A tall, sturdy young man held a basket of herbs with a few candies tucked inside. His face still had a hint of baby fat, but his expression was somber.
Neville Longbottom.
Beside him sat a tall, handsome young man with a gentle smile, apparently trying to comfort him. It was Cedric Diggory.
The two sat on a bench, Cedric speaking quietly to Neville as though trying to cheer him up.
Will approached and casually cast a Secrecy Charm. "Neville, Cedric. It's been a long time."
"Who are you?" Cedric didn't recognize Will at first beneath the gray robe that hid most of his face. Then realization struck, and his eyes lit up.
Neville looked Will's robe up and down in confusion. "Will? What are you doing here? Why are you dressed like that?"
"It's something private. I need to keep a low profile." Will tugged at his hood. "Cedric, Neville, what have you two been up to lately?"
"Not much." Cedric smiled and held out his hand. "Like I said before, I joined the Ministry of Magic. They're desperately short of staff right now, so it wasn't hard to get in."
"It takes courage to join the Ministry of Magic now," Will said, shaking his head. "These are dangerous times."
"They are." Cedric sighed. "I wanted to go straight to the Auror Office and become an Auror, but my father absolutely refused to let me. So I joined the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures instead."
"That department is a little safer."
"That's what my father said, too." Cedric sighed again. "But this morning, he took me and another colleague on an assignment to Mount Snowdon, and a Bird-Shaped Man-Eater injured him. We just brought him in."
"Don't worry. He'll be fine."
"Of course. He only broke