"...Ron, there is light ahead! We are almost there!"
When the entire Hogwarts fell into an unnecessary disaster, Harry and Ron, walking in the tunnel, finally discovered the exit.
Is that a door there? Or is it still the back of a painting? They didn't know, but they knew that they could finally get out of this straight and long tunnel.
The two of them walked a few steps quickly and came from the exit of the tunnel to a... um, a bedroom
Harry and Ron glanced left and right, then looked at each other again. This bedroom looks very shabby, everything is old, and no matter how tolerant a large number of people are, I'm afraid they can't describe it as "clean and tidy".
Of course, the most important thing is that they are all sure that they have never been here before, but the furnishings here make them feel inexplicably familiar, as if they have seen it somewhere.
Harry turned his head and saw that the hole they came out of was slowly closing behind him. What covered it was still a magical oil painting that was exactly the same as the one they had seen before.
When the girl in the painting noticed that Harry was looking at her, she nodded slightly in this direction.
"Uh... thank you for bringing us here," Harry said hesitantly, "but can you tell us where this is? Who is the owner here?"
But the girl in the painting still didn't answer his question. Instead, she stretched out her white arm and gestured towards the door on one side.
Harry and Ron, who turned around after hearing the sound, looked at the door together. When they turned back again, the girl had already turned around and walked into the woods in the painting.
"Anyway, we have to go out and take a look first..." Ron thought for a while and couldn't help but suggested, "Maka must know this tunnel. This may be another stronghold of the Order of the Phoenix... Even if it isn't, it probably won't be here. What a dangerous place, isn’t it?”
"I think you're right."
Although it was not only dirty everywhere, but also quite dark, it didn't look like a good place. But Harry nodded in agreement.
However, their RA training sessions were not in vain. Let’s not talk about the learning progress of magic. At least the intense training has increased their vigilance. It is always right to be careful in unfamiliar environments.
This time Ron took the initiative to walk ahead. He held the wand tightly in his hand and cautiously opened the bedroom door. Harry, who was following him, quickly shook his wand and extinguished the light at the tip.
With a slight creaking sound, Ron turned the door handle and opened the door.
Just when he wanted to take a look at the equally dim outside, a small black shadow suddenly rushed in from the crack of the half-open door!
"oh-"
Ron suddenly felt a strong force hit his abdomen, knocking him and Harry behind him to the floor, making a heavy muffled sound.
"Oh my tummy," Ron groaned, "What's going on? Enemies?"
"Don't be stunned! That thing is right in front of us!" Harry hurriedly grabbed Ron's clothes and dragged him back, "Armor protection!"
"No, no need-"
Of course, Ron was very grateful for Harry's timely response, because this iron armor spell was cast on him by Harry. But honestly, he thought he had seen the culprit of what hit him in the stomach.
"Harry, don't get excited! It's not an enemy... it's just a goat!"
"What..." Harry, who was sitting on the floor, was stunned for a moment. He thought he heard wrongly. He quickly waved the wand in his hand again, "Luminescent flash!"
The light lit up from the tip of his wand again, and then they saw a goat with a pair of beautiful curved horns, looking at them from side to side.
"Oh—" Harry suddenly said, as if he remembered something, "It's this goat!"
"Do you have a goat friend?" Ron asked casually while holding his waist and getting up.
"No! I mean... This is the goat that always hangs around the Pig's Head Bar! Don't you remember? The bar owner often lets it walk around in the store... "
Harry said and hurriedly stood up from the floor.
"In other words, we are in the Pig's Head Bar? And there is a secret passage in the boss's bedroom that leads to the place where we are trapped?" Ron said, waving his hands repeatedly, trying to drive the goat aside Go, but that doesn't seem to work.
"Sorry, we have to get out... and petrify them all." Harry apologized, then suddenly waved his wand and temporarily immobilized the poor goat with a full body binding spell.
"Cast a spell on a goat and you'll be sued by the Wizengamot!" Ron muttered.
"Let me see. Before that, we have to consider the issue of casting spells outside the school." Harry waved his hand and said, "Stop talking and go out first..."
