Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 314 Arguments and Screams

"Crack!"

In the quiet tavern, a sudden noise startled the dazed Sirius and his companions. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw Aberforth picking up a piece of broken glass from the ground.

He was a little distracted and even cut himself on a piece of broken glass.

Seeing Aberforth hastily clean up the broken glass and leave, Sirius turned around and asked seriously, "Hermione, how did you know about this?"

"Wait!" Ron exclaimed immediately. "Is Hermione telling the truth?"

Sirius was also stunned, his eyes scanning back and forth between the three of them. He asked in surprise, "Wait, you guys don't know either?"

"I don't know." Harry and Ron shook their heads in unison; Hermione hadn't told them anything. But thinking about it carefully, there were some clues. Harry's mind involuntarily drifted to Dumbledore's right hand, which had initially been charred but was now perfectly healed.

At this moment, Sirius spoke up, "I don't know how you know, but I have to say, your guess is correct... Yes, Dumbledore's time is running out."

"How much longer does he have?" Hermione continued to ask.

"I don't know, but it won't be more than a year." Sirius shook his head, then said seriously, "Alright, that's enough. I hope that once you leave this tavern, you'll keep this to yourselves and not tell anyone... Only a very few people know about this right now, and it absolutely cannot be leaked, especially not to those guys."

"Okay." All three nodded seriously, Ron even mimicking zipping up his mouth. Seeing this, Sirius felt a little relieved and said to Hermione, "Hermione, please keep an eye on those two, okay?"

Hermione nodded solemnly upon hearing this, but this conversation aroused some dissatisfaction from Harry and Ron.

"We're not clueless little kids, Sirius," Harry said.

"Alright, you guys are definitely not kids anymore," Sirius said, downing his Butterbeer in one gulp as he stood up and straightened his clothes.

"Wait, you're leaving, Sirius?" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes," Sirius said with a smile.

"But I still have many questions to ask you..." Harry was interrupted by Sirius before he could finish speaking.

"If it's about the Man of Vander and the Death Eaters, I think you should ask Hermione more." He said, hugging Harry. "As for the rest, I only have one thing to say: I hope you stay safe and sound, Harry."

"You too, Sirius," Harry said softly. Sirius chuckled, hugged Ron and Hermione again, and then left, leaving the three of them staring at each other in bewilderment.

They looked at each other for a long time before Ron hesitantly asked, "Didn't he pay the bill?"

"I've already paid!" The words had barely left his lips when Aberforth's voice rang out again from behind the bar. Looking in the direction of the voice, one saw him with a cold face, saying irritably, "Finished drinking? If you're done, hurry up and leave, I'm closing up shop!"

The three of them still had plenty of butterbeer left in their glasses, but no one wanted to stay any longer. They wrapped themselves up tightly again, pushed open the door, and rushed into the snowstorm.

Harry hadn't gone far when he remembered what Sirius had said and suddenly stopped. His stop caused Hermione and Ron to stop as well.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked, shivering in the wind and snow.

Harry ignored Ron and turned to Hermione beside him, asking, "Hermione, how did you know?"

"What?"

"Dumbledore!"

"Oh, that's easy to see, isn't it? If you put more effort into your studies..." Hermione said calmly, her voice not loud, but loud enough for Harry to hear.

"But why did Sirius say we should ask you about Voldemort..." Harry said angrily, but before he could finish, someone stopped him and said the person's name.

"You can't say that name, Harry."

Tonks appeared out of nowhere, sporting a head of wet, grayish-brown hair.

"Ah, Tonks, what are you doing here?" Harry, whose anger had subsided considerably after being interrupted, asked Tonks.

"You know, I am an Auror after all, so it's normal for me to patrol in Hogsmeade," Tonks said. "However, we shouldn't freeze here any longer. How about we get the Three Broomsticks?"

After saying that, he pulled Harry directly to the three brooms.

Tonks led the three to an empty seat, ordered each of them a butterbeer, and then left. It seemed a little rude, but the three knew perfectly well that Tonks was simply in a bad mood. She'd been like this ever since they'd seen her during the summer holidays, and they wondered what was troubling her that had kept her so upset for so long.

"Okay, butterbeer, finally I can have a proper drink this time." Ron picked up the glass and drank a third of it in one gulp, burped, and had a happy smile on his face.

Harry took a sip, his mind still preoccupied with the question Tonks had just interrupted him with. He looked at Hermione and asked, "Hermione, how do you know so much about the Death Eaters? Are you in contact with that guy?"

"Not anymore," Hermione replied, taking a sip of her butterbeer.

"Now? Did it happen before?" Harry's voice suddenly rose. "Don't you know? He killed Mundungus!"

Ron heard the noise and quickly pulled Harry aside.

"Harry, don't be so loud..."

"Yeah, do you want everyone to know? Are you sure I should tell you here?" Hermione said calmly, but her tone was somewhat sarcastic.

He took another sip of butterbeer and continued, "Alright, let's wait until we get back. I'll tell you what you want to know. Now, warm yourself up."

Harry quieted down briefly at her words, but his expression betrayed his inner turmoil. With that face beside him, Ron lost all desire to stay. He downed his butterbeer in a few gulps, then watched Hermione finish most of it. After finishing his own glass, Harry immediately said, "Let's go back."

"Alright." Hermione nodded, and the three of them paid and returned to the snowstorm.

Bad weather can definitely dampen people's enjoyment of their trip. Along with them, many others also chose to return to the warm, cozy castle of Hogwarts. Not far ahead was their acquaintance, Katie Bell, a Quidditch player's suitor, carrying a box and chatting and laughing with her friends.

And so, they trudged toward the castle, their feet sinking into the frozen snow and braving the relentless blizzard. But soon, a shrill voice carried on the wind and snow reached Harry and his companions' ears.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw Katie and her friend, the two girls arguing over the box Katie was holding.

Suddenly, Katie's friend reached out to snatch the thing from Katie's hand, and Katie pulled hard back, causing the box to fall to the ground.

The next second, Katie floated up, her limbs naturally stretched out, her eyes closed, her hair blowing in the wind, like a fairy.

A few seconds later, a piercing scream suddenly rang out!

(End of this chapter)