Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 512, Section 510: Hogsmeade Approves (4k)

"—Promise to be a good boy and never leave the castle?"

Harry said sullenly.

"not quite."

Mr. Weasley said that Harry had never seen him so serious before.

“Harry, promise me you will never go to Black.”

Harry was stunned.

"what?"

Before Mr. Weasley could answer, a loud whistle blew first.

The enormous knight bus that Harry had once seen, which was said to be able to take wizards anywhere but not on water, appeared.

The ticket seller stood by the door, lazily greeting passengers.

"Promise me, Harry,"

Mr. Weasley spoke even faster.

"No matter what happens—"

Why would I seek out someone I know will kill me?

Harry asked, puzzled.

“You swear to me, no matter what you hear—”

"Arthur, hurry up!"

Mrs. Weasley had already walked to the side and called out.

There was no more time to say goodbye; Harry could only watch Mr. Weasley walk toward the bus with his luggage, and Sheehan ahead of him.

Ron lagged behind; he didn't leave the Leaky Cauldron but stayed there with Harry.

"I can't wait for them to leave, even though they'll be back soon,"

He says,

“But at least I can get rid of Percy. He's yelling at me again now for spilling tea on his Penelope Cruvath picture. You know,”

Ron made a face.
“That’s his girlfriend. She hid her face behind her glasses because her nose was covered in grime…”

The bus gave a violent jolt and quickly started moving.

Harry and Ron waved to the Weasleys by the window; they had just hugged Sheen and were putting the little wizard down at the pub entrance.

Finally, the bus turned a corner and they disappeared from sight.

Sheehan's hair had been messed up by Mrs. Weasley, but with a gentle tap of his wand, his disheveled hair was restored.

Turning his head, he could see not only a bewildered Harry and a pouting Ron, but also Justin and Hermione talking.

In the distance, a wizard dressed in a black robe is approaching.

Sheehan could tell at a glance that it was Professor Snape, who always picked him up at the exact appointed time.

But Harry arrived even before Professor Snape:
"I need to talk to you."

Harry whispered to the others.

"what?"

Ron was completely baffled.

"Oh, of course, no problem."

Justin nodded.

Where is Sheen?

Hermione looked around.

Sheen walked over silently and entered the bar with a worried Harry and the curious crowd.

At this, a black dog upstairs couldn't help but bark twice.

"I rarely see wizards keeping black dogs as pets."

Ron muttered something.

"That's not a wizard..."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, her voice hesitant as she spoke.

She had seen that goblin-like creature; Sheehan had once brought it to Hogwarts.

As for why it is here now, and why it keeps a black dog, that remains a mystery.

"Its owner is Pukchi, a distant relative of the fairy."

Justin patiently explained to Ron.

"It's even stranger now, isn't it..."

Ron, his face falling, turned to Harry.

"By the way, Harry, what do you want to tell us?"

Harry recounted the entire argument between the Weasleys, including Mr. Weasley's earlier warning to him.

After he finished speaking, Ron was stunned, Justin frowned silently, and Hermione covered her mouth with both hands.

Finally, she lowered her hands and said:

"Did Sirius Black escape to find you?"

Oh, Harry... you have to be very, very careful.

Don't go looking for trouble, Harry..."

“I didn’t cause any trouble,”

Harry said angrily,

"I'm always the one getting trouble."

"Go find a madman who wants to kill him? Isn't Harry incredibly stupid?"

Ron said, his voice trembling.

Harry hadn't expected them to take the news so seriously.

Ron and Hermione seemed more afraid of Black than he was, so Harry looked at Sheen.

Fortunately, Sheen remained calm, which reassured him somewhat.

But then he felt a pang of shame.

He should handle his own affairs; how can he always place his hopes on Sheen?
"Nobody knows how he escaped from Azkaban,"

Ron said uneasily,

"No one has ever done this before. And he's a prisoner under close guard."

"But they'll catch him, won't they?"

Hermione said seriously,

"I mean, they got all the Muggles to get involved in finding him too..."

