Chapter 129: Hogsmeade

After leaving the Charms classroom, Arthur and Hermione unexpectedly encountered a group of small fairies floating in the air.

These fairies were not like the slightly ugly ones in Gringotts, but beautiful like the fairy Vivian from the legend of King Arthur.

They wore beautiful chiffon dresses, stood only a few inches tall, and had delicate, fine wings.

They formed a circle around Arthur and Hermione, singing an unknown song and pouring them with roses.

Hermione blinked her bright eyes and thought that Arthur was behind all of this.

But Arthur knew deep down that he had nothing to do with any of it.

It must have been a little trick by Lockhart. And he was right, these fairies were all part of Lockhart's plan, which was to please his boss.

In the middle of all these sweet surprises, Hermione overcame her shyness and gave Arthur a special kiss to show how much she appreciated it.

Arthur silently gave a thumbs-up to Lockhart for his successful surprise.

When Arthur entered the Great Hall, he found that the decorations inside had also changed.

He rolled his eyes at Lockhart and returned to his seat.

Lockhart didn't mind.

He stood up from the teacher's table, saying loudly, "Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! So far, I have received many cards from young witches and wizards, and I want to express my gratitude to them! Yes, all these surprises were arranged by me for all of you."

"Now, let's enjoy this romantic holiday." he announced.

The walls of the Great Hall were covered with pink flowers, and heart-shaped confetti continuously rained down from the ceiling.

Lockhart, dressed in a matching pink robe, sat on the teacher's platform.

When he saw Arthur enter, he winked at him as if to ask if he was satisfied with the surprises he had set.

After speaking, Lockhart slightly bowed to the four long tables, expressing his gratitude.

A group of young witches cheered for him passionately, but Harry and Ron frowned as the falling confetti landed on their lunch.

The professors also seemed dissatisfied with the pink atmosphere, especially Professor Snape, whose face was filled with dark clouds.

However, they didn't say anything.

Lockhart's recent display of skills and usefulness in the classroom was enough to overshadow these flaws.

Cho pulled on Arthur's sleeve, and he looked at her with confusion.

Cho whispered, "Arthur, can you come with me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

After speaking, she looked at Arthur with a pitiful expression, waiting for his reply.

"Hogsmeade?"

Arthur's body turned around, and he understood Cho's meaning.

He recalled that this semester, Cho had only gone to Hogsmeade with Marietta, while the rest of the time, she usually stayed by his side.

Arthur smiled and nodded to say that he would accept her request.

Seeing Arthur's agreement, Cho was delighted.

She even suggested some ways they could secretly sneak out.

"You can use a Disillusionment Charm and follow me. I don't think anyone will notice," she suggested.

"Or you can ask Fred and George if they know of any secret passages to Hogsmeade. Last time, they said they knew a lot of secret passages to Hogsmeade," she added.

"No need for that trouble," Arthur said, declining Cho's suggestions.

"I'll just go and ask Professor Dumbledore for a permission slip."

Arthur believed that Professor Dumbledore wouldn't refuse such a small request.

That evening, Arthur arrived at the Headmaster's office.

"Professor, I would like to accompany Cho to Hogsmeade this weekend. Could you please provide me with a permission slip?"

Arthur cut straight to the point as soon as he entered the office.

Dumbledore smiled, looked at Arthur, and said, "If I haven't lost my mind, Mr. Gaunt, you are a second-year student, correct?"

"Professor, don't you think I know better than the third-year students how to protect myself?"

Dumbledore jokingly remarked and readily provided Arthur with a permission slip.

Dumbledore smiled as he watched Arthur leave the Headmaster's office. He felt a little bit better.

He was happy when he saw Arthur with his friends and loved ones.

That way, he wouldn't follow Voldemort's path.

...

On Sunday, Arthur left Harry and the others with their training task and headed to Hogsmeade with Cho.

"Wow, that sounds great! I also want to go to Hogsmeade. I've never been there,"

Harry said with envy on his face.

"Shut up, Harry, Focus on your training."

Hermione angrily interrupted.

She was not happy at the moment. While she remained at the school after Professor McGonagall rejected her, those two had gone on a date to Hogsmeade.

Harry looked at the furious Hermione trembling and quickly started today's training. He cast a spell that hit Draco.

Meanwhile, Cho and Arthur were walking outside the castle.

It was snowing at Hogwarts today, and the castle was covered in a layer of silvery-white, giving it a fairytale-like ice castle beauty.

They walked slowly toward Hogsmeade, holding hands hand leaving footprints in the snow.

As they slowly arrived in Hogsmeade, there were young wizards from Hogwarts all over the place.

Cho excitedly introduced everything to Arthur.

"Although there aren't as many shops here as in Diagon Alley, many of the shops are interesting."

Cho took Arthur's hand and approached the entrance of Honeydukes Sweetshop.

Inside, it was already crowded with young wizards. It took them a great effort to squeeze into the store.

Arthur looked at the type of candies in the shop, a feast for the eyes.

The shopkeeper even provided tasting samples, and many young wizards stood in front of the display window, picking up their favorite candy to taste.

A young witch picked up a dark round ball and popped it into her mouth. Her cheeks instantly turned red, and two flames shot out of her nose.

"Hahaha!"

After the flames burned out, the girl returned to normal and laughed loudly with her friends.

Arthur walked up to the candy and looked at the name 'Pepper Imps.'

He bought some because he was curious, but Cho then pulled him away.

She wasn't interested in these weird effects; She loved sweet candies such as Sugar Quill And Fizzing Whizzbees.

Finally, half an hour later, Arthur and Cho walked out of the store, each carrying a bag of candies.

...

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