Opal Necklace

After leaving the Three Broomsticks Pub and parting from Seamus, who still planned to stay in the pub a while longer, Harry and the others finished walking around Hogsmeade village without lingering and prepared to return to Hogwarts.

Harry's group walked much faster than they had on the way there. In their hands they carried the Mandrake leaves, Death's-head Hawkmoth chrysalises, and other materials they had picked up from the Hogsmeade post office for their Animagus transformations. Since they did not want too many people to know what they were doing, they had not chosen to have owls drop the things directly onto the dining tables at Hogwarts in full view of everyone—this afternoon was the time they had arranged with Sirius Black for their first lesson in Animagus transformation, and they needed to put away the materials that could not be exposed.

Besides receiving parcels and letters, the Hogsmeade post office had at least two hundred owls to choose from, ranging from great gray falcons to miniature bards—local delivery only. They all perched on color-coded shelves for customers to choose from; as for which one to pick, that depended on how quickly you wanted your mail to reach its destination.

The snowstorm still drifted thickly through the air. They trudged with difficulty through the snow, pushing forward hard, wanting to get back to the comfortable, warm Hogwarts as quickly as possible.

"Why didn't you start learning Animagus transformation over the summer? The full moon is only tonight, and you have to keep the Mandrake in your mouth until the next full moon..." Hermione adjusted her hood and asked Ginny, "Lately, starting with Snape, all the other classes have been requiring us sixth-years to start using nonverbal spell techniques. Harry and the others can use that as practice, but Ginny,