novelcrest Chapter 316 Buying Candy for Hermione's Mother
Chapter 316 Buying Candy for Hermione's Mother
Chapter 316 Buying Candy for Hermione's Mother
Harry stared wide-eyed at everything before him, a surge of intense curiosity and excitement welling up inside him.
He had never seen this hidden passage before, nor did he even know it existed.
His first thought was to find Ron and Hermione to investigate the mysterious entrance together, but then he remembered that they were both enjoying a rare holiday at Hogsmeade.
So he quickly decided to go and see for himself where the passage led.
"Perhaps this passage leads to some interesting place," he muttered to himself, stuffing the dusty rag Filch had given him into his pocket as he stepped into the narrow entrance with mixed feelings.
The passage was narrow and dark, the stone walls cold and damp, and the air thick with a musty smell. The ground beneath his feet seemed to be gradually sloping, and Harry felt as if he were sinking deeper into the earth.
He walked cautiously, head down, yet still occasionally tripped over the uneven ground. The winding, cramped passage gave him the feeling of being down a giant rabbit hole.
Harry quickened his pace, eager to find out where the passage led as soon as possible.
A few minutes later, he suddenly felt his foot slip, as if he had stepped on something slippery. He lost his balance and his body lurched forward, instantly sliding down a long stone slide.
Harry slid through the darkness for an unknown amount of time until he fell onto cold, wet mud. He stood up, trying to figure out his surroundings, but it was pitch black all around.
"Flash!" Harry whispered, raising his wand. The wand emitted a faint but steady glow, illuminating the small space. He found himself in a narrow, low dirt tunnel, like a giant underground rabbit hole.
The surrounding mud walls appeared to be dilapidated, with debris falling off from time to time.
Harry gripped his wand tightly and continued forward, occasionally tripping over the uneven ground, and sometimes feeling as if the ground beneath his feet was breathing.
About ten minutes later, Harry arrived at the bottom of a stone staircase. The staircase was dilapidated, as if it hadn't been used for hundreds of years, and the steps were covered with dust and gravel.
The stone steps stretched upwards as if there were no end, and Harry could only see them disappear into the darkness above.
He carefully began to climb the stone steps, his footsteps extremely light, afraid of making any noise.
At the hundredth and two hundredth steps, Harry lost track of the number of steps, mechanically counting them while his eyes remained fixed on his feet. Suddenly, his head slammed into something hard—he felt a sharp pain in his scalp and couldn't help but let out a soft cry.
Harry rubbed his head and looked up to find he had bumped into a trapdoor. He stood there, holding his breath, pressing his ear against the trapdoor to listen carefully, but there seemed to be no sound from above.
He gently pushed open the trapdoor and looked up to peer around.
Before him lay a gloomy cellar, piled high with crates and chests that seemed to have been there for a long time, covered in dust and emitting a musty smell. Harry quietly climbed up into the cellar and carefully closed the trapdoor. The door blended seamlessly into the floor, with almost no visible gap.
Just as he was preparing to investigate further, he heard the ringing of a bell and the sound of a door opening and closing, as well as the voices of several people talking overhead.
"Two more boxes of Super Bubble Gum, and a box of Ice Mouse—these little wizards who've just started third grade are absolutely insane!"
A pair of feet came down the stairs, and Harry quickly jumped behind a large crate, waiting for the footsteps to pass. He heard the man moving a crate against the opposite wall. Perhaps there would be no more chances—Harry quietly slipped out of his hiding place and climbed the stairs; he glanced back and saw only a massive back and a shiny bald head, tucked into a crate.
Harry climbed to the doorway at the top of the stairs, slipped inside quietly, and found himself standing behind a counter. He crouched down, tiptoed to the side, then straightened up and looked around until he saw the sign hanging on the counter.
This is Hogsmeade!
More accurately, it's the Honeydukes candy shop in Hogsmeade!
