Hogsmeade is still the same.
The not-so-wide road was piled with snow on both sides, and it was almost connected to the white snow on the slightly low roofs. As for the road itself, because the snow has been cleared away with magic spells, in addition to being slightly damp, it even feels cleaner than indoors.
Of course, this village has been built for many years after all. No matter how clean it is, it will still give people the feeling of an old man in his twilight years.
I remember that some of the miscellaneous notes about Hogwarts in the library seemed to mention that Hogsmeade Village and the school were established around the same time, and there have been no major changes over the years.
Thinking about it this way, this place is probably like Hogwarts Castle, still continuing the style of a medieval village thousands of years ago!
Right now, Maka was walking slowly along the road with Hermione.
"Stop! Give me back the chocolate frog!"
"Jimmy, didn't you say you only want the card? Since you're not going to eat the chocolate frog, you might as well give it to me! Don't be so stingy..."
"Who said I won't eat! If you dare, don't run away! Let's see if I can't kill you!"
Every Hogsmeade day, the roads in the village tend to be quite crowded, and usually accompanied by some minor chaos. Maka grabbed Hermione's wrist and pulled her to the side of the road to avoid being hit by the two junior students who were chasing each other.
After the two men chased each other and ran to the other end of the street, Maka looked at their backs and said:
"Why do I feel that students in the past two years have become more and more naughty? Remember back then we wouldn't make such noise on the street!"
As he said this, he suddenly turned around and smiled.
"Hermione, do you think so?"
Although Makara just pulled her wrist, and it was to make way for others, Hermione's face still couldn't help but blush.
However, she seemed a little disapproving of Maka's words.
"I don't know which troublemakers are bent on visiting the castle at night. Not only did they involve me, but someone also specially prepared something to deal with Mrs. Norris!"
Seeing Hermione pouting her lips and teasing herself with a half-smile, Maka could only shrug and said:
"Oh! At least it's not 'specially' prepared for Mrs. Norris... Well, don't look at me like that, I mean it!"
"Who knows?"
Hermione pursed her lips, then turned around and walked forward, but after turning her back, she couldn't help but snickered secretly.
Behind her, Maka seemed not to notice that she was laughing secretly, and suddenly recalled:
"Speaking of it, time flies so fast! Thinking about what you just mentioned, it seems like it happened just yesterday... But if you think about it more carefully, it was already five years ago."
Hearing Maka sighing from behind that time seemed to be running like water, Hermione also nodded.
is not that right!
Not to mention anything else, just look at these little friends, and now they are all growing up unknowingly. Short and chubby Neville has become a handsome young man, Ginny has gradually grown into a well-known beauty in the school, and Maka has even become a professor.
In the past six years, a lot of things have really happened, but looking back, it still seems like a snap of a finger.
The two of them were walking in tandem, recalling every detail of the past years. Suddenly, they found that they had reached the end of the village.
Standing at the corner of the street, Hermione glanced to the right - if she turned a corner from here, she would be near the Pig's Head Bar not far away.
"Maka, shall we go see Miss Witte? She should be here to work in the afternoon."
"Um?"
Hearing this, Maka first glanced in the direction of the Pig Head Bar, but then shook her head.
"Didn't you say it was a 'date'?" He chuckled, "Although I'm a little sorry for Aberforth, I really don't think that dirty bar would be a good place for a date!"
Seeing what he said, Hermione was stunned for a moment, but couldn't help but murmured in a small voice:
"It doesn't matter to me, I'm not dating the environment anyway..."
Maka naturally heard Hermione's words. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he raised his head and glanced to the left again, and then continued:
"Let's go this way today - I think the time after lunch is just right for a cup of afternoon tea or something, don't you think?"
"OK?"
Hermione responded casually while turning her head and following his gaze to the other side. But when she realized what was on the street turning right in front of her, her little heart skipped a beat.
The store at the corner over there was the "Literen Ju Quill Shop" that she often visited, but after turning that corner, there was only one shop related to "afternoon tea" on the small street inside.
"Maka, you mean..."
"That's right," Maka said as she stretched out her hand and raised her eyebrows, "Mrs. Puddieff's Teahouse—actually, it seems that I've never been to that shop in Hogsmeade. You know, it's over there. It’s really hard to get ahead alone!”
