Honeydukes

Chapter 31: The days of learning at Honeydukes are just that simple and unadorned.

Eyes open, class begins.

Eyes shut, sleep.

Hermione was truly a force to be reckoned with, like a cheat code.

Her learning speed was like riding a rocket.

Under her guidance, Brook's Disillusionment Charm finally made significant progress.

After over a month of effort.

He finally managed to cast the Disillusionment Charm successfully.

Though there were still minor flaws.

If someone observed closely, they could still spot the cracks.

But for Brook, as long as it wasn't easy for others to recognize him, that was enough.

"Are you planning to do something bad again?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"Why do you ask?" Brook was puzzled.

"Hmph! If you weren't up to no good, why would you learn the Disillusionment Charm?"

"What a clever little witch."

Hermione lifted her chin, the curve of her lips harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.

Brook smiled at Hermione. "You figured it out, and you still taught me?"

"As if not teaching you would stop you from doing bad things," Hermione muttered softly. "At least with the Disillusionment Charm, you won't get caught and lose points."

"Hermione, you're really adorable." Brook ruffled Hermione's hair.

(￣▽￣)ノ

This was the legendary double standard!

If it were anyone else, Hermione would be thanking heaven and earth for not running to the teacher.

Hermione: (ꈍᴗꈍ)

"By the way, what exactly do you want to do?"

Brook shrugged. "Me? I haven't decided yet, but I'm planning to go out."

"Out? Leave Hogwarts? No way." Hermione shrieked.

"Keep your voice down."

Brook quickly made a shushing gesture.

Luckily, they were in an empty classroom with no one else around.

Otherwise, he'd really be "dead before the mission even started."

"Leaving Hogwarts would be very dangerous for you," Hermione said, her face full of worry.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade, that place where third-years and above go on weekend trips. And I can always retreat into the ring's space, so there's no real danger," Brook explained.

Hermione pouted. "Then I'm coming too."

"Let me scout the way first. Next time, I'll take you."

"Oh, fine!" Hermione looked a bit disappointed but relented. "Then be careful."

"With me handling things, what's there to worry about?"

"Don't get caught, or else..."

Hermione couldn't think of a threat.

"Or else I'll accompany you to the library every day, how about that?" Brook suggested with a smile.

"As if you don't already do that," Hermione muttered under her breath.

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, only audible to Brook's ears, which were sharper than a normal person's.

"When I come back tomorrow, I'll bring you some treats."

Hermione put on a proud face, as if she wouldn't be bribed by snacks.

On the weekend, Brook got up early for a rare change.

He had a lot to do and was afraid time wouldn't be enough.

He applied makeup inside the ring and changed to a different face.

Then he took out his wand and tapped it lightly on his head.

"Disillusionment Charm."

When he reappeared in the dormitory.

His body was like a chameleon, blending into the colors around him.

He climbed into the hole and pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait.

The Fat Lady, seeing no one there, muttered, "What's the point of being invisible in broad daylight?"

Brook made his way smoothly to the statue of the One-Eyed Witch on the fourth-floor corridor.

He tapped the statue lightly with his wand.

"Dissendium!"

The hump on the statue immediately opened, revealing a passage just wide enough for one person.

Inside was a stone slide, and Brook sat down on it without hesitation.

The slide was long and thrilling, twisting and turning, much like the ice slides he used to ride in the Northeast.

It took about five minutes before he reached the bottom.

All around was pitch black, so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

"Lumos!"

He lit up his wand.

He looked up at the stone slide stretching endlessly above.

Well, no going back now.

The ground was rough and uneven, winding as it went.

Brook began sensing the spatial markers he'd left in Hogwarts.

His Space Gate's maximum range was now twenty thousand meters.

If he couldn't sense any markers, he could leave a new one.

That way, next time he came, he could just use the Space Gate directly.

He didn't want to suffer through this again.

Of course, the Space Gate could also open randomly in any direction.

But he had no idea what would be on the other side.

If Dumbledore happened to be in Hogsmeade, opening it right in his face would be a disaster.

After nearly an hour of walking, he finally saw a long stone staircase.

The kind that stretched on without an end in sight.

For someone like Brook, who just wanted to lie down and do nothing, this was practically torture.

Even with his adult-level physique, climbing it left him gasping for breath.

He had no idea how the twins managed to keep going.

It wasn't until he spotted a wooden door that he knew he'd arrived.

Still within the twenty-thousand-meter range, so next time he wouldn't even need to use the secret passage.

He listened carefully for any sounds, then cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself again.

He pushed the door open quickly and darted up to the surface.

It turned out to be a cellar, packed with chairs and boxes.

He walked out slowly.

The Honeydukes candy shop was unusually quiet.

Behind the counter, a witch was dozing off, her head resting on her arms.

Brook walked over to the shelves, waved his wand, and instantly canceled the Disillusionment Charm.

Then he strolled around Honeydukes as if he owned the place.

He had promised to bring Hermione a gift, after all.

So he launched into a full-on shopping spree.

Multi-flavored chocolates, milk soft toffees, pear hard candies, licorice wands, Fizzing Whizbees, Sugar Quills.

Pink, shimmering Coconut Ice, and exploding-filled sweets.

Acid Pops that would "burn a hole in your friend's tongue," Ice Mice that "let you hear your teeth chatter and crunch," Pepper Imps that "make smoke come out of your mouth,"

Drooble's Best Blowing Gum that filled the whole room with bluebell-colored bubbles that wouldn't pop for days.

Brook glanced at each item, then swept it into his basket.

Maybe he was making too much noise, because he finally woke the sleeping witch behind the counter.

She rubbed her bleary eyes and lifted her head groggily.

When she saw the growing pile of candy in Brook's basket.

Her still-drowsy eyes instantly lit up, crinkling into a smile.

This was a big spender!

She quickly stood up and said warmly, "Hello, I'm Madam Flume, the owner here. Seeing you've bought so much, let me swap you an empty basket."

She promptly handed Brook an empty basket and took away the one that could no longer hold anything.

As if afraid that once Brook filled the basket, he'd stop buying.

"Take your time picking."

After a good while, Brook finally finished selecting all the candies.

Three full baskets, each piled high to the brim.

Madam Flume's smile never faded, her eyes crinkling into slits.

"That'll be 21 Gold Galleons, 3 Silver Sickles, and 6 Knuts."

Brook paid, then stowed all the candies into his ring.