The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 299 Halloween's Reserved Program
The streets of Hogsmeade became deserted, and the crowds of people in the past disappeared. The scene of depression filled this small white village. People who didn't know would think that the British wizarding world had encountered a great economic depression.

This depression also spread to the shops. The number of adult wizards dropped sharply. If it weren't for the groups of students showing up today, I'm afraid the shops here would have worked in vain for another day.

After all, no one likes to deal with Dementors. Hogsmeade, which is not far from Hogwarts, is the key target for Dementors. The Ministry of Magic suspects that Black is very likely to appear in this small village.

All these efforts of the Ministry of Magic are in vain. If Black can escape from the Dementors' noses once, he can escape a second time.

What's more, both Hogwarts and Hogsmeade are heavily guarded. If Black approaches here rashly, either his brain is not working well, or he is so skilled and bold that he is sure of not being discovered.

Ada never understood why the Ministry of Magic would trust dark creatures like Dementors. Not only did they entrust Azkaban to them for guarding, but they also let them hunt down fugitives.

What about the Aurors? Ada wanted to ask about the Aurors. Compared to the Dementors, the Aurors with smart minds should be better candidates to chase the fugitives, right?

In the Three Broomsticks, Ada sipped her butterbeer, and the warmth in the room finally dispelled the chill from her body.

The twins stared at Madame Rosmerta with resentment. They had just tried to order a man's drink, but Madame Rosmerta refused to sell Firewhiskey to minors.

The kind aunt was not kind at all at this moment, at least that was the case in Fred and George's hearts.

Among the shops in Hogsmeade, the most popular are Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks.

Unlike the dirty and messy Hog's Head Pub and the sweet Madam Puddifoot's Café, the Three Broomsticks has a wider audience. Not only can you drink Butterbeer here, but also some other drinks with lower alcohol content.

Madam Rosmerta is the living signboard of this shop. She is charming and attractive not only to the boys in Hogwarts. Moreover, running a bar like this is not something that can be done with just a face. Madam Rosmerta's ability is more outstanding than her face and figure.

After drinking the butterbeer in her hand and taking an extra cup of hot mead, Ada finally had the courage to throw herself into the cold wind again.

Winter came early this year. Just as Halloween arrived, Ada had already put on a slightly heavier winter coat. After the severe cold, she hoped to see a beautiful spring.

The three of them first went to Zonko's Joke Shop, where the twins needed to replenish some materials and daydream.

The two brothers said that they would buy the Joko's Joke Shop after graduation as their first step in starting their own business. The idea is good, but this dream may not be easy to realize.

Then, Ada and the twins went to Honeydukes, where they bought some chocolates, and then they returned to school together. However, they did not go directly back to the castle, but went to Twilight Cottage.

The fire in the fireplace makes the whole house warm. Holding a cup of hot cocoa in your hand and standing in front of the window looking out, it is a relaxing afternoon.

Outside the Twilight Cottage, there are students who come to visit the Screaming Shack, the most famous haunted house in the UK; inside the Twilight Cottage, there is Ada, who is smiling cunningly as she watches the students shivering in the wind.

What does it say in the fragment? You stand on the bridge to enjoy the scenery, and the people who enjoy the scenery look at you from upstairs. The students come to see the haunted Screaming Shack, not to be watched by the "ghosts" in the Screaming Shack.

If these students were brave enough to go directly into the yard or move closer, they might find that the rumors were not true. They would find that there was no ghost in the Shrieking Shack, but only a beautiful senior.

It was not until the evening that Ada and the twins returned from the cottage to the castle to attend the Halloween dinner. As soon as they entered the hall, they were greeted by thousands of familiar pumpkin lanterns and flying bats.

But this year there are some more orange banners with flames, which float lazily on the ceiling like colorful water snakes, where a storm is brewing.