What was that sound?

"Ron suddenly asked. A faint, almost imperceptible whistling sound came from somewhere."

They looked around in the cubicle.

"It came from your pocket, Harry."

Ron looked at Harry as he spoke.

He quickly pulled the miniature viewing mirror out of Harry's robes.

The scope spun rapidly in Ron's hand, emitting a dazzling light.

Is that a viewing mirror?

Hermione asked with great interest as she stood up to get a closer look.

"Yeah... to be honest, it's a cheap one."

Ron said,
"When I tied it to Errol's leg to send to Harry, it suddenly broke down."

"Were you doing something outrageous back then?"

Hermione asked sharply.

"No! Oh... I shouldn't have used Errol's. You know, it's not really capable of long-distance flights... But what other way was I to get the gift to Harry?"

"That's very strange."

After Hermione finished speaking, she glanced at Justin, who was nodding, and Sheehan, who was still gazing into the distance.

Sheen knew perfectly well why.

Ron's endoscope hadn't broken; it had detected Scabbers, and now, it was most likely detecting Professor Snape.

Professor Snape always carried some dark magic artifacts with him; after all, he was a master of dark magic.

Oh, right, he also kept teaching Sheen to distinguish these dark magic creations.

"Turn it off quickly,"

Harry heard the piercing whistling sound coming from the spyglass and made a suggestion.

Ron tucked the spyglass into a pair of particularly ugly old socks in his bag, and the noise immediately subsided. Then he closed the box.

"We can take it to Hogsmeade to get it repaired."

Ron sat down again and said,
"The Devs-Bans store, which specializes in magical items, also has this thing. Fred and George told me that."

Do you know a lot about Hogsmeade?

Hermione asked with great interest,

“I’ve read about it so many times in books, it’s the only place in Britain where there are absolutely no Muggles—” “Yeah, I guess so,”

Ron said in a nonchalant tone,
"But that's not why I want to go there. I just want to visit Honeydukes!"

"That candy store?"

Hermione asked.

"It's that candy store,"

Ron said, a dreamlike expression appearing on his face.
"They have everything there... Little Pepper Boy—which will make your mouth smoke—and chubby chocolate balls filled with strawberry jelly and cream, and wonderfully special candy-stick quills that you can suck on in class so everyone will think you're pondering your next sentence—"

“Hogsmeade is a very interesting place,”

Hermione snorted.
"The book *Magical Landmarks* says that the tavern was the headquarters of the goblin rebellion in 1612; and the Screaming Shack is said to be the most haunted house in England—"

"—And there are such big juice jelly balls, when you suck them, your feet will rise a few inches off the ground."

Ron said he clearly hadn't heard a word Hermione was saying.

Hermione turned to look at Justin and Sheehan.

“It would be fun to occasionally leave school and visit Hogsmeade, wouldn’t it?”
"You guys will go, right? Justin? Harry?"

"Ah."

Justin smiled and nodded.

"of course."

Harry felt much better, and the mention of Hogsmeade reminded him of the approval slip Aunt Petunia had secretly slipped to him.

Even though he exaggerated Aunt Maggie's promises and didn't fulfill any of them, Aunt Penny still approved.

At that time, Harry didn't know that love is unconditional.

"And... what about you, Sheen?"

Hermione seemed to have laid the groundwork, and then she was able to stare at Sheehan with a straight face and confidence.

"I do not know."

Sheen said hesitantly.

Hogsmeade was certainly a good option, and Professor McGonagall had long wanted to sign the approval form, but Sheehan was ultimately stopped by certain factors.

The professor wrote the following in his letter:

Dear Mr. Green:

Please note that the new semester begins on September 1st.

The Hogwarts Express will depart from Platform 9 at King's Cross Station at 11:00 AM.

If you're planning to spend the last week of summer vacation at a farm, please contact me in person.

It is with pleasure to inform you, dear Mr. Green, that third-year students may visit Hogsmeade Village on certain weekends.

Please have me sign the enclosed permission form.

