Chapter 221 Christmas Eve

On December 23, the clouds that had been piled up for more than half a month finally opened a hole, letting the sunshine that had been blocked for a long time fall on the snow. The crystal light reflects off the white snow, making people almost unable to open their eyes.

It has been almost a week since the basilisk incident. The school board and the Ministry of Magic still did not send anyone to investigate, and the matter seemed not as urgent as Snape said.

In this regard, Loren's guess is that the Crabbe family is trying to clear their relationship and find a way to exonerate Vincent Crabbe.

But these have nothing to do with Loren and others at school. They are immersed in the growing festive atmosphere and are waiting for the arrival of Christmas with great expectation.

Hogwarts Castle, School Doctor's Office.

Sunlight shines in through the grid-like glass, illuminating the entire room.

Madam Pomfrey moved the petrified Colin and Justin to the window, letting them bask in the long-lost sunshine.

There was no one else in the school doctor's office, and Loren rolled up the curtain of Hermione's cubicle. He randomly found a bandage and tied it into a bunch, so that the sunlight shone on Hermione's bed without any hindrance.

Under the warm and bright sunlight, the long and slender cat hairs shone with crystal light.

Hermione fulfilled her promise and took Loren to review the knowledge points of the Transfiguration Club, forcing him to recite the notes at her own pace.

The curled up little paws made it difficult to flip through the notes, so Hermione's two hands were used as book rests, and Loren completed the flipping of the book. The two of them were leaning on the bedside shelf, shoulder to shoulder, heads together, discussing a few words about the notes in a low voice from time to time.

Bright and warm sunlight filled the room. In the quiet infirmary, the only sound was the turning of pages in a notebook. After a long interval, the whispers of two people would be heard.

Although there was no one else in the school doctor's office, they still lowered their voices subconsciously.

The sun was warm, and maybe it was the Polyjuice Potion that affected Hermione's eyes for a while, but her eyelids began to tremble.

"On stormy nights, the mixture in the crystal bottle will turn blood red..." Loren read in a low voice, and suddenly felt the weight of a small head on his shoulders, with fluffy cat ears pressed against his cheek, bringing a Come to the itchy touch.

Listening to Hermione's breathing slowly becoming longer, Loren raised his hand, gently pushed Hermione's head, and whispered: "Hey, you are reviewing, why did you fall asleep?"

Hermione made a thin purring sound from her throat, lazily, obviously unconscious.

"How can I sleep while reviewing?" Loren twisted his body and bumped her slightly.

"Don't move!" Hermione muttered. She couldn't tell what was going on. She just felt that such sunlight and such soft cushions made it extremely comfortable to sleep on.

"That's what cats are like..." She said drowsily, resting her head on Loren's shoulder, and fell asleep under the warm sunshine.

I don’t know why, but Loren was suddenly in a good mood, just like the sunshine now. He also felt that the current scene was very suitable for sleeping, so he moved his body on the hospital bed. Loren lifted the quilt slightly, and the two of them fell into a deep sleep in the bright sunshine...

I don’t know how long it took, but Loren woke up from his sleep first.

The originally golden and bright sunlight has begun to turn yellow and its brightness has begun to decrease. The sun is slowly setting towards the hills to the west.

Hermione's breathing was still long, and a small purr came from her throat, sounding soft.

After watching for a while, Loren saw Hermione's long eyelashes trembling, but she did not open her eyes and wake up.

Hermione felt shy. She obviously proposed to supervise Loren's review, but she took the lead in being lazy and even fell asleep...

Damn it, this person will definitely make fun of himself. Hermione could feel his scrutinizing eyes. She didn't open her eyes, pretending to be still sleeping, trying to get over it. She thought that after Loren left, she would wake up and pretend that this incident had not happened.

Noticing that the rhythm of her breathing had changed, but the little witch was still pretending to sleep, Loren pursed her lips and smiled silently.

Hermione didn't notice that a fluffy little tail stretched out restlessly from the quilt, hanging on the edge of the bed, still swinging, shaking, shaking, shaking...

"Are cats and tails really two kinds of creatures? I want to study it." Loren muttered to himself, making excuses for his behavior.

He reached out his hand, picked up the long swaying tail, and pinched it gently. Although it looks fluffy and has a certain volume, when the fluffy hair is pressed tightly, there is actually a very thin hair inside, which is soft and seems to have no strength.

Loren twirled it lightly, and his tail suddenly tightened, lined with smooth fur, and slipped away from his hand.

Loren, who was addicted to playing with cats, didn't think much, grabbed the tail again and fished it back.

...and slipped out again in an instant.

Loren noticed something was wrong and turned to look at Hermione who was supposed to be sleeping.

Hermione didn't know when she had opened her eyes, her big round eyes staring at him without blinking, with confusion in her eyes.

Suddenly, Hermione tilted her head, controlled the tail to lift up, and took the initiative to get into his palm.

