Chapter 869: Hogsmeade Approval (4k)

"—promise to be a good boy and not leave the castle?"

Harry said gloomily.

"Not exactly."

Mr. Wei Silai said; Harry had never seen him so serious before,

"Harry, promise me that you absolutely will not go looking for Black."

Harry was stunned.

"What?"

Before Mr. Wei Silai could answer, a loud whistle sounded first.

The Knight Bus, which Harry had seen before, the huge one said to be able to send wizards anywhere, but not including over water, appeared.

The conductor stood by the bus door, greeting them lazily.

"Promise me, Harry,"

Mr. Wei Silai's speaking speed was faster,

"No matter what happens—"

"Why would I go looking for someone who I know will kill me?"

Harry asked, puzzled.

"Swear to me, no matter what you hear—"

"Arthur, hurry up!"

Mrs. Wei Silai had already walked to the side and called out.

There was no more time to say goodbye; Harry could only watch Mr. Wei Silai take the luggage toward the bus, and toward Sien in front.

Luo En was left at the very end; he did not leave the Leaky Cauldron, but was going to stay here with Harry.

"I wish they would leave quickly, although they will be back before long,"

He said,

"But at least I can get rid of Percy. He's currently scolding me for dripping tea on his photo of Penelope Clearwater. You know,"

Luo En made a face,

"That's his girlfriend. She hid her face behind the frame because her nose was covered in stains..."

The bus gave a violent shudder and quickly started moving.

Harry and Luo En waved at Mr. and Mrs. Wei Silai by the window; the two had just finished hugging Sien and were putting the young wizard down at the pub entrance.

Finally, the bus turned a corner, and they could no longer be seen.

Sien's hair had been messed up by Mrs. Wei Silai; his wand gave a light tap, and his messy hair returned to normal.

Turning his head, he could not only see the blank-faced Harry, the pouting Luo En, but also Jia Siting and Hermione who were talking.

In the distance, a wizard wearing black robes was approaching.

Sien could see at a glance that it was Professor Sineipu; the professor always came to pick him up at the exact designated time.

But arriving faster than Professor Sineipu was Harry:

"I need to talk to you guys."

Harry said to the few of them in a low voice.

"What?"

Luo En was confused.

"Oh, that's no problem."

Jia Siting nodded.

"What about Sien?"

Hermione looked around.

Sien walked over silently and entered the pub with the worried Harry and the curious group.

At this, a black dog upstairs couldn't help but bark twice.

"I rarely see wizards keeping black dogs as pets."

Luo En muttered.

"That's not a wizard..."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, hesitating when she spoke.

She had seen that goblin-like creature; Sien had once brought it to Hogwarts.

As for why it appeared here now, and was keeping a black dog, that was unknown.

"Its owner is Pukwudgie, a distant relative of the goblins."

Jia Siting patiently explained to Luo En.

"That's even stranger..."

Luo En's face fell, and he turned to Harry,

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

Harry told them exactly what Mr. and Mrs. Wei Silai had argued about, as well as the warning Mr. Wei Silai had just given him.

After he finished, Luo En was dumbfounded, Jia Siting silently furrowed his brows, 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 extra, extra careful.

Don't go looking for trouble, Harry..."

"I'm not looking for trouble,"

Harry said irritably,

"Trouble always comes looking for me."

"Going to find a madman who wants to kill him, isn't Harry being a complete fool?"

Luo En said, shivering.

Harry hadn't expected them to take this news so seriously.

Luo En and Hermione seemed even more afraid of Black than he was, so Harry looked at Sien.

Fortunately, Sien remained as calm as ever, which made him feel a little more at ease.

But immediately, he felt a sense of shame.

He should handle his own affairs; how could he always pin his hopes on Sien?

"No one knows how he escaped from Azkaban,"

Luo En said uneasily,

"No one has ever done that before. And he was a high-security prisoner, too."

"But they will catch him, won't they?"

Hermione said earnestly,

"I mean, they have all the Muggles acting to find him too..."

"What's that sound?"

Luo En suddenly asked. A faint, elusive whistling sound came from somewhere.

They looked around in the compartment.

"It's coming from your pocket, Harry."

Luo En said, looking at Harry.

Soon, he pulled the pocket Sneakoscope out of Harry's robe.

The Sneakoscope spun rapidly in Luo En's palm, emitting a dazzling light.

"Is that a Sneakoscope?"

Hermione asked with interest while standing up to get a closer look.

"Yeah... to tell you the truth, it's a cheap one."

Luo En said,

"It started acting up when I tied it to Errol's leg to send to Harry."

"You weren't doing anything outrageous at the time, were you?"

Hermione asked sharply.

"No! Ugh... I shouldn't have used Errol. You know, he doesn't really have the ability to fly long distances... but what other way did I have to send a gift to Harry?"

"That's very strange then."

Hermione said, glancing at Jia Siting, who was nodding, and Sien, who was still gazing into the distance.

Sien certainly knew why.

Luo En's Sneakoscope hadn't been broken; it had detected Scabbers, and now, it was most likely detecting Professor Sineipu.

Professor Sineipu always carried some Dark Magic artifacts on him; he was, after all, a master of Dark Magic.

Oh, right, he had also been teaching Sien how to distinguish these Dark Magic artifacts.

"Quick, turn it off,"

Harry suggested upon hearing the Sneakoscope emit a harsh whistling sound.

Luo En stuffed the Sneakoscope into a pair of particularly ugly old socks in his bag; the sound immediately subsided, and then he closed the trunk.

"We can take it to Hogsmeade to get it fixed."

Luo En sat back down and said,

"Dervish and Banges, the shop that sells magical supplies, has these things too; Fred and George told me."

"Do you know a lot about Hogsmeade?"

Hermione asked excitedly,

"I've read about it too many times in books; it's the only place in England that has absolutely no Muggles—"

"Yeah, I suppose so,"

Luo En said in an indifferent tone,

"But I don't want to go there for that. I just want to go to Honeydukes to have a look!"

"That candy shop?"

Hermione asked.

"That's the candy shop,"

Luo En said, a dreamy expression appearing on his face,

"They have everything there... Pepper Imps—that make smoke come out of your mouth—and big, chubby chocolate balls filled with strawberry mousse and cream, and those wonderful Sugar Quills that you can suck on in class, and people will think you're pondering what to write next—"

"Hogsmeade is a very interesting place,"

Hermione hummed,

"*Magical Sites and Monuments* says that the little pub was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion; and there's the Shrieking Shack, which is said to be the most haunted house in Britain—"

"—and those big mousse balls, when you suck on them, your feet will lift a few inches off the ground." ===== CHAPTER 870 =====