A Chance Encounter at Honeydukes

Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the steps one by one.

"Where are we?" Harry asked, dusting himself off and looking around. It looked like a cellar, surrounded by crates and other wooden boxes, all of them covered in date-coded notes.

"The basement! We're in the Honeydukes basement, to be exact!" Ivan explained.

Hermione looked at Harry and warned him, "Harry, hurry up and put the Cloak on! Don't let anyone see you…"

"Yeah…" Harry nodded, put the Cloak on, and disappeared.

Ivan then led them quietly out of the basement.

Originally, Ron and the others were nervous about being seen.

After all, if they sneaked out of someone's basement and were caught, it would be the end of them.

However, when they did, Ron realised that no one would even notice where they came from.

Because it was so busy, it was packed with Hogwarts seniors, and there was a lot of laughter and noise.

The shelves were lined with savoury sweets. There were large, creamy marzipan creams, sparkling pink coconut ice cakes, honey-coloured toffees, and hundreds of flavours of chocolate.

Especially the shelves against the wall, where magical sweets with special effects were placed,

For example, a pepper imp that can breathe fire after eating, an explosive marshmallow that explodes with a bite, a thick, bloody lollipop…

Harry and Hermione couldn't take their eyes off the various species and the novelty of it for the first time.

Harry, who had never known sweets to be so full of tricks, was so moved by the description that he wanted to buy every one of them.

With the exception of the nouveau riche Harry, Hermione and Ron were struggling with their options, as they had limited pocket money and could only afford a few options.

Yvonne shook her head at their excitement and confusion. Candy appealed to children, even young wizards who could do magic.

Given the fact that meeting Sirius wouldn't be short of time, Ivan couldn't force them to leave, so he let them be for a while…

"Blood-scented lollipops are supposed to be terrible, and no one but a vampire should like them…Can Pepper really breathe fire after eating them? How does peppermint ice cream taste?" Hermione picked out a few sweets, then hesitantly put some of the less interesting ones back down and turned to Ivan for his opinion.

Ivan shook his head. He had never tasted anything like it, and was trying to decide what to say when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Are you looking for any more sweets that breathe fire? We've got some right here!" George and Fred came up to them, giggling and holding an unbranded sweet.

"This is our latest research, and it's definitely more interesting than the sweets here! How about it? Want to try it? It's free!"

Ivan was surprised to see the pair of them.

Ivan, however, politely declined the Weasley brothers' practical jokes, turning them down with a shrug.

"We don't want to be your lab rats… You'd better keep it for yourself!"

George shook his head in disappointment, then glanced at Ivan and the others and said in surprise, "That's a pity! If you want to buy it again, you'll have to pay…"

"By the way, where's Harry? Didn't he come with you? Is he still trapped in the castle?"

"Oh, what a poor boy. Didn't you tell Harry about the secret passage? He's been so unhappy lately. You should have brought him out for a walk!" Fred said with a sigh.

"Harry will be safe at school, you know…" Hermione scowled at them, speaking in a high-pitched voice, but then realizing that she might be overheard by one of the fugitives, she lowered her voice and enunciated every word. "You know Sirius Black is still after him!"

"What's there to be afraid of? Ivan's here, isn't he? I think he's as good at magic as some Aurors. If Black dares to come, we'll catch him… ha ha ha, maybe Ivan can give him another promotion to the Order of Merlin."

George grinned as he unwrapped the sweet and popped it into his mouth.

However, the sweet stopped halfway to George's mouth and floated in the air, moving slowly and disappearing before their eyes…

There was also the sound of sweets being chewed in an empty space…

'What the hell?'

George was taken aback, and Fred's face was filled with bewilderment.

No, most ghosts could not do this.

Hermione and Ron, on the other hand, were trying not to laugh. They certainly knew what was going on.

Harry, who was hiding in the Invisibility Cloak, swallowed the sweet and immediately felt a burning sensation in his throat.

Harry's head snapped back and he sneezed, sending a jet of fire from his mouth that nearly burned the shelves nearby.

A few coughs soon filled the seemingly empty space, followed by Harry's grumbling voice.

"This stuff is too pungent. You should have improved on it!"

George and Fred took several steps back in alarm at the noise, then relaxed when they recognised Harry's voice.

How could they not understand that Harry was pulling their leg, but they were more curious as to how he managed it?

"Is it the Disillusionment Charm?! Harry, you've mastered this!" George immediately thought of the Disillusionment Charm and exclaimed in amazement.

"We've always wanted to learn it, but we still haven't mastered it!" Fred exclaimed in disbelief.

"No, I don't know any such advanced spells, it's just the Cloak of Invisibility!" Harry lifted the cloak a little to reveal his face before putting it back on.

"Cool! That's convenient!" George and Fred exclaimed. The Cloak of Invisibility cost a fortune, and if they'd had one in the first place, it would have been a lot easier to get around.

They might even be able to go to places they had always wanted to go but never dared to go…

George and Fred looked envious at the thought.

Hermione, however, broke the cheerful mood by saying sternly, "Harry, you shouldn't have done that. If anyone had seen you, you'd be finished!"

"Don't worry, George and Fred won't say a word if no one's looking!" Harry shook his head dismissively; he didn't think it was such a coincidence.

"Yes, yes, yes! We're very tight-lipped!" the Weasleys said, gesturing for each other to keep quiet.

They laughed and talked for a while before George and Fred left, and Ron and the others picked out sweets, but Ivan had to pay for them on Harry's behalf.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione then drag Yvonne to Zonk's Joke Shop to buy lots of interesting practical jokes…

After more than two hours of fun, Ivan finally found a way to lead them to a supposedly fun place.

At first, Harry and the others had little doubt about Ivan's trust, but as the journey got more remote, they began to feel that something was wrong…

"Ivan, what are we doing here? There doesn't seem to be anything—"

After walking through a small forest and entering a long-abandoned house, Hermione could not help but ask.

Harry and Ron also looked at Ivan in confusion.