The days at Hogwarts

Loren looked away in disgust and lowered his head to scoop a spoonful of ice cream: "This is because Bellatrix Lestrange escaped from prison."

"Bellatrix Lestrange! The Death Eater who drove Neville's parents crazy, she escaped from prison!" Hermione patted Loren's shoulders in surprise and complained, "Is this the big news you don't want to tell?"

"I knew it would be like this, so I planned to talk about it later..." Loren pretended to be in pain and gasped, causing the little witch to rub his skin with heartache.

"Hiss~ Can't you guys continue after I leave?" Harry felt a little toothache. "I also saw the news that Bellatrix was released from Azkaban by the Deputy Director of the Prison Department of the Ministry of Magic. Why did they escape from prison? Why did Fudge monitor my whereabouts?"

"Because you are Harry Potter." Hermione said seriously, "Bellatrix is ​​a loyal supporter of Voldemort, and she is also a lunatic. After Voldemort fell, the Death Eaters fled and scattered, but she not only did not flee, but attacked Neville's parents.

Now everyone in the wizarding world knows the name of your savior, Harry Potter. If Bellatrix finds out about the news, you will be tortured more severely than the Longbottoms!"

"No, no..." Harry swallowed.

"I don't think so either." Loren shrugged and told them his analysis. "That lunatic is an impatient person. If she was still in the UK, Harry would have been lying in bed at St. Mungo's. And you still have time to go shopping and eat ice cream, which means Bella has already fled the country. Maybe they have already reunited with Voldemort."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"That makes sense." Hermione nodded thoughtfully, and then she had a new doubt, "If that's the case, why does the Ministry of Magic want to monitor Harry?"

Loren explained, "They didn't dare to gamble. The high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic defected and let the evil Death Eaters go. This had a terrible impact on the reputation of the Ministry of Magic. They even announced the news of Wormtail's escape from prison just to make the Ministry of Magic look better. If the famous Harry Potter was attacked again at this time, Fudge would be driven out of office by public outrage."

"So it's for his position." Harry smiled sarcastically. "I almost thought the Minister of Magic had become a good man."

At this moment, a huge, furry gray great grey owl pounced towards Florin's Ice Cream Shop, and seemed to be exhausted and dizzy, and crashed into the window glass with a "duang" sound.

"Errol!" Harry shouted, and hurried out and brought the poor old postman in.

Hermione hurried to the counter to get some water and fruit and put them in front of Errol. But it seemed exhausted now. It only opened one blurry eye and barked to express its gratitude. It took a few sips of water and then lay down on the table to rest. It had no energy to eat the fruit.

The three of them sat aside, waiting for poor Errol to recover.

Loren glanced at it silently several times. In fact, he was a little worried that the old owl would not be able to catch its breath and pass out because there was a large package tied to its feet.

"It should be Ron's birthday present for you," said Harry.

Loren thought for a moment, grabbed the package, and tore open the parchment. Inside was a gift wrapped in gold paper and a birthday card:

[Dear Loren:

Life is good!

You and Hermione actually went to Egypt! And had a wonderful and exciting adventure. Bill told us about it. Oh, you are not good friends!

I really couldn't think of what kind of gift you would like, so I gave you a stirring stick used by Egyptian wizards to make potions. It looks like the Pharaoh's scepter, and it is said that the temperature of the crucible can be judged by the color of the scepter, but George and Fred studied it for several days and still couldn't figure out how to use it.

Hope you find the use.

I couldn't believe that Harry had blown up his aunt and the Ministry of Magic didn't punish him. My dad said it was the result of a discussion among the Ministry officials. He also told me that Harry was now living alone in the Leaky Cauldron.

Errol is too old. I would like to ask you to write to Harry and ask him if he is willing to live in the Burrow until school starts. My father will be able to find a way through the Ministry of Magic. For this reason, we returned to the Burrow from Egypt early.

Ron

P.S. Please lend me the paper on shrinking potion for reference! Thank you very much! 】

After reading the contents of the letter, Loren smiled and passed Ron's invitation to Harry.

"Really?!" Harry stood up in surprise, "I'll go pack my luggage now!"

He turned and ran out of the ice cream parlor, and ran back half a minute later, carrying the old owl away. His joyful and loud voice came from afar: "There is a fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, Errol, I took him directly back to the Burrow!"

Loren turned to look at Hermione and they smiled at each other.

……

Ilvermorny School of Magic, atop Mount Greylock.

Ilvermorny does not have as long a history as Hogwarts. It was founded only over three hundred years ago, and the stone cottage built by its founder Aesop Sayre and her No-Maj husband James Stewart is still preserved on a vacant lot on the top of the mountain.

Out of respect for the founder, few students come here, and even teachers and the principal only come here to pay tribute to the founder during festivals such as the Centennial Celebration. As for now, when school has not yet started, even fewer people will come here.

But today, bursts of voices were heard from the long-uninhabited stone hut.

Through the cracks between the stones, one could see a tall dark-skinned woman kneeling on the ground in the house. Her hair was disheveled. The prison life in Azkaban had made Bellatrix Lestrange's cheeks sunken and emaciated, and she looked like a skeleton, but her face was flashing with a warm and crazy light:

"I knew it, I knew it! The great Dark Lord has conquered death, and he will never be defeated!"

