Because of the tense atmosphere during this period, everyone seemed to be feeling suffocated in the castle, and there were an unusually large number of students going to Hogsmeade this time.

A long queue formed in the entrance hall, and Filch stood in front of the oak door as usual, checking the names of students who were allowed to go to Hogsmeade one by one, while repeatedly testing each person with the Dark Magic Secret Sensor.

"What a waste of time. Even if we take the dark magic items out of the school, what will happen?" Mikkel muttered unhappily, "You should probably check what we bring in."

"You don't need to teach me how to do this." Filch poked Mikel with the secret detector in dissatisfaction.

Despite saying this, he still sped up the inspection and soon reached Kyle.

It was windy outside. To be honest, it was very uncomfortable to walk to Hogsmeade village in such weather. Many people began to shiver as soon as they left the castle, and their ears and cheeks were frozen red.

But no one wanted to stay in the castle, so they had to quicken their pace, wanting to get to Hogsmeade as quickly as possible, and then go to the warm and comfortable Three Broomsticks to drink a cup of hot butterbeer.

Of course, there were also students who were not in a hurry to travel, such as Kyle and Connor. They wore warm-up badges with waterproof and moisture-proof spells on their chests, and this bad weather had no effect on them at all.

The two chatted as they slowly walked across the grounds and along the path to Hogsmeade.

Probably because they had been notified in advance, and also for safety reasons, all the wizards from other places had disappeared. Looking around, there were only Hogwarts students on the streets and in the shops.

"Oh Kyle, look over there." Ryan suddenly pointed to a store not far away, "Zonko's is closed."

Kyle turned his head to look.

Sure enough, the door of the Zonko Joke Shop, which was closest to the village entrance, was closed, and many students were looking through the crack in the door.

"It's really closed, there's no one inside..."

"What a bummer! I wanted to buy some exploding bees."

"Don't even think about it. You can't take it back even if you buy it. Don't forget that Filch is still checking at the door."

"Maybe I can find a place to hide first..."

After lingering at the door for a while, everyone left. Since they were sure that Zuko had closed the door, there was no need to stay here any longer. They might as well go somewhere else during this time.

…

Fortunately, the popular Honeydukes candy store is still open.

The small shop was packed with students. They waved Galleons and swept the candies on the shelves like locusts. In just a few minutes, half of the full bucket of multi-flavor beans placed at the door was gone.

"Hey, leave some for me!" Mikel couldn't help it and ran towards the store.

"Kyle, do you need me to bring you something?" Ryan asked after running a few steps. "How about multi-flavor beans and chocolate frogs? These are the most popular items."

"No thanks." Kyle shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Ryan glanced at Kyle. "I guess I won't have many opportunities to come to Hogsmeade again in the future. I'd better take this opportunity to buy more..."

"That's true, but there's really no need for that." Kyle said, "I still have a lot of candy, as you all know, so there's really no need to buy any more."

I don’t know when it started, maybe it’s been several years, but Kyle hasn’t been to Honeydukes again.

The main thing is that he receives a lot of candies and chocolates every Christmas and birthday. Even if he uses some of them to give back gifts, he can't finish the rest, so he doesn't need to spend money to buy more.

"We've got to try some different flavors, and we can't keep eating your candy," Ryan said, and he followed Mikel to Honeydukes.

Kyle and Connor didn't stay any longer. Since most people were at Honeydukes now, they decided to go to the Three Broomsticks to get a good spot.

Drinking a cup of hot butterbeer in this weather is an irresistible temptation.

When the two men arrived at the door of the Three Broomsticks against the strong wind, they suddenly found a few familiar faces standing there.

That iconic red hair is so eye-catching.

"Fred, George?" Kyle asked tentatively.

When the twins heard their names being called, they immediately turned their heads.

"Haha, we were just discussing whether you would come."

"I didn't expect you guys to be here right after I finished talking..." George smiled and waved, "Hey, Connor, how's the seventh grade going?"

"Not bad." Kanna said, "What are you doing here, drinking?"

"Honestly, we don't have time to relax right now." Fred sighed. "There are so many things going on in the department. We wanted to resign several times but never got the chance."

"I can quit, but I'm sure all those things will be pushed onto Dad," George said. "He's already busy enough, and he doesn't get home until late at night every day."

"So what are you doing..."

"We're tracking down a guy who's been selling fake amulets. There's news that he might come to Hogsmeade." Fred explained, "You should know that guy, Mundungus."

"The one from the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Who else could it be if not him..." George gritted his teeth and said, "Now I finally understand why Mom doesn't welcome him. Although he can always get what we need, he also causes us a lot of trouble."

"Have you found him?" Kyle asked, "Do you need any help?"

