Chapter 33: Hogsmeade Village

"Who will go first?"

After filling their stomach with a hearty breakfast, Albert and his roommates were standing in front of the mirror on the fifth floor.

"Isn't it obvious? Of course, it's one of you!" Albert retorted "You three have gone in once, so naturally you have the experience."

"Well, I shall be the sacrifice this time." Fred walked down the stairs cautiously with the other three followed behind him. Soon after the four entered the secret passage the mirror returned to its place.

The passage they walked on is a narrow one with little to no light and the slope is very steep. Because of that, the four people walked down the stairs slowly and cautiously.

Albert raised his wand and muttered, "Lumos!"

"I hate a narrow and dark place like this." Lee whispered.

"Don't complain, keep up." Fred was concentrating on maintaining the Wand-Lighting Charm while he walked down the stairs.

Just like the description from the twins last night, the secret passage is really long. As they walked the lengthy secret passage, Fred's light went out several times.

"I think you should practice this magic more. This is the most basic magic." Albert pointed his wand forward and reminded him aloud.

"I hate this feeling." Fred murmured, trying to make the wand glow again.

"The passage will be a bit wider after this section of stairs. Albert, you should lead the way from there!" George suggested, he was tired of stopping every few minutes of walking.

"Okay!"

After they walked down the stairs, they came to a gloomy passage. The ground was made of hard soil, from above, water was occasionally dripped down, making the ground damp. One drop of water fell on Albert's face, making him shiver. He quickly wipe off the water from his face then went on.

Even after they passed the stairs, Albert still walked very slowly to avoid stumbling into something. All of them were silent to focus all their attention to deal with the uneven ground in the passage.

The four of them stumbled around as they walked on the twisting passage. They really want to find what's inside the head of the designer of this secret passage.

But it is a bit strange that they weren't suffocated to death. After all, they've been here for a while now.

Albert raised his wand above his head and looked over the ceiling of the passage.

"What are you looking at?" Fred asked.

"There are vents on the ceiling."

"Where?" The three of them all looked over their heads but they did not find the ventilation holes Albert said.

"We just passed them."

After walking for a full hour and 20 minutes, the passage layout began to change, which meant that they are very close to the exit. Knowing this, four panting people began to speed up their pace.

After five minutes, they could all feel the cold wind blowing from the outside.

The exit of the secret passage is hidden under a big stone, and it is very narrow. Someone with higher fat content might get stuck here.

As they opened the exit door of the secret passage, they found out that it is still raining, albeit a light one.

After Albert walked out of the passage, he took out an umbrella and opened it to block the rain above his head.

The other three hurriedly squeezed over.

"None of you didn't bring an umbrella." Albert was speechless for a while.

"No." The three shook their heads together.

Albert used the Doubling Charm to conjure three umbrellas for them.

"You are as reliable as always." The three praised cheekily.

"By the way, this umbrella is a bit weird." Lee looked at the umbrella curiously, how could it stretch?

"This is a new invention made by the Germans a few years ago. It is convenient and easy to carry." Albert used the Impervius Charm on himself to ensure that he would not get his clothes and boots wet when he walked through the lush grassland.

"Be careful!" When he heard George's exclamation, Albert turned his head and saw Lee fell to the ground, making himself wet.

"Are you all right!" Fred quickly reached out and pulled Lee.

"Why am I so unlucky, my clothes are soaking wet." Lee murmured.

The twins looked at Albert together.

"Why are you looking at me? I didn't make him fall down." Albert was a little weirded out.

"Have you mastered the Hot-Air Charm?"

"What makes you think I can do a household magic like this?" Albert asked back irritably.

"Ahem, we just asked casually, we always think you can do all kinds of magic." Fred coughed to relieve the embarrassment.

"Hey, can we leave here first?" Lee's entire body was soaked, making him a bit irritable. "I really, really, really hate rain."

They walked through the grass toward the village of Hogsmeade in front of them.

Probably because of the rain, the streets of Hogsmeade were very deserted, with trembling teeth. Lee suggested all of them go to the Three Broomsticks first. He wanted to warm himself up with a glass of butterbeer.

The other three agreed on his suggestion.

They walked along the road and within a few minutes, they found the Three Broomsticks that Lee mentioned.

Well, there are three broomsticks on the sign of this bar, forming a triangle.

What makes Albert want to complain is that the triangular roof on top of the door is actually crooked, should it be said 'As expected of a pub built by wizards?'.

Completely ignore the rules of physics and universal visual aesthetics.

Of course, there is more to the pub's sign, there are some words that say: Three Broomsticks.

Because of the rain outside, there are not many people at the pub. They can only saw a wizard sitting in front of the counter while chatting with the landlady.

The flames on the fireplace were burning vigorously. The soaked Lee hurriedly walked toward the fireplace then took off his robe and placed it near the fireplace to dry.

"I'm going to order us something to drink." Albert said and walked towards the counter. After the twins looked at each other, they sat on the chair opposite Lee Jordan.

"Four bottles of Butterbeer, warm." Albert said to the landlady.

The wizard seemed very upset because their chat was interrupted, he turned his head and glared at Albert.

Albert glanced at him with a blank look, then ignored him and sat down directly beside the wizard.

"Isn't it too early in the morning, kid?" The wizard whispered, but after being glared at by the landlady, he obediently shut up.

"Are you Hogwarts' student?" Madam Rosmerta looked at the four young wizards who entered the pub in amazement. She couldn't understand how these four little guys slipped out of Hogwarts. .

"How much?" Albert asked blankly.

"8 Sickles." Madam Rosmerta entered the back room to help them warm the butterbeer.

Albert looked around the pub while he waited.

To be honest, this pub is much better than the Leaky Cauldron.

The counter of the pub is very bright, the tables are neatly arranged, and the sanitation is very good. Although there is no strong beer smell, the decoration is somewhat similar to the medieval tavern in the games he played in his past life.

After waiting for about five minutes, four cups of Butterbeer were placed in front of Albert, and he quickly called Fred to help him carry them.

"Eight Sickles." Albert took out eight Sickles and put them on the table. Then he and Fred carry the butterbeer to the table by the fireplace.

There was a strong buttery scent wafting from the butterbeer. Albert took a sip, and it felt a bit like a not-so-greasy hard butter. The aftertaste was smooth. It was a non-alcoholic drink, very suitable for young wizards.

"How is it?" The other three all looked at Albert.

"Not bad, taste just like an ordinary drink." Albert looked at the three of them, blinked his eyes and said, "It's just like when you drink Muggle soda drinks. It's not difficult to drink, but I'm not used to it."

The three of them looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. Sure enough, they will hear such an opinion from Albert.