Hogsmeade

Where the wand pointed, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"What is it?" Startled, Ron's voice began to tremble.

Harry narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I just felt a powerful presence approaching us."

"Are you sure you didn't feel wrong?" Ron looked around in a panic, pulled out his wand, and stammered, casting Lumos only after repeating the incantation twice. "Could it be the aura of some Dark Arts books?"

Harry shook his head. "The aura of a person and an object are not the same."

Ron's face turned pale as he gripped his wand tightly.

He slowly pulled his wand back. "Let's find that book quickly; this place makes me very uncomfortable."

The Potent Potion was not hard to find, and they located it soon enough.

Ron held up his wand.

Harry quickly copied down the recipe, condensing the two pages of precautions into a brief summary.

They returned to the dormitory to study the contents more carefully.

Ron had a bit of a headache. "This potion is so complicated."

"But it's powerful, isn't it?" Harry's eyes gleamed. "And it doesn't require many ingredients."

"Lacewing flies, antimony, leeches..."

The combination of minerals and herbs, along with the rather savage application of some of the medicinal properties, opened his eyes. He began to form ideas on how the various concoctions of a Witcher could be realized in this world.

It was nearly three in the morning when Harry finally turned off the light and yawned. "After we wake up tomorrow, let's go check the supply cabinet in the Potions classroom."

"If the materials are complete there, we won't have to worry about them."

Ron, dazed and sprawled on his bed in a posture that invited trouble, mumbled, "O... okay."

He didn't have Harry's stamina and had long since reached his limit.

The next day, they got up.

The Potions classroom remained open even during the holidays; some fifth and seventh-year students who had to achieve an "O" on their exams couldn't even enjoy a relaxing Christmas.

There were plenty of herbs in the student storage cabinets, as well as minerals and metals, but... two of the most crucial ingredients were missing.

Powdered Bicorn horn and the skin of an African Tree Snake.

Harry took a few extra herbs, disguising them as ingredients for brewing three different potions before leaving.

Once they were out of the classroom, Ron let out a sigh of relief. "It's terrifying that the upperclassmen can't even go home for Christmas."

"The way they look at us isn't any better than how you look at them," Harry shook his head. "In their eyes, you might just be that kind of... good student who works hard from the first year."

Ron twisted his neck awkwardly.

He wasn't a bad student, but the label "good student" didn't quite fit his style.

"Maybe Professor Snape will even change his opinion of you because of this," Harry teased. "Look at him now; hasn't he been a bit more pleasant toward Hermione?"

"I suspect you have some misunderstanding of the word 'pleasant'." Ron shuddered.

In Potions class, there were three people whose work would prompt Snape to deliver a long-winded lecture.

Harry would be scolded until he was drenched in vitriol.

Malfoy would often receive the most praise.

Then there was Hermione; Snape wouldn't target her the way he targeted Harry, but... out of his "respect" for Gryffindor, he wouldn't have any kind words for her either.

The other Little Lions were terrified.

Yet, the two people involved were indifferent, even wishing Snape would scold them a bit more.

"What about the remaining two ingredients?" Once they were far away and sure no one was around, Ron complained. "Professor Snape's storage room must have them."

Harry shook his head. "I don't think stealing from a professor is a wise choice."

Ron sighed. "Then what do we do?"

"Hogsmeade." Harry suddenly stopped and looked out the window into the distance. "We could go there and take a look."

Ron was stunned, his brow furrowing. "But that's a place only third-year students can go, and you have to get permission from your parents..."

"We might be able to ask your brothers," Harry continued walking forward. "They know many secret passages in Hogwarts; perhaps one of them leads to Hogsmeade."

Ron's brow remained tightly locked. "But what do we tell them?"

"Tell them... we need to buy ingredients for Polyjuice Potion?"

Harry glanced at Ron strangely. "Setting the ingredients aside, don't you want to go see Hogsmeade?"

Ron froze.

"Isn't it normal for a young wizard to want to go to Hogsmeade?" Harry countered.

They returned to the common room.

The Weasley brothers were uncharacteristically not out causing trouble.

"George." Harry sat down beside one of them, "I have a favor to ask of you."

The person straightened up: "No, I'm Fred."

"You're George." Harry corrected, "That trick doesn't work on me."

George muttered: "Oh, no, Harry, how do you do it? You can distinguish us so precisely every single time."

"I want to go to Hogsmeade, do you have a way?" Harry asked, getting straight to the point.

Fred raised an eyebrow: "You want to go to Hogsmeade? Now is not a good time..."

"I can't just stay at Hogwarts for the entire Christmas break." Harry looked helpless, "Most of my friends have gone home."

