Hogwarts in the shadows

Hephaestus's shadow crept out from the narrow crack of the trapdoor, and Honeydukes' cellar was empty.

He simply pushed open the trapdoor and pulled Hermione up.

Honeydukes was crowded at this time, and many wizards were picking candies.

Hephis, in keeping with the principle that since they were already here, took Hermione's hand and started shopping.

Hermione wasn't very interested in candy, after all, she was the daughter of a dentist.

But when she saw those cute-shaped candies, she gave up resisting and quickly filled a big bag.

One candy in particular was called "Screaming Mouse," of which she took twenty.

The image of the "screaming mouse" is exactly the same as the gray mouse commonly found in the home.

Whenever you get your finger close to it, it will run in circles, a bit like a dog chasing its tail.

Once caught, it will let out a piercing scream.

Hephis once again began to doubt Hermione's aesthetic taste.

Is there something so "special" about witches' tastes?

Including the ones picked by Hephis, they took two large bags in total, which made the boss very happy.

However, when it came time to pay, Hermione refused to let Hefeth pay and insisted on going Dutch, and Hefeth couldn't persuade her in the end.

But Hermione didn't have much pocket money left, so she had to give up the 16 "screaming mice" with great reluctance.

While Hermione wasn't paying attention, Hephis quickly pulled four Galleons out of his pocket and threw them to the boss, then put the remaining "Screaming Rats" into a small bag.

Shopping really makes people happy both physically and mentally.

Hermione's nervous mood completely relaxed, and she began to observe the village of Hodmaud with great interest.

As soon as Hephis came out of the candy store, Hermione pulled him into the Writers' Quill Shop.

The store was filled with a wide variety of stationery, and Hermione's eyes seemed to be sparkling with stars.

Hephis could see that Hermione had a lot of things she wanted to buy, maybe her wallet was really tight.

Hermione raised her hand several times, but hesitated to take it back.

Hephis followed Hermione silently, watching her movements.

Every time she looked at an item for a second, he calmly put it into the shopping basket.

In the end, Hermione only chose two black and gold pheasant feather pens, one for her and one for Hephis.

The two left the Quill Shop and headed straight for Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

The teahouse doesn't look big, and its exterior walls are painted a sexy pink color.

There were two ugly, fat golden "angels" at the door, throwing candies to passers-by.

As they approached the teahouse, they saw through the window a couple kissing intimately across the table.

Hermione's cheeks flushed instantly, and she hurriedly pulled Hephis in the opposite direction.

Hephes smiled bitterly in his heart, the twins were trying to murder him!

If you go to jail, you will have to be sentenced to at least three years.

After running fifty or sixty meters, Hermione finally stopped, panting and looked back at Hephis.

Hephis quickly explained: "Hermione, that... I really don't know... The twins told me, I swear it has nothing to do with me."

"I know, that guy must have done it on purpose." Hermione's face was still a little red.

"So where are we going now? To the Three Broomsticks?" Hephis took out a map from his pocket and looked at it.

Hermione also came over and pointed at the Shrieking Shack on the map.

"Hephis, I want to go to the Shrieking Shack." It is marked as "the most haunted place in Britain."

Hephis turned his head and looked at Hermione's excited expression in surprise.

Going to a haunted house on Valentine's Day?

This train of thought seems... probably... not wrong.

However, when they arrived at the Shrieking Shack, they were disappointed.

The Shrieking Shack, this legendary haunted house, is an abandoned, dilapidated shack.

That's it?

They really didn't see what was so scary about it.

It can be said that they came with great excitement and left with great disappointment.

In the end, they decided to go to the Three Broomsticks Pub. After all, Hermione really liked Butterbeer.

The bar was bustling, and they found an empty table in the corner.

As soon as I sat down, a witch came over with her graceful body.

"Little wizard? You two are not being obedient!" the witch teased, with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

Hephis patted the back of Hermione's hand gently, signaling her to relax.

"Ma'am, could you give us two cups of butterbeer? It's still a bit cold outside." Hephis said calmly.

"No problem, handsome little wizard. My name is Rosmerta." Rosmerta nodded.

"Thank you, Ms. Rosmerta," Hephis responded politely.

"But you'd better look over at the bar." Rosmerta said mysteriously, then twisted away.

Hephis and Hermione looked in the direction she said and saw Professor Flitwick sitting at the bar drinking.

Hephis stood up and was about to leave with Hermione.

At this time, Professor Flitwick also noticed them, but the professor was obviously drunk, and his wrinkled little face was flushed.

Professor Flitwick waved at them enthusiastically, raising his glass in the air.

Hephis and Hermione were both stunned.

What's the situation?

Hephis stood there, not knowing whether to walk or sit, and could only wave his hand in response.

"Hephis, what...should we do?" Hermione asked uneasily.

Hephis hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, Lady Rosmerta came over with two glasses of butterbeer.

"Just sit down and be at peace!" she said quietly. "Flitwick is drunk. He won't remember you when he wakes up tomorrow."

"Okay! Thank you." Hephis sat down again.

He was quite open-minded. Since he had been seen, there was no point in leaving.

Then play music, then dance.

But Hermione couldn't do it. She was so stiff all over.

She had no idea how many school rules she had violated by going out with Hephis this time. If she was caught...

She pulled Lahephis, but still wanted to leave, and go straight back to school.

This is just because Professor Flitwick was drunk. If it happened to other professors, the consequences would be disastrous.

Hephis didn't insist. He drank the beer in gulps, then pulled Hermione out the door.

He called An An directly and took them back to school.

An'an brand Didi Taxi is convenient, safe, and most importantly, really fast!

Hephis suggested going to the Room of Requirement for dinner, after all, they were busy shopping and hadn't eaten yet.

But Hermione was obviously a little overstimulated.

Although there was still some time before curfew, she was determined not to go to the Room of Requirement.

Now she just wants to go back to the dormitory and calm down.

Hephis walked Hermione all the way to the entrance of the Gryffindor Common Room on the eighth floor.

Then he stuffed all the Valentine's Day gifts and the things he bought in Hodsmooth Village on Hermione.

From then on, Hephis' first Valentine's Day in the magical world ended in such an anticlimactic way.

ps: There was originally a long paragraph describing the details of Hefice and Hermione's Valentine's Day. But the author was a bit timid and deleted it all and didn't dare to post it, so this chapter feels a bit "snake head and snake tail".

ps: I will speed up later and try to finish the first academic year in just a few chapters.