The Strange Werewolf

Madam Rosmerta was truly a witch with an extensive network of gossip. If she ever met the utterly narcissistic Rita Skeeter, who still called herself a charming blonde at the ripe old age of forty-three, it would probably be like thunder meeting fire—completely unstoppable.

As they chatted, she vividly recounted little stories about the various professors: the faint sparks between McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor and Gryffindor Head of House, and Hagrid, keeper of the Forbidden Forest; Dumbledore's peculiar obsession with sweets; and more.

Ryan realized that Madam Rosmerta thought he was a young wizard currently studying at Hogwarts. After all, much of her gossip involved jokes that only Hogwarts students would understand.

As they talked, many Hogsmeade residents and Hogwarts students gradually arrived.

Ryan was grateful. If Madam Rosmerta had not been standing in front of him, he would probably have found himself in the same predicament as at the Sweet Soup Shop in London.

Before he knew it, he checked his watch. It was already half past one.

Estimating that he ought to arrive early, Ryan politely bade Madam Rosmerta farewell. He planned to wait at Honeydukes ahead of time and give Penelope a surprise.

Honeydukes was packed with people. Ryan regretted not dressing up as a monster like he had said in his letter, all because he wanted to play a little prank on Penelope and had chosen not to disguise himself.

On Halloween, those who did not dress up stood out even more.

Ryan heard a short, chubby young witch ask in what she thought was a very quiet, excited voice, "Molly! Do you know that handsome wizard over there? Which House is he from?"

"I'll bet ten Galleons that he's definitely not a Hogwarts student!"

"Mom, I'm in love again!"

Sometimes, overly sharp senses were more trouble than they were worth. Ryan could feel all sorts of eager, curious gazes constantly sizing him up. Every now and then, a bold young witch—or even a young wizard—came up to say hello.

"Hi!"

"Sorry, I'm waiting for someone right now." Ryan did his best to suppress his impatience as he replied politely. Wait, that voice.

"Penelope!" Ryan perked up. Penelope was dressed as a vampire countess, trying to look mature, but the baby fat on her cheeks gave her away. Damp strands of hair clung tightly to her face.

"Hmph, serves you right for deliberately teasing me." Penelope stuck out her tongue.

"Boss, two iced fruit drinks!" Ryan called to the owner.

"That passage was so long. You must be exhausted."

After that, Ryan kept fussing over Penelope. When the drinks arrived, he eagerly handed hers over, hoping to draw her attention and make her forget his earlier embarrassing moment.

"Penelope, do you know that werewolf over there?" At Ryan's words, Penelope took out the mirror she carried and pretended to fix her hair.

Behind them stood a short young wizard dressed as a werewolf, sneakily peering in their direction.

Ryan gave Penelope a look, signaling for her to follow him as they headed out of Honeydukes.

The perspective then returned to Kate. She watched Penelope suddenly leave Honeydukes with that handsome wizard. Kate first pretended not to care. About three breaths later, she acted as if she were leaving too and casually walked toward the entrance.

But the moment she turned the corner, the two of them had vanished.

Kate could not help growing anxious. Then a warm, sturdy body pressed close. Like catching a chick, someone grabbed Kate in one swift motion. Her feet left the ground as she struggled constantly.

"Talk. Who are you, and why were you following us?" said a clear boy's voice.

"Tell us who you are." This was a gentle female voice that sounded a little weak, but it was obviously Penelope.

Kate let out a small sigh of relief, and the cry for help that was about to leave her mouth died away. Thank goodness—she had nearly thought she was being kidnapped.

But the next second, Kate realized what was happening. Her little face beneath the mask immediately fell. Oh no, she had been caught.

"Take a guess?" Kate tried to struggle one last time.

But in the next moment, her mask was pulled off, revealing a delicate little black-haired girl with a doll-like face.

"Kate? Kate LeWinster! What the hell are you doing?!" Penelope was utterly stunned. Ryan could not help grumbling inwardly, I thought someone was tailing me because of my looks. Why do I feel strangely disappointed?

"Hehe!"

"Hehe my ass!" Penelope had a headache.

Although the school term had only just begun, Penelope had already figured out what kind of person this roommate was. It would not matter much if anyone else found out about this, but if Kate learned it, the entire Hogwarts would know—and every time, she would wear that innocent expression and pretend she knew nothing.

"Um, um, I just came out for a walk. It's Halloween, after all. And besides, I don't know anything." Kate became more fluent as she spoke. After Ryan set her back on the ground, she tilted her head up and pretended to seriously look into Penelope's eyes. Her large eyes fluttered innocently, though her little legs, twitching from time to time, gave her away.

"Penelope, let's find somewhere to sit first. How about The Three Broomsticks?" Seeing the atmosphere grow tense, Ryan cut in.

A few minutes later, Ryan and the others arrived at the entrance to The Three Broomsticks.

Madam Rosmerta spotted Ryan from a long way off. But seeing that he had two girls with him, she secretly winked at him before pretending not to know him. "Welcome to The Three Broomsticks. What can I get you?"

"I want Butterbeer!" Kate, who had been playing dead the whole way, immediately came back to life and stated her request while bouncing up and down.

"Can I see the menu first? What do you have?" Penelope asked seriously.

"Anything is fine with me. Penelope, you look first. I'll have the same as you," Ryan said.

"The menu? There's a blackboard beside the bar. You can take a look there first, miss." Madam Rosmerta pointed toward the bar before returning to her work.

Beside the bar was a blackboard. To Ryan, it looked more like a mobile phone screen from his previous life, only enlarged and glowing with a warm yellow light. At the top was a pumpkin head, with several large words beneath it.

Halloween Set Meal: The Three Broomsticks' special chilled Pumpkin Juice, chicken sandwich, and fried chicken leg.

Penelope seemed very interested in the Halloween set meal. Meanwhile, while Penelope was not paying attention, Kate ordered a Butterbeer and pasta, picked out a table, and gestured to Ryan.

When Penelope came back to her senses and looked around, everyone had disappeared.

"Penelope, over here." Ryan waved. "I'll have the same as you."

Penelope's face darkened. These two... She ordered two Halloween set meals from Madam Rosmerta, then headed over to Ryan's table.

When Kate saw Penelope coming over, she ended her one-sided conversation with Ryan and fell silent, slowly sipping Butterbeer through her straw while her dangling legs kept swinging.

Penelope sat beside Ryan, seeming to recall something as she stared fixedly at Kate.

The situation became tense again, but fortunately, Madam Rosmerta arrived. She carried a tray with a stack of sandwiches in the middle and two small pumpkins on either side, each with a straw resembling a leafy stem sticking out of its top.

"Here, your set meals are ready."

Madam Rosmerta's words broke the deadlock.

"Pe-Penelope, look, this Pumpkin Juice looks just like a pumpkin." Ryan tried to divert Penelope's attention.

"It does look very much like one. But Kate, could you explain how you got to Hogsmeade? I'm very curious."