Hogwarts Study Panel.

Chapter 318: A Journey to Hogsmeade

"I didn't post a photo of the autographed signature."

He protested vehemently,

"If Lockhart continues to spread these rumors—"

But he saw Hagrid smile.

"I was just kidding."

He patted Harry affectionately on the back, causing Harry's face to bump against the table.

"I know you didn't. I told Lockhart you didn't need to do that. You're already more famous than him without even trying."

After Hagrid finished speaking with Harry, he casually spoke to Sheehan, who was standing next to Harry:

"Sheen, I...I..."

At times like these, Hagrid loses control of his emotions.

The little wizard helped him so much that sometimes he thought the title "Little Dumbledore" was really fitting for him.

Outside, the clouds parted, revealing the golden sun.

The snow that had accumulated in the house for decades melted into a trickle of water shortly after he arrived.

……

this day.

Hogwarts was bustling with activity, and students in their third year and above were free to come and go from Hogsmeade Village.

The first and second-year wizards were extremely envious.

"If you want to go to Hogsmeade, I'll leave it to you to figure out, Sheen."

Inside the castle, Justin held several volumes of Grimm's Notebooks, their upcoming new edition, which basically covered all the content from the second year.

Now, Sheende signs it and sells it as a collector's edition.

"Um."

Sheen nodded, and the twins peeked out from behind a painting of a wheat field.

"Great Green!"

Fred seemed to have rushed back; his clothes were covered in biscuit crumbs.

"Please take it out quickly."

George said eagerly.

Under Justin's questioning gaze, Sheehan pulled out the Marauder's Map.

He drew his wand, tapped the parchment lightly, and said:

"I solemnly swear that I will not do good deeds."

This scene was truly hilarious; neither Gemini nor Justin believed this statement.

"To Hogsmeade,"

Fred covered his mouth while tracing the route of a passage with his finger.

"There are seven in total. Filch knows four of them—"

He pointed them out one by one.

"We believe that only the two of us know about these three routes, and don't even consider the one behind the mirror on the fifth floor. We used it before last winter, but it has now collapsed—completely blocked."

We estimate that no one has ever used this method, because the "Hit-and-Pierce Willow" is planted right at its entrance.

The remaining path leads directly to the Honeyduke's cellar, and we've used it many times. You've probably noticed that the entrance is just outside this classroom, past the one-eyed old woman's hunchback.

After saying that, the Geminis quickly ran off, looking like they were extremely busy.

One interesting feature of the Marauder's Map is that it can guide the wizard on what to do when used by the wizard.

For example, right now.

Justin was surprised to see a new black dot appear on the map, labeled Sean Green.

The black dot was standing right where Sheen was actually standing, halfway down the fourth-floor corridor. Justin looked closely, and it seemed as if the little black dot Sheen was tapping the witch with a tiny magic wand.

Justin glanced at Sheen's tiny black dot, then at Sheen's expressionless face.

Suppressing a laugh, he quickly drew his real wand and tapped the statue, but to no avail. He then looked at the map; a tiny bubble appeared next to Sheen's black dot, with the words "Separate Left and Right" written inside.

"How interesting, Dissendium! (Separation!)"

Justin muttered to himself and tapped the stone statue again.

Suddenly, the statue's hunchback opened up, allowing a slender person to squeeze in.

"This is truly magical—"

Justin then remarked with emotion,

"Are we ready to go?"

Sheehan nodded, and Justin quickly ducked headfirst into the hole and walked forward.

"Lumos. (Fluorescent light.)"

Sheen's wand shone like a light bulb, illuminating the path ahead.

They slid down a long stretch of the stone slide before falling onto the cold, wet mud.

Then they proceeded for a while through a narrow, low dirt tunnel—a winding tunnel that resembled a giant rabbit hole.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the bottom of a dilapidated stone staircase that stretched out into the distance.

Just as Justin tried to climb, Sheen waved his wand.

On the other side, a staircase grew out of its own.

Send them up.

"Watch your head."

Before Sheen could finish speaking, Justin ducked, narrowly avoiding the trapdoor he was about to hit.

Open the trapdoor, and a lively chorus of vendors' cries and bustling noises burst forth:

"Give me another box of jelly slugs, honey, they've practically bought everything here—"

A woman's voice spoke. The two men glanced at each other furtively, and then the woman looked over at them.

"Not good—"

Justin let out a soft cry and cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself. When he pointed his wand at Sheehan, the little wizard was no longer on the stairs.

Only a black cat was silently staring at him.

"It is said that cats react seven times faster than humans."

He said it inexplicably.

……

Honeydukes was packed with Hogwarts students.

Sheehan and Justin slipped through the crowd, scanning their surroundings.

Rows of shelves were filled with delicious and juicy candies: large chunks of creamy almond candy, sparkling pink coconut ice cream, honey-colored toffee, hundreds of neatly arranged chocolates, a large tub of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and a large tub of sizzling honey candy...

The candies against the other wall are all "special effects" candies:

Blow Bubble Gum (which fills a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that don't burst for days), the strange and crumbly fluffy tooth mints, the tiny black pepper rascal ("Breathe for your friends!"), the ice mouse ("Hear your teeth squeak!"), the toad-shaped mint ice cream ("It really jumps in your stomach!"), the thin, crisp feather candy woven from sugar threads, and the exploding sandwich gummy candy.

"We're going to Grimm's Bookstore; it's about to open."

Justin produced a map-like object with Hogsmeade's houses marked on it.

"I must say, Sheen, we probably still don't have enough manpower."

In the past, when we weren't open for business, we could postpone the payments. Now that we have a shop, we should set a suitable time...

The two walked through Hogsmeade.

Justin smiled broadly as he watched the snow fall on every rooftop of Hogsmeade. As he spoke, Sheen beside him responded in a low voice.

At this moment, Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card, with thatched cottages and shops covered in a layer of freshly fallen snow, holly wreaths hanging on the doors, and strings of enchanted candles adorning the trees.

It's always snowing here, and it's always noisy.

They were quiet for a while, not speaking, only the soft rustling of the snow could be heard.

But as he passed the Three Brooms Bar, Sheen saw an unexpected figure.

A figure with its face hidden in a hood.

Sheehan easily recognized him as Remus John Lupin.

(End of this chapter)