Halloween Eve

On Halloween Eve, the third-year students of Hogwarts embarked on their first trip to Hogsmeade. Mr. Filch, the janitor, checked each name on a long parchment to prevent anyone not on the list from slipping away.

A large group of Slytherin, who were in the same year as Skylar, successfully passed Filch's screening and arrived at Hogsmeade.

Draco seemed to have visited a few times when he was a child, but for the rather introverted Skylar, this was his first time visiting the only pure wizard village in Britain, so Draco naturally took on the role of tour guide for the group.

"These are Three Broomsticks, the best Butterbeer, and probably the most well-informed and lively place in Hogsmeade," Draco said, pointing to a pub.

Daphne glanced at Skylar and said, "The shop owner, Madam Rosmerta, is a renowned beauty. Even Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and the professors drink here when they come to Hogsmeade. Don't you want to go in and take a look?"

"Hehe, with you and Meredith here, why would I need to look at other girls?" Skylar knew perfectly well that even if he wanted to, he couldn't say it, so he chuckled and tried to brush it off.

"Really?" A strange glint appeared in Daphne's eyes. "What about Morrie? Luna? And Hermione... the look on her face when you held her hand that day... tsk tsk..."

Daphne spilled the beans about Skylar's gossip. This attracted the attention of Meredith, Pansy, and the other girls.

Meredith's face was frosty, and even her tone carried a hint of coldness. "Morrie, I know. When did Luna and Hermione's incident happen?"

Draco curled his lip. "Hermione Granger? That front tooth?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "No offense, Skylar. You already have Daphne and Meredith, and you're still not satisfied. Okay, I admit that Morrie is indeed a good catch, worthy of our House of Malfoy, but Hermione's front tooth is just too much..."

Pansy, a hint of schadenfreude in her voice, covered her mouth and chuckled, "Wow, I didn't realize, Skylar, your movements were so stealthy and efficient!"

Blaise and Nott looked on with admiration, mixed with a touch of envy and jealousy— Skylar's luck with women is just too good!

"Luna, Hermione, and I are absolutely innocent!" Skylar quickly denied. "We're just friends, not even close friends."

He feigned ignorance and changed the subject. "Look! Those are the Weasley twins. What does that store do?"

The Weasley family, known as Pure-blood traitors, were long despised by the Slytherin Little Snakes. Skylar's outburst successfully changed the subject. The others looked in the direction he was pointing.

"Oh, that's Zonko's Joke Shop," Draco said. They saw the Weasley Twins come out of there, carrying a huge pile of prank toys like Dr. Filibuster's Fireworks, Dungbomb, Fanged Frisbee, and so on. "Most of Weasley's prank toys come from there. If you ask me, Filch would absolutely want to tear this shop down if he could."

"Maybe we can also check out Honeydukes!" Pansy pulled Draco along. It was clear that Zonko's Joke Shop wasn't a favorite among girls. Honeydukes, on the other hand, was widely recognized as the shop where Hogwarts students congregated most.

"Ice Mice!" As soon as they entered Honeydukes, several girls excitedly rushed towards the candy pile. For girls, sweets and body shape are always in a trade-off, a problem that even Dumbledore couldn't solve. But it seems that Honeydukes has partially solved this problem in a landmark way. At least the Ice Mice are said to be sugar-free and have none of the side effects commonly found in artificial sweeteners, making them the only sweets that the girls at Hogwarts can safely consume in large quantities.

Skylar wasn't particularly interested in sweets, and while accompanying Daphne and Meredith shopping, he could only listlessly wander around the shops.

A wizard was handing out milk gummies to the crowd; it appeared to be a sample of a new type of candy. Students surrounded the shelves on all sides, their eyes filled with an unimaginable variety of candies.

Large chunks of Creamy Peanut Fudge seemed to still have cream on them; pink Coconut Ice shimmered; hundreds of different flavors of chocolate were neatly piled up, but on this day that wasn't Valentine's Day, few girls seemed interested in them; Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and Fizzing Whizzbees were packed in jars, making the wooden rack creak as if it might collapse under the weight at any moment.

"My parents would love Ice Mice! They're both dentists." A familiar voice reached his ears, Skylar turned around abruptly to find Hermione and Ron discussing the types of candy.

"Hi, Skylar!" Hermione greeted Skylar, while Ron gave an inappropriate snort. Hermione gave Skylar an apologetic smile and then returned to her discussion with Ron.

Draco and the four boys weren't particularly interested in candy and sweets, so they bought a little and left first, planning to go to the Three Broomsticks to look at the pretty girls. They were the only ones who unceremoniously left Skylar behind, making him the girls' porter, responsible for carrying bag after bag of candy. Luckily, Skylar had Newt's briefcase with him (in the pocket of his Supreme Robe), and he was confident that he could even move the entire Honeydukes without a problem.

After spending a full two hours at Honeydukes (my goodness! 3 seconds of sympathy for poor Skylar!), the girls finally let Skylar go and left the Honeydukes satisfied. Pansy and her three best friends decided to continue shopping at Gladrags Wizardwear, but Daphne seemed to have other ideas, so Skylar, Daphne, and Meredith parted ways with them.

Hogsmeade Village isn't very big, with only about a dozen shops. Since the two girls didn't like Zonko's Joke Shop and had no intention of buying clothes, and Honeydukes had already finished shopping, Skylar scratched his head and suggested, "Uh, aren't you going to buy clothes? Why don't we go find Draco and the others at the Three Broomsticks' shop?"

