days at Hogwarts

Chapter 766: The Last School Purchase

Diagon Alley, The Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione and Loren walked into the pub side by side, looking around curiously.

The waiter in the pub had a new face, a tall, thin young man who was hiding in a corner and was lazy. He didn't greet the guests when they came in. He looked vaguely like Old Tom. The middle-aged woman behind the counter was a little fat and had neat movements.

During that tense period, this dirty, small bar was closed for a while, and when it reopened, it was much cleaner.

Several elderly witches were sitting in a corner, sipping sherry from small glasses slowly. One of them was smoking a long pipe, the smoke was choking and she was scolded. The old witch didn't care about being scolded. She took a sip with a smile, and wisps of smoke overflowed from her dry lips.

"Merlin's stinky pipe! Old Tom, you don't care!"

The short wizard in a top hat cursed.

The tavern owner who had the same name as the Dark Lord said nothing, but leaned lazily against the window. His hair was almost bald, and the bright sunlight shining on his shiny head was a little dazzling, like a dried old walnut.

He slowly turned the page of the newspaper, squinted his eyes and read, and occasionally laughed in a rough voice.

There was basically only one theme in newspapers during this period, which was the complete downfall of Voldemort.

In the first few days, the wizards celebrated all night long. After they calmed down, they began to read the whole story carefully. They found that newspapers and magazines were still using the mysterious man to refer to Voldemort. So they suspected that this downfall might be the same as sixteen years ago, and they were secretly worried that Voldemort would make a comeback again.

It was not until the Ministry of Magic invited Dumbledore to endorse it and forced all publishing houses to call Voldemort by his name or print his real name "Tom Riddle" that the Daily Prophet published Voldemort's personal biography.

Written by the gold medal reporter Rita Skeeter, the biography introduces the already declining Gaunt family and the Muggle Riddle family that was wiped out by Voldemort himself. It describes his origin in detail, deeply analyzes the essence of his cold and empty soul, and introduces his growth experience in detail.

It describes in detail his twisted and dark mental state, briefly describes his process of studying the black magic, and directly hides the relevant information of the Horcrux.

Rita Skeeter had studied at Muggle magazines for several years, and her writing skills became more mature. She wrote the biography as a series of reports, which were published in more than a dozen issues. The level of excitement was no less than that of the serial novels of the former popular writer Lockhart.

It satisfied the curiosity of wizards to a great extent.

"Tom Riddle possesses a great talent in the field of dark magic. By studying the materials left by Herpo and Slytherin, he mastered the forbidden dark magic rituals and used cruel and painful means to transform his body in order to pursue more powerful magic and avoid the pursuit of the god of death..."

Old Tom muttered to himself the article in the newspaper.

The pub gradually quieted down.

The lazy young waiter in the corner came up to Old Tom and stood behind him to look at the contents of the newspaper. The swearing wizard quietly sat down next to him, and even the old witch who was smoking a pipe put out her pipe and listened to him reading the newspaper patiently.

Loren and Hermione ordered some raspberry ice cream and sat at the table to enjoy it slowly.

"So mysterious... Voldemort is actually a half-blood, right?" a guest muttered.

No one paid any attention. Old Tom shook the newspaper and continued reading: "After graduation, he left Hogwarts and advocated the idea of ​​pure-blood supremacy. He bewitched a group of young wizards and gathered a group of ambitious middle-aged wizards. He used cruel means to intimidate and control a group of wizards who controlled resources, and established the Death Eaters organization, which continued to expand..."

"A bunch of idiots."

"Shut up, Kodori."

"..."

"The first fall: On the night of late October 1981, when Voldemort attacked Harry Potter, his body was destroyed by the ancient magic left by his mother Lily Potter. He became a ghost and escaped by attaching himself to animals. He has been wandering in the forests of Albania for many years..."

"The second fall: On the night of early August 1997, Voldemort led his Death Eaters to attack Harry Potter at the New York airport. Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic intercepted the news in advance, and the Ministry of Magic and the MACUSA set a trap...

"All the Death Eaters were captured. Voldemort was defeated in the battle with the mysterious wizard. His body and soul were completely devoured by the flames...completely devoured by the flames..."

