Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 365: Bar Follow-up (I have acute gastroenteritis)
Mike didn't want to drink this unclean wine, but Harry and Ron drank it happily.

Mike felt his stomach churning as he watched them pick up dusty bottles of wine and pour them into their mouths without even wiping them.

But this is normal. The wizarding world in Britain has a restricted alcohol ban just like the Muggle world. That is to say, even something like Butterbeer, which is more like a beverage than an alcoholic drink, is not normally available to the underage wizards in Hogwarts. That's why Harry and Ron are so impatient.

"Ha! Burp! It's delicious!"

Harry drank almost half the bottle and then burped, with a circle of yellow foam still on his mouth.

Seeing this, Ron beside him also put down the bottle, raised his eyebrows and looked at the bar with longing, muttering:
"Isn't that right? We can order whatever we want here. I'm sure the guy will sell us everything, he doesn't care. I've always wanted to try some Firewhisky..."

Before Ron finished speaking, Hermione came up to him and said word by word:

"You're a prefect!"

"Yes, Ron, you are a prefect now!" George ran over with a glass of butterbeer in his hand and said, "But you have to lead by example!"

After saying that, George and Fred looked at each other and then laughed out loud.

"Your people haven't arrived yet?" Mike frowned and looked at Hermione, "The agreed time is coming soon, right?"

"They will be here soon, I dare..."

Just as Hermione finished her words, the door of the pub opened, and a thick, dusty beam of sunlight split the room in two, then disappeared in the blink of an eye, blocked by the large group of people pouring in.

The first people who appeared in front of Mike were Neville and two people, a man and a woman, whom Mike didn't recognize. Behind them were Parvati and Padma, as well as old acquaintance Qiu Zhang and her group of chattering girlfriends. Then there was Luna, who was alone and in a trance, and several students who were familiar to Mike but whose names he couldn't remember.

The Hog's Head Bar was not big to begin with. Mike had brought a large group of people just now, and now Harry had called another large group of people. Now the entire Hog's Head Bar was almost full, and many people didn't even have a place to sit.

The few guests in the bar who were dressed strangely and covered their heads with masks probably couldn't adapt to this noisy environment. Many of them left the bar without even having a drink. In the end, only one guy with dirty gray bandages wrapped all over his body did not leave. He seemed to be very curious about the sudden appearance of so many people in the bar.

Aberforth saw the whole scene. The skinny muscles on his face kept twitching, as if he was forcibly suppressing his anger.

"Huh, there are quite a lot of people here."

Mike sighed, while Hermione said with embarrassment:
"Uh, I hope you're not mad."

"Why should I be angry?" Mike said, "Is it because you brought too many people? Please, I would love it!"

After saying that, Mike opened his arms and walked towards the crowd.

"Everyone, I didn't expect to see you here! Are you all right?"

Neville and the others who had just come in and were looking around said yes. Among them, the girlfriends brought by Qiu Zhang were pulling Mike's arm like crazy, making Qiu Zhang look embarrassed.

"Sorry, Mike," Qiu Zhang said, "They are your biggest fans and are so excited to see you!"

"It's okay, Cho. How could I blame such beautiful ladies? Right?"

Mike's words made Qiu Zhang's group of girlfriends laugh, and their arms around Mike's arms tightened.

Then George and Fred, together with Lee Jordan who arrived later, distributed the extra butterbeer, and everyone found a seat and sat down.

It was only at this time that Mike said to Qiu Zhang in a serious tone:

"Qiu, I have to say that you made the right choice. I promised Cedric to take care of you, and this is an important step in improving your ability to protect yourself!"

"I... I don't quite understand what you are talking about." Qiu Zhang was a little at a loss, "The reason I came here is just because 5 they said that you and Harry have something to say to us."

As soon as Qiu Zhang finished speaking, Neville and others beside him also echoed him. Seeing this, Mike turned his head and looked at Hermione.

"Well, maybe I didn't explain it clearly at the time." Hermione explained, "But it's not too late for you to explain it now, hehe."

Mike retracted his gaze upon hearing this. To be honest, the Hog's Head Bar wasn't actually a good place to talk about private matters. Although there were relatively few people here, it was a bar after all, so there were still people eavesdropping.

For example, the mysterious man with grey bandages all over his body and Aberforth at the bar, the two of them were now concentrating on secretly listening to the conversation between the people.

But to be honest, Mike didn't mind them eavesdropping, because even if this matter got out, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, the initiator of this event was Dumbledore's beloved Harry Potter. I believe that even if Dumbledore knew about this, he would not say anything gossipy.

It would be even better if Umbridge knew about this and investigated their operation. Mike was worried that the villain Umbridge was not bad enough to fully unite the organization.

Thinking of this, Mike looked around, and seeing that everyone was looking at him, he slowly stood up and said:
"Everyone, I believe you are all very familiar with Professor Umbridge now. This Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from the Ministry of Magic is different from the professors we have met before. She believes that we are not suitable for and do not need to master those practical Defense Against the Dark Arts, so her courses have become boring pure theory courses. I personally think this is wrong, and our world is far from reaching that level of safety.

Last year, Dumbledore announced that You-Know-Who had returned, and I believed it because Harry and I were there and witnessed You-Know-Who's resurrection with our own eyes."

At this point, everyone in the Hog's Head Bar began to whisper. Aberforth at the bar was wiping a wine glass, but from his slightly trembling hands, it could be seen that he was not very calm at the moment.