George chuckled: "Then you've come to the right people; we know seven secret passages that lead to Hogsmeade."

"And Filch only knows four." Fred put his hands on his hips, looking righteous.

Ron raised his hands: "That's great, George, Fred, I knew you guys would know."

"Harry can go." George said seriously, "But little Ronnie, you cannot."

Ron's eyes widened: "Why?!"

"Harry is very capable; he can kill a Troll." Fred said sarcastically, "While you can only be killed by one."

"Perhaps you aren't even a match for a Flobberworm."

George paused: "Besides, Harry looks very mature; aside from his height, he's like a big kid."

"And you're still a little brat, my dear little Ronnie." Fred spread his hands, "Still a little Ronnie-baby who only knows how to cry for his mommy."

Ron's face flushed red with anger, and he shouted: "Fred, George!"

"Our little Ronnie is angry again." George exclaimed, "Do you need to borrow Hedwig from Harry to write a letter to Mom and complain about us?"

Ron gritted his teeth: "Sooner or later, I'm going to turn you two into a pile of stinking dung."

"Two piles." Fred stood up and patted Ron on the shoulder, "Him and me, we are two people, not one."

"We'll bring you candy when we get back." George ruffled Ron's hair hard, "How about Cockroach Clusters? That's a sweet that even Headmaster Dumbledore likes."

"I think Spider Candy would be more suitable for little Ronnie."

"Is there such a thing?"

"Maybe we can ask the owner of Honeydukes to cast a Transfiguration spell."

Ron was trembling all over.

"Once I know the secret passage, we can go together next time." Harry whispered to comfort Ron, which made him feel a little better.

George and Fred were already impatient.

Harry returned to the dormitory to make some preparations—stuffing two pairs of socks into his shoes to make himself look taller, tucking the Sorting Hat under his robes, and hanging seven or eight bottles of potions from his waist—

Neville's failed Boil-Cure Potion, Draught of Living Death, Acromantula Venom begged from Hagrid...

He also restyled his hair, and after a moment's thought, put on the sunglasses Snape had given him—he didn't like the things, but a Witcher's eyes were too recognizable.

"Harry, you really look different." George marveled, "What's that on your face? It's kind of cool."

Harry replied: "This is a Christmas gift from Professor Snape."

The two of them immediately fell silent, wishing they could swallow back the compliments they had just given.

Under Ron's envious gaze, they took Harry out of the common room to a mirror on the fifth floor. George looked around, carefully took out his wand, and tapped the mirror lightly: "Reveal."

The mirror rippled like water and became as transparent as glass, revealing a passage hidden behind it.

"Come on, Harry." George walked in first.

Fred pushed Harry inside.

"This is our favorite one." George lit his wand and led the way, "The path is very flat, the space is wide, and you can walk upright."

Fred sighed: "If you have to talk about a drawback, it's that this secret passage is getting on in years. When we used it last year, a large clump of dirt fell, just grazing George's nose."

"What a pity, if only it had hit his head."

George turned back and kicked Fred: "Damn it, what are you saying."

Fred patted his robes: "And the destination is also good; it's in a very hidden corner in Hogsmeade, unlike the other two passages."

"One entrance is under the Whomping Willow."

"One exit is inside the Honeydukes shop."

"Last time we were almost caught and treated like thieves."

The secret passage was very long; they walked for a quarter of an hour before reaching the end, climbing out from another mirror inside an abandoned shack.

"Harry, where are you going?" George and Fred were full of excitement, but they didn't intend to leave Harry's side to go off on their own.

"Let's go buy some candy first." Harry thought for a moment; he couldn't really shake these two off anyway.

He bought some candy for Ron.

At the recommendation of the Weasley brothers, he also purchased some prank items.

Quills, parchment, and a few books.

The final stop was the apothecary.

"Do you have any African Tree Snake skin here?" Harry asked.

The shopkeeper's tone was strange: "You want that? We don't carry it; that's contraband, my dear little wizard."

Harry nodded, his expression unchanging, and continued to inquire about other relatively rare materials.

Bicorn horn powder was mixed in among them, but unfortunately... that was also contraband.

Harry took out his money and bought the other materials he had mentioned.

Fred and George looked at the gleaming Galleons with a hint of envy—in their three years of schooling, they hadn't spent even half of what Harry had spent this one time.

Just as they stepped out of the shop.

A man cloaked in black hurried out after them, blocking Harry's path and lowering his voice: "A little wizard from Hogwarts?"

"I have the materials you're looking for: Bicorn horn powder, Ashwinder eggs, African Tree Snake skin..."

Thanks to San Geng Wu Xing for the tip!