By the way, your Potions professor is clearly unhappy about this, so please bypass him and come find me.

Enclosed is the reading list for next semester.

—Your faithful Vice Principal and Guardian: Minerva McGonagall

"What...does this mean?"

Ron seemed terrified.
"They won't let you go? But—that's impossible—as long as someone's there—how could they not approve it?"

"Hey!"

Hermione glared at Ron, as if she had just remembered something.

At Sheen's birthday party not long ago, she didn't see a single adult.

Yes, other wizards or Muggles besides a bunch of professors.

Ron was glared at and felt a little confused. He didn't know why, but he still whispered his suggestion:

"Perhaps...Professor Flitwick or someone else will approve you—"

Or we can ask Fred and George; they know every secret passage leading outside the castle—”

"Ron!"

Hermione said sternly,

"That would violate school rules—"

"Oh my god—Hermione, do you still remember the school rules?"

Ron looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Hermione's face flushed with anger, and she ignored Ron, instead whispering:

“But Ron is right, the professor may be able to make the decision.”

As she spoke, she fiddled with the straps of the Crookshan willow basket.

"Don't let that thing out!"

Ron said, but it was too late.

Crookshan nimbly jumped out of the basket, stretched, yawned, and leaped onto Ron's lap.

The bulge in Ron's pocket trembled, and Ron angrily pushed Crookshank off the hill.

"Go away!"

"Ron, stop!"

Hermione said angrily.

"How many times has this happened already!"

Crookshan has always harbored great hostility towards Scabbers.

But everyone thought this made sense, since Crookshank is a cat and Scabbers is a mouse.

"What do you think?"

Hermione, holding Crookshanks, asked Sheehan.

Crookshan settled into an empty seat, his persimmon-faced man facing Sheehan, but his yellow eyes kept turning to stare at Ron's breast pocket.

"I don't think it will work—"

A chilling voice appeared.

Ron and Harry shuddered almost instinctively.

Hermione and Justin stared in surprise at Professor Snape's sudden appearance.

"professor."

Sheen said.

“Green…”

Snape's sharp eyes swept over the group of young wizards, finally settling on Sheehan.
"You have five minutes to say goodbye, then come with me."

Sheen silently stood up; it was time for him to leave the Leaky Cauldron.

As everyone knows, he will stay at Hogwarts.

Furthermore, Hogwarts has many unfinished plans waiting for him, such as a locket tainted with evil, and the fact that he is just one spell away from reaching the master's level of learning dark magic.

Sheen didn't have much luggage, and it was all checked and processed in just a few minutes.

"I would like to ask why, Professor?"

Before leaving, Justin suddenly asked Snape respectfully.

"Who knows?"

Ron was whispering to Harry.
"If you ask me, even if Hogwarts needs someone in charge, it should be Professor Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw, not..."

Harry nodded cautiously, but with a hint of agreement.

"There's no reason why—"

Snape snorted and walked away with Sheen.

The bar fell silent for a moment.

On the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley, Snape didn't immediately use Apparition; he seemed to have something to say.

"Do you know anything about the fugitive Black...?"

He asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Yes, Professor."

Sheen glanced at the black dog by the window.

"Hmph—Green, you should know he's dangerous..."

Snape leaned down, stared into Sheehan's eyes, then turned away.
"Extremely dangerous."

He added,
"You are not allowed to go to Hogsmeade until those idiots at the Ministry of Magic catch him."

His tone became even more unnatural, and his eyes flickered.

He didn't know everything about those people, but he could sense some things—like the secret passage and where it led.

"I see, Professor."

Sheehan was slightly surprised; Professor Snape seemed to be... consulting with him?
"Looks like you're not stupid enough to—"

Snape was in a good mood.

He coldly swept his gaze across the shops along Diagon Alley, unaware of the repeated changes in his attitude.

Sheehan was lost in thought. Professor McGonagall had agreed, but Professor Snape had not.

He seemed to have fallen into a difficult problem.

(End of this chapter)