"Well, I know that many people are skeptical about this news, because the Ministry of Magic has been promoting that the mysterious man has not returned. At this point, I don't want to discuss the authenticity of this news with you, because time will prove everything!" Mike continued, "But even if the mysterious man is not resurrected, I don't think we don't need to learn those practical Defense Against the Dark Arts, because there are still many other dangers in the world outside the school, such as the dark wizards in Knockturn Alley, and the werewolf virus infected people who specifically seek revenge on society. So it is necessary for us to master those practical Defense Against the Dark Arts!

But Umbridge obviously doesn't think so. So in order to enable everyone to have enough self-protection ability and to face the upcoming exams with more confidence, Harry and I discussed and decided to start a remedial class to teach everyone the Defense Against the Dark Arts required for actual combat!"

After he finished speaking, the entire Pig's Head Bar fell into an eerie silence.

The students invited by Hermione looked at each other, surprise written all over their faces.

"Can I...can I join in too?" In the silence, Neville raised his hand timidly and said with his head down, "After all, I can..." "Of course, Neville. We welcome everyone!"

Neville had an embarrassed look on his face, and the expressions on the faces of the people around him changed from surprise to joy. Finally, they followed Neville and shouted "I want to join too!" and then crowded towards Mike.

Seeing this, Hermione finally smiled. She had actually expected this scene a long time ago.

After all, Mike's influence within Hogwarts is not to be underestimated. The titles of Duel Tournament Champion and Triwizard Tournament Champion have long equated the name Mike with the word powerful.

I believe that faced with the personal instruction of such a strong person, not many people would refuse.

Thinking of this, Hermione quickly took out a piece of parchment and said:
"Don't worry. If you want to participate in this event, you must sign your name. This will make it easier for us to know who has been here. Please note that as long as you sign your name, it means that you know the specific content of this event and promise not to disclose it to Umbridge and others. If you can't do that, it's better not to sign."

Mike's expression changed slightly.

From what he sensed, there should be a rather troublesome contract magic attached to this parchment. Hermione seemed to be explaining it to everyone just now, but in fact she was setting conditions for the contract magic.

Anyone who signs this and violates the terms of the previously drawn-up contract will trigger the magic above, causing the betrayer to be punished by a curse.

Mike couldn't tell the specific effect of this curse, but there was no doubt that any curse would be extremely difficult to remove.

After thinking about it carefully, Mike did not point out the principle behind it, but let Hermione do it.

When people at the scene heard that they had to sign, many of them showed dissatisfaction, but since most people at the scene did not normally come into contact with this kind of contract magic, few people thought much about it.

Even Neville Longbottom, who came from a holy pure-blood family, signed his name on the parchment after a little hesitation.

Only after everyone signed their names did Hermione put it away and said to everyone with a smile:
"Okay, today's activities are over. We will inform everyone of the date and location of the official class later."

Not everyone can stand the environment in the Hog's Head Bar, so after Hermione announced the disbandment, most people left the bar quickly. Among them, Qiu Zhang and her girlfriends were the fastest - what these girls can't stand the most is dirtiness and messiness. If it weren't for Mike, they probably wouldn't even come in.

George Fred and others stayed in the bar. The only reason they stayed was for the wine. It seemed that they would not leave until they were drunk today.

Mike had no intention of stopping this. Umbridge's injury would probably heal soon, which meant that George and Fred's good days were about to come to an end.

At this moment Mike didn't want to disturb their last revelry.

But surprisingly, Harry and Ron also seemed to want to stay. Unfortunately, due to the presence of Hermione, their wish to drink Firewhisky was ultimately not realized.

"Mike, have you found the place where the class is?"

As if to divert attention, Harry, who was dragged by Hermione to go shopping, suddenly raised his head and asked.

"We've already prepared it, you don't have to worry about that." Mike nodded, "The location is on the eighth floor of Hogwarts, opposite where the giant monster beat up Barnabas with his club. When the time comes, just let those people go there directly."

Harry and Ron looked at each other, confusion and puzzlement written all over their faces.

"I've been there, but there doesn't seem to be any classrooms there?"

"That's the Room of Requirement."

Mike whispered, and Hermione beside him stopped choosing a quill and said in surprise, "Did I hear you right? Are you talking about the ball room?"

"Yes, it's the one you were thinking of." Mike spread his hands. "I discovered it by chance. It should be the best place to take classes."

"That's right! That place is definitely the best place to be used as a secret base!"

Looking at the excited Hermione, the confusion on Harry and Ron's faces became even more intense.

"What are you talking about? What is the Room of Requirement?"

A trace of helplessness flashed across Hermione's face as she explained:
"I'm really impressed by you. If you read 'Hogwarts: A History' carefully, you should know that this is a legendary room. It can be decorated with almost anything you want. (Ron's face showed a surprised expression) Of course, I think it still has some limitations. For example, it should not be able to turn into gold or something like that."

The expression on Ron's face became lost again.

"Just be content!" Hermione put her hands on her hips, "That room is very hidden, and it can also produce a lot of teaching tools I need. It's perfect for a secret classroom."

Ron sighed and said nothing, but he seemed still unhappy about the fact that the Room of Requirement could not turn into gold.

"If you are short of money, why don't you go to George and Fred? They are very rich now, and you are brothers."

As if he had heard some shocking news, Ron opened his eyes wide, stared at Mike in disbelief and said:

"You expect George and Fred to give me pocket money? They won't even buy me a glass of Firewhisky! Oh! You may not have seen it just now, let me show you again."

Then Ron straightened his clothes and acted like George and Fred in a very affected manner.

Ron's performance was so subtle and funny that Mike, Harry and the others immediately started laughing.

As mentioned above, I have acute gastroenteritis and have been in very bad condition these days. I managed to hold it in for this picture.

If things don’t get better in the future, I may stop updating for a day or two or update less frequently. Please forgive me.



(End of this chapter)