The Leaked Secret

Picking up where we left off, Honeydukes was packed with Hogwarts students, so no one gave Kate a second glance.

On top of that, it was Halloween, and everyone was dressed as all manner of monsters and demons. Kate slipped along the edges of the crowd, looking around for any sign of Penelope.

Shelf after shelf filled the shop, piled high with the most enticing sweets anyone could imagine.

Huge slabs of peanut brittle, faintly glowing pink coconut ice, hundreds of neatly arranged varieties of chocolate, a massive barrel of Every Flavor Beans, a barrel of Fizzing Whizbees, sherbet drinks floating in the air, and, along another wall, all sorts of sweets "with special effects": Drooble's Best Blowing Gum (which could fill an entire room with bluebell-colored bubbles that would not burst for days), strange shattered-looking Fainting Fancies, tiny Nosebleed Nougat ("Make your friends breathe fire through their noses!"), Ice Mice ("Hear your teeth chatter and squeak!"), toad-shaped Toffee Eclairs ("They really hop around in your stomach!"), crisp sugar quills, and exploding bonbons.

That was right. This was Hogsmeade, the wizarding village third-years were allowed to visit, and this was the legendary Honeydukes. For a moment, Kate forgot she had come to track down Penelope, and saliva began to pool in her mouth.

But sometimes, the things you least wanted to find suddenly appeared right in front of you.

Penelope stood in a corner, the visible half of his face radiant in a way Kate had never seen before. Across from him stood an eye-catching boy—not merely because he was the only one not in costume, but because he was far too handsome. He wore a black Wizard Robe, with black hair and skin so fair it seemed to glow. His silver-white eyes were deep and lustrous, and the slight baby fat on his face only made him cuter.

So that was it. Penelope already had a sweetheart.

The perspective now shifted to Ryan.

It was a bright morning, and Ryan had risen early. Breakfast was chickpeas, fried sausages and eggs, along with a cup of hot milk—a simple English breakfast. After passing the leisurely breakfast hour, Ryan began exercising again.

"One, two, three, four. Two, two, three, four. That one didn't count. Again." As he silently repeated the chant in his mind, Ryan's movements shifted constantly. Between each movement, galaxy-like lights and shadows flickered around him. Even his breathing possessed an incomparable charm, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes clear and sometimes deep. The original creator of these radio calisthenics probably would not have recognized them anymore; they had been loaded with special effects.

As the Body Modification skill continued to evolve, the exercise routine had long since become unrecognizable.

This routine was no longer something that could be completed with just a few simple movements. It incorporated the rhythm of breathing, the chants recited in one's heart, the emotions and expressions corresponding to every movement, even the flow of magic itself. To complete the entire routine, aside from Ryan's extraordinary talent, perhaps not even Dumbledore could finish it. After all, this was a skill Ryan had developed specifically to overtake everyone else on the inside track in the wizarding world.

Combined with Black Knight, there were probably only a handful of people who could last even one exchange against the current Ryan.

After exercising, naturally, it was time for a bath. Though this was not his first time bathing here, Ryan could not help feeling amazed. While George Smith was still alive, Ryan had not been permitted to enter this bathroom. Ryan's own bathroom was luxurious too, but compared to this one, it was utterly insignificant.

The moment one entered and looked up, one could see a starry sky containing every constellation known to modern wizards, dreamlike and fantastical. It must have been the work of some ancestor who loved Astronomy.

The scattered stars cast a warm, soft glow through the room. Mist rose from the bath like clouds and fog. The bathroom floor was covered in green lawn, dotted with rockeries and unknown flowers.

The lawn was fake, as expected. Stepping on it gave him a cool, wonderful sensation, as if countless chilly, soft little hands were massaging the soles of his feet.

The central bath sat beside the rockery, like an irregular natural hot spring.

The rockery beside the bath had around a hundred inconspicuous holes that served as taps. There was also a diving board.

A huge pile of soft white towels, like a snow-covered mountain, rested on a dry stone platform beside the hot spring.

On the wall directly opposite the rockery as one entered the bath hung only one painting, set in a gilded frame.

The painting depicted a sea beside several rocks. It was a fine moment, and a blond mermaid was sleeping soundly atop the rocks. Her long, beautiful hair brushed her face, trembling slightly with every breath.

Ryan did not intend to waste much time this visit. After washing up quickly, he did not wake the mermaid on the rocks. He changed into a simple plain black Wizard Robe and prepared to set off.

With a series of sharp cracks, Ryan finally arrived at the wizarding village of Hogsmeade under Jack's guidance.

There was still plenty of time before their two o'clock appointment; it was only around eleven. Ryan had come early to scout the place out so he could arrange the day's itinerary afterward. After sending Jack away, Ryan headed alone to the famous Three Broomsticks. It was a pub, though it also served some simple food.

The pub was already filled with holiday cheer. A brightly dressed, voluptuous woman moved about the establishment. If nothing unexpected happened, she was Madam Rosmerta, Ron's secret crush.

When Madam Rosmerta saw Ryan enter the pub, even she, a woman weathered by the world, could not help brightening at the sight of him. What a handsome young gentleman.

"Happy Halloween, young sir. What would you like?" Madam Rosmerta could not help stepping closer and asking Ryan softly and gently.

"Madam Rosmerta, another Butterbeer!" a bald middle-aged wizard at a nearby table called out.

"Of course, please wait a moment," Madam Rosmerta replied in an entirely different voice. It was not unpleasant, and could even be called bright, but compared with her previous tone... well, it was a little frightening.

The bald middle-aged wizard could not help shrinking his neck.

"Young gentleman, since it's Halloween, we have special Halloween drinks." Madam Rosmerta immediately returned to her earlier tone. Ryan politely interrupted her at just the right moment. "One Butterbeer will do. Do you have anything to eat?"

"Food? We have sausage rolls, fried pork rinds, Yorkshire pudding..." Perhaps it was the first time she had met someone who cared more about food at a pub, so Madam Rosmerta went all out listing dishes, completely ignoring the conspicuous menu not far from the bar.

"Then I'll have a sausage roll, plus a steak with potato salad." Ryan pretended not to have seen the menu.

After ordering simply, Ryan picked up his only form of entertainment, Lockhart's Voyages with Vampires, and passed the time chatting with Madam Rosmerta now and then.

Ahem, I just realized I had written Penelope as Peneno. I corrected it all over again.