"No, I guess he got the message and ran away." Fred pushed open the door of the Three Broomsticks. "Since we've met, how about a drink? It's our treat."

"Then I want the most expensive one," Kyle said.

"Don't even think about it. There's only butterbeer." George looked at Connor again. "Of course, you can order whatever you want."

As he spoke, he raised his eyebrows at Kyle provocatively.

Kyle didn't indulge him. As soon as he entered the bar, he ordered a glass of the most expensive Ogden Gold Honey Wine for Connor.

The price of ten Galleons per cup made the twins' faces twisted with heartache.

"You guys don't want to go back on your word..." Kyle said deliberately, "But it doesn't matter. I can pay for it."

"Ha, how is that possible!" George stiffened his neck and took out ten gold coins, arranging them neatly on the bar. "Just drink this, it's my treat."

"Then I'd like to thank you on behalf of Connor." Kyle said cheerfully, handing the cup of golden mead to Connor.

"I'm so lucky. I didn't expect someone would treat me to a drink."

Looking at Kyle's smug look and the Weasley brothers' exaggerated expressions, Connor couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't pretend. You guys are paid two salaries. Can't you afford the ten Galleons?" After they found a seat and sat down, Kyle brought three more cups of butterbeer. "What's the situation outside now?"

"Not very good." Fred sighed, "I see the Dark Mark almost every day, which makes people panic."

"No movement from the Aurors?"

"We did catch a few Death Eaters, but they were just minions and not very useful," George said. "By the way, do you know Stan Thornpark?"

"The Knight Bus conductor?" Kyle said.

"That's him," said Fred. "He was arrested, too. This morning. He was charged with Death Eater activity."

"Wait, is this a mistake..." Connor raised her head, "He's just a ticket seller, how could he be a Death Eater?"

"We thought it was impossible," said George, "but Stanthornpark himself admitted it."

"And it happened in a bar, in front of at least a dozen wizards... The Aurors received several letters of denunciation."

"And Guerra, a goblin, was also found to have contact with Death Eaters many times, but Gringotts insisted that it was just a normal transaction process."

"But I don't think so. If it was a transaction, why didn't they choose to do it in Gringotts, but outside? I guess they are probably worried that the goblins and Death Eaters would collude and affect Gringotts' reputation."

The few of them were chatting and drinking butterbeer. During this process, Kyle noticed that they kept looking out the window from time to time, as if they were looking for someone.

Another person who did the same was the brown-haired wizard who was sitting at the door.

It wasn't until Harry, Hermione and Ron entered the Three Broomsticks that they stopped turning their heads.

"By the way, you guys are not also responsible for protecting Harry, are you?" Kyle asked in a low voice.

"How do you know?" Fred was stunned.

"Guessed." Kyle shrugged.

"Well, there's nothing to hide," said George. "The Ministry is really short of manpower... and we just happened to be coming to Hogsmeade, so we can help out."

"Then you dared to come and drink just now."

"It's okay, there are Aurors here, we are just helping."

"How do you know?" Fred was even more surprised. He even suspected that Kyle was not in Hogwarts these days, but had been in the Ministry of Magic.

"Is that hard to guess?" Kyle said calmly, "Anyway, I've never seen a wizard with a full beard come to a bar and only order a glass of juice soda."

"Well, actually she is Tonks," said Fred. "It's so obvious that it's no wonder Dad wanted us to come and help."

"Fred, George!"

At this time, Ron, who had just come in, also discovered the two people.

"Why are you here?!"

"We're here to inform you that Hogwarts will be closed tomorrow," Fred said. "Mom asked us to pick you up."

"What, Hogwarts is going to have a holiday?" Ron was stunned. "But Professor McGonagall never told us!"

"Honestly." George patted Ron's shoulder, "Sometimes we really don't want to admit that you are our brother. It's simply a stain on our wisdom."

Ron immediately understood that what Fred and George had said about Hogwarts being on holiday was just a joke.

He was so angry that his face turned red and he glared at the two of them angrily, but Fred and George didn't care about the situation at all and continued chatting with Kyle as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Harry and his friends sat down at an empty table nearby.

To be honest, it feels quite strange to meet classmates who have already graduated in Hogsmeade.

About ten minutes later, the door opened again, and this time Slughorn came in. He was wearing an enormous furry hat and a matching fur coat, looking like a walrus.

Fortunately, the door of the Three Broomsticks was wide enough, otherwise he might not have been able to get in.

"It's really cold, Rosmerta. Bring me a glass of mead."

"Oh, shit..." When he saw Slughorn, Harry quickly lowered his head and tried to hide himself under the table.

All I can say is that his idea was good, but it was still discovered by Slughorn.

"Harry, boy," Slughorn strode over, looking even happier when he noticed Kyle and Connor were there too.

