A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 297 The Cunning Hermione (Paying Off Debt 15)

Saturday morning,

William and Hermione appear at Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade is a wizarding village located near Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

According to school rules, students below the third grade are not allowed to come here... Hermione certainly doesn't meet the requirements, but... who cares?

Anyway, William secretly brought Hermione here many times.

There's no need to go through secret passages; just use the illusion spell.

William's mastery of the Disillusionment Charm was so profound that it could fool most professors.

As for his sister Annie...

Oh dear! The little wizard can't go to Hogsmeade. She should stay in the castle and play hopscotch with Luna and Ginny.

This is the kind of activity that every child should be doing.

William only needed to bring the three of them some candy when he returned, and they would be happy for half a day.

The three little ones are easily satisfied.

"Huh, where did everyone go?"

Upon entering the Three Broomsticks bar, Hermione searched for Rita.

William took her hand and pointed to a corner.

In a corner of the bar sat a woman wearing a large bowler hat, her head hidden under the Daily Prophet.

"Four pints of mead, a shot of sherry juice, and whelks," William said softly. "Thank you."

After ordering two drinks, William led Hermione to a corner and sat down on a chair.

"Why are you dressed like this?" William asked Rita, puzzled.

There's a strange sense of excitement about secretly meeting up!

Rita pulled her head out of the newspaper; she was wearing a green veil and dressed like an Arab.

She pushed her enormous aviator sunglasses up to her nose and whispered:

"I'm a celebrity, and I have a lot of fans here. It wouldn't be good if I got recognized and a crowd gathered."

William and Hermione exchanged a suspicious glance.

"Here, your drinks." Rosmerta walked over and placed two drinks on the round wooden table.

Mrs. Rosmerta was the proprietress of the Three Brooms. She wore a pair of gorgeous turquoise high heels, had a graceful figure, and was very beautiful.

Although she was almost forty years old, many of the young wizards at Hogwarts actually liked her.

"Hi, William, Hermione. Why are you two alone today? Where are Cedric and Cho?" Mrs. Rosmerta asked familiarly.

Akali's Mystery Shop and many shops in Hogsmeade maintain a strategic partnership, and the Three Broomsticks are no exception.

William would occasionally help brew potions and add them to various drinks.

"Cedric took Autumn on an adventure through the grass," William grinned.

"The Screaming Shack?" Rosmerta blinked. "Boys always like to lead girls there... It's the little trick I taught him last time."

William smiled, convinced that Cedric's little scheme was doomed to fail.

Qiu is so brave, daring to practice balancing on a flying broomstick, what's a haunted house compared to that!

Cedric probably thought that Cho would be scared and then bury her face in his arms... What a load of rubbish!

"By the way, what would this guest like to order?"

Rosmerta then turned his gaze to Rita.

Rita had already buried her head back in the newspaper. She said in a hoarse voice, "No, thank you. I have a bad cold and don't want to drink anything."

Rosmerta took two steps, then turned back, squinting, and asked suspiciously, "You wouldn't happen to be that woman, Rita Skeeter, would you?"

Rita shifted her large buttocks awkwardly and coughed, "How could that be? How could someone so famous be me!"

Rosmerta said "Oh" and walked towards the counter.

"Speak," William said softly, "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Rita said, peeking her head out from under the newspaper again.

William gave Hermione a look.

Hermione immediately understood and called out sweetly, "Mrs. Rosmerta..."

"No!" Rita looked as if she'd been forced to drink foul juice. Speechless, she said, "Meeting the two of you has used up all the luck I've ever had!"

"Speak quickly." William took a sip of mead.

"It was about six months ago, I think I wrote an article in the newspaper..." Rita coughed.

"What article?"

"It seems to be about Fudge... 'Around the Minister of Magic, burning, expectant gazes are everywhere, even from Rosmerta, that still charming and beautiful widow...'"

"..." William now believed that everyone in Hogsmeade was indeed a fan of Rita.

