Harry was left standing alone in the hall, with Filch watching him like a thief.

Among all the third-year students, he was the only one who had not submitted the application form, so he naturally became Filch's focus.

Soon, Professor McGonagall arrived and the team started to set off.

Harry tried hard to look normal as he said goodbye to Ron and Hermione in a nonchalant tone.

"Don't worry about me. See you at the party later. Have fun."

"Stay here, Potter?"

Malford turned a corner and ran up to him, shouting, "Afraid to go past those Dementors?"

Harry ignored him and turned toward the marble staircase.

"He can't go to Hogsmeade. He'll miss a lot of good things..."

Fred, who was walking at the end of the team, looked back at his back and whispered, "He can't always stay in the castle for these seven years. It's too boring."

"That's right." George nodded in agreement, "We have to help him..."

"How can we help..." Kyle asked, "Give him the Marauder's Map?"

"That's a good idea," said Fred. "We've already memorized the locations of all the secret passages, so it might be a good idea to give it to Harry.

"But this won't be very convenient when traveling at night..." George thought for a moment, "Actually, the map we made last year is not bad. We just need to add the location of the secret passage."

"But you have to be more secretive so as not to be discovered by Filch or the professor."

"Just like the Marauder's Map... you need a password to reveal the location."

"That's what I mean..."

They discussed along the way and soon arrived at Hogsmeade village.

When Fred and George saw the pointed roofs, they immediately forgot about Harry and headed straight for Zonko's Joke Shop.

In front of Stinky Eggs, Burp Powder, and Screechbugs... Harry? Really unfamiliar.

Cedric was going to Davis-Bans to buy tools for trimming broomsticks, and Kyle decided to join him.

The shop owners there are a pair of brothers who have a wide range of connections and they can always get some new and interesting gadgets.

As for Connor and Cho, they were more interested in Mrs. Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

The few of them agreed to meet at Three Broomsticks in an hour, and then they went their separate ways.

Davis-Bans is at the innermost part of Hogsmeade, right next to the Hog's Head Inn. Compared to other shops, it looks much smaller.

Kyle and Cedric opened the door and walked in.

Inside the shop, various magical items were piled high up, teetering on the edge of a rut, and looked like they might collapse at any moment.

Kyle had only seen this kind of design in the hidden room of the Room of Requirement.

"welcome……"

A blond wizard poked his head out from behind the counter and said, "I want to buy something..."

"Have you got any tools for trimming broomsticks?" asked Cedric.

"Of course." The shopkeeper leaned forward and pulled out a square box from among the piles of magical items.

Because of his movement, the whole wall suddenly shook, and Cedric was so scared that he quickly took two steps back.

But the shop owner was not surprised and put the box on the counter and opened it without any concern.

“Nine Sickles for pruning pliers.

"A complete set of broomstick care tools for two Galleons, plus a bottle of wood wax oil and a portable briefcase.

"Which one do you want?"

"A full set of tools, it's a better deal..." Cedric counted out two Galleons and placed them on the counter.

"Thank you for your patronage." The owner looked at Kyle again, "So, what do you need?"

"Before that, I want to ask you something." Kyle pointed in the direction of the store door and asked, "Is that dog outside yours?"

"What?"

"Of course not. To be honest, few wizards would choose a large, pure black dog as a pet."

The owner shook his head and said, "I think it might have come from the Hog's Head Pub next door. The guests there are always all kinds of strange. I wouldn't be surprised by anything they bring."

When he said this, the owner suddenly laughed.

"Remember the last time a runespoor snake escaped, I could hear Lady Rosmerta's screams clearly from here."

"I see...it seems that Ms. Rosmerta doesn't like snakes with three heads."

Kyle looked away and asked calmly, "Do you have anything new here?"

"You came at the right time."

The shopkeeper took out a gray bead and said, "I just got this good stuff yesterday, the Mist Gem... When you crush it, it will form a thick fog that cannot be blown away. It will last for about two hours."

"Can't the whirlwind spell blow it away?" Kyle asked.

"Unless it was Mr. Dumbledore himself who cast the Whirlwind Charm," the shopkeeper said half-jokingly, "you will find that the thick fog will only swirl in a specific area instead of being blown to other places."

Kyle's eyes lit up, "How much?"

"Twenty Galleons," the shopkeeper said, "maybe a little expensive, but this is something only available in Vagado, and we managed to get three of them with great difficulty."

…

After some bargaining, Kyle bought all the mist gems for fifty-five Galleons.

The shopkeeper only agreed to give him a discount of five Galleons, but gave him a pair of anti-monster glasses and a few irregular opals.

Although Kyle suspected that he just wanted to take the opportunity to clear out unsold inventory, he should never refuse something that is given for free.

Half an hour later, the two left the Davis-Bance store with a full harvest.

The black dog seen before was still lying at the door, its pair of gray eyes constantly scanning the little wizards coming and going on the main road, as if looking for something.

As Kyle walked past it, he suddenly stopped and pressed his tongue against his upper teeth...

“Suck, suck, suck!”

Without any hesitation, the black dog turned its head subconsciously.

Sure enough, this trick works for all dogs.

Kyle squatted down and raised a finger, "Sit!"

The black dog showed a hint of human-like sneer on its face, ignored him, swung its tail and continued to lie there.

"Pfft..." Cedric covered his mouth with his hand.

He was quite resistant to the dog just now. After all, in the wizarding world, the ominous image that all wizards avoid is the image of a big black dog.

But now he couldn't help laughing when he saw Kyle being taunted by a dog... Well, it was a good dog.

Kyle didn't care. He took out a bag of jerky and shook it in his hand, then said again, "Sit!"

This time, the black dog straightened up instantly, put its front paws on the ground, stuck out its tongue, and stared at Kyle's hand with burning eyes.

"Roll around..."

The black dog hesitated... until Kyle opened the bag.

After smelling the strong meaty aroma, it rolled on the ground without hesitation.

Kyle then tried several other passwords.

Run...spin in place...jump from a standing position...go through a ring of fire...Thomas spin...

Black Dog completed them all one by one.

"Not bad, not bad. This is a reward." Kyle put the jerky in front of it and said, "Eat it."

"It's really smart." Cedric squatted beside it and said in surprise, "It's as if it can completely understand what you say."

The black dog paused for a moment, but then started to chew the jerky in big mouthfuls as if nothing had happened.

(End of this chapter)