There was a dark shadow in front of her kneeling, where the sun could not reach. A pair of glittering red eyes emerged from the shadow, like the eyes of a snake, and a cold and terrifying voice came: "Bellatrix, my loyal servant, I know that you are still loyal to me in the judgment seat. Only if you try to find me, as you said, I will come back to save you, and I will reward you specially."

Bellatrix's attitude became even more humble, her voice full of fanaticism: "Great Dark Lord, I don't need a reward, I just want you to return truly, so that the world can once again feel the fear of being dominated by the Dark Lord."

The pair of snake eyes in the shadows floated, emitting a frightening cold light: "Of course, of course, but before that, we need to plan carefully."

"Master, please... please... don't send me to Hogwarts." In another place in the room, there was a short and fat middle-aged man kneeling on the ground.

"Wormtail..." Voldemort's voice was very soft, "Trust me, I will reward you too."

Chapter 276 He went up!

After Harry left, Loren and Hermione paid for their ice cream and continued walking along the street towards Diagon Alley.

When they passed by a magical animal store, a big ginger creature suddenly jumped out of the store. It was a long-haired cat. Its little claws were scratching Loren's trouser legs, and its pair of round eyes were looking at him pitifully.

Hermione's eyes lit up: "What a beautiful cat!"

You have some aesthetic filter for cats, Loren thought silently.

This ginger cat has lush, fluffy and soft fur that feels great to the touch, but it doesn’t look too happy, with its mouth corners drooping and its expression gloomy, a bit like a weird persimmon.

Loren bent down and took the big guy into his arms, rubbed it and scratched its chin: "Are you here to seek refuge with me?"

"Meow--" The cat clamped its throat and tried to make a delicate sound, but the sound broke as soon as it opened its mouth. Its voice was hoarse, like a cat's smoky voice.

Crookshanks: "..."

Hermione couldn't help but burst out laughing, and found the cat even cuter. She reached out and smoothed the long hair on its back.

Loren couldn't help laughing, he probably remembered who the cat was.

Crookshanks listened to the two men's laughter and felt that life was difficult for a cat.

If it hadn't sensed the familiar aura of this person, it wouldn't have suddenly jumped out of the cage and tried to gain sympathy like those little tricksters. But it ended up making things worse and now it has no face to see anyone.

The ginger cat buried his head in Loren's arms, afraid to see anyone and not to do the little clip anymore.

"Crookshanks!" A witch wearing thick black glasses chased out of the store and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the cat in their arms. "Great! I thought you were hiding until dark again."

"Thank you for stopping this naughty bad guy for me." She thanked the two and took the cat from Loren. "It's because this cat is too naughty that no one wants it even though it has been kept in the store for a long time."

She turned and walked back toward the shop. Crookshanks could no longer stay there and was howling at Loren and Hermione, looking extremely pitiful.

Hermione's heart softened, and she quickly followed, pulling Loren along.

The shop was small, with cages densely packed against the walls. The air smelled foul, and it was noisy because the creatures in the cages were squeaking, chirping, or hissing.

Two huge purple toads sat in their cages, gorging themselves on dead blowflies until their mouths dripped. A terrifyingly large turtle sat by the window, its shell gleaming like a jewel. Poisonous orange snails crawled slowly along the sides of the glass tank. A plump white rabbit snapped into a satin top hat and snapped back again, over and over again.

There were cats of all colors, a cage of noisy ravens, a basket of funny custard-colored fluff balls that were buzzing, and on the counter there was a large cage in which sleek black rats were playing a game of leaping on their long bare tails.

The magical powers of these magical animals are very weak and their abilities are not very impressive. It is more like a pet shop than a magical animal store.

Hermione was bargaining with the witch. As for Crookshanks, the clerk was eager to sell it as quickly as possible, so he had no bottom line on the price.

Loren looked around and asked with interest, "Are there no magical animals like invisible beasts, bird snakes, catkins, or poisonous horned beasts here?"

"You are joking, sir. The Ministry of Magic has strictly prohibited the private breeding and trading of dangerous magical animals." The witch with black eyes raised her head, looked around, and saw that there were only two of them in the store. She added in a low voice, "If you really have any ideas, I can introduce some channels--"

"No!" Hermione interrupted their conversation firmly. She glared at Loren fiercely, "It's just 10 silver Sickles. Check out!"

"Okay, okay." The witch said hurriedly. Perhaps she said something she shouldn't have said, she even gave an extra wicker frame.

Hermione carried the wicker basket containing the cat in one hand and dragged Loren, who looked regretful, away with the other.

After leaving the store, Crookshanks became restless and struggled to get out from the wicker frame. He kept following Loren's feet and circling around him. The fluffy little thing was so well-behaved that it was lovable even if it didn't look that cute.

"It seems to like you very much." Hermione's tone was a little sour. It was obviously a pet she bought, but Loren was more like the cat's owner. "Dolphins are like this, cats are like this too. These animals are very close to you."

