Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

Saturday morning.

The castle courtyard was unusually lively today.

A large number of students gathered there.

They lined up in an orderly fashion and walked out of Hogwarts from the castle bridge.

Outside, many horseless carriages were waiting. Students boarded the carriages one after another and set off in the direction of Hogsmeade.

Only the third-year students remained in the front courtyard.

Since it was their first time going to Hogsmeade, the professor was giving them some advice before they left.

The senior students' faces were filled with excitement and anticipation.

Except for one boy wearing glasses, Harry Potter.

Unfortunately, it seems he did not receive permission to travel to Hogsmeade.

However, these are not things that John and his classmates should worry about, after all, they are only first-year students.

......

"Are you ready?"

"Hmm!" ×3

John, carrying the big orange, led his three friends to a spot not far from the Whomping Willow.

They were carrying large and small bags, with quite a lot of things on their backs.

If you didn't know better, you'd think they were planning to go camping.

Therefore, they deliberately avoided routes with students and teachers, sneaking their way to this place.

"Go, Big Orange."

Seeing that his friends were ready, John put down the big orange and gestured for it to press the mechanism of the Whomping Willow.

The big orange cat could only meow helplessly and obediently run into the attack range of the Mantis Willow.

Then, under the tense gaze of John and the others, Big Orange nimbly jumped to the mechanism, pressed it lightly, and the Willow Tree stopped swaying instantly.

When Rui'an and his companions saw that the man who had been hitting Liu had stopped, they were greatly surprised.

John didn't hesitate any longer and immediately led his friends, following Big Orange into the secret passage behind the Willow Tree.

Looking at the dimly lit secret passage, they all took out their wands and cast the "Flickering Light" spell, instantly illuminating the passage with a soft light.

"Let's go, this secret passage is quite long."

John chuckled and led the way.

He was actually worried that Xiao Hei would be stressed if he saw a few strangers, so he thought he would stand in front to prevent any accidents from happening.

As the group walked quickly, they soon reached the end of the secret passage, beneath a small wooden house.

"Little Black?"

John first threw the orange out, then poked his head out of the secret passage and tentatively called out.

Soon, a commotion came from the second floor, and a large black dog came down the stairs.

It's been almost a month since I last saw Xiao Hei, and he's gotten dirty again, but it's still acceptable.

When it first came down, it looked very wary, but after seeing Orange and John, it relaxed and sat down at the top of the stairs.

However, John did not go out immediately, but said softly.

"Xiao Hei, I brought a few more friends today."

Upon hearing that John had brought men, Xiao Hei, who had just sat down, stood up again, his ears perked up, and his eyes became wary.

"Don't get agitated, Xiao Hei. They are all my good friends."

"Look, this chubby little boy is Titus."

John stretched out a hand and pulled Titus up, revealing his head as well.

Titus looked around curiously, his mouth slightly agape, as if he had never seen the world before.

"Wow, so this is the secret base you were talking about, John."

"Oh, that's Xiao Hei. Hello, Xiao Hei."

Titus, with an innocent and naive look, greeted Little Black.

Before Titus could say anything more, John pressed Titus's head down with one hand.

Then they lifted Ryan and Ethan up together, with only their heads sticking out.

"This is Ryan, and this is Ethan."

John introduced Xiao Hei again.

The two of them looked around curiously.

Finally, he looked at Xiao Hei and greeted him with a smile.

Xiao Hei eyed the three new faces warily, its ears twitching.

The big orange cat slowly walked to the little black cat's side and meowed a few times.

It seemed like he was explaining to Xiao Hei that these people were good people, just like John.

After hearing the big orange cat meow a few times, the little black cat gradually lowered its guard and sat down again.

John breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this; it was good that Little Black hadn't reacted negatively. It really had to be Big Orange.

He then led everyone out of the secret passage and into the cabin.

"Wow, what happened here before? There are scratches everywhere."

Ethan walked up to a wooden wall, reached out and touched the grotesque scratch marks on it, and asked a question.

"Who knows? Looking at those marks, they're from who knows how many years ago."

John dusted himself off and used a levitation spell to carry all the bags and packages they were carrying through the secret passage into the cabin.

"Xiao Hei, we've prepared a big bag of food for you. It'll be enough for you to eat and drink without worry for a week."

John picked up a bulging backpack and laughed.

Hearing that there was food, Little Black finally wagged its tail.

The first floor is nothing special; it can't even be considered a room. There's only a staircase leading to the second floor.

There was only one room on the second floor.

Since John gave it a quick clean last time, the room is no longer as dirty and messy as before.

But now the ground is covered with Xiao Hei's dirty footprints, obviously Xiao Hei went in and out of the secret passage and came back, making the place dirty again.

John waved his wand lightly, gave it a quick wash, and even washed Little Black.

Then, with another wave of his wand, a gentle breeze swept the ashes from inside the room out through the window cracks, instantly making the room fresh and clean.

Then John pulled a small rug out of a bag.

He threw it on the ground, waved his wand, and the carpet instantly returned to its original size, covering half the room.

Xiao Hei walked up and stomped on it twice, then lay down and rolled around a few times.

John then took out a few more soft pads from his bag and, using the same restoration spell, transformed them into a soft backrest large enough for an adult to sit on.

They formed a small circle in the middle of the carpet.

It makes it convenient for them to sit together, chat, and play.

These items were secondhand goods they collected from upperclassmen during their visits to various dormitories, and now they're being used to decorate their secret hideout.

"Yay!"

Titus cried out excitedly, took off his shoes, and jumped right in, shaking the floor.

John was really afraid that the old floorboards wouldn't hold up and would collapse.

Ryan, on the other hand, curiously started fiddling with the nearly broken piano.

He carefully pressed a few keys, producing intermittent and unpleasant notes.

Ethan walked to the window, which was sealed shut and could not be opened, but he could still peek at the view outside through the crack.

This appears to be a high ground, with only one path leading to the wooden house.

At the end of the path was a grove of trees, and behind the grove, wisps of smoke could be seen rising from chimneys.

It's clear that there's a village nearby.

"I think I know where I am now."

Ethan pointed to the view outside the window and spoke to the group.

"Really? How did you know?"

Titus immediately asked in response with curiosity.

"This is Hogsmeade Village, or more precisely, it should be outside Hogsmeade Village."

"The only village with people within a ten-mile radius of our school is Hogsmeade."

Ethan said excitedly.

This is a place only third graders can come to, but they stumbled upon it by accident, arriving here through a secret passage from decades ago.

Hearing Ethan's words, Titus also got up and began to observe the outside world through the crack in the window.

"There's a little cabin like this outside Hogsmeade?"

Titus was the one among them who knew the wizarding world best, and naturally he knew Hogsmeade Village very well as well.

A look of confusion crossed his face as he noticed that the end of the wooden cabin path seemed to be surrounded by wire mesh.

Titus suddenly realized something, and his expression changed.

"Holy crap! This place is the Scream Shack!!"

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P.S.: Taking leave tomorrow.