days at Hogwarts

Chapter 593 Homecoming for Christmas
The third Wednesday in December.

At the end of the semester, the little wizards left school one after another.

As the students walked away, the entire Hogwarts fell silent, along with the Forbidden Forest and hills covered in silver.

The heavy rails revealed two black lines on the silvery white snow, stretching into the distance as if there was no end. The broken ice and snow particles vibrated slightly, and the alchemical creation disguised as technology drove along the rails into the distance, leaving behind a bright red shadow, and the black coal smoke was particularly eye-catching under the snowy sky.

In the last compartment of the last carriage, Harry unfolded the invitation in his hand, stared at the unfamiliar name at the signature in a daze, and recited it softly over and over again, as if he thought that this would help him get familiar with the godmother he had never met and ease the unspeakable strangeness in his heart.

"Betty Carver..."

"Trivia: the inventor of Betty Boop Every Flavour Beans is also called Betty, Betty Bott." Loren hugged Crookshanks, the lazy, furry creature who was reluctant to move when winter came. He lay in his arms reluctantly, his eyes squinting in comfort, not realizing at all that he was being used as a hand warmer, feeling soft and warm.

Ron bit into a Every Flavour Bean and nodded quickly, "I know, I know! That's the guy on the chocolate card!"

"..."

Hermione stroked the spectacled owl with one hand, quietly staring at the snow flying by outside the window, frowning slightly: "Harry, how did you convince Dumbledore to let you take the express train? This will make your safety unsafe. The You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters may attack from the dark at any time."

"In fact, I didn't say anything at all. Instead, it was Dumbledore who kept persuading me."

Harry closed the invitation in his hand, revealing the Black family seal on the cover. "He said that the Death Eaters cannot reveal their whereabouts yet. There are Aurors patrolling near the station, and Moody is also bringing people to guard in secret. I will not be in any danger. More importantly... I must be by Sirius' side at the most important moment in his life."

Hermione opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but considering that it was the headmaster's decision after all, she just sighed silently.

Loren thought this was very Gryffindor and Dumbledore, and scratched Crookshanks' chin and asked casually, "Will the wedding be held at the Black House? Will it be inconvenient for the guests to come and go?"

"I'm not very clear about the details. Dumbledore and Professor Moody seem to have moved the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix..." Harry pushed his glasses. "As for the guests, there aren't many. The woman doesn't have many relatives or friends. Some of the most distant relatives have stopped coming to visit a long time ago, not to mention Sirius."

"Oh, keep it simple..."

Loren nodded, teasing Crookshanks with his fingers, his thoughts suddenly drifting out of the window and away with the flying wind and snow.

Since Dumbledore has arranged this, there shouldn't be any safety issues...

The wedding of wizards and Muggles sounds interesting...

Not knowing what he was thinking of, he fixed his gaze on Hermione's face, a gleam in his eyes.

Hermione didn't react at first, but after a few seconds she vaguely realized something. She looked away a little awkwardly and concentrated on appreciating the snow scene outside the window.

……

In the evening, the express train arrived at King's Cross Station.

Perhaps because of the city's heat island effect, the temperature in London is warmer. Unlike the pure white snow in Hogwarts, the snow on both sides of the street outside the station absorbs a lot of car exhaust and dust, and looks dirty, gray and yellow.

There was a gray fog floating in the city and the sky was a mediocre grayish white.

Harry and Ron were going back to number 12, Grimmauld Place. Mad-Eye Moody came to pick them up. They were given a long and complicated inspection and instructions. It was said that they would drive a flying car around a few times before returning. "Then we'll go first..."

Loren and Hermione smiled and waved goodbye.

When I walked out of the station, there was a group of people holding signs outside to protest against the privatization of the railway. The leader was a middle-aged woman in her forties with a sharp voice and the loudest voice. She always opened her mouth to the limit when shouting slogans, holding a handwritten placard in her left hand and waving her arms with her right hand to cheer. It can be seen that she must have worked very hard at the beginning. Her voice was hoarse, but she still shouted meticulously.

At the edge of the crowd, an old man with short stubble and gray hair was chatting with me. He stood straight and spoke politely, but his question was a little strange: "Madam, after the policy is implemented, will all train operations need to be acquired through bidding?"

"That's right! Trains, railways, freight...those greedy guys won't let go of anything!"

Bates' eyes were clear and full of energy. "Suppose there is a train, just hypothetically, suppose this train is privately produced, only serves a few people, and is almost unprofitable, how should such a train bid for the operating rights?"

But the lady who was participating in the protest glared at him, thinking that he was here to cause trouble and didn't want to pay any attention to him.

"..."

Loren and Hermione spotted him immediately, not because of his fancy clothes, but because there was an obvious blank area around the protesting crowd. He was the only one standing happily next to them, chatting with them with interest.

"Grandpa Bates, come home."

Loren patted his shoulder calmly.

Bates pushed his hand away in disgust. "Wait a few minutes. I'm asking how to bid for the operating rights of the Hogwarts Express!"

"..."

A few minutes later, Bates adjusted the driver's seat belt and shook his head, feeling very sorry: "If the express train can be contracted, I will drive it myself and run it every weekend so that you can go home every week."

Loren looked helpless, but Hermione seemed to find the idea very interesting and discussed the analysis with him with a smile.

"The Ministry of Magic does have connections with the Muggle government. It is said that many political parties have wizard contacts... Although the express train is produced by the Ministry of Magic, it is actually an asset of Hogwarts. It should not be operated by others..."

The girl had smooth white skin and charming eyes. She was not wearing any makeup, but just sitting there and talking in a low voice, she looked bright and charming.

"..."

Christmas is approaching, and the streets are lined with bright red silks. All kinds of gifts and greeting cards are displayed in glass windows. The goose yellow lights shine down from above, making it difficult for the girls and children on the street to walk.

The street lights in Hampstead Gardens on the outskirts of the city were dim, and most people along the way had a Christmas tree in their yards, some big, some small, with similar decorations, all colorful, but no apples.

The Granger family's Christmas tree was still covered with a cloth. When Hermione led them past, Loren took a look and saw a label on it:

Norway Spruce - £27

(End of this chapter)