Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 495, Section 493: Crook Hill

Because of the birthday of a certain young wizard.

The young wizards returned to London too early.

Therefore, the task of purchasing books for the new semester was put on the agenda ahead of schedule.

In the third-to-last week of summer vacation, a small group of Hogwarts students flooded into Diagon Alley, as the start of the new school term was fast approaching.

In the Quidditch shop, Sheen spotted two Gryffindors: Seamus Finegan and Dean Thomas, who were eyeing what appeared to be a brand-new broom with longing.

Outside Flourish and Blotts, Sheehan ran into Neville, who stammered that he seemed to be early.

Sheehan said softly that it might be just right, as they could just finish a serving of raspberry ice cream.

Neville wasn't the only one who arrived early. Outside Florin Fosco Ice Cream Shop, Ron's freckles were so noticeable, and Hermione was tanned dark. Both of them were waving frantically at them.

Good morning, Sheehan! And Neville too.

Ron smiled at them and then nimbly sat down.
"Where's Harry? Come on, Sheehan, doesn't he live in Diagon Alley?"

He had barely finished speaking when Harry's delighted voice came from afar:
"You're all here!"

As Harry strode over, he could also see Justin appearing from the shop in the distance.

"Harry, you...you really inflated your aunt's circumference?"

Hermione asked in a very serious tone.

This question has piqued everyone's curiosity.

"not me."

Harry said.

He was unwilling to explain himself to Fudge. He thought that if he were to be punished, it would be better to punish him than to punish Sheen, since Sheen had come to help him.

But he is very honest with his friends.

"What kind of magic is that? Can I learn it?"

Ron exclaimed in surprise.

“This is no joke, Ron!”

Hermione said sternly,

"To be honest, you..."

Hermione turned to Sheehan and asked suspiciously,
Why didn't they catch you on the spot?

"Sheehan used his grandfather's wand."

Harry muttered.

That's why they mistook him for him.

But what if he's not there?
Harry wondered, "Does that mean the Ministry of Magic won't be able to catch them?"
From this perspective, he is actually in the way.

"grandfather?"

Hermione was stunned, as was Justin.

How could they remember so clearly that Sheen had no relatives...?

"Okay, I heard they didn't punish you?"

I guess it's because it's you guys, isn't it?

Ron shrugged.

"The famous Harry Potter, and..."

I can't even imagine what the Ministry of Magic would do to me if I inflated an aunt's breasts.

Let me tell you, they'll dig me out of the ground first, because my mother must have already killed me.

Okay, you can ask my dad yourself tonight. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron too!
Although we returned from Egypt early, Dad agreed to let us spend a few days in Diagon Alley!

"awesome!"

Harry said happily,

"So, should we go buy new textbooks or new supplies now?"

Everyone instinctively turned their gaze to Sheen.

At this moment, Sheen was still pondering the magical ritual that would fit the Intense Light Spell.

"How about we buy a pet first?"

Hermione said calmly,

“I really want an owl. Look, Harry has Hedwig, and you have Errol—”

"I don't,"

Ron said,
"Errol is the family's owl. I only have Scabbers."

Ron pulled his pet mouse out of his pocket.

"I want to take it to get it checked out,"

As he spoke, he placed Banban on the table in front of them.
"It seems to be having some trouble adapting to the Egyptian environment."

Banban looked thinner than before, and his beard was noticeably drooping.

“Then…” Justin smiled and looked at Sheen, who put down his book and nodded.

"Then let's go, I remember..."

Ron excitedly searched for something on the street.

"You mean... there's a Fantastic Beasts shop over there?"

Harry said he had become very familiar with Diagon Alley in just a few days.

“You can see what they do about Scabbers, and Hermione can also buy her owl.”

"Yes! That's it!"

Ron slapped his forehead.

So they paid for their ice cream and crossed the street toward the Magical Animals Store.

The shop was small, with cages densely packed on the walls. There was a foul smell in the air, and it was noisy because the creatures in the cages were squeaking, chattering, or hissing.

Behind the counter, a witch was instructing a wizard on how to care for the two-tailed newts, while the group waited nearby, carefully examining the cages.

Two enormous purple toads sat there, wolfing down dead flies, their saliva dripping from their mouths.

A frighteningly large tortoise sat by the window, its shell gleaming like a jewel. A poisonous orange snail slowly crawled along the wall of the glass tank.

On the counter was a large cage, inside which slick, black rats were using their long, bald tails to prop themselves up and play a jumping game.

The wizard who bought the two-tailed salamander left, and Ron approached the counter.

"My mouse,"

He said to the witch,
“Ever since I brought it back from Egypt, its color has been a little off.”

"Put it on the counter."

As the witch spoke, she pulled a pair of thick black glasses from her pocket.

Ron took Spotty out of his pocket and placed it next to the large cage of rats. The rats stopped jumping around and crowded around the wire cage, carefully examining Spotty.

Like everything Ron owns, Scabbers the rat is secondhand—originally belonging to Ron's brother Percy—and looks like it has been abused.

Compared to the glossy-furred mice in the cage, it looked particularly shabby.

“Hmm,”

The witch grabbed Scabbers and said,
How old is this mouse?

"have no idea,"

Ron said,
"It's very old; it used to belong to my older brother."

What are its abilities?

The witch examined the freckles closely and asked.

"Uh--"

Ron stammered.

In fact, Banban never showed the slightest interesting ability.

The witch's gaze shifted from its mottled, damaged left ear to its front paw, where a toe was missing, and she smacked her lips loudly.

"This rat has suffered a lot."

she says.

"That's how it was when Percy gave it to me."

Ron said, feeling wronged.

“A typical mouse or garden mouse like this can only live for about three years at most.”

The witch said,
“I said, if you want something that lives a long time, you might be willing to pick one from this…”

She pointed to the black rats, and they immediately resumed their jumping game. Ron muttered:

"A show-off."

"Okay, if you don't want to switch to another one, you might as well try this rat tonic."

As the witch spoke, she bent down and took a small red bottle from under the counter.

"All right,"

Ron said,
"How much? Oh dear!"

A large, ginger-yellow creature suddenly leaped out from the top of the tallest cage, landing on Ron's head and nearly knocking him over.

The big guy stood up and bared its teeth menacingly at Banban.

"Don't!"

"The witch cried out, but Splatter had already slipped out of her hand like a bar of soap, landing on its back on the floor, then leaping up and running out the door.

"Spots!"

Ron shouted and chased after them out of the store, with Harry following behind.

"I like this cat."

Hermione suddenly spoke to Sheehan and Justin.

(End of this chapter)