"Maybe it's a talent," Loren smiled and used his feet to move the cat a little further away to avoid accidentally stepping on its tail while walking.

I visited a second-hand junk shop, bought a bound volume of the Daily Prophet at the newspaper office, and then visited the Jumping and Playful Magic Joke Shop, and the day ended like this.

……

In Hampstead Gardens on the outskirts of the city, the sunset was dyed orange, the clouds were like a cloth, and everything in sight was dyed with a layer of golden light, brilliant and beautiful.

boom!

There was a sound of gas explosion, and the next moment two people and a cat appeared outside the Granger's house, which was empty a moment ago.

As soon as he stood still, the ginger-colored Crookshanks jumped down from Loren's hand, and lay down under a bush on the side of the road, opening his mouth and retching: "Ugh—"

Not daring to disturb it rashly, Hermione squatted down and watched with some distress: "It's its first time Apparating, it must be very uncomfortable now."

"Once I become more proficient in Apparition," Loren said.

After a while, Crookshanks vomited a ball of hair from his stomach, whimpered a few times in comfort, and soon perked up and began to circle around Loren's feet again.

Hermione was relieved and laughed and scolded: "I was so worried about this little thing, I am really heartless."

We've finished shopping and the cat is fine now, so it's time to say goodbye today.

She stood up and looked at Loren. Suddenly she hesitated and said in a low voice, "Well, goodbye?"

"Wait!" Loren looked at her with burning eyes, "I've been holding it in for a whole day, where's my birthday present?"

Hermione felt that his gaze was like a fire spell that ignited the golden glow of the sunset. The air around her suddenly heated up and became scorching, causing the blood in her body to flow faster and her heart to pound.

The gift was in the pendant, it was a tie bought at Tuofan Clothing Store.

In the morning, Monica, who was combing her daughter's hair, learned about the birthday gift she prepared and said jokingly, "Usually only wives would prepare ties for their husbands~"

Thinking about her mother's instructions, the little witch's cheeks turned red. Hermione didn't dare to take it out no matter what.

It’s all mom’s fault…I should have changed the gift earlier!

"Here, it is!" Hermione pointed at the ginger cat, "This cat is my gift to you."

Crookshanks: "Meow?"

"So that's how it is." Loren sighed, made an infinitely resentful expression, and said with a tone full of grievance, "It doesn't matter, even though I've been looking forward to it for a whole day, no, a whole year. Even though this is just a cat I bought at the last minute, even though Harry's birthday present was prepared in advance. Even though--"

"Enough, enough!" Although Hermione knew that this man was pretending to be weird, she just fell for it. After all, he was Loren.

Hermione pursed her lips and took out the red tie with gold stripes from the pendant.

There's nothing special about the style, it's just a classic Gryffindor style, but the fabric used by Tofan Clothing Store is much better than that of Madam Malkin, the texture looks better, and it has some added functions to keep warm in winter and cool in summer.

Hermione's eyes darted around, not daring to look Loren in the eye. "The tie is a birthday present. I bought it from Tufan Clothing Store."

Loren's lips curled up into a smug smile: "Tie my tie."

"You!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Who told you to lie to me just now? This is compensation for my wounded heart!" Luo Li said righteously.

Hermione's fists hardened. If today wasn't this man's birthday, she would definitely hurt his body as well.

But who asked him to celebrate his birthday?

Hermione stood in front of Loren, feeling the hot breath he exhaled, which made her feel even more scorching. The girl gritted her teeth and said, "Close your eyes!"

"Okay." Loren closed his eyes obediently.

Looking at the man in front of her, Hermione pursed her lips and said nothing, with a gleam in her eyes... He looked much more pleasing to the eye when he was quiet.

She unfolded the tie and put it around his neck. Although she had seen her father tie a tie and her mother tie a tie for her father, this was the first time the girl tied a tie for someone else. She felt a little unfamiliar with it and her hands unconsciously rubbed his chin and neck, which felt hot.

In a panic, he tied his tie even slower.

But fortunately, the evening breeze was slow, the clouds were drifting slowly, the sun was setting slowly, and even Crookshanks, who was circling under their feet, slowed down.

Loren quietly opened his eyes and carefully looked at the girl who had come closer. This was not the closest they had ever been to each other. It was common for them to put their foreheads against each other when they were playing and fighting.

It’s just that this moment seems different from usual. The wind is gentle, the clouds are slow. I can’t tell what’s different, it’s just different.

Hermione's skin was in great condition, white and delicate. The golden glow of the setting sun cast a layer of light on her. At such a close distance, Loren could see the faint blue blood vessels and fine hairs on her face.

She had long eyelashes and was concentrating on tying her tie, her eyes fluttering like butterfly wings when she blinked. Her lips were delicate and beautiful, although the lipstick on them had been washed off when she ate ice cream, leaving only a little on the edge of her lips, the scattered bright red color made her even more attractive.

Not sure what it will taste like.

Loren thought so, bent down slightly and moved closer.

"Hmm--" Hermione's mind went blank, her hands stopped moving, and her heart beat at a speed she had never experienced before.

Boom!Boom!