After the two of them said that, they hurriedly left the goat lying on the ground stiff and left the small bedroom.
When they came outside and took a look, they immediately recognized it - this was indeed the Pig's Head pub located in the corner of Hogsmeade.
Everything here is still the same as before, and the windows that are covered with dirt don't even let in light. But this dirty and shabby furnishings gave them a subtle sense of security.
No matter how miserable it is, this is a place that feels familiar to them, even though there is not even a single person here now.
Harry hurriedly ran to the door and pulled out the bolt. Suddenly, the light from outside poured into the dark bar unbridled, making them almost unable to open their eyes.
Looking at the light outside the door, you can tell that it is definitely daytime the next day.
The two of them still knew nothing about the terrible current situation of Hogwarts, but this did not prevent them from feeling anxious. Dumbledore's funeral may have already begun, and something will probably happen before and after the funeral. They came here one night early, but in the end they still couldn't participate.
And, the most important thing for both of them now is that they can finally solve the big problem of hunger and thirst!
"Harry, should we go back inside to find something to eat?" Ron stood at the door and asked Harry, who had already walked outside.
"I think that's obviously not a good idea..." Harry shook his head decisively and said, "I have money here, and we are in Hogsmeade now!"
At this moment, the tense nerves of the two of them finally relaxed a little, and the hunger and thirst that were originally covered up also invaded their entire minds.
After Ron closed the bar door, the two of them ran to the street impatiently. And just in the distance in the direction of Hogwarts, you can vaguely see some abnormal fluctuations, but they are really far away, and you can't see them clearly if you don't look carefully.
After the two of them hurriedly bought some food and devoured it for a while, they began to think about what to do next. After all, they did not expect that they would arrive at Hogsmeade village along a tunnel.
"Ron, do you think we have passed Maka's test?" Harry stood by the gate of Honeydukes, chewing chocolate, and said vaguely.
"I think we have obviously exceeded the time limit..." Ron shook his head, swallowed the powdered sugar cake in his mouth, but said with a puzzled face, "But I still don't understand - what kind of test is this?"
Hearing this, Harry frowned, thought about it, and sighed.
"... Maybe," he said reluctantly, "we simply failed the test, but when the time came, we were automatically released... That's all."
Although neither of them wanted to think so, to be honest, this was probably the most likely answer.
"Anyway, if you run to Hogwarts now, you will really cause trouble for Maka and the professor... Let's go back!" Ron said resignedly, "We sneaked away last night without saying anything. Come out, mom must be very anxious now!"
"Well, then we..."
Harry was about to agree, but he couldn't help but feel a little panicked in his heart.
He really doesn't want to be so useless anymore, can he just be a burden? Obviously both his parents died at the hands of that guy, but he was completely unable to avenge his parents.
This feeling is really terrible!
"No," Harry suddenly shook his head hard, "I want to find Hermione!"
"Looking for Hermione?" Ron asked in surprise, "What are you looking for her for?"
"Even if we can't help today, what if Voldemort is still alive after today? What if Voldemort doesn't go to Hogwarts at all today? We can't just wait!" Harry took a deep breath and said firmly , "The three of us will discuss together what to do next... we must have a clearer plan!"
"Uh... go now?" Ron seemed quite hesitant, "But, over there at home..."
"We can take Hermione back to the Burrow, can't we?" Harry said stubbornly, "I don't think I can wait any longer. I can't waste a minute!"
"Okay... if you insist." Ron looked at Harry who was a little anxious, but it was difficult to understand where his anxiety came from.
It's not that he doesn't know how Harry's parents died, but hasn't it been like this for the past few years? And aren't they always working hard? Could it be that I have been holding it in for too long and finally burst out today
They had all heard Hermione talk about the location of their home. Of course Ron didn't understand the geography of the Muggle world, but Harry, who also grew up in the Muggle world, knew how to get there.
Soon, the two of them ran to the intersection at the end of the village and waved their wands to summon a Knight Bus, leaving Hogsmeade far behind.