The days at Hogwarts

Hermione's shoulder was sealed by a head, so she couldn't go out with them, and Crookshanks naturally stayed behind.

After watching the three people and the dog go away, Hermione looked at the sky. It was gray and not a good day.

The man on my shoulder was drowsy, not completely asleep, but certainly not awake. For him, any weather was suitable for sleeping.

It was obvious that he was sleeping, but his heart seemed to have calmed down, and the whole forest also became quiet, very silent.

The cabin is located on the edge of the forbidden forest. The woods and the path seem a bit deep. The trees on the roadside are still lush and green in autumn. The trees are shoulder to shoulder, and the lush branches extend into the bushes next to them, just like a person resting his head on someone else's shoulder.

No need to worry about which class has a conflict, no need to hide in the corner of the castle, afraid that someone will find out that there is an extra Hermione. It seems that all the things that are weighing on my heart are like clouds, blown away by the wind.

"Loren?" Hermione whispered.

The man shook his head and opened his eyes with some difficulty: "What?"

Hermione showed a faint smile on her face and said softly, "Good afternoon."

……

Loren felt a little numbness on the back of his feet, and a sense of pressure, as if there was something heavy, like a solid brick, but warm.

A small strand of curly hair was blown to the tip of my nose by the wind, causing it to feel itchy.

"Well……"

Loren slowly opened his eyes, lowered his head, and saw Crookshanks lying at his feet.

Solid cat, a heavy lump.

Loren pulled his stiff legs out from under Crookshanks' belly and tried to rest his head on the girl's shoulder, but was pushed away by a pair of soft hands.

"Don't go to sleep if you wake up. You won't be able to sleep at night." Hermione said calmly, but the light red on her cheeks had not faded yet.

There were several bright blue flames floating around, as beautiful as silk, emitting a faint warmth, so Loren didn't feel cold when he woke up.

"Hey, hey..." Loren didn't continue to pester her. He took out a small paper box from his pocket and handed it over with a smile, "Here, a birthday present."

Open the paper box and a small and exquisite black kit lies inside.

"What is this?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It's made of basilisk scales and can be put on the dorsal fin of the pendant." Loren leaned against the wall and stretched his body. "Don't you often go hungry when you use the time converter to take classes? The space in this scale can keep the food warm and fresh. If you store food in advance, you won't go hungry in the future."

Hermione fitted the kit onto the pendant, held the killer whale pendant in front of her eyes, and smiled softly, "It's a practical gift..."

The satin-like blue flame floats, and the non-dazzling light shines on the skin. The faint warmth flows through the blood into the beating heart, filling the heart completely.

……

Boom!

A long, narrow streak of lightning streaked across the sky, accompanied by deafening thunder, and heavy rain that had been accumulating for more than a week poured down.

Four leaping figures quickly ran into the entrance hall of Hogwarts Castle, leaving behind the world's wind, rain and thunder. The four little wizards seemed to be covered with an invisible film, and large drops of rain fell on them, sliding down the film to the ground, without even wetting their hair.

"Thank you, Loren!" Harry swung his calves and threw the dirt off his shoes out the door. "Your spell was just in time!"

Ron couldn't stop looking towards the corridor behind him. After confirming that Filch and Mrs. Norris were not around, he breathed a sigh of relief and imitated Harry to remove the sticky mud from his shoes. "What kind of spell is this? It's really convenient. But it would be great if it could also block this nasty mud."

"The improved application of the Bubblehead Charm can only prevent water and block odors at present..." Loren raised his foot and looked at the sole of his shoe, which was also covered with mud. "But another spell is very suitable for removing this mud."

"【Whirlwind Sweep Clean】"

Loren's wand made a circle, and the summoned whirlwind also made a circle under the feet of several people, rolling up the mud and rushing into the heavy rain.

"Let's go back to the dormitory and take a hot bath. Tomorrow is another busy Monday!" Harry said with a smile.

"Monday..." Loren pondered for a moment, then looked up at his two roommates and asked, "Have you finished the homework that is due tomorrow?"

Operation! ?

Ron's eyes immediately widened and his face turned horrified.

Harry was stunned for a moment, then gave a panicked cry and strode towards the dormitory, even more anxiously than when he was rushing back to the castle.

Ron quickly followed up: "It's all your fault. If you hadn't insisted on watching the mole grabber, we would have come back to do our homework a long time ago!"

"It's obviously your fault!"

"It's your fault!"

Hearing their noisy voices gradually fade away, Loren and Hermione looked at each other and laughed together.

The rain and mud had been cleaned up and would not dirty the floor. There was still some time before lights out, so there was no need to worry about Filch and Mrs. Norris's inspections. The two of them walked slowly towards the common room.