Old Tom repeated it twice, clicked his tongue, and shook his head, with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Who do you think this mysterious wizard is?" The wizard named Kodoli couldn't help but ask.

The drinkers around immediately started chattering:

"Could it be Dumbledore?"

"I think it's Harry Potter, remember the prophecy?"

"..."

Kodori shook his head: "If it were them, the Ministry of Magic and MACUSA would not have kept it secret."

"Although I don't know the identity of the mysterious wizard, I know other information."

The old witch in the corner relit her pipe and took a sip of it. "I have a nephew who works in the International Affairs Cooperation Department. He told me that the International Confederation of Wizards will have new members joining. They are not wizards representing a certain region or country, but individuals. The Minister's Office is proposing to add new seats to the Wizengamot, and there will also be new members joining Sir Merlin's Order."

"Another legendary wizard."

The guests in the tavern took a sip of their wine and sighed.

"You'll probably see it in Chocolate Frog cartoons in a few years."

"Speaking of legendary wizards, I still remember when Dumbledore became famous. I was still very young then..."

"I remember it too! You were drunk at that time, and you were clamoring to marry Dumbledore!"

"Fuck you!"

"Hahaha……"

The shabby old tavern is bustling again.

The raspberry ice cream has also run out.

Loren went to the counter to pay, and Hermione waited quietly at her seat, listening to the discussions around her.

She always planned to change the Ministry of Magic, the wizarding world, and even the world after graduation, but that was still a very distant future. The man in front of her was always lazy and complained about this and that, but he had really changed a lot of things and made the world a better place.

Hermione could clearly feel a pleasant sense of pride rising within her.

As they walked out of the Leaky Cauldron side by side, Hermione looked at him with a smile, her eyes sparkling:

"Tell me, if Minister Scrimgeour reveals your identity, will there be drunken witches clamoring to marry you?"

"Even if I don't reveal my identity, there are witches clamoring to marry me."

"Who?"

"Whoever tells me will know."

"..."

Hermione's expression was slightly unnatural, and she looked away calmly: "Who is clamoring to marry you!?"

Holding his wand, he tapped on the masonry wall. The wall opened up, revealing the passage behind. Loren walked towards Diagon Alley and slowly helped her recall:

"When we went to a wedding a few days ago, we went our separate ways after leaving the dance floor. You and Ginny went to talk to Fleur, and I went to find you after talking to Dumbledore. I heard you say in the tent -" Hermione's mind flashed through the content of the conversation that night. She couldn't help but breathe faster, and a strong sense of shame surged up:
"do not talk!"

"You said Fleur's veil was beautiful."

"You eavesdropped on girls!"

"Furong said she'd give you a prettier one when you get married."

"Stop talking!"

"So Ginny asked when you were getting married."

"Shut up!"

“And then you said…”

Loren was about to launch a mental attack with Devil's Whisper, but then the soft flesh on his waist was physically attacked.

The girl pinched a tiny bit of flesh and twisted it in a circle, even more vicious than the witch in the fairy tale.

……

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When we arrived at the street, the sun was shining brightly.

The streets were crowded with wizards, and this bustle had been going on for a while, as if wizards from all over the world had gathered in Diagon Alley. Wizards of different ages wore all kinds of weird costumes, some had parrots standing on the brim of their hats, and some had poisonous snakes coiled around their necks. They looked eerie and scary, and those who didn't know would think they had accidentally walked into Knockturn Alley.

But all the wizards had smiles on their faces, and each one was kinder than the other. Their attitude was several medieval times more civilized than that of the Muggle society.

Loren held Hermione's hand and refused to let go, not to show his affection, but to prevent her from being overwhelmed by shame and doing something impulsive again.

Passing by one shop after another along the street.

Some of the signs are still the ones I remembered, but with the addition of some colorful ribbons for decoration. Carefully read the notices on the glass windows, which basically contain discount information. To celebrate the fall of Voldemort and the renewed prosperity of Diagon Alley, some have even incorporated Muggle lottery promotion strategies. Business is booming, and the bosses are so busy that they can't stop smiling.

Ollivander's Wand Shop was a little unfamiliar. The golden sign had been re-mounted, and the words "Making fine wands since 382 BC" were shining brightly. The originally small and shabby shop had been expanded, revealing the extraordinary style of a wand family.

