Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 662 Ron's Birthday Present

"How did it go?" Ron asked Harry hurriedly after class. "I think I felt something the last time... um... I feel a little tingling in my foot."

"I think your sneakers are too small, umm, hahaha." A voice came from behind them, and Hermione walked over with her head held high, saying happily.

“I didn’t feel anything,” Harry said, ignoring Hermione’s mocking laugh. “But I don’t care about that right now.”

"What do you mean? You don't care... Don't you want to pass the Apparition exam?" Ron asked, puzzled.

“I don’t really care, I prefer flying,” Harry said. “I… I’m still worried about Occlumency.”

“Don’t worry, Harry,” Hermione reassured her. “You’ll definitely be able to learn it.”

“Yes, Harry, don’t worry. Even if you can’t learn how to use Tierra, she’ll still protect you,” Ron comforted him.

“Ron!” Hermione exclaimed, “You can’t always let Harry think like that! Harry needs to learn to be independent!”

"Hmm," Harry replied listlessly.

“Now I hope I can find Professor Dumbledore and see if he has time to teach me Occlumency,” Harry said.

Although Harry said this, he didn't have much hope.

Since his appearance at the Christmas dinner, Dumbledore has made few public appearances at Hogwarts throughout January.

Whether it was at the dinner party after returning from Christmas or at other important occasions, Professor McGonagall or Tyrell attended in Dumbledore's place.

This made Harry, Hermione, and Ron almost suspect that Dumbledore was dying or being held captive by Tierra.

However, this conjecture was quickly disproven, because on several occasions, when Harry came out of Snape's Occlumency class on Saturday nights, or when Hermione stayed in the library until late before returning to her dormitory, she would always encounter Dumbledore coming out of the kitchen, or house-elves bringing desserts to Dumbledore's headmaster's office.

Clearly, Dumbledore is still alive and well, and living quite comfortably, as Hermione would say, like he's retired early.

The weather remained largely unchanged from February to March, except that strong, cold winds replaced the damp, dark clouds.

A message posted on the bulletin board in all the lounges sparked discontent among everyone—

My trip to Hogsmeade next week has been cancelled.

This sudden news made Ron extremely agitated.

"That was my birthday!" Ron said, extremely disappointed. "I had been looking forward to that day so much. Mom and Dad said they would come back to Hogsmeade Village to celebrate my birthday with me!"

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Harry said with a helpless shrug. “Recently, for some reason, the situation has suddenly become tense again.”

To be precise, since Voldemort's prison break last summer, coupled with the international magical alliance's attack on the British Magical Union, the entire magical world has declared a state of war.

However, this so-called state of war only made everyone tense for a short while, and then the sense of crisis was completely diluted by the various preferential policies introduced by Tiera.

However, the current curfew, Aurora patrols, restrictions on non-essential vendors, and the cancellation of all concerts and tours have been brought up again and are being strictly enforced, giving people a feeling of impending doom and danger looming.

"The International Magical Federation is holding elections soon," Hermione said, as well-informed as ever. "I heard that all three candidates this year are clamoring to once again perform a massive magical ritual to rebel against Tyrell's tyranny."

"Hmph—" Hermione scoffed, "Just wasting your time."

"Looks like all we can hope for now is Apparition!" Ron said irritably, "A grand birthday celebration..."

After three lessons, Apparition proved to be more difficult than any of the previous lessons, although a few more people successfully separated parts of their bodies from themselves. Frustration grew, and a considerable number of people began to dislike Tauros and his three Ds, giving him a pair of nicknames, the most polite of which was Dog-breathandDung-head.

"Happy birthday, Ron!" When they woke up on the first morning of March—

While Simon and Dean were noisily heading off to breakfast, Harry said, "Here you go! Your birthday present."

He tossed the package into a small pile of gifts on Ron's bed, which Harry guessed were delivered by house-elves during the night.

“Thanks!” Ron said lazily. “Great, Harry!” Ron said excitedly, waving the new Quidditch gloves Harry had given him.

"You're welcome," Harry said with a smile.

Ron didn't answer. He was busy unwrapping his gifts, occasionally letting out a joyful cheer.

"Seriously, this year has been quite fruitful!" Ron announced, holding up a heavy gold watch with an odd-numbered dial and moving star-shaped hands.

"Look, Harry, look what Mom and Dad gave me! Oh dear, I think I'll be old enough next year!" Ron shouted excitedly.

“Cool.” Harry became interested and started staring at Ron’s strange watch.

"Want one?" Ron asked, holding a box of chocolate frogs.

“No, thank you,” Harry refused. “We’re about to have breakfast. I don’t want to eat too much and throw up in class.”

Their first class this morning was Apparition, and in previous Apparition classes, there were instances where someone ate too much and then vomited.

"Are you done?" Harry asked Ron after he finished getting ready, but he didn't realize until he was halfway there that Ron was still on the bed, gripping the bedpost and staring intently at the window being washed by the rain with an unfamiliar, unfocused look.

“Ron? Breakfast is ready!” Harry continued.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Ah,” Harry stared at Ron strangely, “I think you just said—?”

“Okay, I’ll go down with you,” Ron said. “But I don’t want to eat. I don’t want to eat anything.”

Harry looked at him intently, puzzled.

"Because you just ate half a box of Chocolate Frogs?"

"No, you...you wouldn't understand."

“It’s perfectly clear,” Harry said, opening the door with a puzzled look.

“Harry!” Ron suddenly said.

"what happened?"

"I can not stand it any more!"

“What can’t you stand?” Harry asked, beginning to feel fear—