There was a noisy thunderstorm outside the castle. When the sound of thunder and rain penetrated the thick stone walls and entered the ears, they were no longer harsh. Instead, the castle seemed even more peaceful at night.

"Do you think Crookshanks can adapt to staying overnight in the cabin?" Hermione asked suddenly.

"Maybe it's more comfortable than in the lounge." Loren walked behind the girl, put his hands on her shoulders, and pushed her forward. "Don't worry, go back to the dormitory and sleep early. Don't forget that you have a full class tomorrow. Speed ​​up-"

Hermione paused, and as if she had made up her mind, she turned her head and looked at Loren, and said slowly, "You go back first. I suddenly remembered that I have an appointment with Professor Bubbage."

"Another Muggle Studies topic?"

"Ah."

"OK then."

Loren didn't think much about it. The two of them parted at the next corner of the corridor, one went back to Gryffindor Tower and the other went to the Muggle Studies professor's office.

After walking a few steps, Loren suddenly turned around and shouted, "Hermione!"

"Ok?"

Hermione turned her head to look at him, and he happened to be standing in the light below the torch. His whole body seemed to be coated with a layer of golden light, dazzling and attractive.

"I think I forgot to say it." Loren scratched his head and shouted, "Happy birthday!"

Hermione was stunned for a moment, then a bright smile broke out on her face.

……

dong dong dong.

"Please come in."

Hermione knocked on the door of the Muggle Research Office. The room was a little dim. Professor Bubbage looked up from the desk and looked at the little witch in confusion: "Miss Granger, it's so late, what's the matter?"

"Professor, I'm here to drop the class."

……

The thin man stood in the warehouse of the convenience store, biting an apple in his mouth, looking worriedly at a pile of messy goods.

To be honest, counting goods and organizing the warehouse is indeed a troublesome task, but for a pure-blood wizard, as long as he has a wand in hand, this complicated task is just a matter of waving the wand.

But he promised that no magic could be used in any action in Muggle society, and sincerity could only be demonstrated by doing everything personally. Although the pure-blood wizard Sirius Black couldn't figure out at first why asking a wizard to work without using magic was a manifestation of sincerity, he still hasn't figured it out until now.

It's just that the Muggle life over the past six months has given him some experience, a feeling he had never had before, not when he was well-fed and well-clothed at the Black family, not when he was young and hanging out with those Muggles, not when he was studying at Hogwarts, and not after he was imprisoned in Azkaban and released after his family was broken up.

Sirius would sometimes review his experiences over the past six months, of course, that was after he had solved the problem of food and clothing.

In agreement with Loren and Dumbledore's requests, when he just came out of Hogwarts and arrived in Hampshire, he still had some pounds he brought from Privet Drive. At that time, he could eat steak and ham when he was hungry, and drink coffee when he was thirsty.

The coffee in the Muggle coffee shop was a little different from what he made. Latte and the like tasted better, but there was also something even worse, like the Americano. Sirius swore that even the most tolerant house elf couldn't drink it. Even dogs wouldn't drink it...

After spending all his money, he also got almost all the information about the victims' families. The days that followed became difficult. He did not have a Muggle identity and could not receive relief food and relief money from the Muggle government. When he was hungry, he could only look through the trash cans.

It was also at that time that Sirius learned that some bakeries and fresh food stores would give unsold food to homeless people at night. They were all cold and hard things, not delicious at all, but they could fill their stomachs.

If you're thirsty, it's easy to solve the problem. There's plenty of tap water in the Muggle park.

The most uncomfortable thing is that the weather in Britain is not very good, it always rains. When it rains, you have to find a place to shelter from the rain and fight with other Muggles for territory, but you can't use magic, so every time you fight, it's very embarrassing.

He thought about using the Animagus to transform into a dog. From his observation, stray dogs were better off than homeless people...

But Sirius thought about it carefully. Although Animagus does not use a wand, it is also magic. Whether it is for the sake of keeping the promise or for the dignity of wizards, in the end he chose to become a tramp instead of a stray dog.

There were a few times when he really couldn't hold on any longer, so he used his wand to summon the Knight Bus and exchanged some food with the conductor... He just raised the wand, which shouldn't be considered using magic, nor breaking his promise.

When he first boarded the Knight Bus, Sirius thought about going back to Gringotts to exchange some money before coming back, but when he remembered what Loren had said at the time, he inexplicably insisted.

Later, he found a job working in a convenience store, working as a cashier during the day and a security guard at night. He helped unload goods every morning and helped organize the small warehouse on weekends. He did everything, but the salary was pitifully low, but fortunately, food and accommodation were provided.

The most important thing is that the owner of the convenience store is one of the victims’ family members.

Twelve years ago, she and her husband were street vendors, selling handmade wooden and woven items, when her husband was killed in a bombing, leaving his wife and daughter to struggle to make ends meet.

