The days of hanging out at Hogwarts

December 20, Saturday.

In the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Loren and others got up earlier than usual. After breakfast, they returned to the dormitory, put the sheets and quilts neatly, stuffed them into the closet, put in the anti-insect and anti-moth medicine bag, and waited for the end of the holiday to take them out. You can also put a few cattails, which can also prevent insects and moths.

Before leaving, put down the curtains to prevent dust from accumulating on the bed. Everything was neatly packed and just waiting for the train to arrive.

Loren was counting the Christmas gifts for the professors. In previous years, they were entrusted to deliver them on Christmas Eve. This year, they were going to leave them in Hogwarts Castle and send them to the professors' offices early on Christmas morning.

"Tsk tsk..."

Every time Loren imagined the expressions of the professors when they received the gifts, he couldn't help but lean back and smile.

What is Merlin's surprise?

This is Merlin's surprise!

I don't know what Simo was thinking. He was obviously a student staying on campus, but he got up early with them, went downstairs to have breakfast, and didn't take a nap when he returned to the dormitory. Instead, he sat next to them and watched them packing things.

Staring eagerly, like a left-behind child.

Loren didn't care, patted the brown paper package in his hand, and said with a smile: "Seamus, this is my Christmas gift for you. I will hide it in the castle and it will appear in front of you on Christmas Day."

"Then what are you telling me to do now?"

Seamus frowned and stared at the package, his expression a little uncomfortable: "It will only arouse my curiosity and make me eager to know what's inside."

Loren chuckled a few times: "That's the effect I want!"

Several roommates who were listening condemned his bad behavior, and then told Seamus that the gifts they prepared had been given to the house elves and would be delivered on Christmas Day. If you are curious about what the gifts are, you can provide a few clues for him to guess.

Seamus: "..."

After laughing and joking for a while, the few people started to sit by the window to share the snack gift box provided by Neville. Hogsmeade Station cannot be seen here, but the steam and white smoke from the train chimney can be seen.

"Harry, where are you going to spend Christmas during the holidays?" Loren turned to look at Harry, "The Burrow, the Black Mansion, or go back to the Dursleys?"

Harry shook his head: "I'm going back to Godric's Hollow to clean up the house left by my parents. I'm about to graduate, and I have to find a place for myself to live. I can't always stay at Ron's house or Sirius's house."

"What's wrong with that?"

Ron immediately shouted: "Our whole family welcomes you to visit. I also told my mother that you are going to spend Christmas at the Burrow, and she is so happy!"

Harry just smiled and shook his head without much explanation: "Of course I am willing to spend Christmas at the Burrow, and I believe it will be an extremely happy holiday. I just need some time to clean up the house left by my parents."

"Okay, we can go and help you clean it."

"That's great."

"..."

Loren listened to the conversation between the two and turned to look out the window. The howling wind and snow froze the site, the forbidden forest and the distant mountains were covered with a layer of snow velvet, and the sky and the ground were almost the same color, a vast expanse of white.

Not only him and Hermione, but also the group of friends around them, have grown up unknowingly.

…

Ten o'clock in the morning.

The biting cold north wind poured into the hall from the door, and the torches on the wall swayed, stubbornly keeping the severe cold outside the hall.

The weather was so cold that the little wizard had no interest in talking at all. The students who were about to leave Hogwarts gathered at the door, with suitcases standing beside them, and the scarves in the colors of the school wrapped their necks tightly, and their chins were buried in the collars and scarves, leaving no gaps for the cold to invade.

Loren and Hermione stood shoulder to shoulder in the hall. Seeing several friends from other colleges passing by, they just nodded to each other without much greeting.

The melodious sound of the train whistle came from afar, and a few coal smoke floated in the sky above the station.

There were suddenly more chattering sounds among the student group. A group of people put on gloves, pulled up their hoods, tightened their scarves, and dragged their suitcases into the wind and snow.

"Let's go."

"Goodbye!"

The figure gradually disappeared in the white snow, leaving only the footprints that stretched forward, which were gradually covered by the footprints of the students behind.

Walked into the carriage, untied the scarf, and exhaled a long breath of relief.

Although it was still unclear what the power and driving method of the Hogwarts Express were after seven years, Loren was sure that there was a boiler on the train, and the warm air in the carriage could prove it.