Harry never imagined that he would actually travel through a mysterious tunnel directly to Hogsmeade, the place he had always longed for. He simply couldn't believe his eyes!
Behind the counter were piles of colorful candies, and the air was filled with a sweet aroma that made you want to grab a handful and stuff them into your mouth.
The shop was packed with excited students, who were busy choosing all sorts of delicious desserts.
Harry looked at all this, his heart pounding with excitement. This was exactly the Hogsmeade life he had longed to experience.
He quickly slipped away from behind the counter, trying to avoid being seen by the shop assistants or other students. A mix of excitement and anxiety filled him; he feared that if he were discovered, everything would come to an abrupt end—but these thoughts seemed somewhat unnecessary.
Nobody even glanced at him.
So much so that he could walk sideways through the crowd, freely examining the delicious, juicy candies on each shelf.
Large chunks of creamy yellow almond candy, sparkling pink coconut ice cream, honey-colored toffee, hundreds of neatly arranged chocolates, a huge tub of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and another tub of Spicy Honey Candy—the kind of fruit juice jelly balls Ron mentioned that could make you float in the air; looking at the other wall were all "special effects" candies: Super Bubble Gum (which can fill the room with bluebell-colored bubbles that don't burst for days), the strange and crumbly fluffy tooth mints, the small, black Peppermint ("Breathe for your friends!"), Ice Mouse ("I can hear your teeth squeaking!"), toad-shaped mint ice cream ("It really jumps in your stomach!"), thin, crisp feather candies woven from sugar threads, and exploding sandwich gummies.
Just then, Harry heard several familiar voices coming from not far away.
He looked up abruptly and saw Hermione, Ron, Sophia, and other third-year students striding into the shop. Hermione was carrying several bags of candy and was discussing with Ron what they were looking for.
Harry immediately crouched down and hid in a corner.
His heart was pounding; he didn't want his friends to discover that he had sneaked into Hogsmeade, but he also didn't want to miss out on this moment of excitement.
Therefore, he was in a very conflicted state of mind at this moment.
However, things don't always go smoothly.
Just as Harry was pondering how to slip out unnoticed, a low chuckle came from the shop entrance, and Harry's heart sank—it was the voice of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
"Look, Crabbe, Goyle, those Mudbloods and paupers are here too." Malfoy's voice, like a serpent, echoed through the shop, aimed directly at Ron and Hermione.
"Oh, how pathetic." He drawled, deliberately raising his voice in mockery. "Ron, what did you use to buy the candy this time? Still rummaging through your dad's tattered pockets for change?"
Harry saw through the crack that Ron's face was flushed red and his fists were clenched, while Hermione tried to stop Ron from having an outburst.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Ron said through gritted teeth, his eyes filled with rage.
Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and whispered, "Ignore him, Ron, he's not worth it."
Just then, Malfoy noticed Sofia's presence, and his words came to an abrupt halt.
"Let's go, we have more important things to do." With that, he waved, signaling Crabbe and Goyle to follow.
Just as he was about to leave Honeydukes Candy Shop, his gaze suddenly swept over the spot where Harry was hiding, and his eyes paused for a moment.
This made Harry's heart leap into his throat; he could almost feel it pounding in his chest. He held his breath, afraid that the slightest movement would attract Malfoy's attention.
Malfoy frowned, seemingly sensing something amiss, but then shrugged and ultimately didn't delve any deeper.
Harry finally breathed a sigh of relief only when the three figures had completely disappeared from Honeydukes candy store.
"Come out," Sophia said, pointing towards the direction where he was hiding.
Harry was startled. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally stood up slowly from behind the candy jar.
"How did you know I was here?" Harry asked in a low voice.
Sofia chuckled softly and took a step closer to him. "I noticed what you were doing just now, and," she pointed to the floor, "a corner of your shoe was sticking out."
Harry looked down and, sure enough, a small part of his shoe was sticking out from behind the bucket, clearly seen by Sophia.
He suddenly felt a little embarrassed, his face turned slightly red, and he scratched the back of his head.
