A few days later, it was the last day of the week, and Hogsmeade Day came as scheduled.
Because of Professor McGonagall's decision, Hogsmeade Day, which was most likely to be canceled, is now open again. Many of the young wizards, who were feeling a little uncomfortable due to the looming dull atmosphere in the school, decided to take this opportunity to relax.
Because of this, Hogsmeade has its busiest day ever.
Of course, on the surface, this pure wizard village is no different from usual, except that there are a few more people. But in those less conspicuous places, the professors personally took on the responsibility of guarding the students.
Hermione, Ron and Luna left the school gate and walked along the road on the left. The bright sunshine shone on them, but it still couldn't offset the cold wind.
The wind direction changed from time to time, making the hair of both girls a little messy - of course, Hermione's messy brown hair had always looked like this.
"Should we take the secret passage with Harry?"
Harry failed to get Sirius's signature this year, so he had to use the secret passage in the school to get to Hogsmeade. Ron suddenly spoke as if he felt a little sorry for letting his friend explore the secret passage alone.
"Of course, the fewer people walking the secret passage, the better." Hermione pressed her hair blown by the wind to prevent it from blocking her sight. "We have to let people see the normal whereabouts, so as not to let people see the normal movements." Someone with good intentions becomes suspicious.”
"'Somebody'? Who is it?" Ron asked in surprise, "Hermione, did you discover that someone is following us?"
"Stop looking around!" Hermione said angrily, "I didn't find anything, but that doesn't mean we haven't been noticed, right?"
"... Prudence is an excellent quality, it can make people less likely to make mistakes." Luna said with blurred eyes as she let her long pale golden hair flutter in the wind.
"Well, I think you're right... So," Ron asked, "is it really okay for us to set the meeting point at the Pig's Head pub? It's too remote... "
"Originally, I wanted to settle on the 'Three Broomsticks'. A place with a lot of people is more inconspicuous..." Hermione explained in a low voice, "But now there must be other students there, and maybe there are professors... Ours Only Maka will agree to the plan, and other professors would definitely stop us."
"If it's the Pig's Head Bar, most people won't go there, so at least they won't be overheard by people in school."
They kept walking along the road, and when they passed Zuko's Magic Joke Shop, they unexpectedly met Fred and George, and their best friend Lee Jordan.
Afterwards, they passed the Owl Post Office and turned onto the path on the right at the other end.
Along the way, Hermione and the others greeted the classmates they passed by on the road normally. Although these are guys with whom we hardly interact with each other on weekdays, polite but enthusiastic greetings will never make people refuse.
Not long after, they saw a small old bar on the right near the end of the path.
The place is as old as ever. The tattered wooden signboard hangs under the rusty bracket above the lintel, and a boar's head cast with a preservation spell is nailed to it.
Dirty blood seeped into the wooden boards, and had long since turned into a dusty gray-black color.
The wind had been strong lately, and the sign creaked as they approached.
"This place looks suspicious..." Ron hesitated subconsciously, "I don't know if Harry has arrived yet - he should be faster than us."
"It should be... okay?" Hermione said with some hesitation, "After all, this is Hogsmeade, a wizarding village where students often visit..."
Both of them seemed hesitant.
"... Maka mentioned to me that the butterbeer here tastes good." Luna suddenly said this, causing Hermione and Ron to look at her.
"Has Maka been here?" Hermione seemed relieved, "Then it should be fine! Come on, let's go in quickly, maybe Harry is already waiting for us inside!"
With her taking the lead, the three of them pushed open the broken wooden door of the bar and walked in one after another.
As soon as they entered the door, before they had time to see the environment clearly, they immediately smelled an unusually strong smell of mutton.
This place is completely different from the 'Three Broomsticks' which is also a bar.
There is no bright bar counter that has been wiped clean, no incense candlesticks mixed with spices that exude warmth, and no proud female boss.
Here, there is only a small room that is dark, narrow, and full of dust and dirt.
The windows on the side wall were so dirty that they could barely let in any light. Some inferior candle ends were lit on the uneven wooden table. There was also a tall, thin old man with a gray beard standing behind the bar.
