#144 - Section 144

The young wizards were discussing where to spend the holidays, or what kind of Christmas gifts their families would prepare for them.

Professor Flitwick always decorated the classroom anew, whether it was for Christmas or Halloween.

This time was no exception. He decorated the classroom with colorful lights, all of which were enchanted. They could transform into real fairies and flutter their wings in mid-air.

This scene was well-received by many young wizards.

At the same time, Ethan and the others also completed their holiday applications.

Every year, not many people could stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. Those who stayed at Hogwarts and spent the holidays with the professors were either from families with disharmonious relationships or were orphans.

In addition, in the last week before the holiday, there was another opportunity to go to Hogsmeade Village.

As before, a guardian's signature was required for permission to go.

In previous years, there weren't so many frequent opportunities to go to Hogsmeade. There was only one per semester. No one knew what was going on this year.

Naturally, the young wizards were extremely excited about this.

They weren't like Ethan, Fred, and George, who could run to Hogsmeade Village at any time.

This wasn't a night tour. You only needed to avoid Filch to move freely within Hogwarts.

Without knowing the secret passage to Hogsmeade Village, the difficulty of reaching Hogsmeade without being discovered by the professors was quite high.

This time, before Christmas, the opening of Hogsmeade Village meant they could buy something and take it home directly.

Whether it was to have a happy Christmas for themselves or to choose Christmas gifts for friends and family in Hogsmeade, it was a good choice.

Ethan naturally went to Hogsmeade Village on this day, braving the heavy snow. The weather had been like this for several days in a row.

The main purpose of this trip was to buy some Christmas gifts. Getting these done today would eliminate the need to make a special trip to Diagon Alley for Christmas gifts later.

Hogsmeade Village had also received the news in advance. When the young wizards arrived, it had already been decorated, with a bit of a Christmas feel.

There were also many people dressed as Santa Claus outside, working part-time as greeters.

The senior student Edwina, whom he had met last time, wasn't doing these part-time jobs anymore. She had successfully joined the workforce last month and found a stable job in the wizarding world.

Ethan wasn't in the mood to wander around today. He had originally wanted to go to the place Terry mentioned to enjoy the Veela's striptease, since the ticket was very cheap at only one Galleon.

Maybe he could find some hidden Veela services here. As for centaurs and mermaids, Ethan couldn't handle that.

But there was always at least one girl following him, which made it impossible for Ethan to find a suitable opportunity, so he could only give up this tempting idea.

Then, he bought some sweets and snacks from Honeydukes Sweetshop. This was the largest quantity. Last year, Ethan received more than two hundred Christmas gifts, which meant that he would have to send out that many this year.

Sweets accounted for a considerable part of this. Ethan almost bought up all the best-selling items on the counter, making the landlady smile as she took out goods from the warehouse to replenish them.

He bought some alchemical gadgets from Dervish and Banges. Mainly, Ethan didn't want to make ordinary alchemical products himself, so it was better to buy some ready-made ones.

He also went to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, which sold all kinds of quills, from those made from ordinary animal feathers to those made from magical creature feathers, and there were also some quills specially for collecting.

Ethan also bought some here, and the price wasn't too expensive. Sending this to the Ravenclaw little wizards was more appropriate than sweets.

Before leaving, he went to Zonko's Joke Shop and selected a few new products, as well as ten Dungbombs. The twins liked this kind of thing, what could he do?

Only today, Ethan saw George here, but Fred was still nowhere to be seen. Obviously, he had gone somewhere on a date again.

As for the Rocket Crossbow to be given to Cho Chang, Ethan had already asked Little Tom to order one from Quality Quidditch Supplies in Diagon Alley, guaranteeing delivery before Christmas.

It was estimated that when Cho Chang received the Rocket Crossbow, the Quidditch matches of the other colleges wouldn't need to be played. It would be enough to watch Cho Chang perform alone.

After returning to Hogwarts in the evening, a rumor spread throughout the school.