Hermione and Ron, on the other hand, were far less composed than Sophia. They had been wondering who Sophia was talking to, but when Harry popped out from the side, they were stunned.
"What are you doing here? What are you doing—what are you doing—?"
"You've learned Apparition!" Ron said decisively.
"Of course not," Harry said quickly, trying to sound relaxed, but he was still a little nervous.
Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "Then how did you get to Hogsmeade? You don't have a signed guardian's permission form!"
Harry hesitated for a moment, clearly not wanting to explain too much in this crowded place. "I—well, I stumbled upon a passage that leads here," he said as briefly as possible.
Hermione frowned immediately upon hearing "secret passage," her expression turning serious. "Harry, this is no small matter! You know there's a reason behind Hogwarts' rules. If Filch or Snape finds out you sneaked in..."
"I know, Hermione," Harry interrupted her, a little impatient, but trying to keep his voice down. "I'm being very careful."
No one noticed.
Ron leaned closer excitedly and whispered, "Which passage? Where did you come in from?"
"Wait!" Hermione suddenly interrupted Ron, her face showing disapproval. "We shouldn't be discussing this!"
Harry, you'd better get back to school quickly, or you'll get caught—"
Before Hermione could finish speaking, Sophia chuckled softly and said gently, "Hermione, calm down. He just wanted to see Hogsmeade, and we've seen him now. Nobody will tell anyone, right?"
Hermione glanced at Sophia, her lips pressed tightly together, but ultimately didn't scold Harry further. She simply sighed helplessly, "You need to be more careful, Harry. Don't take any more risks, Sirius Black."
"Forget about Sirius," Ron interrupted Hermione impatiently. "That's for the Aurors to worry about. What we should be thinking about is where to take Harry—you know, he finally got out of the castle!"
As he spoke, Ron pulled Harry to a shelf and began to introduce it to him with great enthusiasm.
"See those sizzling honey candies, Harry? And those jelly slugs? And those sour pop candies? Fred gave me one when I was seven—it burned a hole in my tongue. I remember my mother giving him a good beating with a flying broomstick." Ron looked thoughtfully into the box of sour pop candies. "If I told him it was peanuts, would Fred try a skewer of cockroaches?"
Sophia, on the other hand, took her sulking Hermione mom and bought a whole bunch of her favorite candies.
Unlike when she was a child, Hermione's mother wouldn't buy her candy, saying she was afraid she'd get cavities. This time, she used the allowance her father gave her to buy a lot of candy for Hermione's mother.
In my father's words, in China this kind of behavior is called "repaying evil with good".
So, after paying separately, the four of them walked out of the Honey Duke candy store together.
"Where to next?"
"The Screaming Shack." The speaker was Ron, who had long wanted to visit this most famous haunted house in all of Britain.
"The post office," said Harry, who wanted to buy a souvenir to remember this special day.
"Take Harry back to Hogwarts." The speaker was Hermione, who, having just finished shopping, was now preoccupied with Hogwarts' rules and regulations, as well as... the sullen faces of Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Filch.
"Elegant Wizarding Clothing Store." The speaker was Sophia, who wanted to buy Hermione's mother a pretty little dress and make her some fashionable items to match.
So, after they each told each other where they wanted to go, the four of them instantly realized that their plans were completely different.
But more importantly, they all seemed to have overlooked a very serious problem—this problem wasn't raised by any of them. The momentary silence sent a chill down their spines.
The expressions of the four people changed almost simultaneously—from relaxed to surprised, and finally froze in a subtle stiffness.
Hermione's mind immediately flashed through a series of school rules and the punishments she feared. Ron subconsciously swallowed.
Harry felt his heart leap into his throat. Sophia—though she appeared calm, her eyes flickered slightly.
Slowly, the four of them stiffly twisted their necks and looked back step by step.
Sean was standing behind them, a meaningful smile on his face, his hands in his robe pockets, clearly having been observing them for a long time.