Hermione stamped her feet lightly, but found that the ground beneath her feet did not seem to be the expected mud, but simply "old dirt" that had accumulated on the stone floor for centuries.
I remember that Hagrid had mentioned this bar several times before and said that there were many fun and interesting people here. He won the fire dragon egg from a hooded stranger in this bar.
At that time, everyone may have been wondering why Hagrid wouldn't be wary of making a deal with a guy who kept his head hidden.
But today, when they came here in person, they discovered that covering their faces in the Pig Head Bar seemed to be a default popular habit.
There was a wizard sitting over the bar—it was hard to tell whether he was a man or a woman, because all visible body parts of the man were wrapped in gray bandages.
Even so, he was still able to pour cup after cup of some kind of smoking, flaming wine through the gap in the bandage around his mouth.
And by the dim window, two figures wearing hoods and cloaks sat facing each other, chatting with a thick Yorkshire accent.
But if they didn't speak, many people would probably mistake them for dementors at a glance!
Next to the burning fireplace, a witch huddled in a dark corner where the fire could not reach. A thick black gauze hanging from the tip of her nose to the instep of her feet made people involuntarily think of some exotic nation on the back of a camel.
Harry didn't seem to be here yet, and the three of them walked carefully past the table and towards the bar.
"Hermione, it's all because you said something about stalking just now..." Ron lowered his voice, "Now I don't think anyone looks like a good person..."
"No, it has nothing to do with that," Hermione whispered, "because these people really don't look like good people - who would dress themselves up like this if they didn't do something bad?"
"Although what you said makes sense, but..." Ron's eyes kept wandering around those people, and he glanced at the witch wrapped in black veil a few more times, "I still don't think it's right. That’s right—look at that, could it be that old toad from Umbridge?”
Hearing this, Hermione glanced over there, only to see that the other party seemed to notice this side and turned her head slightly.
She immediately looked away again.
"Umbridge is definitely not as tall as that witch," Hermione said softly. "Besides, she should be doing some disgusting reports at the Ministry of Magic! Moreover, the school has no regulations prohibiting students from entering the Pig's Head Bar - I used to Asked Professor Flitwick."
She paused, and then added with some understanding: "...but the professor seriously advised me that if I have to go, remember to bring my own cup!"
"Don't be so quiet, I can hear you!" The gray-bearded old man behind the bar suddenly stopped cleaning the glass, shook the rag and shouted, "Which bastard gave you bad words about my bar? Also, My cups here are all clean!
Hermione was startled, but when she cast her gaze on the grumpy old man, she inexplicably sensed a familiar feeling.
"Yes, I'm sorry..." Hermione apologized quickly.
"...Forget it, why are you taking off on a little girl like you," he mumbled and asked, "What do you want?"
"Butterbeer!" Luna said eagerly, "I want the kind you only have here!"
"Hmm?" The old man glanced at her, a trace of confusion flashed across his face, "A new face? I remember everyone who has been here - who introduced you here?"
"Maka told me." Luna tilted her head.
Upon hearing this name, the old man immediately raised his gray eyebrows.
"Ha!" He sneered with a sullen face, "It turns out it's that boy..."
Without asking Hermione and Ron, the old man bent down and took out three dusty dirty wine bottles from under the counter, and placed them heavily in front of the three of them.
"Six Sickles." He said in an impatient tone.
"I'll pay."
A voice came from behind, and the three of them looked back, only to see that Harry had arrived.
The bar owner's eyes flashed over Harry's forehead, and he kept moving his hands, neatly throwing the silver coins handed over by Harry into the wooden cash box under the bar.
"You're here, Harry!" Ron touched his arm happily.
"It's not just me, I saw someone else behind me—" Harry gestured towards the door.
Before he finished speaking, the door of the bar was opened again, and a large number of people poured in one after another.
Walking in front were Neville and Ernie, followed by many people, from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and every house except Slytherin.
Of course there was Ginny, but she was accompanied by a tall, thin boy with yellow hair. Both Harry and Ron subconsciously glanced at him a few more times.
Walking at the back were the Weasley brothers and Lee Jordan whom they had met before. All three of them were holding a large paper bag. Needless to say, it's packed with prank merchandise from Zuko's Magical Joke Shop.