days at Hogwarts

Chapter 614 Your style is quite unique
"Whose turn is next?"

Slughorn sat in a chair with his big belly, looking very impressive. He looked to the right with an eager smile, and said in an excited voice, like a host introducing a celebrity guest: "Oh, it's our Harry Potter!"

Harry faced everyone's gaze and forced a smile.

"Where should I begin?" Slughorn put his arm around his shoulders. "That meeting during the Christmas holidays was unexpected and hasty. We have only scratched the surface of our acquaintance. There is a deeper friendship waiting for us to build..."

Harry felt a chill in his heart and felt the hairs on his arms stand up. If he lifted his sleeves at this moment, he would definitely see goose bumps all over his body.

"When your mother, Lily, was in school, I had high hopes for her, but after that terrible night, Lily, James..."

Slughorn spoke softly, and seeing Harry's slightly stiff expression, he subconsciously paused for two seconds, and then continued slowly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't mention this in front of you, but the legendary story of that night has spread all over the world... The child who escaped death, the savior of the wizarding world, the famous savior star, the newspapers and media now call you this."

He stared straight at Harry, trying to read something from his expression, but all he could see was a look of helplessness and embarrassment.

"Of course, no one knows which news is real and which is fake news fabricated by unscrupulous journalists to attract attention." Slughorn said slowly, "This Christmas holiday is really full of rumors. Everyone knows that the Daily Prophet often publishes false information. Their credibility has long been overdrawn..."

Loren watched Slughorn carefully and found the professor very interesting.

Perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps for some other reason, the old professor was obviously very concerned about the news about Voldemort, but he pretended to be just curious.

"They probably wouldn't have thought that the person who witnessed the incident was sitting next to me..." Slughorn picked up the cup and took a sip of the strong tea in it, as if he was just casually saying, "Perhaps this request is a bit presumptuous, just to satisfy the curiosity of an old man like me. Can I ask about the real situation at the scene?"

He rambled on for a long time, all of which served as a prelude to this question. His slightly cloudy eyes stared straight at Harry, and his peripheral vision occasionally glanced at Ron, Loren and Hermione.

Just as he himself boasted, the network of contacts he accumulated in his youth spread all over the world and often enabled him to learn some confidential information.

For example, these students all appeared at the Ministry of Magic on the day of the incident and entered the mysterious Prophecy Hall...

"Like you said, Professor, these are all fake news spread by reporters." Harry's smile was a little stiff. "There is no savior at all. How can we, a group of students who haven't graduated yet, deal with Voldemort... the mysterious man?"

Ron nodded hastily.

"How modest, how modest! No wonder Dumbledore likes you so much..." Slughorn looked at him deeply, then turned to Loren and Hermione and said, "Alas, those reports are too exciting and exciting, making people wonder what they should and should not believe. For example... the legendary prophecy ball?"

Loren chuckled and said, "Professor, we have never heard of any prophecy ball."

"Well...it looks like another piece of false news."

Slughorn had anticipated the responses of the three students involved, and he did not expect to get a direct answer when he raised the topic.

Just as he had learned from other people before, whether it was the staff of the Ministry of Magic or the editors of the newspaper, they were all vague when talking about the relevant events. Some of them were restricted by the Ministry of Magic, and some of them were afraid of Voldemort's existence.

In a sense, he didn't know what kind of answer he wanted.

If the student who had consulted about Horcruxes was destined to be defeated by someone, he would probably feel better.

Slughorn paused, a moment of disappointment flashed across his eyes, then he came to his senses and lightly skipped over the topic: "I forgot to introduce them. These two are Loren Morgan and Hermione Granger, the best students in the fifth grade. Even the dumbest troll can tell that they will have great prospects in the future..."

"Thank you for the compliment, Professor."

"Let me see who else I haven't introduced..."

Slughorn turned his head and looked at the two people sitting in the corner: "Draco, Theodore, cheer up and smile."

Draco and Theodore Nott showed very standard smiles, gentle and polite, without any warmth. Perhaps pure-blood families all had similar training, and even the curvature of their mouths was very similar.

"I know what you are worried about. You are worried about the Wizengamot trial, right?" Slughorn didn't care. "An old professor's advice, please believe in your family and fathers. The Malfoy and Nott families can last for a thousand years and will not decline so easily."

"Thank you for your blessing."

"Student days at your age are like this. When you are in your youth, you always feel that there are all kinds of troubles every day, endless papers to write, beloved boys and girls who cannot respond, and a certain professor always makes things difficult for you... Cherish it, because when you look back on it decades later, you will feel that this age is the most carefree time." Slughorn sighed deeply.

"I remember dear Gwenog told me. I mean, of course, Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies..."

For the next few hours, the classroom was filled with the sound of Slughorn's rambling voice, as he rambled on about a variety of topics, all of which ultimately came back to some past event or some outstanding wizard he had once taught.

Honestly, if you ignore Slughorn's self-promotion, these anecdotes are actually quite interesting.

Time passed unknowingly, and the hourly chimes came from outside the room.

"Oh, it's lights out! You'd better go back to your dormitories. We'll meet again next week..." Slughorn said with a smile. He imitated Dumbledore and winked at the students. "If you meet the administrator or the professor on patrol on the road, you can tell me my name. It's not limited to tonight."

The club's exclusive privileges won cheers from some students, and Slughorn enjoyed seeing their excitement.

"McLaggen, when you have time, you must come and borrow that book about the giant-tailed beasts..."

"Draco, Theodore, you are welcome to come to me anytime..."

"I almost forgot!" Slughorn saw the young couple walking at the end and suddenly called out, "Loren, wait for me."

Hearing this, Loren turned around and looked at him in confusion.