Fudge and Professor McGonagall appeared in the Three Broomsticks Pub and talked to Madam Rosmerta about Sirius Black.

They also talked about the relationship between Sirius Black and Harry's parents, and how Sirius Black betrayed the Potters.

Many people were discussing this now.

When it reached Professor McGonagall's ears, although she came out to deny it, saying that there was no such thing.

But everyone obviously didn't believe it. After all, Professor McGonagall and Fudge didn't hide their tracks when they appeared in the Three Broomsticks Pub. This scene was seen by many people.

And the Three Broomsticks Pub was already popular with many young wizards, who gathered there to see Madam Rosmerta.

Even though the Ministry of Magic's Minister's arrival that day meant that the Three Broomsticks Pub didn't accept underage wizards, there were still quite a few people surrounding it outside.

There were also some sixth-year and seventh-year students who were adults and could sit inside openly..........

Who made this charming widow so attractive to these hormonal teenagers? Some even listed the Three Broomsticks Pub as a must-visit destination every time they arrived in Hogsmeade Village.

And during this process, some people were naturally curious about what the Minister of Magic was doing here, and he even entered a private room with Professor McGonagall, and oh yes, Madam Rosmerta.

Many people were gossiping about this and had many guesses, mainly divided into two factions.

One faction believed that Professor McGonagall was on a blind date with Fudge in the Three Broomsticks Pub. Although Professor McGonagall was a bit older, she wasn't married yet!

And although Fudge was fat and ugly, he was still the Minister of Magic, so his status was still very high.

It wasn't impossible for these two people to go on a blind date, and this statement was recognized by many people.

The second faction believed that Fudge wanted to bring the Dementors back to Hogwarts again, and this trip was to gain Professor McGonagall's support.

Many people also agreed with this view. Fudge's arrival that day made it clear to everyone that he hadn't given up. The actions that night were just a result of compromise, and it was entirely possible that he would make a comeback now.

The two sides argued endlessly, and no one could convince anyone. Each had their own reasons.

This made many people have the idea of eavesdropping, wanting to prove that their statement was correct.

But the result was that they heard such a message, which was completely different from what the two factions guessed, but it was still explosive enough.

And these rumors were spread by those eavesdropping, so the possibility of them being lies is not high.

Seeing that the little wizards didn't believe him at all, Professor McGonagall had no choice.

The reason she denied this claim was that she didn't want Harry to know about it.

Otherwise, the hatred for the murder of his parents might make Harry lose his cool and seek revenge on Sirius Black.

Dumbledore's plan was never shared with Professor McGonagall. Although Professor McGonagall was saddened that her former student had done such a wrong thing, she didn't think anyone had wronged him, and she certainly didn't think that Sirius Black, who had betrayed James and Lily Potter, would let Harry go.

Now that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, and his target is Harry, all indications point to Sirius Black being in the vicinity and able to enter and exit Hogwarts Castle.

It would be one thing if Harry avoided Sirius Black, but if he actively sought him out, there would be a chance for them to meet.

With Harry's current level, he is far inferior to Sirius Black when he was still in school. If they really meet, Harry is likely to be in grave danger.

This made Professor McGonagall very worried.

Professor McGonagall even applied to Dumbledore to prevent Harry from going to Hogsmeade Village, and also that he couldn't return home for the Christmas holidays. Only Hogwarts was the safest place.

Once Harry encountered Sirius Black outside, there was basically no chance of escape.

And Sirius Black could look for Harry without any scruples, without having to be as cautious as he was at Hogwarts.

But these requests were all rejected by Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall was somewhat dissatisfied with Dumbledore's decision, but there was nothing she could do.

After dinner in the Great Hall and listening to the gossip, Ethan returned to the Ravenclaw Tower, where he would accompany Cassandra and the others to practice the Patronus Charm.

[Thank you to the great benefactor Tian Luo Hao Han for the monthly ticket, thank you, great benefactor!]