Find a quiet and empty compartment to put the box, take off the gloves and sit in the seat, stretch and want to sleep.

"..."

Hermione put away the suitcase and owl cage, turned her head and looked at Loren, with a helpless expression: "Did you forget that Mr. Kohaug is still waiting for you in the back?"

"I almost forgot."

Loren stood up again and muttered: "Then I will go to the back to meet Mr. Kohaug for the appointment. You wait here for me to come back. If the witch selling snacks passes by, please help me order a cup of pumpkin juice."

"Yes."

"I want it hot."

"Got it."

"And a box of chocolate frogs."

"..."

A few minutes later, Loren left the compartment and walked back along the aisle of the carriage.

In front of a closed and quiet compartment door at the end of the carriage, Loren stopped here, looked at the serial number on it, and reached out to knock on the door.

The next moment, a middle-aged wizard with a full beard opened the door. His face showed a bit of roughness and boldness, and he looked at the young wizard who knocked on the compartment door with a smile:

"Oh, dear Loren, long time no see, come in."

"Long time no see, Mr. Kohaug." Loren walked into the cubicle.

The compartment was spacious and clean. The temperature difference between the inside and outside caused a layer of mist on the window glass, and the scenery outside turned into a blurred color block, which was a bit hazy. There was no one in the cubicle. The two of them were sitting opposite each other, and each other's faces had not changed much from a few months ago.

Looking at the young wizard across from him, he seemed to have grown taller. He was obviously a child who was still growing, but Kohaug couldn't feel any contempt in his heart.

A few months ago, he had witnessed the duel of the century, in which a young wizard who was still underage defeated the most powerful dark wizard in history. The battle lasted less than ten minutes, without any suspense, and was clean and tidy.

It is foreseeable that this young wizard will grow into a great legendary wizard like Dumbledore, influencing the world for a long time, or even an entire era.

Loren was also sizing up Mr. Kohaug across from him. He seemed to be unadapted to the lifestyle here during this period. His beard had grown thicker and was almost catching up with Hagrid.

After all, this was the first time the two met alone. Thinking of this, the atmosphere became inexplicably reserved, and they unknowingly resorted to hospitality etiquette.

Loren quickly straightened up his expression, a gentle smile appeared on his face, and he could not see the sleepiness he had felt a few minutes ago at all: "Mr. Kohaug, I really didn't expect you to set the meeting place on the Hogwarts express train. ”

Kohaug laughed heartily: "After staying here for half a year, Scrimgeour took me to many places, villages where wizards live, cities where No-Majs... I saw many different things, but I always... I didn’t have a chance to visit Hogwarts, so I just took this opportunity to experience your train.”

"How does it feel?"

"Very smooth, much better than the school bus in Ilvermorny."

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"Have you ever taken the Ilvermorny school bus?"

"I also went to school in Ilvermorny when I was young. The school buses at that time were still old-fashioned diesel vehicles. They kept swaying even when driving on flat ground, and there was an unpleasant smell of oil smoke... Oh, forget it."

Kohaug covered his nose and waved his hand, as if he was recalling the smell of the past: "Let's not talk about these, let's talk about business. I want to know, is there anything worthy of the future legendary wizard asking me to meet?"

"Mr. Kohaug, stop teasing me."

Loren smiled and shook his head, paused for a moment, and said, "But I do have something important to ask you for help with."

"you say."

"As the future president of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, I wonder what you think of the current mainstream methods of space transfer in the wizarding world, or have you noticed their flaws?"

"Flaws? Can you be more specific?" Kohaug was a little curious. His politician's intuition made him keenly aware that there was something else hidden in these words, like business, or something more profound. This piqued his interest.

Loren thought about the words and explained unhurriedly: "Apparition is only suitable for short-distance movement. The movement location is limited to places where the caster has personally visited or seen with his own eyes. Just like when Hermione and I stayed in New York during the summer vacation, this Mr. Kohaug stayed in London for several months, meeting The unfamiliar environment can only be explored slowly, and the wizard's skills are demanding. The entire relocation process is full of risks. The traditional fireplace relocation requires contact with the Traffic Management Department, and only the fireplace door connected to the Floo Network can be moved. Not to mention the key..."

