days at Hogwarts

Chapter 275 Meeting Harry at the Cold Drink Shop

"The Ministry of Magic is indeed like a sieve..."

Loren murmured and put the newspaper back on the counter under the disgusted look of the clerk.

On the side, Hermione finally finished paying for the parchment she had purchased in bulk. With a smile that only belonged to a top student on her face, she floated over happily: "What are you looking at?"

"The recent Daily Prophet, let's see if there is any big news in the magical world while we are traveling."

"Is there any big news?"

"Yes, but I won't tell you now."

Hermione hummed and said, "If you don't tell me, don't tell me. I'll order a copy and go back and read it myself."

"Where do we go next?"

"Go to Florin's Cold Drink Shop. We're tired from shopping. Let's take a break."

From the appearance, this shop is no different from a cold drink shop in the Muggle world. The decoration is simple and clean, with brown as the main color, and the shop name is printed in gold on the sign.Maybe it's because the weather is nice today, and there are many outdoor seating areas outside.

On the wall to the right of the door are posted several special drinks today: Vampire Special - Virgin Girl Blood Flavored Drink, Goblin Special - Gold Fragrance Ice Dew...

Of course, there are also drinks with normal flavors. Hermione went to the counter and ordered an extra large avalanche of strawberry ice cream, while Loren found a quiet seat by the glass window.

To their surprise, they saw Harry in the corner with a silly smile on his face.

"Happy birthday Loren! Did you receive the collapsible cauldron I gave you?" Harry shouted, waving the dessert spoon in his hand with excitement.

Loren recalled the plot of Harry running away from home and said absently: "Thank you, I guess I had already left home when Hathaway came to the door. He should be waiting for me at home now."

Harry held the ice cream given to him by Boss Florin in his hand and happily took two bites. Then he realized what he was doing and said with a surprised look on his face: "Oh, it's only early August, why are you here?"

Hermione sat down with an extra-large cup of strawberry avalanche ice cream and handed another spoon to Loren: "I'm here to celebrate Loren's birthday, but it's you. Why are you here?"

The moment he saw Hermione, Harry's eyes widened: "You, you are Hermione!?"

It's Hermione, but she doesn't look like Hermione at all. Her hair is no longer messy, but is combed into a beautiful bun with hairspray, with a few strands left in the front and hanging casually on her forehead. , adding a bit of laziness, making people unable to help but look at her.

Hearing Harry's surprised question, Hermione couldn't help but laugh, her eyebrows brightening, and the sunlight shining in from the glass window fell on her body, seeming to glow.

Loren coughed and reminded: "Let's go on to tell you why you are here, Harry?"

Hermione bit her spoon, her inexplicable eyes wandering over Loren, and she smiled even happier.

Harry: "..."

Feeling that he was a bit redundant, Harry scratched his head and began to talk about what happened with the Dursleys: "An annoying relative came to the Dursley family... so I blew up Aunt Maggie into a balloon. I hung it on the ceiling, ran out in desperation, and then I got on the wizard's knight bus without realizing it, came to Diagon Alley, and now live in the Leaky Cauldron."

"She said such outrageous things! She should be punished!" Hermione said angrily, taking a look at his current appearance. Although he was a bit slovenly and his hair was messy, his eyes were clean and his smile was relaxed. She knew that Harry was probably fine.

Loren took a big scoop of ice cream and sipped it into his mouth, and joked quietly: "In total, you have only violated 70 laws of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and the Reasonable Restraint of Minor Wizards."

Is now the time to say this? Harry was speechless: "Thank you, Loren, for giving me a clear understanding of my own culpability."

Harry spread his hands: "I was also full of anxiety at first, but then I met the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and he said that the Ministry of Magic would not send anyone to Aziz just because he inflated his aunt. Caban. He arranged for me to live in the Leaky Cauldron and let Boss Tom look after me."

"Actually, it feels good to live here. I can get up whenever I want, eat whatever I like, and can cast spells freely. In fact, as long as I'm in Diagon Alley, I can go wherever I want. Where to go. The Leaky Cauldron is always full of interesting customers, the shopkeepers in Diagon Alley are friendly, and Mr. Florin will even help me write my paper and give me a free copy every half hour ice cream."