—Hate fans!

The kind that I'll hate forever.

"Okay, has the goods arrived?" Rita asked.

"I brought it." William took a document out of his ring and tossed it to Rita.

Rita flipped through a few pages, her gaze changing as she looked at the document as if it were the most beautiful thing in the world.

She suddenly raised her head, her eyes sharp, and said, "William, I know that big oaf Hagrid is your friend, and Lockhart reported him."

What I mean is... this content wasn't something you made up just to get revenge on Lockhart, was it?"

"Do you think I'm that kind of person?" William shrugged.

The contents of the document were all based on Dumbledore's investigation.

Over the years, Lockhart has stolen many wizards' memories, many of which are verifiable.

After all, Lockhart was able to hear the story, and even if it was unknown to others, it had spread to some extent, otherwise he wouldn't have come to him.

With the principal's abilities, he was still able to uncover quite a few details.

You wouldn't believe it until you see it... Otherwise, the principal wouldn't have let Lockhart come to the school as a professor, wanting to deliberately expose him.

"I believe you... but the readers..." Rita hesitated for a moment.

"Do your readers need evidence?" William scoffed. "Do you even believe what you write?"

"Rita, don't try to test me or find out the source of this document... I have many little birds around the world besides you!" William bluffed.

He certainly didn't have many little birds, only two little sparrows, a caged bird that wanted to bite... and an old phoenix named Dumbledore.

But that doesn't stop him from bragging all sorts of nonsense; bragging doesn't cost any Galleons anyway.

"I understand." Rita stroked the document as if she were stroking a lover.

"I will use my powerful pen to expose Lockhart's true colors to everyone!"

"Don't write my name or Hermione's name," William said.

"Well then, goodbye." Rita stood up. "Mr. Perfection and Ms. Flawless."

Rita went outside, her steps a little hurried as she opened the door. She saw Rosmerta had called a truckload of breadmen, ready to ambush her!

She began to flee in panic.

"Mr. Perfection, Miss Perfection... are these titles?" William asked, holding his wine glass in confusion.

"I don't know either. I wrote her several letters as you instructed, and that's how she addressed us in those letters."

Rita's letters... William would occasionally hand them over to Hermione to handle.

Going up against someone like Rita is a good form of training.

"Who knows what she's saying about us behind our backs?" William took a sip of mead.

"Just don't let me hear that!" Hermione also took a sip of sherry juice.

"Would this get Lockhart into Azkaban?"

William gently blew away the foam that had risen to the top of the mead, shook his head, and said, "I don't know... but it will definitely ruin his reputation."

Hermione nodded and quietly looked at the boy sitting beside her.

She suddenly said, "Oh, by the way, when we're shopping later, don't forget to remind me to buy Annie some honey candy."

William hummed in agreement, then couldn't help asking, "Why do you always make me bring her the candy when you buy it for her?"

Hermione's lips curled into a smile, and she said, "You don't know, every time she gets a gift, the first thing she does is run to me and show off..."

"I'm just waiting for the day when she's showing off, and then I'll tell her that I actually bought it at Hogsmeade."

"..."

William could almost picture it... He could almost see Anne's bewildered and furious expression... He suddenly realized that Hermione was quite cunning too.

"William, you're not going to tell her, are you?" Hermione asked, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed at William with a captivating smile.

"No!" William replied without hesitation.

Poor little sister, don't blame your brother for not helping you, I really had no choice!

Hermione smiled broadly as she sat in the chair, swinging her legs.

The girl was softly singing a Scottish folk song, her voice clear and melodious.

A gentle breeze caressed her face, and Hermione's long hair swayed softly at her temples.

……

……

(According to my incomplete count, I currently owe "Hellcat" three chapters, "snz" one chapter, and "Deep Sea Turtle" one chapter. A total of five chapters, I'll pay back one chapter first ψ(｀)ψ.)

(End of this chapter)