They are all clichés in books and materials. The above methods of space movement have hundreds or even thousands of years of history. Countless wizards have already summarized their advantages and disadvantages, and they are also mentioned in student textbooks.

Kohaug sat across from him and listened quietly, his eyes flashed with a shrewdness that didn't match his face, and he said thoughtfully: "It sounds like you already have a solution to these shortcomings?"

Loren nodded slightly, with a smile on his face: "Mr. Kohaug has been at the Ministry of Magic for nearly half a year, so he should have already met Mr. Tycross, right?"

"You're saying they're optimizing improved Apparition?"

The pale face of the director of the Department of Transportation appeared in Kohaug's mind. He had little political experience and was an academic official who fit the current situation of the Ministry of Magic. He recalled the information he had been exposed to in the past few months and said thoughtfully: "Even if it is based on The improved phantom appearance based on the new principle only reduces the risk of separation, improves the safety of casting and moving, and can also increase the moving distance to a certain extent, but the original flaws still exist... I don't understand what you mean. "

"No, I want to introduce you to a new space moving device."

Loren stretched out his wand and moved it gently in mid-air. Countless crystal-clear runes appeared in the sky, and illusory light and shadow gathered together to form a complex and obscure alchemy circle:

"With the help of the legendary wizard Nico Flamel and many professors at Hogwarts, we designed a new space moving device, which greatly improved the shortcomings of the traditional moving method and has the convenience and comfort of the Floo Network. The transmission distance is comparable to or even greater than that of a portkey.”

Kohaug sketched the dimly glowing space array in front of him in his mind, and compared it with the meager alchemy knowledge accumulated during his student days, but it only made his head feel dizzy and he could not understand anything.

He blinked his eyes, passed the space array in front of him, and looked at the young wizard opposite: "So, what is the purpose of your meeting with me today?"

Loren waved his wand to eliminate the runes that filled the compartment, and chuckled: "As the future chairman of the American Magic Congress, after Dumbledore retires, you are the most likely candidate to succeed the president of the International Confederation of Wizards. I hope you can help us promote the new space transfer device to the world."

"New device... all over the world..."

Kouhaug was obviously a little surprised by his request. Some intuition thought that there was a deeper meaning hidden in it, but it was difficult to figure it out in a short time, so he could only repeat these words in a low voice.

From a purely politician's perspective, if the new device really makes up for the shortcomings of the traditional device, it will naturally replace it slowly in the next few decades, but this attitude of rapid promotion to the world makes him subconsciously feel uneasy.

Kouhaug narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the young wizard opposite. Loren's expression was calm and continued to smile.

After thinking for a long time, Kohaug still couldn't come up with an answer, so he gave up thinking and leaned back on the back of the chair: "I'm very sorry, dear Loren, I can't just agree to you."

"Why?" Loren didn't seem surprised.

"I don't understand what you can get from it?"

Kohaug answered calmly, with a gentle tone, revealing the posture of a mature official: "Since graduation, I have been circulating among various departments of the Magical Congress of the United States, and have frequently communicated with the No-Maj government. I have come into contact with thousands of humans, whether wizards or No-Maj, they always have their own pursuits and desires."

"Dumbledore often said that experience is wisdom." Loren nodded in agreement.

"So I am even more puzzled. You want to promote the new space device to the world..." Kohaug stared straight into his eyes, as if he wanted to read his thoughts through his eyes, "What is it for?"

"Maybe it's wealth, maybe it's fame, it's all possible."

"If you really pursue these, alchemy will make your wealth endless, and the public duel that night will make wizards all over the world praise your name... In fact, you don't pursue these."

The middle-aged wizard's words were full of praise. Dumbledore's recommendation made him willing to believe Loren, but decades of political career made him instinctively reject things that he couldn't see through, and he still had a faint sense of vigilance in his eyes.

Loren smiled gently on his face and returned his praise: "With keen intuition and wisdom that can see into the soul, Mr. Kohaug will definitely become a great president of the Congress in the future."

"You still haven't answered my question, Mr. Morgan."

"Before answering this question, we need to talk about another topic."

"Another topic?"

"The conflict between wizards and Muggles, or the conflict between technological civilization and magical civilization."