A Long-Awaited Visit

By lunchtime, the new Beater had been chosen: Mikel.

His previous reading of Quidditch hadn't been in vain; he had basically mastered the rules, and coupled with his excellent flying skills, this allowed him to advance all the way to the end of the selection process.

Cedric immediately made the decision to replace Wright as Hufflepuff's new Beater.

Upon hearing this news, Ryan's eyes welled up with envy.

He had previously competed for the goalkeeper position, but ultimately lost to a fifth-grade student in terms of reaction speed.

Mikel was delighted and waved his hand, indicating that he would treat everyone to lunch in the Great Hall.

After the first team practice session ended, Kyle quickly returned to the Hufflepuff Common Room and found an armchair near the fireplace to sit down.

It started raining after noon.

Even with a warm badge on, the rain in October still felt chilly; it was much more comfortable near a warm fireplace.

The common lounge was crowded and bustling with noise.

"What happened?" he asked Kanna, who was sitting in an armchair next to him, working on two star charts for her Astronomy.

"First time spending a weekend in Hogsmeade," Kanna pointed to a notice on the bulletin board, "Late October, just before Halloween."

"That's great," Cedric said, squeezing in from behind. "I'm going to the Dervish and Banges to buy a broom trimming kit; it doesn't seem to be turning as smoothly as it used to."

Kyle was quite happy; shopping at Hogsmeade was one of the few recreational activities available to the students.

Although he knew about the secret passage leading to Hogsmeade and had been there many times before, he and Fred George had become much more cautious after Professor McGonagall caught them red-handed with three brooms last time, and they no longer sneaked off there.

And with Dementor around this year, it's even less likely we can go.

Because of Dumbledore's presence, the Dementor were relatively polite at the school, merely guarding the entrance, but things were different at Hogsmeade.

Especially after someone discovered traces of Sirius Black nearby...

The shop owners complained more than once in the Daily Prophet, urging the Ministry of Magic to strengthen its control over Dementor, at least to prevent them from barging into their shops at will.

However, the results were minimal.

The Ministry of Magic doesn't care, and the Dementor... they don't read newspapers.

If you sneak off to Hogsmeade and happen to encounter Dementor, it's much more troublesome than encountering a professor.

The next day, everyone was excited about the Hogsmeade Visiting Day. In Herbology Class, many people were discussing where they would go on that day.

Professor Sprout had to deduct points from two students to dampen their enthusiasm.

"I know you're all looking forward to going to Honeydukes, but what we're going to learn in this lesson is just as important."

Professor Sprout said loudly, "I must remind you that Belladonna is a poisonous and dangerous plant, and you must be extremely careful when collecting its pollen... unless you want to spend Halloween in the Hospital Wing."

"Now, everyone put on protective gloves..."

Professor Sprout's words were quite effective. Upon hearing that it was poisonous, everyone immediately became much more nervous and rushed to grab the gloves that had been placed on the table beforehand.

Professor Sprout nodded in satisfaction after seeing everyone tense up.

She didn't finish her sentence.

There is no major danger as long as the students come into contact with the plants in the greenhouse.

Just like last year's Mandrake, they were all in their juvenile stage. Once their cries were deadly enough, Professor Sprout would move them to another greenhouse.

That place is not open to students.

The same goes for this year's Belladonna flowers.

Their flowers are yellow, so even if you accidentally get pollen on them, it will only sting for a few days at most, and you won't need to go to the Hospital Wing.

But the real danger comes when they turn purple. Once they're covered in pollen, it won't just be a matter of spending Halloween at the Hospital Wing... You'll be lucky to be discharged by Christmas.

However, this part isn't needed yet; we can teach it to them after they return from Hogsmeade.

After the Herbology Class, there were no more classes in the morning.

Kyle returned to the castle and encountered a dejected Harry near the Entrance Hall. Harry walked forward silently with his head down, nearly knocking over a suit of armor in the corridor.

"Hey kid, watch where you're going!"

The portrait above exclaims, "This is my favorite armor!"

Harry didn't say anything, turned around and continued walking towards the Great Hall.

"What's wrong with him?" Kyle asked.

"No one signed his application form."

Hermione, who came with him, explained, "Professor McGonagall doesn't approve of him going to Hogsmeade?"

"That's because she's too conventional!" Ron couldn't help but say. "Professor McGonagall knows perfectly well that Harry's aunt and uncle are Muggle and hate anything related to magic. There's no way they would sign Harry's application form."

But with just one word from her, the whole thing was resolved...

"Professor McGonagall is right!" Hermione, somewhat annoyed. "Don't forget Black; someone has already seen him in the neighborhood once."

"Black isn't stupid; he's not going to go to Hogsmeade and do something rash," Ron said.

"Only you would think that way!" Hermione said angrily. "Don't believe me? Ask Kyle and see what he says."

Both of their gazes turned towards them simultaneously... no, it should be three people, including Harry, who also looked up at Kyle.

Uh... were we talking about Harry? How did the conversation suddenly turn to me?

Kyle thought for a moment and said, "I think Hermione has a point. On the day of the visit, Dementor at Hogsmeade will be transferred out. If Black wants to do something, that will be the best opportunity."

"See?" Hermione said, tilting her head back.

Ron muttered a couple of things, still feeling that the two of them were making a mountain out of a molehill.

Harry's expression didn't change much.

After all, Professor McGonagall had already explicitly rejected his request, and unless Uncle Vernon came to Hogwarts to sign the application form for him, there was no point in saying anything else.

This is clearly impossible.

Kyle's words were at best a weak excuse for him not to go.

Sirius Black is looking for him; staying at Hogwarts would actually be safer...

That's the only way Harry can convince himself now.

"Cheer up, there's still a banquet," Ron said, trying to cheer Harry up. "The Halloween banquet is in the evening."

"Yeah, that's really good," Harry said, though he still wasn't very enthusiastic.