Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 775 This is what love is like

This year's Hogsmeade Week started a little earlier than usual.

Passing by the fork in the road on the outskirts of the forbidden forest, wisps of white smoke rose from behind the towering red pine canopies, mingling with the frosty mist of an early autumn morning. The not-quite-dry firewood was pungent, and the faint barking of fangs could be heard.

Although it is already autumn, apart from fog at night and increased rainfall, the temperature has not yet reached the level of autumnal coolness.

The flowers and plants along the roadside are still brightly colored, and the somber and bleak atmosphere is not strong. The chrysanthemums in the bushes are blooming well, bright yellow and looking very energetic. The unique climate has caused some hydrangeas to bloom only now, and the clean and rich blue and purple colors together are a sight to behold.

Loren stood in front of the Wenrenju shop window, peered through the glass, and saw that they had just received a new commemorative album.

A brightly colored book, with a cover wrapped in dried flowers—rosemary, lavender, and baby's breath—and a light red border around the edges. It's a loose-leaf book, with individual pages that can be removed to give to classmates to write down blessings or messages.

It looks quite characteristic of the era.

Considering that Hogwarts is the only magic school on this land, this thing must have been first introduced by Wenrenju. I wonder which Muggle-born shop assistant came up with the idea for the boss. Merlin was a genius.

The magical world is being culturally invaded.

"Tsk tsk..."

Loren shook his head and sighed, then looked away to look at other new stationery items. The shop was quiet and deserted, with only a few students scattered among the shelves. There were no waiters, and the only employee was the cashier behind the counter.

This isn't a place worth visiting. Many students buy plenty of stationery before the start of the semester. Compared to other shops in Hogsmeade, the Quill Shop has always been lukewarm, releasing only one new product every few years. Perhaps they've been spurred on by the Weasleys' jokes this year by bringing out so much at once.

Yes, the joke shop also sells stationery part-time, and all sorts of strange and unusual functional stationery.

Then, as he looked at the stationery, he noticed that Hermione, carrying a printed linen crossbody bag, had somehow appeared beside him, blinking and staring at him.

Loren immediately stared back: "When did you come out?"

"When you're talking and laughing to yourself in front of the shop window, you look like a fool."

"Emmm..." Loren glanced at her eyes discreetly. The girl's gaze seemed rather impolite. He had to think of a way to salvage his image. "It's a magical talent. I can understand these stationery items talking, like Harry's Parseltongue. Actually, I'm not talking to myself; I'm having a conversation with them."

"Then guess what my new quill pen is saying?"

"You're talking badly about me." Loren reached out and took the cloth bag, stuffing it into the pendant. He then reached out and took her hand. "Let's go to Honey Duke, and then to Lady Patif's tea house."

"I object to the second half of the trip."

Hermione made a token struggle for a few moments, then reluctantly agreed to the invitation to hold hands, her eyes fixed on the road sign ahead, a smile in her eyes.

"Objection overruled."

Loren grabbed her fingers and shook her hands back and forth.

Despotism and dictatorship are heinous crimes.

Unfortunately, Miss Granger couldn't mount a strong resistance. At most, she could only punch him a few times during the aftermath. But if she hit him lightly, it wouldn't have any punitive effect, and if she hit him hard, she would feel bad for him first.

That's what love is like.

The two walked toward the candy store.

Along the way, they ran into some familiar friends. Harry and Ginny came out of the shop next door, wearing the same scarf around their necks. It was the classic Gryffindor red and gold color scheme, a new item from the elegant wizarding clothing store. It looked like two ordinary scarves woven together, and in fact, it was just two ordinary scarves woven together, with a lion pattern embroidered on the seam.

Pedestrians on the street all turned their eyes to it.

"Harry, your scarf..."

"How is it? Pretty, right? It's a new couple's style from the elegant clothing store."

"It looks good... right?"

"It's still a Gryffindor limited edition, only 19 silver siscos."

"..."

The price doubled after being labeled as a couple's item.

There are Muggle-born wizards everywhere.

Loren glanced at the scarf out of the corner of his eye, then at the two people's happy smiles. His eyes twitched slightly, and he felt an impulse to buy something.

"..."

Hermione's eyes were complicated, and she was a little nervous.

I breathed a sigh of relief after successfully passing the intersection where the elegant wizard clothing store was located.

Upon arriving at the candy store, Hermione took out a gift certificate to exchange for a gift box, while the others headed straight for the tasting area.

