As time quietly slips towards the latter part of April, without a sound, this year's spring is coming to an end.
When Hogwarts' young wizards rampage around the lawn, they will increasingly notice that the sun's reflection on the black lake is becoming more dazzling, and sunny weather becomes the main melody.
The second Triwizard Tournament came to an end in late February, and the match failed to live up to expectations, instead attracting little discussion due to some unknown reasons.
Even at Hogwarts, most young wizards do not want to talk about what happened that day, as the story behind the interrupted match due to the accident is too heavy, heavy enough that most people do not want to face it.
The next Triwizard Tournament match was scheduled for June, leaving a four-month gap in between.
For the young wizards, the prospect of having no thrilling events for a full four months was intolerable, so Quidditch, the widely popular sport, resurfaced once again. The absence of official matches was not an issue, as the resourceful young wizards could organize their own 'amateur' competitions.
Since late March, almost every weekend saw small groups of students gathering at the Quidditch pitch to compete. Professor Snape was happy to see the students release their suppressed emotions, so he did not interfere much, just reminding them to be careful with safety.
It was another sunny weekend, the bright sun awakening Harry, who had stayed up late the previous night doing homework.
The tall boy sprawled on the four-poster bed rubbed his bleary eyes and sat up drowsily.
In the dormitory, except for Ron, who was still fast asleep in his bed, the others were nowhere to be seen.
Harry yawned, kicking away the blanket that had wrapped around his legs, and stumbled out of bed. He grabbed the bedpost and walked to the window, pushing it open to let in a breeze from the tower room.
Through the fresh air, there were faint echoes of excited cheers, which piqued Harry's curiosity. He walked back to the bed, picked up his glasses from the nightstand, and waited until his vision cleared before hurrying back to the window.
It was the commotion from the Quidditch pitch.
"Oh."
Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise. It was unexpected to see a match organized so early in the morning.
"What's wrong, Harry?"
There was a weary voice behind him. Harry didn't turn around and said,
"Some people are playing a match; I think we should go and have a look, Ron--"
"Oh, a match."
Ron squinted to find his shoes. He grunted a few times, still sounding sleepy,
"But, it's the Hogsmeade Open Day, isn't it? Hermione invited us; she said she needed to buy some new quills."
"Oh."
Harry blinked.
"I forgot about that. Come on, Ron, Hermione must be waiting for us down there by now!"
Harry immediately changed into a clean set of clothes. Then, he rushed into the bathroom to take care of his personal hygiene, while Ron was still fussing over putting on a T-shirt, his eyes half closed.
"You need to hurry up, Ron."
Harry was sitting on the bed, lacing up his shoes, while complaining.
"Dating Lavender is more tiring than avoiding the Dungbees practice, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about, Harry?"
Ron jumped to his senses, immediately pulling himself together. His face turned as red as a beet in a moment, and he quickly got dressed before stammering,
"When I borrowed the invisibility cloak, didn't I tell you? I just didn't have my dinner, so I went to the kitchen to look for those welcoming house-elves for some food!"
"So that's what it is."
Harry stood up and tapped his feet on the floor. His sneakers were a bit small now, needing to be replaced.
"You're the one who put the house-elf's hair on the invisibility cloak I lent you, not Lavender's!"
Ron stopped trying to explain himself. He pulled up his shirt collar, hanging his head down, too embarrassed to look at Harry. He grunted and scurried into the bathroom.
"Are we too late, Hermione?"
The two boys finished getting ready and sprinted out of the dormitory, leaping over the spinning staircase. After a search, they found Hermione sitting on a sofa by an old dresser in the dusty pantry. Harry waved at her and asked,
"Oh, of course not--"
To their surprise, Hermione did not lose her temper. She looked down at the newspaper, completely ignoring them.
"You just missed breakfast and lunch, but that's nothing. We can still look forward to dinner, right?"
Hermione hummed lightly when Harry and Ron arrived, looking abashed, next to her. She scoffed and remarked.
"Is there any bad news?"
