown up Aunt Marge and broken their agreement, Petunia had still approved it.

Harry didn’t know then that love is unconditional.

“Then… what about you? Wizard Sean?”

Hermione had prepared her ground carefully, then fixed Wizard Sean with a direct, unwavering stare.

“I don’t know.”

Wizard Sean hesitated.

Hogsmeade was certainly wonderful—Professor McGonagall had already wanted to sign his permission form—but Wizard Sean had been stopped by certain specific factors.

The professor’s letter to him read:

[Dear Mr. Green:

Please note that the new term begins on September 1st.

The Hogwarts Express will depart from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King’s Cross Station at eleven o’clock.

If you plan to spend the last week of summer at the farm, please come speak with me in person.

I am pleased to inform you, dear Mr. Green, that third-year students are permitted to visit Hogsmeade Village on certain weekends.

Please return the attached permission form for my signature.

By the way, your Potions professor has expressed clear disapproval—please bypass him and come directly to me.

Attached is the reading list for next term.

—Your faithful Deputy Head and Guardian: Minerva McGonagall]

“What… does this mean?”

Ron looked horrified,

“Not letting you go? But—impossible—someone has to sign—how could they refuse?”

“Hey!”

Hermione shot Ron a sharp look—she seemed to remember something.

At Wizard Sean’s recent birthday, she had seen no adult at all.

Yes, no other wizards or Muggles besides the professors.

Ron, confused by the glare, whispered hesitantly:

“Maybe… Professor Flitwick or someone else could approve you—

or we could ask Fred and George—they know every secret passage out of the castle—”

“Ron!”

Hermione snapped,

“That would break school rules—”

“Good heavens—Hermione, do you even remember the rules?”

Ron looked as if he’d seen a ghost.

Hermione flushed with anger, ignored Ron, and muttered:

“But Ron’s right—the professors might be able to decide.”

As she spoke, she fiddled with the straps of Crookshanks’ wicker basket.

“Don’t let that thing out!”

Ron said, but it was too late.

Crookshanks leapt nimbly from the basket, stretched, yawned, and jumped onto Ron’s lap.

The bulge in Ron’s pocket trembled; Ron angrily shoved Crookshanks off.

“Get off!”

“Ron, don’t do that!”

Hermione said angrily.

“How many times has this happened?”

Crookshanks had always harbored great hostility toward Scabbers.

But everyone thought it was reasonable—after all, Crookshanks was a cat, and Scabbers was a rat.

“What do you think?”

Hermione, holding Crookshanks, asked Wizard Sean.

Crookshanks had settled on an empty seat, his prune-like face turned toward Wizard Sean, but his yellow eyes kept glancing at Ron’s front pocket.

“I think not—”

A cold voice interrupted.

Ron and Harry flinched instinctively.

Hermione and Jia Jia Siting stared in surprise at Professor Snape, who had appeared suddenly.

“Professor.”

Wizard Sean said.

“Green…”

Snape’s sharp eyes swept over the students, then settled on Wizard Sean,

“You have five minutes to say goodbye—then come with me.”

Wizard Sean stood up silently—he was due to leave the Leaky Cauldron.

And everyone knew he would be staying at Hogwarts.

And Hogwarts had many unfinished plans waiting for him—a locket tainted with evil, and a Black Arts lesson just one spell away from mastery.

Wizard Sean’s belongings were few; he packed them in minutes.

“May I ask why, Professor?”

As they left, Jia Jia Siting suddenly asked Snape respectfully.

“Who knows?”

Ron muttered to Harry under his breath,

“If someone has to be in charge at Hogwarts, it should be Professor Flitwick, the Ravenclaw head—not…”

Harry nodded quietly, in cautious agreement.

“There is no why—”

Snape sneered, and swept off with Wizard Sean.

The pub fell silent.

On the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley, Snape did not immediately Apparate—he seemed to have something to say.

“Do you know anything about the fugitive Black…”

He asked awkwardly.

“Yes, Professor.”

Wizard Sean glanced at the black dog by the window.

“Hmph—Green, you should know he’s dangerous…”

Snape leaned in, staring into Wizard Sean’s eyes, then turned away without looking.

“Extremely dangerous.”

He added,

“You are not permitted to go to Hogsmeade until the fools at the Ministry catch him.”

His tone grew even more unnatural; his eyes flickered.

He did not know all the details about those people, but he could sense some—such as the secret passage, and where it led.

“I understand, Professor.”

Wizard Sean was slightly surprised; Professor Snape seemed to be… discussing this with him?

“It seems you’re not entirely stupid—”

Snape was in a better mood.

He coldly swept his gaze along the shops of Diagon Alley, unaware of his shifting demeanor.

Wizard Sean, however, fell into thought: Professor McGonagall had agreed, but Professor Snape had not approved.

He seemed to have stumbled into a difficult dilemma.