So Loren smoothly stroked his tail from the middle to the tip.

Hermione didn't say anything, and Loren pretended not to know, seriously lowering his head and playing with his tail.

Until the platinum-yellow sunlight turned into bright red, and the vast clouds dyed the sky, reflecting the red glow of the branches of the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione finally pushed him away in disgust and retracted her little tail into the quilt: "The school allows pets. You can go to Diagon Alley and buy a cat. We saw it last time."

Loren stood up and looked at the sunset outside the window, then stretched out his sleepy body.

"Are you really not going to attend the Christmas dinner?" When he sat down again, Loren seemed to have completely forgotten what he had just done, and naturally started the next topic.

Hermione was much less hairy than a week ago, but it certainly wouldn't be back to normal before Christmas dinner.

Poor topic-changing skills... Hermione rolled her eyes with disdain and said angrily: "It depends on the situation. If the cat's features are not so obvious, I can wear a hood and a robe to cover it up."

Loren nodded: "It must be no problem!"

"whispering sound!"

The sun sets and night gradually falls.

Compared with school, the Christmas vacation for adult wizards starts later, and of course the vacation time is shorter.

Within the Ministry of Magic, people from various departments handed over the remaining work to the holiday duty. Because of the upcoming Christmas holidays, everyone had a big smile on their face as they said goodbye to each other.

The entire Ministry of Magic, staff of all sizes, received invitations to the Malfoy Manor dinner. Those on duty were unable to attend the banquet, but they received exquisite Christmas gift boxes from Malfoy.

Everyone praised Mr. Lucius Malfoy for his generosity.

Barty Crouch has finished his day's work. Even though he is physically and mentally exhausted, his short gray hair is still meticulously combed. A long day's work has not affected the image of the Director of the International Magical Cooperation Department.

After handing over the work, Barty Crouch set out on his way home. The golden fence door slid open gently. As soon as he entered the elevator, he saw Dolores in a pink skirt and a pink hairpin. Umbridge, with a girlish smile on her face.

Crouch frowned slightly. He had to admit that even if he could speak Mermaid, Turkey, or even Troll, Crouch, who was proficient in more than 200 languages, still had no clue when facing this woman. What to say.

Before he spoke, Umbridge took the initiative to help him press the floor and politely greeted him in a girl's high-pitched voice: "Mr. Crouch, I wish you a Merry Christmas in advance."

Crouch nodded: "You too, Merry Christmas."

Before the elevator fell into silence, Umbridge asked aloud: "Sir, I heard that you declined Malfoy's dinner invitation. Why is that?"

Without waiting for Crouch to answer, Umbridge continued with a sweet voice: "I looked at the duty list and you are not on the list of people left behind. I remember that your wife has died of illness several years ago. As for your son... …Ha, so I’m very curious, why did you refuse Malfoy’s dinner invitation?”

Before she finished speaking, Crouch's teeth were already clenched together, the blood vessels in his temples bulged, and invisible anger raged in his heart.

Loosening his clenched fists, Crouch said calmly: "I just want to have more time to rest. After all, the Department of International Magical Cooperation already has enough social work."

"What about you?" Crouch asked, "Why did Ms. Umbridge take the initiative to apply to stay in the Ministry on duty, and would rather be on duty than refuse Malfoy's invitation?"

"Hahahaha!" Umbridge's high-pitched laughter was particularly harsh in the enclosed elevator, "Of course not, I just thought that if I took the initiative to stay behind, I could let one more colleague take vacation and enjoy family fun. happy times."

Her words were full of boastfulness and pride. She had led the introduction of the "Anti-Werewolf Act" and had recently become very popular among senior officials of the Ministry of Magic. She was determined to get the vacant position of Senior Deputy Minister of Magic.

The current gesture of concern for lower-level employees is just to reduce the resistance to promotion.

"After all, I have always been such a considerate person for my colleagues." Umbridge said hypocritically.

The chain rattled, and the elevator finally arrived. Crouch quickly stepped out of the elevator. Umbridge followed him, seemingly wanting to say something to him.

Crouch's eyes moved and he noticed the only person in the hall, Arthur Weasley of the Department of Misuse of Muggle Articles of the Ministry of Magic.

Thanks Merlin... Crouch murmured in his heart, quickly responded, and said warmly: "Oh, look who is so anxious to go home? Arthur Weasley, your family must have a very lively Christmas, It’s really enviable.”

Looking at the director of the International Magical Cooperation Department, Arthur, who had just gotten off work, was a little confused. When did he become so familiar with Crouch?

However, the Weasley family has many children and a happy family, which is well-known in the Ministry of Magic. If someone catches up and says something nice, you can't push it back.

Not noticing that Umbridge's face gradually turned gloomy, a smile appeared on Mr. Weasley's face: "No problem, we plan to go to Egypt to visit our little boy this holiday, so let the other children stay. It’s Christmas at Hogwarts, so I’m probably going crazy at school.”

