Chapter 628 There Is Always Laughter Floating Around

Back home.

Grandpa Bates sat on the sofa watching TV, reviewing the major news of the week. The female host looked very beautiful in a tight skirt and high heels.

Loren took two bottles of Coke from the refrigerator, opened the bottle cap with a finger, handed one over, and sat down beside him carelessly.

Grandpa Bates took the drink and took a sip, looking like a veteran of World War II. Unfortunately, the bottle contained soda instead of whiskey. To some extent, carbon dioxide was more choking than strong liquor, and the bubbles irritated the throat, causing the veteran to cough twice.

Loren couldn't help laughing out loud, then quickly tightened his expression and pretended not to see it.

Grandpa Bates took another sip, this time with gentle movements and moderate amounts. Listening to the dense bubbles bursting in the glass bottle, he said calmly: "When the sun sets, two owls are waiting at the door. Is there any urgent news about the wizard war?"

"It's our test report card."

Grandpa Bates nodded. He was not interested in the interim test results of his wizard school. It would not affect his further studies or career choices, so it would be better to take the high school entrance examination.

The evening news was still going on. As a guarantee of ratings, the female host always stayed in the center of the screen. The director would not cut the screen unless it was necessary. It was just that the next few news were more important, so the TV station had to cut the screen.

"On July 15, the British Crown Prince and his wife Charles and Diana divorced. Last Monday, the First Civil Court of the High Court of London issued a divorce decree. Senior Judge Angell ruled that the 31st applicant divorce was established that day. If no one raises an objection within 6 weeks, His Royal Highness Prince Charles and Her Royal Highness Princess Diana will announce their official divorce. On the 15th, there were about 30 reporters in the court audience, but the parties were not present. In the form explaining the reasons for the divorce, Charles claimed that "there are irreconcilable differences"..."

"According to people familiar with the matter, Ms. Diana will receive 17 million pounds in alimony, at the cost of losing the title of Her Royal Highness..."

Grandpa Bates took another sip of Coke and glanced at Loren: "Husbands and wives should communicate in time and compromise appropriately. Don't listen to the news about irreconcilable differences. It's just that the two people are not determined to go on together."

"Yes, you are right. "

Loren complained silently in his heart. He has been single all his life, but he is very good at educating people.

"At 8:40 pm on July 17, Greenwich Mean Time, a passenger plane exploded in the air in the United States, killing 228 people. The TWA flight from New York's Kennedy Airport to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, the Boeing 747 aircraft flew from Athens that day. After undergoing normal maintenance procedures, it left the tarmac at 8:14 pm. Half an hour later, there were continuous violent explosions, and the wreckage was scattered on the water near Long Island, New York City. A total of 228 people were killed. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined, and the relevant investigation is still ongoing. Our reporters will continue to report..."

Grandpa Bates frowned: "These terrorists are getting more and more excessive. Even if they have demands, they should target government bureaucrats. Why do they target ordinary passengers? "

Air crashes are not uncommon.

The United States has long been a country with a high incidence of terrorist attacks or air crashes. The high-altitude environment blocks the possibility of rescue and struggle. The plane crash basically destroys the entire plane. The harm caused by organized and premeditated terrorist attacks is even more serious. The famous plane crash into the building shocked the world.

Not long ago, a Delta Airlines passenger plane crashed near Miami.

Neither the wizarding world nor the Muggle world has been peaceful in recent times. It's just a little strange that the terrorist organization that planned this air crash was too low-key, and no one stood up to claim responsibility for the incident.

The TV screen cut back to the beautiful female host again.

Loren drank the last sip of soda in the bottle and shook his head with some disgust. The first sip was a perfect drink, and the last sip was sweet dog urine.

...

The summer vacation in the fifth grade is a little special.

Exam It's over, the elective courses for the sixth year have not been determined, and there are no messy summer homework. It's just that they need to keep an eye on Voldemort's news and wait for the test results. They don't plan to travel to other places. There are only a few entertainment activities at home every day.

In the morning, trim the flowers and plants in the backyard while the sun is not too hot, watch TV and newspapers after lunch, watch two movies, and water the flowers and plants at dusk. The day passed like this.

Fortunately, Hermione is by my side, so nothing is boring, even sitting together in a daze is infinitely interesting.

On an ordinary midsummer night, someone's birthday, a charcoal fire was lit in the backyard of the Granger family, and the aroma of roasted meat gradually dissipated.

Loren held a plate of freshly baked tender beef and a cold Coke in his hand, and sat down next to the girl: "Hermione, don't be in a daze, try this! "

The little witch's slightly distracted eyes refocused, looked at his face, then looked at the plate of tempting barbecue, and a strange feeling surged in her body, driving her to cover her mouth quickly: "Burp..."

Hermione shook her head shyly, and before she could say no, the man had already considerately fed her the barbecue cut into small pieces.

The rich aroma of meat filled her nose, and Hermione looked up at him, feeling her swollen belly.

"Ah——" Loren's eyes were sparkling, which really made it hard to refuse.

Hermione could only open her mouth helplessly: "Ah."

The dipping sauce was salty and slightly spicy, the outer layer was a little burnt brown, the texture was firm, and the inner layer was soft and tender.