The dinner was very sumptuous, but such a sumptuous dinner could not stop everyone from talking. Everyone was discussing today's trip to Hogsmeade and where to go next time.

Harry looked out of place at the lively long table. He could only keep stuffing pumpkin pie into his mouth to make himself look just too hungry, not speechless. The banquet ended with a show by the Hogwarts ghosts. They jumped out of the walls and tables, forming various formations to perform sliding performances. Nearly Headless Nick from Gryffindor repeated his beheading experience and was a great success.

Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, Gryffindor's resident ghost, attempted to help Lady Grieve by straightening her teeth on 1492 October 10.

But contrary to expectations, Lady Grieve's teeth not only did not become straight, but grew terrible fangs. Because of this magical accident, Sir Porpington was sentenced to beheaded.

On the day of the execution the axe the executioner had was very blunt, for the stone for sharpening it had been misplaced, so poor Lord Porpington received forty-five blows in all, and even then there was still a little bit of skin and sinew attached to his neck.

The dinner was over and students from the four houses poured out of the auditorium and walked up the stairs.

No one rushed into the auditorium, shouting "something bad has happened", no one fainted in the auditorium, and there was no skinny cat hanging on the torch. This year's Halloween seemed to have been spent safely.

However, Ada did not relax her vigilance. Even though it was 23:59, Halloween was not over yet and there was a possibility of danger. Halloween at Hogwarts was like a weapon of causality, and something unhappy would always happen on this day.

As expected, Ada and the twins returned to Gryffindor Tower along their usual route. However, when they reached the corridor leading to the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found that it was crowded with students.

"What's going on? Why doesn't everyone go in?" Fred asked curiously.

George stood on tiptoe and looked over the heads of the students in front of him. He didn't see much, but he saw that the portrait hole seemed to be closed. He said, "I don't know, the Fat Lady doesn't seem to be here, and the entrance is closed."

Ada said "Make way, everyone make way" as she pushed through the crowd and walked forward. The students around her saw Ada and spontaneously made way for her. Ada finally understood why the students were blocking the way here.

The reason why the students were stuck here and refused to go in was not because they had collectively forgotten the password, nor because the Fat Lady was showing off her "beautiful singing voice" again. It was because the Fat Lady, the Gryffindor dormitory manager, had disappeared!

The Fat Lady had disappeared from her portrait, which had been slashed so hard that pieces of the canvas lay scattered on the floor, and a large section had simply been torn away.

Although the Fat Lady's singing voice was deadly, it was clear that the students would not do such a thing. Someone must have tried to break into the Gryffindor common room.

Ada's eyes quickly swept through the students, and she said loudly: "Clark, go find Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall and tell them what happened here!"

Clark Gerald woke up from his bewilderment, and the new male prefect immediately turned around and walked through the crowd and left the Gryffindor Tower. People were panicking, the portrait was destroyed like this, was there going to be another terrible attack in the school?

The crowd quieted down, and a chill seemed to spread along the corridor, starting from the front row.

"Excuse me, let me pass." Percy's voice came, and he hurried through the crowd solemnly, "Why are you all stuck here? You can't have all forgotten the password - I'm sorry, I'm the student union president -"

Seeing the destroyed portrait, Percy was stunned, and an ominous premonition appeared in his heart. Percy almost screamed, but fortunately he controlled himself in time and did not cause greater panic.

"Everyone, keep quiet!" Ada shouted again, "Watch the people around you, don't move around casually! Senior students, please take care of the younger students around you!"

Ada knew that she needed to calm the situation and prevent everyone from panicking, which was her responsibility as a prefect. But Ada had no better way and could only hope that Clarke could find Dumbledore as soon as possible.

After three consecutive orders, everyone finally calmed down. Although the students calmed down, everyone's face was full of anxiety. Everyone felt that the destruction of the Fat Lady's portrait was just the beginning of the attack.

Thanks to the book friend Luoyue Ruzheng for the reward
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(End of this chapter)