"You've missed several of my little dinner parties. That won't do. You must come. Miss Granger loves these parties." He sat down directly at the empty seat at Harry's table.

"How about tomorrow night? You guys won't have anything else to do, will you?"

"I...I..." Harry stammered, unable to speak, and at the same time, he was frantically thinking of what excuse he could use to turn down the invitation.

Harry had been avoiding Slughorn ever since the last time he was surrounded by seven or eight people doing his homework. He would rather deal with a bucket of philoprogenitor caterpillars than that kind of dinner party.

"I'm sorry, Professor." Kyle said calmly without changing his expression, "There are too many things to do in the Ministry of Magic."

He pointed at Fred and George and said, "Look, even if they come to Hogsmeade for the weekend, they will come after me and ask for work reports."

"Are you employees of the Ministry of Magic?" Slughorn looked at the Weasley brothers and asked.

Although they didn't know what Kyle meant, Fred and George reacted immediately and nodded in agreement.

Slughorn's attitude changed immediately and he greeted the two men in a friendly manner, but that was all.

"I'm afraid I can't do that either." Connor said in the same way: "Professor Snape put me in detention for a month. During this time, I couldn't go anywhere."

"What?" Slughorn almost jumped up in excitement. "How could Severus do this? Doesn't he know how talented you are in potions? "A month of detention, my God, how could he bear it... No, I have to go talk to him."

After saying this, Slughorn didn't even drink the mead that had just been served, and hurriedly rushed out three more brooms.

"What's going on? Is that the new Potions professor?" Fred asked curiously. He had obviously heard about the teacher changes at Hogwarts this year.

"That's right, Horace Slughorn, a professor who likes to hold dinner parties." Kyle briefly introduced what he had done and his famous Slug Club.

This shocked the two of them. They didn't expect that this professor would be so...special.

"By the way, doesn't he know about Connor and Snape's relationship?"

"Obviously not," Kyle said, "but it also helps Connor get away from those boring dinner parties."

If Connor didn't want to go, she might even be in detention for the entire semester, and it would be useless even if Dumbledore went to talk to her, let alone Slughorn.

"Ron..." George turned his head and said meaningfully, "I noticed that he didn't invite you just now. Is it a coincidence? Or was it an oversight?"

Ron's face turned red again.

In fact, Slughorn had never noticed him, and whenever they met he only spoke to Harry, as if he were an insignificant decoration.

"I envy Ron," Harry said, "His parties are just torture."

"Yeah." Hermione nodded beside him, "This is really not a pleasant thing."

Ron's expression improved a little, and he muttered something under his breath, but no one could hear what he said.

After that, everyone chatted for a while, and after drinking butterbeer, Kyle and Connor prepared to go back.

Harry and the others had the same idea.

The weather outside was getting worse and worse. Instead of staying outside, it was more comfortable in the warm common room.

They stood up and walked towards the door.

At this time, two Gryffindor girls at a table not far away also stood up.

"Wait a minute, Kyle."

As they walked out of the bar, they shouted from behind.

"What's up?" Kyle asked, turning around.

He recognized one of the girls as Katie Bell from Gryffindor and a member of the Quidditch team.

"This is for you." Katie came over and handed over a package.

Kyle was a little confused. He didn't seem to remember any relationship between him and the other party.

But when he set his eyes on the package, he frowned suddenly.

The same goes for Fred and George next to them.

Having worked in a department specializing in tracking down dark magic items and counterfeits for so long, they could tell at a glance that there was something wrong with this package.

The reaction of the black magic here is too obvious, and there is no disguise. You don’t have to think about it to know that there is definitely something deadly inside.

The two were about to say something when they were stopped by Kyle.

He shook his head slightly and looked at Katie.

"Who gave this to me?"

Katie didn't say anything, but just nodded slightly stiffly, her movements were very unnatural.

"The Imperius Curse!" A terrible thought suddenly popped into Fred's mind.

Damn it, someone used the Imperius Curse on the students of Hogwarts! At the same time, after hesitating for a moment, Kyle slowly reached for the package.

Fred's heart immediately hung in his throat. He wanted to remind Kyle, but soon realized that it was unnecessary. He then ran towards Tonks who was following them not far away.

George stayed where he was, watching nervously, his hand already in his pocket, ready to pull out his wand at any moment.

However, just as Kyle's fingers were about to touch the package, a gloomy voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Get out of my way, you disgusting mudblood!"

It was Malfoy, who seemed to have just come out of the Three Broomsticks, and, unusually, he didn't have any followers with him.

Then, to no one's surprise, he shoved Hermione, who was standing in front of him, in a very vicious way.

Hermione didn't react for a moment, and her body stumbled and bumped into Katie.

Katie was bumped by her and the bag in her hand fell to the ground.

…

(End of this chapter)