Hogwarts: I will not become the Dark Lord

During the grand hall dinner, Jerry noticed Harry and his friends complaining to Professor McGonagall. As Jerry had predicted, no matter how many times Harry applied, how earnestly he pleaded, or what reasons he gave, Professor McGonagall remained firm, resolutely refusing to allow him to go to Hogsmeade.

Inside the Great Hall, laughter and cheerful chatter filled the air, with almost every student excitedly discussing their plans for Hogsmeade. Only Harry could merely listen quietly, his heart filled with helplessness and disappointment.

Ron, sensing Harry's low spirits, tried to cheer him up with a positive outlook: "At least we have the feast," he said, smiling reassuringly, "You know, the Halloween feast, that's a grand event held in the evening."

Harry forced a smile and replied, "Yeah," but his tone clearly betrayed his unhappiness. "Sounds great."

The Halloween Eve feast was indeed something to look forward to, but what Harry yearned for even more was to be able to participate in the feast after having spent a pleasant day in Hogsmeade like the other students. Such an experience would undoubtedly be even more wonderful and unforgettable. Therefore, no matter how others tried to comfort him, the sense of loss in Harry's heart remained difficult to dispel.

"Dean Thomas can imitate handwriting perfectly. What if he imitated the Dursleys' handwriting and signed the permission form? What do you think?" Ron suggested.

However, Harry firmly shook his head, rejecting the idea. "No, Ron, that won't work," he explained. "I already told Professor McGonagall that Uncle Vernon didn't sign it."

Ron and Neville then thought of the Invisibility Cloak, suggesting that Harry could wear it and sneak out. But Hermione immediately dismissed the idea, reminding them, "That won't work at all. Dumbledore said that Dementors can see through Invisibility Cloaks."

After discussing harebrained ideas for a long time without finding a feasible solution, they turned their attention to Jerry, who had been listening quietly all along. Jerry, feeling somewhat bewildered by their gazes, rolled his eyes helplessly, put down his cutlery, and said, "Why are you looking at me? Let's eat first!"

He was also quite speechless in his heart. The Marauder's Map had already been borrowed by the twins; what good ideas could he possibly have?

Percy, seeing everyone so dejected, tried to comfort Harry: "They all say how great Hogsmeade is, but to be honest, Harry, it's really just so-so. The sweet shop is alright, but Zonko's Joke Shop is dangerous. Oh, and you can go see the Shrieking Shack. Other than that, there's really nothing else worth going for."

Clearly, Percy wasn't very good at comforting people. His words seemed to sink like a stone into the sea, not having much of an effect, and even making Harry want to go to Hogsmeade with everyone even more.

On the morning of Halloween, Jerry entered the solemn Great Hall and saw Harry eating breakfast with a gloomy expression, while the faces of the other students were filled with excitement and anticipation.

"Harry, don't worry, we'll bring you back presents!" Hermione, although she had been to Hogsmeade before, still couldn't hide the joy in her heart.

"Jerry, Hermione, you two don't need to worry about me," Harry said, trying to sound nonchalant. "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."

He accompanied them to the entrance hall, where he saw the caretaker, Filch, standing inside the door, holding a long list in his hand, his eyes sharply scrutinizing every face that passed by to ensure that no one who shouldn't be going out could sneak out.

"Well, well, Potter, what are you doing here?" Malfoy shouted, standing in line with Crabbe and Goyle. "Are you too scared to go past the Dementors?"

Harry was in no mood to pay attention to Malfoy's provocation. He merely glared at him before walking alone up the marble staircase, through the silent, empty corridors, and back to the Gryffindor tower.

Compared to the last time the two had visited, the layout of the streets and buildings in Hogsmeade remained the same, but the density of the crowd seemed to have increased, and the entire village seemed even more bustling and lively. Even more pleasing was that the shops had added many eye-catching new products.

Honeydukes was packed with students from Hogwarts. Jerry and Hermione weaved through the crowd, selecting some refreshing coconut ice cream and tempting honey toffees. Driven by curiosity, Jerry also bought a few blood-flavored lollipops.

"These lollipops must be specifically for the vampire market!" As they left Honeydukes, Hermione glanced at the red, blood-flavored lollipop in Jerry's hand, her brow furrowing slightly, and said with a hint of disgust.

"It's okay. If they really don't suit my taste, I can just give them away as Christmas presents. No waste!" Jerry said with a smile. "Give them to Harry, Ron, Neville... Oh, Professor Dumbledore especially likes sweets. He might even like these weird candies!"

Hermione: Just don't give them to me!

Jerry followed Hermione into Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, a narrow tea shop located on a street corner, decorated with gaudy lace frills, not even the small round tables were spared.

The owner of the tea shop was Madam Puddifoot, who decorated the interior with peculiar ornaments. Golden, chubby angels occasionally scattered sweets to the customers.

"Hurry, Jerry, there's a seat!" Hermione pulled Jerry into the tea shop and quickly found a vacant small round table to sit down.

"Is this the place you were talking about?" Jerry looked around, observing the pairs of students around them, and asked with a hint of confusion.

"Parvati recommended it to me," Hermione said, lowering her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. Even though they were close, Jerry almost didn't hear her clearly.

"Good afternoon, what can I get for you?" The waiter approached with a smile, breaking the awkward silence between them.

"Do you have any special recommendations?" Jerry asked the waiter after seeing that Hermione didn't react.

After listening to the waiter's recommendations, Jerry ordered two cups of Darjeeling tea from India and two slices of cake, then turned to Hermione, "Is that okay? What flavor of cake do you want?"

"I want a mint chocolate chip cake," Hermione said softly.

"Okay, one chocolate cake and one mint chocolate chip cake," Jerry confirmed with the waiter.

Before long, the drinks and cakes they ordered were placed on the small round table. The aroma of the black tea wafted over, and the decorations on the cake were exquisite and tempting.

"It's so cold!" Hermione took a small bite of the mint chocolate chip cake with her spoon, then covered her mouth and exclaimed, "But the taste is not bad, it's not too sweet!"

Saying that, Hermione took another small bite of Jerry's cake with her spoon, "Wow, it's too sweet! Jerry, quickly try mine!"

Hermione then took a spoonful of her own mint chocolate chip cake, her eyes slightly dodging, with a hint of nervousness and anticipation, carefully brought it to Jerry's lips.

Jerry: ? ? ?

Parvati, what on earth did you teach Hermione?