Chapter 183: Christmas Holiday

"Expecto Patronum!" × 4

Several voices sounded almost at the same time, but other than a wisp of white mist floating from Hermione's wand tip, nothing happened to the others.

Seeing this, Ethan could only drive the Dementors aside. Without the oppressive atmosphere brought by the Dementors, Cassandra and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the fear in their eyes, Ethan handed each of them a piece of chocolate.

It was bought at Honeydukes Sweetshop during the day.

Eating sweet foods like chocolate can release compound amines in the brain, which can have a positive impact on people's emotions, help drive away frustration, and make people feel more elated.

In the original book, after Harry was frightened and fainted by the Dementors, he was able to calm down by eating chocolate instead of drinking Felix Felicis, so now it is even less stressful for these mild cases.

Anyway, as long as there is chocolate, you can save the effort of preparing potions, so why not do it!

"How do you feel?"

After the emotions of the few people stabilized, Ethan asked.

"When facing the Dementors, the whole world is silent, and people feel very desperate and sad, and unconsciously recall the past."

Cho Chang said after carefully recalling her feelings just now.

She didn't expect that facing the Dementors directly would feel like this.

No wonder Cassandra said that this method was evil and had a high failure rate. If you didn't die, you went crazy. So that's what it's all about!

Then when Ethan was learning the Patronus Charm, what kind of pressure did he face when facing dozens of Dementors?

Putting herself in the scene at the time, Cho Chang felt a little shudder.

"Now you guys take a good rest first, and then start the next round later. Now it's Penelope's turn to try."

Cassandra and the other four had never learned the Patronus Charm, so they tried it together.

If Penelope was added, it would be meaningless.

Penelope's first stage is now quite proficient, and a single Dementor is not stressful for her at all.

It was Hermione who was able to successfully release it for the first time, even if it was only a wisp, which surprised Ethan a bit.

He didn't know if this was a hidden effect produced after she took the unicorn version of Blood of Magic.

After all, other people had various changes after taking the Blood of Magic potion.

Even Cho Chang's Kneazle Blood of Magic potion was like this.

But Hermione, other than the increase in magic power and physical fitness, there was nothing special about her.

Now it seems that there is an increase in positive, upward, and optimistic magic.

In the original book, Hermione said that this spell was quite difficult. If Hermione could have made progress from the beginning, she would definitely not have said that.

And the reason why this change could happen is only that the Blood of Magic potion taken some time ago played a role.

By the way, Luna also didn't have a share in learning Expecto Patronum this time.

It was only after taking the Blood of Magic that it was the most suitable state for learning.

"Penelope, how many Dementors do you want to try?"

The more Dementors there are, the greater the pressure will naturally be. If they gather together in groups, even professors will feel棘手.

Penelope had faced Dementors on the Hogwarts Express, so it is estimated that only one would not be very effective.

"Two!"

"If it's not enough, add more!"

Penelope originally wanted to say five at first, but after seeing the scene of Cassandra and the others, she decided to reduce the number.

After all, if you don't have Ethan's talent, don't learn from him.

"Okay, let's start with two!"

There were still more than forty Dementors at Ethan's place at the beginning, and more than thirty were captured later. It would be enough to use them for practice anyway.

After such a long period of rest, even if they didn't absorb the emotion of happiness, they have recovered at this moment.

Under Ethan's control, two Dementors approached Penelope. As the distance got closer, Penelope frowned and her face became quite ugly.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A large piece of silvery-white mist floated from the top of the wand in Penelope's hand and directly hit the two Dementors.

Under Ethan's control, the two Dementors retreated sharply, and only then did they escape the disaster, otherwise they would have been injured again.

Once they are injured, it will take a lot of time to recover.

"Add another one, I feel like the pressure is still not enough!"

Penelope knew that she could only succeed when she was most desperate.

"You take a rest first, eat some chocolate, and then come back later."

Ethan shook his head and refused directly. They don't have his high magic resistance and recovery speed, so it's not appropriate to put too much pressure on them.

"Okay!"