"Dumbledore asked me to spend some time with the Dursleys every year. I think this year is enough. I can live here until the start of school!" Harry leaned back and leaned on the chair. , letting out a contented sigh, “I love this place!”

Hermione looked at his messy hair and then at his clothes. Although there were no stains after being cleaned with a cleaning spell, they were wrinkled and looked terrible.

The little witch vaguely felt something was wrong, but she couldn't tell what was wrong.

Loren saw this more clearly. He had experienced this feeling before. For a while, he thought life in a children's orphanage was also very good. It was not until he met Grandpa Bates that he understood what real stability felt like.

After a moment of silence, Loren asked softly: "Harry, do you really think this is a good place?"

It was a very calm voice and a very ordinary tone, but it was this calmness that wiped away the smile on Harry's face. He tried hard to smile and wanted to go back to the previous state, but he couldn't smile. His expression Even a little more panic and embarrassment.

Of course he knew that it was not good here, or not that good. He could sleep as much as he wanted every day. This was because no one told him to get up.

It would be nice to eat under an umbrella outside the cafe, but he would rather have someone sit at the same table with him and ask what the weather is like today when cutting the steak, instead of him alone counting how many pieces of meat there are in the steak. Silk, how many leaves of thyme are there on the plate.

And the kindness of those bosses always reminds him that he is a homeless person.

Harry's head hung down, like a defeated greyhound, almost buried in the ice cream bowl. His voice was muffled, much like the whimpering of a defeated dog: "But I have nowhere to go, and I can't go back to the Dursleys." , Sirius doesn’t know where he is, I have nowhere to go..."

"Bang bang bang!"

Hermione patted the table and looked at him seriously: "Harry, it's not that you have nowhere to go. Ron must welcome you to the Burrow as a guest. Loren and I also welcome you to our home."

"And Hagrid, he must be worried about the Care of Magical Creatures class now and needs someone to give him some advice." Loren added, "Anyway, it's better than you living here."

Harry slowed down and finally forced a smile towards them both, which was uglier than crying: "But Fudge won't let me leave Diagon Alley."

Loren moved his eyes away in disgust, lowered his head and took a scoop of ice cream: "This is because Bellatrix Lestrange escaped from prison."

<divclass="contentadv">"Bellatrix Lestrange! The Death Eater who drove Neville's parents crazy, she escaped from prison!" Hermione was so surprised that she patted Loren's shoulder several times. Complained, "Is this the big news you don't want to talk about?"

"I knew this would happen, so I planned to talk about it later..." Loren pretended to be in pain and gasped, causing the little witch to rub it for him distressedly.

"Hey~ can't you continue after I leave?" Harry felt a bit of toothache, "I also saw the news that Bellatrix was released from Azkaban by the Deputy Director of the Prisons Department of the Ministry of Magic. Why? They broke out of prison, and Fudge wants to monitor my whereabouts?"

"Because you are Harry Potter." Hermione said seriously. "Bellatrix is ​​a loyal supporter of Voldemort. At the same time, she is also a madman. After Voldemort fell, the Death Eaters fled and scattered. , only she not only did not escape, but attacked Neville's parents.

Who in the wizarding world doesn't know the name of your savior, Harry Potter? If Bellatrix finds out the news from that year, you will definitely be tortured even more severely than the Longbottoms! "

"No, it can't be..." Harry swallowed.

"I don't think so either." Loren shrugged and told them his analysis. "That lunatic is a person who can't bear his temper. If she is really still in the UK, Harry is already in St. Mungo's." You are lying on the hospital bed. And you still have time to go shopping and eat ice cream, which means that Bella has escaped from the country, and maybe they have joined Voldemort."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"It makes sense." Hermione nodded thoughtfully, and then a new doubt arose, "If this is the case, then why does the Ministry of Magic monitor Harry?"

Loren explained: "They didn't dare to bet. The high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic defected and released the notorious Death Eaters. This had a terrible impact on the reputation of the Ministry of Magic. They even announced Wormtail's escape from prison. In order to make the Ministry of Magic look good. If the famous Harry Potter is attacked again at this time, Fudge will be forced out of office due to public dissatisfaction."