Crouch remembered Vincent Crabbe. Although it was not his job, he knew something about it.

Anyway, it was time to leave Umbridge aside and get down to business. He took the initiative to express concern: "Something seems to have happened at Hogwarts recently. It's best to take the children back."

Mr. Crouch is really a good man, but his son Crouch Jr.... Arthur didn't think about it anymore. He smiled naively: "Don't forget, Dumbledore is the principal of Hogwarts. I believe there is no safer place than school.”

"Well, that makes sense. When are you going to set off?"

"Leave early tomorrow morning."

"Have the immigration procedures been completed?"

"It's been done a week in advance, don't worry."

Crouch and Arthur walked away like this. Umbridge stared at the backs of the two men with gloomy eyes, and suddenly showed a sweet smile of relief.

Who cares about your attitude, power is the most important...

The thick black night slowly shrouded the whole world. The weather today was very good, and there were no thick clouds covering the sky at night. The cold light of the stars and moon floated down from the sky, coldly reflecting the snowy color of the whole world.

Wiltshire, Malfoy Manor is brightly lit tonight.

Thousands of candles that are taller than a person are floating in mid-air, emitting all kinds of magnificent light. Food was placed on the long table, the air was filled with the sweet smell of wine, and young men and women were having fun on the dance floor.

Veela dance troupe, Weird Sisters band, Quidditch team players... The generous Mr. Lucius Malfoy showed the wealth of the Malfoy family to his fullest.

Just when the dinner party was busy and bustling, on a remote island far out in the sea, there was a completely different scene.

In Azkaban, in a special cell, a fine silk screen blocked the entire room, and wisps of strong electric light flashed across it from time to time.

Peter Pettigrew, who was swollen and covered in bruises, was lying on the floor in the middle of the room with his eyes blank. His beard and hair seemed to have been gnawed by dogs, and there were still clear shoe prints on the bald skin on the top of his head. Disgusted and slovenly.

The cell door suddenly opened, and a figure wearing a cloak floated in from the outside. His whole body looked like a corpse soaked in water, exuding the smell of rotting mud.

The dementors are coming again... Peter Pettigrew felt terrified. He was trembling all over. Thinking of the torture of the dementors, he tried his best to resist the urge to turn into a mouse to avoid it.

Because if he uses Animagus to avoid the soul torture of the Dementors, he will be physically tortured by the guarding wizard, which is how the scars all over his body are left.

You can't completely avoid the Dementor, and you can't just let the guards beat him to death. After nearly a year of torture, Peter Pettigrew gradually figured out a way to barely survive.

In the room, Peter Pettigrew stood erect and allowed the dementors to absorb the happy emotions and memories in his mind. Until he was about to lose consciousness completely, his body began to twist and shrink into a mouse with missing fingers and withered hair.

How ironic that the most happy memories that come to mind are the time spent with Prongs and the others... Wormtail thought sadly before falling into coma again.

The food in front of it suddenly disappeared, and the dementor floating in the air had a short circuit in its brain. It did not understand the situation in front of it at all. He waited there blankly for a while, and finally resigned helplessly.

After the Dementor's figure walked away, a figure in a considerate suit walked into the cell. He stayed for less than a minute and came out with a look of disgust.

The opportunity was rare and he moved quickly.

A long way away, an ordinary wizard guard waiting outside the cell door came up to him. He did not see his superior's small movement of tightening his pockets.

The little guard smiled and said flatteringly: "Don't worry, Deputy Director, Mr. Moody has specifically told us that we will "take good care" of him. "

When the Deputy Director of the Prisons Department of the Ministry of Magic heard this, his anger poured out from his words. He shouted harshly: "Moody, Moody! Moody! Not to mention that he has retired. He is a person from the Legal Enforcement Department. What? Is it time to take care of Azkaban? Or do you want to follow him and become an Auror?"

The little guard was confused and had no idea why the deputy director suddenly became so angry. But being an Auror is not as comfortable as fishing in Azkaban. He quickly lowered his head and admitted his mistake in anger: "I'm sorry, sir."

The deputy minister's tone softened a lot, and his expression became less stiff: "Don't do unnecessary things in the future. As long as this rat is still in the ward, don't pay attention to it even if it dies. He is a minion of the mysterious man who has been lurking for many years. Who knows Is there any trouble in him, don’t you think?”

"You are right, sir, we will not do anything unnecessary in the future."

The deputy minister nodded and said with gentle concern: "If I remember correctly, you will get married next year. Why don't you spend Christmas with your fiancée?"

The little caretaker scratched his head: "I want to save more money for our honeymoon next year."

"Well, the daughter of the Everly family, right? Hahaha..."

The atmosphere of the festival rose in the sea of ​​joy. No one noticed that the disabled mouse in the special cell in Azkaban seemed to have new wounds on its front paws, and its fur became much cleaner... …