More than half of the candies on the shelves have been sold. Many customers are shopping and tasting them in the store. Super Bubble Candy rises with crystal-clear, plump bubbles, presenting a dreamy blue bellflower color. When viewed from a distance, the cold, hard ceiling and walls seem to become soft. Coupled with the sweet and pleasant aroma of chocolate and honey, it feels like being immersed in a candy house from a fairy tale.

When Hermione put away the gift box and came to the tasting area, it was already surrounded by a large group of chattering little wizards.

Right next to it is the candy store's new product: orange-red hard fructose coated with sparkling glitter, full and bright, and inlaid with rings of crisp chocolate edges, as crystal clear as a chandelier, and as big as a chandelier bulb.

"This thing is actually being mass-produced..." Loren exclaimed in amazement.

Hermione looked up and saw a huge danger warning sign on the sign, which reminded her of her first time visiting the candy store.

That happened five years ago, around her birthday.

Second-year students weren't allowed to explore Hogsmeade, but Loren had already discovered the castle's secret passages and secretly borrowed the Marauder's Map from George and Fred. At that time, she was still a good student in the traditional sense, and although she was forced to break school rules several times, she still held respect in her heart. Then she was influenced by Loren and spent a whole day playing in Hogsmeade with him.

Honey Duke candy store also launched new products that day.

It seems to be a weird-flavored jelly bean, smelling like booger or eye boogers...

Why do sweet candy stores always release these new products?

Hermione paused for a moment, shook her head, and shook off the strange candies in her mind. Then she turned to look at the side and found that many young wizards were eager to try. Judging from their wizard robes, they were mostly from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

She keenly realized that Mrs. Pomfrey might have to work overtime tonight.

Loren nudged her arm: "Hermione, I think..."

"Sure, you can eat it yourself, or share it with your roommates when you get back to the dorm."

"Why would I ask you if I'm eating it myself?" Loren tilted his head and said seriously, "I mean, I want to buy it for you to eat."

"??" Hermione looked puzzled.

"Look, you didn't like eating cockroach piles before, but you still ate them. Your current refusal of light bulb candy is only temporary; you'll eventually accept it. How about we skip the coercion, bribery, and deception process and you just eat it for me, okay?"

"You brought up the cockroach pile again."

Long-forgotten memories surfaced in Hermione's mind. She recalled being tricked into eating a whole box of cockroaches, and couldn't help but grit her teeth and clench her fists.

"The cockroach pile thing is over. We're talking about this light bulb hard candy now, and I can transform, so I won't have trouble getting it out..."

Loren tried to persuade the girl, saying that they had been a couple for many years, were straightforward, and didn't engage in any trickery or deception; they were just honest and sincere.

Hermione was amused by his amusement, but quickly calmed down and stared at him expressionlessly.

Given this person's despicable character, perhaps that's what he really thinks—he wants to see her make a mess of eating this candy. Instead of going through roundabout ways, he might as well just bring it up directly. Even if he fails this time, there will be other opportunities in the future. Maybe he can use some excuse to blackmail or coax her.

If you refuse now, you'll be living in fear for the next few months.

Many thoughts flashed through Hermione's mind, but she gradually calmed down and said calmly, "Okay, but you have to eat first."

"Then I'll buy two."

Loren took the two candies, still in their original packaging, and put them into his bag. "One of them is free as a sample, and this one is discounted. We'll try it out in the private room at Mrs. Patif's Tea House later, to see if anyone else will see us."

While gesturing the diameter of the candy, he also gestured the diameter of his mouth.

Hermione immediately felt a pang of regret.

Oh no, this person originally wanted to try it themselves.

……

"Okay, I'm ready."

"I estimate that the hard candy is a size smaller than my mouth."

"I know that according to the physiological structure of the oral cavity, this candy can be easily put in and will get stuck when taken out, but I just want to try it."

"If I really can't get it out later, I'll bang on the table, and then you can use Transfiguration to shrink the candy and take it out, or use Human Transfiguration to make my mouth bigger. I want to see how big a mouth it takes to get it out."

Hermione looked down at the opened candies on the table. The pale pink tablecloth was embroidered with delicate patterns, depicting a winged child drawing a bow and arrow with a bright red heart-shaped arrowhead. Lady Partridge's teahouse had also undergone a new change.

How did things develop to this point?

When I left the school gate this morning, I was thinking of having lunch at Three Brooms, but somehow I ended up in a private room at Madame Patif's Tea House.