A sly glint flashed in Daphne's eyes, and she said with feigned seriousness, "I heard there's a teahouse nearby that has really delicious cakes. Shall we go try it?"

Meredith instantly guessed Daphne's intention and readily agreed, "You mean Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop? I've heard about it too; their tea and snacks are indeed quite good."

Although it was Skylar's first time visiting Hogsmeade Village, having read the original books thoroughly, he certainly knew what Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop was. He suppressed a smile and nodded in agreement.

The three walked along the street and eventually turned onto a side street opposite the Hog's Head Inn, where there was a small pink teahouse. The owner was undoubtedly past her romantic phase, even Skylar, who didn't consider himself particularly romantic, felt that way. However, Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop remained a popular dating spot for Hogwarts couples.

As soon as Skylar stepped into the teahouse, he spotted two familiar faces— Percy and Penelope —chatting in a corner. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice them.

The teahouse was small and steamy, with everything seemingly decorated with ruffles or bows. There weren't many customers, so there were plenty of seats to choose from. The three of them sat down by the misty window, a distance away from Percy's table. They were surrounded by Hogwarts students, and even if they didn't know their names, some of their faces were familiar.

One of them, Skylar recognized—Roger Davis, the Ravenclaw playboy. This semester, he was elected the new Quidditch captain of Ravenclaw and ranked third on the list of girls' dream boyfriends (first was Skylar, and second was Cedric Diggory, who had also just become the Quidditch captain). He was currently with a beautiful blonde girl, their hands clasped tightly together on the table.

"Gentlemen... um, what would you like to order?" Madam Puddifoot said, approaching the table. She was plump and had her hair styled in a glossy black bun. She had intended to say the usual platitudes, but noticing the difference at this table, she quickly changed her words.

"Three cups of milk tea, please," Daphne said.

"If this place were renovated, I think many couples would be willing to come here," Skylar muttered under his breath, looking around. The shop's decor was really not good, making him wonder if this was just the taste of most wizards.

After the milk tea arrived, Skylar took a sip—oh my god, it was unbearably sweet! Daphne and Meredith couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle when they saw Skylar's embarrassed expression as he frowned at the sweetness of the milk tea.

"This tea tastes like syrup," Skylar complained in a low voice, clearly dissatisfied.

Daphne was a little smug. She said with a grin, "Madam Puddifoot seems to think that lovers should be as sweet as possible. Look, little angel!"

A creature resembling a human baby Accio over the small round table. It had a pair of small, pure golden wings and its lower body was wrapped in a strip of pure golden cloth (imagine a diaper). The little angel couldn't speak, only making giggling noises, and mechanically sprinkled pink confetti onto the small round table.

Skylar looked at the milk tea covered in confetti and sighed inwardly. "Do all young women in the wizarding world like this kind of thing?"

Skylar took out his wand and waved it lightly on the round table, making the scraps of paper and teacups disappear. Then he waved it again in the air, silently casting a Muffliato to prevent any noise from his presence. He then gently tapped the little angel, who stopped giggling and scattering paper scraps, and instead took out a pure gold harp and began to play Richard Max's "Right Here Waiting."

(Note: The little angels can't sing, so they are playing only instrumental music.)

(Note: Cherub is from the Bible, not folklore. Following Rowling's conventions, he should not be Magical Creatures. Here, the author sets him up as a magical creation similar to Gargoyle, brought to life from a statue or model, and can be controlled by a wizard's Animation Charm to perform actions such as sprinkling paper or playing music.)

Although this piece was originally meant to be played on the piano, playing it on the harp added a touch of poignant beauty. Daphne and Meredith had never been exposed to Muggle music before, but that didn't stop them from feeling the deep emotions hidden within the music. The three of them sat quietly, immersed in the music.

Suddenly, a series of smacking sounds rang out as Roger Davis and his girlfriend began kissing through the sugar jar. Their actions seemed to have a magical power, causing the other couples at the next table to succumb and follow suit, instantly transforming the atmosphere in the teahouse into a romantic and intimate one.

Skylar was now in a bit of an awkward situation. Skylar first kiss in this life was with Meredith, and he had also kissed Daphne at a concert during summer vacation. But now both girls were present, and he didn't know what to do. If there were internet access here, Skylar would definitely have already sent out a "Waiting online, urgent!" plea for help.

Daphne and Meredith exchanged a glance, then obediently sat down on either side of Skylar. Daphne whispered in Skylar's ear, "This is a reward for you. You've been keeping us company for so long today, you must have been bored, hee hee!"

Skylar didn't get a chance to say another word; Daphne's arms wrapped around his neck like snakes, and her hot lips silenced his next words.

After a long while, Skylar finally came to his senses from the wonderful feeling. Before he could even catch his breath, he opened his eyes and saw Meredith's breathtakingly beautiful face right in front of him. Her long eyelashes trembled, and her bright, clear eyes held a burning longing. Her slightly parted, full lips seemed to invite him to taste them, exuding an indescribable charm and shyness—at this moment, silence spoke louder than words. The two confirmed their feelings for each other with just a glance, and then Skylar kissed her.

Meredith let out a soft hum, wrapping her arms around Skylar's neck. They breathed in each other's scent, savoring the delicate, warm touch...