The window was filled with magic wands, shining black with tung oil.

As he passed by, Loren glanced inside and saw Mr. Ollivander scolding a young man. His face was serious and his words were harsh, but there was a gentle smile in the corners of his eyes.

I don’t know if he is a new apprentice or a younger member of the family.

As he left, he heard the young man retort, "That's not what my uncle said. We should be brave enough to try new core materials."

Ollivander was immediately enraged and shouted, "This is Ollivander! Not Gregorovitch!"

The wizard passing by the store couldn't help but smile. What kind of twists and turns of story is hidden inside...

Some shops have changed owners, unable to survive that difficult and dark time, and had to be sublet or resold. New shops have been opened in familiar locations. The sign of Florin's Cold Drink Shop has been taken down, and only half of the new sign is hung, which says something about flying magic or some equipment, probably related to Quidditch.

The most splendid is Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The window is colorful and displays all kinds of incredible goods. Those spinning, twitching, flashing, shining, screaming and jumping things attract everyone's attention, and make customers stop and stay with obsessed and excited expressions.

The huge poster had a new look, but the words were still bright and dazzling:
"I told you not to worry about the mysterious man.
You still need Constipation Ren!"

There was another notice below it, written in tiny handwriting so small that Hermione had to move closer to read it clearly.

"Nosebleed Nougat, Warming Up Fever Candy and other skipping series products are sold out. Witty Quill Pen, Automatic Error Correction Parchment and other homework series products are sold out. Daydream series products are sold out..." Hermione read in a low voice, "In addition, once sold, the Protection from the Dark Arts series products are not refundable or exchangeable."

Loren leaned over to look inside. The shelves in the store were packed with people, leaving no space for the waiters to pass through.

The two looked at each other and quickly reached an agreement:
"Forget it, we still won't go in."

"agree."

I went to the robe shop first to buy wizard robes. There were several new students waiting in the shop to have their robes custom-made. Madam Malkin was serving them. She was short and plump, wearing a purple robe with the back of the robe dragging on the ground. She still had that lovely smile on her face.

"Buying uniforms for Hogwarts, dear?"

"We have a lot of them here. To be honest, there are always young people trying on clothes here."

"Already tried, dear."

Madam Malkin looked slow but her movements were very efficient. When the freshmen left with their new clothes, they secretly turned back to look at Loren and Hermione who were waiting, as if they were observing what the senior students looked like.

"Okay, it's your turn, dear."

Loren and Hermione walked into the men's and women's fitting rooms respectively.

When Hermione walked out of the fitting room and left the store, she looked a little depressed. Her height had not increased much compared to last year, while Loren had grown a few centimeters taller.

Gone are the days of looking down on Loren.

Thinking back to those days, all I have left is nostalgia...

"Ugh."

Hermione glanced up at the top of his head and sighed deeply.

"?"

Loren felt puzzled.

Flourish and Blotts Bookstore was right next to the robe shop. The manager was still the same manager, and he happily came over to greet them when he saw them.

The year Hagrid became a professor, he designated "Monster Book of Monsters" as the teaching material for the Care of Magical Creatures. This gave the manager a lot of trouble, and he still remembers the solution Loren taught him.

So this year's textbooks are 6% off again.

It was not until the sun set that they walked out of Diagon Alley side by side. In fact, the shopping took less than an hour, and the rest of the time they were shopping hand in hand. It was called shopping, but in fact they were taking a walk, from Partridge's Cauldron Shop to Eeyore's Owl Shop, to Ink Stationery Shop, and even Madam Primpynell's Beauty and Potion Shop.

Loren only looked but did not buy. Sometimes he would even ask the clerk questions, such as adding more dioscorea to the acne-removing potion, how can your whitening potion burn the surface skin and then stimulate the growth of new skin, and whether it has the risk of causing cancer...

Facing the shop assistants' almost fiery gazes, Hermione had a calm expression, without any ripples in her heart. She had already gotten used to this feeling.

“Another back-to-school shopping completed!”

Walking out of the Leaky Cauldron, Loren was quite emotional: "Thinking back to the last time I went shopping for the start of school, it was last time."

"..."

Hermione didn't bother to respond.

She was recalling the first time she came to Diagon Alley, which was six years ago.

(End of this chapter)