Aberforth's Help

Chapter 790: Aberforth's Help

"We're in Hogsmeade?"

Those words seemed to possess some kind of magic, instantly dispelling the trio's exhaustion.

"What did you say?" Hermione hurried over and craned her neck to look into the distance. Then she too saw the crooked two-story building.

"Maybe... that isn't the Shrieking Shack. It just looks similar," Hermione said.

To them, Hogsmeade was one of the most dangerous places there was, second only to Hogwarts.

There had to be plenty of Death Eaters lying in wait for them to walk into their trap. If this really was Hogsmeade, they might as well have gone to Tottenham Court Road from the start.

Though reason told them they should run now, the three of them still headed toward the two-story building in unspoken agreement.

As they drew closer, the sense of familiarity became clearer and clearer.

Harry was already certain that it was the Shrieking Shack. Not only that, he spotted the Hog's Head Inn beside it, its severed boar's head looking particularly savage in the darkness.

The dark street stretched onward into the distance, and they could vaguely make out the light shining from the windows of the Three Broomsticks.

"Damn it, why did we end up here?" Ron asked with a frown.

Hermione said nothing. She had already more or less figured out what had happened.

When people felt fear, they instinctively thought of the place they believed to be safest. Clearly, in her heart, the safest place in the entire wizarding world was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

And that instinct had affected the destination of their Apparition.

But Apparition was forbidden within the school, so they had appeared near Hogsmeade instead—after all, it was the closest place to Hogwarts.

"We'd better get out of here quickly," Harry said anxiously,