"That kind of reprimand doesn't hurt Harry and Ron anymore. Ron shrugged bravely, turned over the sofa, grabbed a piece of bread that Hermione had brought from the Great Hall and stuffed it into his mouth. Mumbling incoherently, he chewed quickly."
"After Dumbledore lost his position as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, what else did he lose?"
"President of the International Confederation of Wizards," Hermione said calmly.
Ron's movement of chewing the bread suddenly stopped. He looked shocked at Hermione. Harry unconsciously dropped the fruit pie he had just picked up from the plate, making a shrill, twisted sound.
"Did they really do that?!"
"Not yet--"
Hermione closed the newspaper, speaking calmly.
"But if Dumbledore continues to insist on telling the truth, Harry, this is bound to happen sooner or later."
"Glug-glug--"
Ron tried to swallow the bread piece, which was difficult, and looked at Hermione with dissatisfaction.
"You're just scaring us, Hermione."
Harry wasn't as optimistic as Ron. He knew Hermione's deductions were often terrifyingly accurate, and his gaze fell on the folded newspaper with a hint of menacing intent. But when he saw the headline, he blinked in confusion.
"The New York Ghost. I thought you were reading the Prophet, Hermione. What are you looking for in that newspaper from New York?"
Hermione pursed her lips and blushed slightly. But she didn't explain to Harry and instead put the newspaper into her bag. She then rearranged the chestnut curls that had fallen over her eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke in a light tone.
"Come on, I can't spend all my time in Hogsmeade. Victor professor's homework for this week is twice as long as Snape's potion essay. I need to focus on it."
Because of the time constraints, Harry and Ron convinced Hermione to use the secret passageway behind Hogwarts to Hogsmeade.
The owner of Honeydukes, Florean Fortescue, did not notice Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneaking out of his warehouse. He was explaining to Ernie and Hannah why a large bag of Fizzing Whizzbees was two silver Sickles more expensive than last month.
"Children, you may not be aware that everything is getting more expensive lately, it's as if ghosts are buying them!"
Hearing this, Hermione thoughtfully glanced at the store owner before dashing out the door, following Ron.
"Has Sirius Black sent you any letters, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"No--"
Harry unhappily shrugged.
"After Voldemort returned, he doesn't let me write letters anymore, saying there's a risk of leakage with owls."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione soon faced the same dilemma as Ernie and Hannah. They bought the necessary stationery at the Manor of Mystery and then had lunch at the Three Broomsticks bar. They visited Zonko's joke shop to see the latest joke products on display, but everything there was more expensive than before.
As they walked through the streets of Hogsmeade, every so often they could hear villagers complaining about the recent price increases.
Hermione listened to all these voices and pondered what they represented. Ron, on the other hand, only complained about how much of his allowance he had left.
No matter what, it was a waste to not spend some time in Hogsmeade on such a bright and sunny open day.
The three of them supported each other as they climbed up the hill next to the Screeching Shack, sitting on the summit covered with lush green grass, facing the pleasant southwest breeze, and laying out their purchased candies and snacks for a picnic.
Harry and Ron were discussing the Quidditch small group game last weekend, including Krum's recopy of Ronsky's move, while Hermione took out the morning edition of the New York Ghost from her bag and continued reading.
Time slipped away in a pleasant atmosphere. The rising sun hanging in the sky began to shift towards the horizon on the west, its golden glow mingling with streaks of crimson.
Harry and Ron rolled on the grass for the last bag of Fizzing Whizzbees, while Hermione looked on helplessly. Suddenly!
BANG--
A clear sound was carried by the howling wind, not far from the three of them.
Harry and Ron immediately jumped up from the grass upon hearing the sound, while Hermione drew her wand and turned to point it directly at the suddenly appearing figure in the dim air!
A girl, about the same age as Percy, with fair skin, beautiful chestnut curls and clear-eyed eyes, whose features also had a clean and striking beauty.
Just as she shook off the dizziness, the girl immediately noticed that three wands were pointing at her. She was about to move when the boy with green eyes shouted sharply across.
"Don't move, or we will attack you! Who are you, and why are you here?"
(End of this chapter)
