Chapter 111: Hogsmeade Village

Harry recognized that the girl was in the same grade as him, but they didn't have much interaction usually. Harry only knew everyone called her Lavender.

"What's wrong, what happened?" Harry walked up and asked.

"My rabbit Binky died, Trelawney guessed it." She said crying.

"Was Binky an old rabbit?" Hermione asked.

"It was just a baby rabbit..."

"Oh, Lavender." Hermione paused, then said, "Professor Trelawney's original words were that the thing you were worried about would happen today, but you should not have been worried that Binky would die suddenly? And, obviously, this thing didn't happen today, it's just that you happened to receive the news today..."

"Of course you can say that, it's not your rabbit that died!" Lavender said angrily.

"Divination is like this, Hermione." Luo En stepped forward and said, "Its fulfillment is always unexpected and reasonable. Lavender, the thing you were worried about is actually always 'bad news from home', right?"

"Hmm." She sobbed and nodded.

"But logically speaking, I don't think..." Hermione frowned and wanted to continue.

"Forget it, Hermione." Luo En shook his head, "If you knew Zhang Qiu's divination about Harry, you would find that strange things are many, this is nothing strange."

"What?" Lavender stopped crying and looked at Luo En curiously.

"These things are not suitable to be told everywhere." Harry stopped him. 【

"Alright, but Harry, you had better be vigilant; Trelawney has predicted an omen of misfortune for you," Lavender said. She looked as if she had already begun to worship Trelawney.

"But this is meaningless. Anything from failing an exam to getting food stuck in your teeth can be interpreted as an omen of misfortune. It's all so ambiguous..." Hermione seemed to have a very low opinion of Trelawney.

"If you feel you don't have the talent for it, you can drop Divination," Harry suggested kindly. "I also feel like you might be working too hard taking so many classes."

"Exactly, I don't want to see you in Divination class anymore!" Lavender said sharply.

"That's none of your business!" Hermione threw out this sentence in a huff and then ran off.

"What's wrong with her today?" Harry said, puzzled. "It's like she has a major issue with Divination class."

"It's okay, Lavender, divination isn't meant to guide your life," Luo En was still talking to the heartbroken girl. "Because the more you want to change things or do something about it, the more you actually promote the fulfillment of the prophecy, which makes you anxious about gains and losses. Conversely, if you live according to your original path, when the divination comes true, you'll think, 'I knew it all along,' and thus you won't be caught off guard."

Lavender gradually stopped crying. Just then, Hermione returned, her expression looking nothing like someone who had just run out.

"Sorry, Lavender, I think I overreacted; perhaps I was just a little scared," she said.

"It's okay," Lavender accepted her apology.

"Why has Luo En been comforting Lavender all day?" Hermione pulled Harry aside and asked in a low voice.

"Oh..." Harry felt it was a bit difficult; he hadn't expected the top student Hermione to also harbor some little-girl thoughts that gave him a headache.

"Grandmother once said that there are two things a man must never do: waste food and make a girl cry," Luo En seemed to have overheard them. "This is what Nawei said."

"You just left half an apple pie at breakfast," Harry exposed him without mercy.

"Ahem, that's not important..."

Amidst the laughter and play, Harry and Luo En returned to their dormitory. They didn't take the matter in the common room too seriously, because divination is always so fickle; just when you think it has failed or come true, the next thing that happens always takes you by surprise.

"Good news, friends," Nawei announced a wonderful thing as soon as he returned. "Professor McGonagall is collecting permission slips; starting the weekend after next, we can go to Hogsmeade Village."

"The weekend after next? Isn't that before Wan Shengjie?" Harry counted on his fingers.

"Fantastic, I can't wait to go to Honeydukes," Luo En said excitedly.

"What is that?" Harry asked curiously.

"All kinds of candies; Fred once gave me a Sugar Quill," Luo En gestured. "That way, you can eat it during class."

"There's also Zonko's Joke Shop and the Three Broomsticks pub," Luo En continued to tell him everything he knew about Hogsmeade, making Harry yearn for it.

Two weeks passed in a flash. Just as Harry was preparing to set off for Hogsmeade Village, he remembered he still needed to call Zhang Qiu, because on the first day of school, she had said she would go with him.

However, since the start of school, Zhang Qiu hadn't shown much of a smile. Harry was certain that, like Lavender, she was suffering from nervous exhaustion caused by the terrible divination.