There seemed to be a few familiar faces sitting outside; I wonder if they noticed them.

"Remember my advice."

Loren pinched the stick at the end of the hard candy, lifted it up, tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and put it in his mouth in a horrified manner, then fiddled with it stammeringly.

First, I tried pressing it with my tongue, but it didn't work.

I gripped the handle with both hands and pulled hard, but it still didn't work.

"Slurp~"

"..."

Hermione sighed expressionlessly, picked up a tissue from the side, and wiped the liquid from the corner of his mouth. She thought she would feel tired and helpless, but when she saw his grimacing face and wide eyes, she actually felt very happy.

She immediately pursed her lips tightly, but couldn't hold back any longer and finally burst out laughing.

"Hmm!"

Loren glared at her reproachfully, but did not give up immediately. Instead, he tried several times before finally slamming his hand on the table ten minutes later.

Hermione tapped his mouth with her wand, and the light bulb-sized candy turned into a regular thumb-sized hard candy. The numbness and loss of sensation in his cheeks were relieved, and he grimaced as he kneaded them to ease the soreness.

Loren rubbed his cheek, his words slightly slurred: "Alright, your turn."

"I……"

"You're not going to back out, are you?"

"I……"

Hermione gripped the wooden handle of the candy cane, feeling a little flustered. She secretly glanced at his expression, her eyes gleaming as she quickly began to think of a solution.

After several minutes of complex and prolonged mental preparation, Hermione released the wooden handle, pursed her lips, turned her face away, and remained silent.

"..."

"Okay, you lied to me!"

Loren got up and walked towards the girl, intending to teach this untrustworthy guy a lesson.

……

According to the concept of relativity in physics, happy times always pass faster.

It was already evening.

Passing the post office on the central avenue, Loren turned into a side alley and strolled back to the castle. He chewed on the candy left on the wooden handle, scraped it clean with his teeth, leaving only the smooth wooden handle, which he casually tossed into the trash can in front of the Pig's Head Bar.

Pig Head Bar remains unchanged, with its door half-closed, leaving unfamiliar customers unsure whether it's open. A dilapidated, old wooden sign hangs on a rusty frame, depicting a chopped-off, fat pig's head, its blood seeping through the white cloth wrapped around its neck.

A gentle breeze stirred, causing the candlelight in the tavern to flicker. Through the crack in the door, one could glimpse the scene inside; there weren't many customers, and many wore hoods or veils, completely obscuring their faces and bodies.

"Find a chance to sneak in, and bring a bottle of truth serum. Then the paper Professor Lupin assigned will be settled."

"..."

Beside her was Hermione, expressionless, with incredibly red lips that seemed to shimmer with a hint of glistening. Though there was no candy in her mouth, it still tasted sweet.

Knowing she was in the wrong and lacking confidence, the witch who broke the contract could only silently accept the punishment. Fortunately, the punishment was sweet, so it wasn't too unbearable.

"Why aren't you saying anything? You're giving me the silent treatment!"

"..."

Loren shook his head, sipping the candy and lost in thought. The sweet taste relieved the discomfort in his temporal joint. He followed behind the group of students returning to school, savoring the hard candy as he walked along the path toward the school gate.

I could see Simon pulling Krivie and taking pictures from afar.

Loren immediately went over and pulled Hermione to stand in the back row so they could get a photo together.

It wasn't all seventh-year students, nor were they all from Gryffindor. Luna Rolfe and her friends were there too, along with Justin and Ernie, and Padma from Ravenclaw. People kept joining along the way, interrupting the process each time. Crevy didn't get annoyed; he patiently held up his camera and called on them to get back into formation. It wasn't until the sun went down that things settled down.

The spotlight flashed, and the group dispersed, laughing and joking.

Loren and Hermione lagged behind, while Crevy, who was examining the negatives, kept stopping and starting, and they naturally bumped into each other.

"Colin, you got a new camera?"

"Hehe, I did an internship at the Prophet's newspaper during the summer vacation, saved up some money, sold my old camera, and bought a new one."

"Do you want to be a wizard journalist in the future?"

"I want to start my own magazine."

"Your ideals are lofty."

"..."

A group of people gathered together, chatting as they walked toward the castle. Seamus and Dean looked at the printed photos, still smelling of ink, and couldn't help but feel a little sentimental. It had been two years since their last group photo. Graduation was just around the corner, and the things they had been looking forward to were gradually arriving, but instead of the joy they had imagined, they felt inexplicably melancholy.

(End of this chapter)