"It turns out it's for his official position." Harry smiled sarcastically, "I almost thought the Minister of Magic had become a good person."

At this moment, a huge, fluffy gray owl rushed towards Florin's Cold Drinks Shop. It seemed to be exhausted and dizzy, and hit the window glass with a duang sound.

"Errol!" Harry shouted, and hurried out and brought in the poor old postman.

Hermione hurried to the counter and asked for some water and fruit to put in front of Errol.But it seemed to be very tired now. It only opened one of its eyes with blurred vision and called out thanks.

The three of them sat aside, waiting for poor Errol to recover slowly.

After silently glancing at it several times, Loren was actually a little worried that the old owl wouldn't be able to catch its breath because it had a large package tied to its feet.

"It should be Ron's birthday present to you," Harry said.

Loren thought for a while, grabbed the package and tore open the parchment. Inside was a gift wrapped in gold paper and a birthday card:

[Dear Loren:

Life is good!

You and Hermione actually went to Egypt too!And had an exciting adventure, which Bill told us, oh, you guys are not friends enough!

I couldn't think of what kind of gift you would like, so I gave you a stirring stick used by an Egyptian wizard to brew potions.It looks like a Pharaoh's scepter, and it is said that the color of the scepter can determine the temperature of the crucible, but George and Fred studied it for several days and couldn't figure out how to use it.

Hope you can find a use for it.

I can't believe that Harry actually inflated his aunt and there was no punishment from the Ministry of Magic. My dad said that this was the result of discussions between Ministry officials.He also told me that Harry was living alone in the Leaky Cauldron.

Errol is too old. I would like you to write a silly letter asking Harry if he would like to come and live at the Burrow until school starts. My father at the Ministry of Magic will find a way. For this reason, we will return from Egypt in advance. The Burrow.

Ron

Also: Lend me the paper on shrinking potion for reference!Many thanks! 】

After reading the contents of the letter, Loren smiled and conveyed Ron's invitation to Harry.

"Really?!" Harry stood up in surprise, "I'm going to pack my bags now!"

He turned around and ran out of the cold drink shop, then ran back half a minute later and picked up the old owl. A joyful and loud voice came from afar: "There is a fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, Errol, I took him directly back to the Burrow!" "

Loren turned to look at Hermione and smiled at each other.

……

Mount Greylock, Ilvermorny School of Magic.

Ilvermorny does not have as long a history as Hogwarts. It was founded just over 300 years ago. The stone hut built by founder Aesop Seal and her No-Maj husband James Stewart is still preserved in a clearing on the top of the mountain. .

Out of respect for the founder, few students come here. Even teachers and principals only come here to commemorate festivals such as the centenary celebration of the school's founding.As for now, when school has not yet started, no one will come here.

But today, there were bursts of voices coming from the stone hut that had been deserted for a long time.

Through the small cracks between the stones, a tall dark-skinned woman could be seen kneeling on the ground in the house. Her hair was disheveled. The prison life in Azkaban made Bellatrix Lestland Qi's cheeks were sunken and gaunt, looking like a skeleton, but her face flashed with a warm and crazy light:

"I knew it, I knew it! The great Dark Lord has defeated death and he will never be defeated!"

There was a dark shadow in front of her where she was kneeling. The sunlight could not shine there. A pair of sparkling red eyes emerged from the shadow, like the eyes of a snake, and a cold and terrifying voice came: "Bellatrix, I Faithful servant, I know that you will remain faithful to Me at the Judgment Seat. Only if you try to find Me, just as you said, I will come back to save you, and I will give you a special reward.”

Bellatrix's posture became even more humble, and her voice was full of fanaticism: "Great Dark Lord, I don't need a reward, I just want you to truly return, so that the world can once again feel the power of being dominated by the Dark Lord. fear."

The pair of snake eyes in the shadow floated, emitting a terrifying cold light: "Of course, of course, but before that, we need to plan carefully."

"Master, please...please...don't send me to Hogwarts." Elsewhere in the room, there was a short, fat middle-aged man kneeling on the ground.

"Wormtail..." Voldemort's voice was very soft, "Believe me, I will reward you too."