Finally, Harry waited for the day to head to Hogsmeade Village. Filch was counting the students; he still looked as fierce as ever.

"You! What is going on with you?" he questioned Zhang Qiu. "You are not on the list for this batch."

"I'm in the fourth year, accompanying a friend," she shrugged and explained.

"Oh..." Filch checked the fourth-year list and let her pass.

"Actually, Filch only needs to lead the way the first time," Zhang Qiu said in a low voice. "After that, we can go by ourselves."

They set off from the school's Damenkou. The children walked hand in hand in a line, and under Filch's lead, they walked a not-so-long distance before arriving at Hogsmeade Village. Harry wondered if Hogsmeade was too close to the school, almost right on the edge of it.

Most of the shops in Hogsmeade were aimed at students: candies, small toys, pubs, clothing stores... Even Hermione was pleasantly surprised to find a magical equipment store and a quill shop here.

"Let me think, yes, we are going to the Three Broomsticks pub to hear some secrets from the professors." Zhang Qiu's mood had rarely improved, but what she said was still so strange.

"Alright, then let's go drink some butterbeer first," Luo En said. "Honeydukes must be packed with people right now; it's better to go later."

"We had better sneak in invisibly," Zhang Qiu said. "Otherwise, we might not hear the secrets."

"Invisibility means we can't order anything and can't find a place to sit," Harry said, somewhat displeased. "We finally made it to Hogsmeade, yet we have to be sneaky and can't show our faces. Who is the fugitive anyway? Ahei or Potter?"

"It's okay, then I'll go. If I hear anything useful, I will pass it on to you." Zhang Qiu didn't force Harry to do so.

"But aren't you going to Honeydukes?" Luo En said.

"It's fine, I already played through the whole place last year." Zhang Qiu smiled, waved her hand, and headed toward the Three Broomsticks.

"Are we going with her?" Luo En asked for Harry's opinion.

"I'm afraid not. If the professors discover we are also in the pub, will they still talk about any 'secrets'?"

"Alright, then let's go to Honeydukes."

The two had a great time in this huge candy store, buying a little bit of all kinds of strange and peculiar candies, almost to the point where they couldn't carry them.

Then, with their pockets bulging and stuffed with candy, they looked for their next destination.

"What is that gloomy little house?" Harry asked, pointing to a house.

"That's the Shrieking Shack; it's said to be haunted," Luo En said.

"Are wizards afraid of ghosts too?" Harry asked curiously. "Doesn't Nick know the Headless Hunt? We could have the ghost knights come over to check it out."

"They already checked it long ago; the conclusion was that there was absolutely nothing there," Luo En shrugged. "It's just a broken house, which is why it has been abandoned for so many years and ignored by everyone."

"Alright, then let's go check out the toy store," Harry lifted his foot, ready to head to Zonko's Joke Shop.

"That's a bit... dangerous." Luo En didn't seem to want to go. "To be honest, we'd be better off looking at other toys, for example, oh, for example, this one, the Sangster Gobstones Specialty Store."

Harry and Luo En walked into this shop. It was filled with all sorts of Gobstones. The shopkeeper was a middle-aged wizard wearing a neat black robe, with a hint of laziness in his brown eyes.

"Oh, who are you?" When he saw Harry, he sat up straight all of a sudden. "You look... can you tell me your name?"

"I am Harry Potter, sir." Harry felt there was nothing to hide about his name.

"My god, look at your eyes, I really can't believe it," he muttered. "So in the end, she still married James; it's such a pity."

"What did you say? Do you know my mother?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Sorry, I think I had better introduce myself first; I am Kalan Sangster," the shopkeeper said. "When I was in school, I happened to be in the same year as your parents."

"Then do you know anything about them?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Of course, this Wei Silai is your friend, right?" Kalan stood up and looked for tea leaves in the counter.

"That's right, my best friend, Luo En Wei Silai," Harry said proudly.

"It seems you are also in the Lion House, just like your dad," Kalan brought out a beautiful tea set. "Come on, Harry, sit here for a while. The children of old classmates, they've all grown so big."

Harry and Luo En sat down at a table, watching Kalan pour tea for them and bring out a plate of small snacks. They still felt a bit embarrassed.

"When you were in school, were you and my parents good friends?" Harry asked.

"Not exactly; sometimes, we were even bitter rivals," Kalan said slowly in a nostalgic tone.