If it were Pudifu, it would certainly be inconvenient to be alone.
From the lace tablecloths to the mist-shrouded atmosphere, including the exquisite decoration of the entire store, everything in that store seems to exude the atmosphere of "Singles should not be approached" at all times.
Regardless of whether they are men and men, women and men, or women and women, if they don’t hold hands, they would be embarrassed to pass by her store.
There is no doubt that Mrs. Puddieff's Teahouse is recognized throughout Hogwarts as a sacred place for lovers.
Even though this store is not only expensive for students, but the space inside is also a little cramped. But if a boy wants to seriously ask a girl to confess his love, he will definitely choose this place as much as possible, and even if he borrows money, he will still invite his beloved girl to go there.
As for the reason...it is said that the chance of success in confessing your love there is much higher than elsewhere
"Let's go! Let's go and take a look!"
"etc!"
Seeing that Maka was about to go that way, Hermione subconsciously followed him for two steps, and then suddenly grabbed him.
"What's wrong?" Maka turned around and said with a smile, "Relax, it's just a cup of tea... I understand."
"No, just listen to me first."
Hermione stubbornly refused to leave. After asking Maka to stop, she said seriously:
"Maka, I think you can understand the situation between me and Luna. To be honest, I'm very grateful to Luna for allowing me... you know what I'm talking about."
She pursed her lips, skipped some words that she was embarrassed to say, and then continued:
"Moreover, I am even more grateful that she gave me this opportunity today. So, after you take me to Padif this time, I hope you will remember... to take her there next time too!"
Finally, Hermione thought silently in her heart:
"If Luna had not allowed me to intervene, I would never have had the chance to compete - therefore, even if she said 'there is no absolute fairness in this world', I must at least reserve a 'relative fairness' for her 'That's it. Otherwise, it would be unreasonable!"
Although Hermione didn't say the following words, Maka could vaguely feel that this was what she was thinking in her heart. Judging from these "underground transactions" between her and Luna, the inner gentleness and kindness of these two girls are really touching.
As things stand now, which one Maca McClain likes is no longer the most important thing between the three of them.
Looking at Hermione's shy and almost overflowing seriousness, Maka nodded solemnly.
"I see."
"… Thanks."
After Hermione thanked Maka for respecting her decision, she grabbed her hand and walked diagonally to the opposite intersection.
It can be seen from the back that her face is obviously red again.
Feeling the tenderness in her hands, Maka let her pull her forward while silently sighing for these two feelings.
Let's not talk about Luna's thoughts for today. Hermione's perseverance in friendship and love alone is enough to be deeply engraved in his heart.
And just as Maka's thoughts were flowing, Hermione had already dragged him to the door of Mrs. Puddieff's teahouse.
The storefront, which is completely different from the left and right sides, is exquisite and bright with a little ambiguity. Just the three colors of pink, red and white form a picture that is not grand but full of atmosphere.
Of course, if I have to say a shortcoming of this teahouse, it would probably be the word "vulgar".
Compared with the office of Umbridge who was sent to Hogwarts from the Ministry of Magic, the decoration of Pudifu is indeed a little "fresher", but after a few more glances, it still makes people feel "boring". Feeling panicked.
As Maka took a step forward and opened the door with the grilled window for Hermione, a series of crisp bells rang from inside the door.
"Please! Miss Granger—"
He stood by the door, smiled at Hermione, and extended his hand to invite her.
After Hermione pursed her lips and walked in cautiously, he turned around and stepped into this teahouse that he had only heard of and never seen in the past five or six years.
In just the first step, a warm and slightly moist feeling suddenly hit my face. Compared to the ice and snow outside, it seems like late spring here.
Immediately afterwards, he and Hermione immediately smelled the sweet smell permeating the air here - was this the aroma of dessert and coffee? Or is it the smell of some kind of perfume? It's really hard to tell.
"Oh! It's actually diluted pearl flower essence..." Maka twitched her nose and then said clearly, "This Mrs. Pudifu is really willing to spend a lot of money."
After hearing this, Hermione couldn't help but hesitated and said:
"The ingredients of the love potion?"
"right!"
Maka nodded slightly.