"Severus left something in the office, and Dumbledore asked me to pass it to you." Slughorn took out a cage from somewhere and handed it over.

"Professor Snape...left something behind?"

Loren looked down.

A weak and skinny hamster huddled in the corner, its black eyes filled with fear.

……

The entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

The Fat Lady was discussing the breathing techniques of coloratura soprano with Ms. Viollet.

"Light of Wonderland..." Harry covered his ears and said the password, and was the first to crawl into the portrait hole. "I really shouldn't have refused Hagrid's invitation. Listening to Grawp practicing simple sentences may be boring, but it is definitely more interesting than listening to Professor Slughorn telling stories." "Hagrid will be very happy to hear this." Loren looked down at the hamster in the cage.

"Grawp would be pleased, too."

"Then use this reason to refuse Slughorn's invitation next time."

"Forget it..." Harry sighed, "I still want to get the memory of the Horcruxes in his mind. This is the task assigned to me by Dumbledore."

"Voldemort would be pleased to hear that."

"..."

Harry looked at the skinny hamster and couldn't help asking, "Why did Dumbledore leave this hamster to you? According to your story, Walton MacNeill was a cruel and cold-blooded executioner, a sinister and ruthless Death Eater..."

"Not Dumbledore, Professor Snape."

"Then why did Snape leave a Death Eater for you?"

"Well... we'll keep it a secret for now."

Crookshanks, who was lying on the carpet in front of the fireplace, heard their voices, opened his eyes lazily, stuck his head out and sniffed, then immediately stood up and moved closer to Loren, arched his body, stretched out his paws, and gave a warning roar at the hamster in the cage.

"You can't eat this. A certain professor is counting on it to come back..."

Loren squatted down and gently smoothed the frizzy ginger-colored persimmon-faced kitten. He had originally planned to give it the task of watching over the hamster and feeding it on time, but now he had to give up.

……

February 2th, Hogsmeade Event Weekend.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, Loren and Hermione walked out of Honeydukes Candy Store.

Holding a not-too-heavy brown paper bag filled with various new candies, boss Froome is very confident about the products this time. In order to attract more customers, all new products are sold at a 50% discount. The students who have returned from the holidays have almost cleared out the stock.

Loren took a new magic wand candy from Hermione's pocket. The box was a mixed pack with all kinds of flavors. He chewed it with a crunching sound:

"Tsk, the cashier's eyes are full of mosquito coils from counting the bills."

"..." Hermione ate the strawberry wand silently.

"It's actually very simple to calculate the price, but it takes too much time to make the change."

"..."

"Who researched the wizard currency exchange rate system?"

"The Gringotts goblins worked with the Ministry of Magic to come up with this."

"Tsk, I said that the entire wizarding world lacks popular mathematics education."

"..."

"These orange and mango flavored magic wands are really good." Loren reached for another one.

Hermione looked up at him, her expression calm, but her tone a little strange: "If something tastes like an orange and tastes like an orange, we usually call it an orange."

"Learn how I talk?" Loren grinned and punched her arm. "It's no use. I'm a famous hypocrite."

"..."

After leaving Honeydukes, we went to the Three Broomsticks for drinks and lunch, and then went to Mrs. Puddifoot's Tea Shop in the afternoon to learn some advanced kissing positions. The couple's activity weekend was simple but enjoyable.

When the distant sky turned slightly yellow, the two of them set out on the path back to school.

It wasn't completely dark yet, but some shops had already turned on colorful lights. The faint lights seemed a little dim, only illuminating a small part of the signs, but they made people feel a warm atmosphere.

Walking out of the village, the snow on the roadside has melted, but the temperature seems to be even colder, with a sense of spring chill. Some residual frost remains, stained with the color of mud and water, and is slightly turbid and dirty.

When passing the intersection where the Shrieking Shack was, for some reason, Loren vaguely sensed something and subconsciously stopped and looked in the direction of the Shrieking Shack.

Behind the sparse bushes, a faint stream of light was looming, a deep blue light that was slightly black.

"This is……"

Loren stepped forward, lifting the sparse branches of the bush. The water droplets condensed on the leaves dripped down. The next moment, he heard a faint sound of hooves coming from behind the branches.

A little deer fawn jumped out, the markings on its body dyed a strange blue-black color by magic, and a strange light flickered in its eyes.

"Professor Snape!" Loren stood at the fork in the road, looking at the strange creature that suddenly appeared with surprise and delight, with some surprise in his eyes.

Hermione looked at the fawn in the same amazement. She had heard that Voldemort once hid in the forest of Albania for a long time in the body of a parasitic snake. She didn't expect that Professor Snape was also experiencing the same state, and she didn't expect that Loren recognized it at a glance.

Loren's lips moved, and all he could say turned into one sentence: "Professor, this look of yours is very unique!"

The fawn rolled its eyes slightly, revealing a very human look of disgust, and gave a look, then turned and walked towards the Screaming Shack, leaving a series of hoof prints along the way.

Loren and Hermione looked at each other and followed tactfully.

Come in, close the door.

The Shrieking Shack, a famous haunted house attraction in the wizarding world, everything inside remains the same as it was two years ago: the dark foyer, the shaky staircase, the spacious but dusty bedroom, the gray curtains and four-poster bed, and the walls and tables are covered with scattered claw marks.

The young deer nimbly jumped onto the bench, then onto the table, and looked at the two of them with a calm and indifferent look, and a childish but hoarse voice came out of its throat:
"The first thing is to go back to school and tell Dumbledore that Voldemort has found out the identity of the blond man and learned from the Austrian Ministry of Magic that he was the one who took the man away. He should be prepared in advance..."

(End of this chapter)