This is an ordinary yet unusual story. Happy families are always similar, but unhappy families have their own misfortunes. When they first met, Sirius did not feel much guilt towards this strong woman.

This unfortunate woman said that she did not shed a single tear, she took care of her husband's funeral, received a sum of compensation from the government, and opened this small convenience store... She was busy all by herself, going out early and coming back late, and she managed to raise her daughter.

The woman's expression was calm as she told him about these experiences, and she even had the leisure to smile at him: "Fortunately, school doesn't cost much..."

Chapter 312 A New Week

Sirius didn't know how much it cost to raise a daughter, but he roughly knew that earning enough food and clothing for two people in Muggle society was not an easy task, at least it was not easy when he first arrived here.

But life became better after the convenience store owner took him in.

Sirius looked at the warehouse piled high with stuff, ate the apple in his mouth in a few bites, and spit the remaining small core into the trash can. He licked his fingers, rolled up his sleeves and prepared to start working hard when there was a knock on the skylight of the warehouse room.

Da da da--

Da da da--

The beautiful tawny owl tapped on the window with its sharp beak and looked at him with its eyes.

Sirius scratched his head. Who would send him a letter at this time?

Without thinking too much, he took the aluminum triangular folding ladder from the door, skillfully spread out the ladder, climbed up and opened the skylight, and the owl flew in flapping its wings.

Taking an apple from his pocket to thank the postman, Sirius took the parchment letter from its paw, unfolded it and began to read:

Sirius:

Hey, it's me, your old friend, Lupin Remus. Perhaps you've heard the news over the summer that Peter Pettigrew escaped from prison. He's been arrested, and just last week, the Daily Prophet reported that the Dementors gave him a deep kiss. Believe me, you won't be any more surprised to hear this than I was when I started writing this letter. But I think he deserves it.

Dumbledore said that reminiscing about the past and dwelling on sadness are useless, so I wish you a safe journey, especially after seeing that you mentioned that there was a whole loaf of bread in the Muggle trash can in the last letter. If you hadn't said that you had found a stable job, I would have persuaded you to come back, even if it meant taking over the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

The experience of wanderers, in the wandering life, the most difficult thing is not hunger, thirst and cold, but the loneliness when alone in the rainy night. When lightning rips through the clouds, the huge anvil is accompanied by thunder and smashes into the boiling night as thick as asphalt. The wandering wizard always suspects that it is the groaning of the sky under the Cruciatus Curse. Even now, I always dream of that scene, when the clouds disperse and the werewolf moon rises in the north.

……

Although I don’t know why you started wandering, I wish you have a warm and long-lasting shelter.

Best wishes]

Sirius held the letter and stared at the ink on the parchment, lost in thought for a moment.

"Peter Pettigrew... Wormtail..."

He had been away from the wizarding world for less than a year, but he actually felt that Dementors and Azkaban were very distant things, just as distant as when the Marauders were studying at Hogwarts.

For a long time, he had been eager to kill Peter Pettigrew with his own hands, to avenge James and Lily, to avenge his ten years in Azkaban... and even to avenge the Morgans.

Suddenly learning that Peter Pettigrew was kissed by the Dementors, his thoughts suddenly became confused, and memories of Wormtail kept pouring out of his mind...

Wormtail looked reliable when he changed the Secret-Keeper.

Wormtail blowing up the streets.

Wormtail was arrested...

The scene finally freezes on that night long, long ago, at the Hogwarts Great Hall, at the Gryffindor table.

The freshmen who had just been assigned to Gryffindor were chattering and introducing themselves, but there was a short, fat boy in the corner who was cowering and seemed afraid to speak.

James put his hand on his shoulder and rubbed it: "What about you, what's your name?"

Sirius turned his head and saw the fat boy trembling and replied, "P-Pettigrew, Peter."

……

Perhaps it was because there had been a lot of rainy days recently and the moisture was heavy, so the ink on the letter paper had smudged a little. A few letters were blurry and distorted, just like the reader's mood.

I feel relieved and happy, but also feel disappointed and sigh...it seems like it's all of them, and yet it seems like nothing of them.

Sirius couldn't explain it, he had never been good at it.

Before he could sort out his chaotic thoughts, a woman's voice came from the corridor outside: "Sirius! Are you done? How long will it take?"

"Almost, almost there, Mrs. Carver!" Sirius responded in a hoarse voice, hurriedly took the ballpoint pen used for counting the goods, and scribbled something on the back of the letter paper.

He picked up the owl that was pecking at the apple with one hand, stepped onto the folding ladder, stuffed the letter into its claws, and lifted the owl out of the skylight. Sirius muttered softly, "Sorry, sorry, it's an emergency. I'll ask Remus to treat you to some rat jerky later."