You Actually Want to Skip the Holidays and Go Straight Back to School?

afternoon.

The Witch pushing her food cart passed by the compartment three times. The train continued its shaky southward journey. Hermione took a sip of her Iced Soda Water through the straw and turned to the next page of her newspaper. Loren was fast asleep, leaning against the windowpane. A quick glance from the corner of her eye revealed his sharply defined jawline and slightly delicate profile, with a few wisps of slightly curled hair leaving fine creases on his forehead.

Harry sat across from him, still in a daze, having been there since before lunch.

Ron swallowed the last mouthful of Quidditch Joke Book Pumpkin Juice, burped, and laughed so hard he bent over, head buried in the table, his shoulders shaking with laughter. The Pigwidgeon, who had been quiet for a long time, noticed its master's movements, chirped a few times in response, and flapped its wings, ready to fly away.

The Hānhan standing next to it flapped its wing, and the Pigwidgeon staggered two steps, looking at the Spectacled Owl with a bewildered expression.

"Shh..." Ron quickly pressed down on her, whispering to soothe her, "Don't make a sound, Loren is sleeping."

The Pigwidgeon tilted its head, then sheepishly lowered its head to preen its feathers.

Just as Hermione lowered her eyes to look at the newspaper again, a voice suddenly rang out beside her. "I saw that Hānhan bullying the little owl—"

His voice was languid, and he even yawned as he spoke.

The Spectacled Owl nervously took two steps to the side and gently patted the Pigwidgeon's head, indicating that it was a kind owl who cared for its young.

Hermione watched the interaction between the human and the owl, pursed her lips, and handed over the brand-new glass of chilled orange juice. "If you're awake, don't sleep anymore. We're almost at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

Loren drank half a glass of iced orange juice in one gulp. The icy cold sensation made him shiver. He leaned against the girl, his body half-lying down, his chin resting on her shoulder, and closed his eyes.

Hermione knew he usually slept on trains and assumed he would sleep all the way to the station, so she didn't wake him and continued reading the news from the past two days.

[The Goblet of Goblet of Fire Triwizard Tournament concludes: Hogwarts' two Champion emerge victorious, but is there any foul play involved...?]

The Triwizard Tournament is history; Ilvermorny has advanced to the semifinals...

[Will the next Goblet of Fire be held as scheduled? Barty Crouch, Department of International Magical Cooperation, suffers a humiliating defeat!]

[A hefty bounty has been offered by the Ministry of Magic for Barty Jr. Crouch.'s disappearance!]

[...]

Hermione blinked, her gaze quickly scanning the superficial and uninformed reports. Just as she sighed and was about to turn the page, a languid voice suddenly sounded in her ear:

"Is there any useful information ahead?"

She tilted her head slightly, her cheek resting against his forehead, still warm from just waking up. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see half of his face. Hermione didn't know when he had opened his eyes and was reading half a page of the newspaper with her.

"The newspapers didn't say much, they reported that Cedric and Harry won the Goblet of Fire, but they were more focused on the news about Crouch father and son. The reporters generally reported that Mr. Crouch was a hidden Death Eater who replaced his son who was in prison with his wife. Little Crouch. was exposed in the Third Task. After rescuing his son, Mr. Crouch hurriedly escaped from Hogwarts, encountered dark creatures, and one died and the other escaped."

"..."

Harry blinked a few times and turned to look at them.

Hermione continued, "They didn't mention a word about Dumbledore's warning, and I would say Fudge forced them to keep quiet."

"In the end, they don't believe what Dumbledore said, they don't believe that Voldemort has returned, otherwise they wouldn't be so calm..." Loren sipped the remaining half glass of orange juice.

Harry turned to look out the window. The train was approaching the outskirts of the city, and scattered houses and abandoned pavilions along the railway appeared more frequently in view, with a few people occasionally in sight.

The rest of the journey passed very quickly. The sun slowly dimmed, and the dazzling white gradually turned into a bright golden yellow, transitioning towards orange-red.

In the carriage next to him were George and Fred, and behind them were Cedric and Cho Chang. He saw the Twins calculating the Galleons they had saved up over the year as the Witch pushed open the door to sell her food cart. Cedric and Cho Chang were discussing whether they could go on a trip together during the summer vacation.

Harry finished the Pumpkin Juice, which had cooled to room temperature, let out a satisfied sigh, and looked at his friends. "Have you ever thought about this...?"

"?" Loren and Hermione looked at him together, their eyes filled with identical curiosity.

"What have you been thinking about?" Ron asked.

"I hope the train keeps going like this, all summer long, and never reaches King's Cross Station."

"Then how do we get back?" Ron asked naively.

Harry thought about it carefully, "Before autumn comes, the train will make a loop somewhere and then come back to Hogwarts..."

Loren looked at him in disbelief. "Shocking! You actually want to skip summer vacation and go straight back to school!"

"Are you still the Harry I know?" Ron asked, equally shocked.

Even Hermione couldn't help but smile.

"..."

As Harry gradually relaxed, Loren stretched and looked out the window.

The train sped through the wilderness, past vast farms, heading straight for the city without stopping, just like time itself. When something unpleasant awaits ahead, time neither slows down nor leaps over it.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived in London, Hogwarts Express quickly pulled into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The students began to disembark, while others struggled to move forward with their heavy suitcases. Loren and his friends were stuck in the aisle, inching closer to the doors.

Fortunately, their suitcases were all empty, so it wasn't difficult. Bored, Harry, blocking the aisle, teased Hedwig, his gaze casually glancing around and landing on the Twins huddled together, grinning slyly. Harry paused for a moment, then went over and patted them on the shoulder:

"George, Fred."

The two men turned around and looked at him warily. "Is there something you need, Harry?"

"Have you saved enough money to open the shop... I mean, the prize money for the Goblet of Goblet of Fire is 1,000 Galleon. Cedric and I split it in half, and I won't need that Galleons for the next few years. Rather than letting them gather dust in Gringotts ' underground vault, I'd rather give them to you if you haven't saved enough yet."

Seeing the two of them frowning and looking like they wanted to refuse, Harry continued to persuade them, "Listen, I need some laughter more than useless Galleons. I think we probably all need some laughter. I have a feeling that we will soon need more laughter than usual."

Before the Twins could say anything, Harry took out the prize money he had won in the Triwizard Tournament from his Storage Scale, shoved it into their hands, and squeezed through the crowded car door.

After getting off the bus, you walk through a chaotic and noisy section of the station road. Parents picking up their children are standing at the temporary parking spot outside the station.