Lemon juice was added when marinating the meat, and the astringency was removed by the charcoal fire, leaving only a slightly sour fragrance, not greasy at all.

Hermione was a little melancholy.

After swallowing the barbecue in her mouth, Hermione quickly pushed the barbecue over: "You eat, you eat, my stomach is already full."

"Okay, then you take a rest, I will grill it for you later." Loren felt a little regretful. The pleasure of feeding his sweetheart even exceeded the food itself, but it was a pity that the girl's appetite was too small.

Loren chewed the barbecue in his mouth and muttered, "The remaining meat will be saved for tomorrow's lunch. It will be delicious if you stir-fry it with some vegetables..."

"..."

Hermione looked up at the night sky and felt a little melancholy again.

"When did you say our report card?" Before Hermione finished speaking, she was fed another piece of barbecue.

Loren looked at her seriously: "Don't mention the exam when you are so happy."

Hermione didn't dare to say anything and chewed silently.

"..."

After eating and drinking, Loren wanted to lie down and watch the stars, but Hermione refused. She forced him to go out for a walk, took two bottles of cold Coke, and held his hand, like an ordinary middle school couple. Hermione sent him home, and only remembered to calculate the calories of the Coke when she was walking back.

Melancholy, very melancholy.

...

It was late August in a blink of an eye.

Summer was coming to an end, autumn was approaching, and the weather had turned cooler.

School was about to start, and the Hogwarts school notice and the list of items for the new school year had been sent to us. Because the courses for sixth-grade students had not been determined, this notice was different from previous years. The list listed the textbooks and materials required for all subjects, allowing students to buy as needed.

Loren and Hermione walked on the street, looking around. Diagon Alley was completely different now.

During the school purchase period, Diagon Alley was undoubtedly the peak season. In previous years, the streets were crowded with students and parents, but now it was terribly deserted.

The windows, which used to display spell books, cauldrons, brooms, and glamorous models showing clothes, are now all covered with large notices from the Ministry of Magic. Purple parchment covers the storefront tightly: "Several measures to prevent the dark arts" "Several characteristics of suspicious persons"...

Safety advice and warnings authorized by the Ministry of Magic are posted everywhere.

There are also some seemingly true and false portraits of bald snake faces. Perhaps they were clear when the Ministry of Magic created them, but now the faces in the portraits have been erased. At a glance, they look like rain corrosion, but if you look closely, you can find some traces of human erasure.

Several windows were nailed shut with wooden boards, the door of Florin's Ice Cream and Cold Drink Shop was closed, and Ollivander's Wand Shop next to it only left a crack, indicating that the wand shop was still open.

When Loren passed by, he heard several wizards muttering in a low voice.

"Have you heard about Florin?"

"The owner of the ice cream shop?"

"Yes, when he went out to purchase raw materials last month, the shop was robbed and everything was turned upside down..."

"Florin, is he okay?"

"Fortunately, Merlin protected him and he didn't run into those people head-on, otherwise it would be terrible. But Florin didn't dare to continue to open the shop. I heard that he has fled the country... It's a pity that he can't eat delicious ice cream."

"Is it those people?"

"It must be, someone saw the mark."

"Why did they attack Florin, an ice cream owner?"

"You don't know this, Florin Fusco is a descendant of Principal Dexter Fusco, and their family knows many secrets of the Middle Ages."

"..."

Secrets of the Middle Ages...

Loren looked at the locked wooden door of the cold drink shop thoughtfully.

"I hope Mr. Fusco is safe and sound..."

Hermione sighed and wished sincerely. She still remembered that the owner always stood behind the bar with a kind smile and gave them an extra ball when making ice cream.

In addition to the changes in the shops, there are also many shabby stalls on both sides of the street.

When the two walked towards Flourish and Blotts, they passed by a shabby striped awning, and a slightly piercing voice stopped them: "Sir, Madam, buy one?"

Looking in the direction of the voice, a sloppy short wizard was carrying a bunch of silver mascots, and a cardboard sign "Amulet: Effective against werewolves, Dementors and Inferi" was nailed next to him.

"Buy one, just to protect her beautiful neck..." The wizard vendor looked at Hermione with ill intentions, but saw the boy pulling the girl behind him, and his eyes met those dark eyes.

How could there be such strange eyes in the world?

It seemed that there was no difference between the pupil and the pupil, it was pitch black, but clear and shining, as if the calm lake without wind and waves could reflect the shadow of the person looking at each other.

The wizard vendor subconsciously wanted to see the shadow clearly, but when he looked carefully, the lake seemed to have been thrown into a stone, splashing water and ripples, and no shadow or light could be seen anymore.

A strange feeling came to his mind, and the short wizard unconsciously stopped the next action, stood there in a daze, and looked back at the inside of the bookstore. There was no trace of the young couple.

After leaving Flourish and Blotts, Hermione put away "Advanced Potion Making" and quietly looked back. The vendor was still standing there in a daze. She pulled Loren's sleeve: "Is he okay?"

"He will probably have nightmares for a few days."

Appropriate punishment.

Hermione nodded: "We have bought all the textbooks and materials, where should we go next?"

"Check out George and Fred's Joke Shop."

"I remember it was... No. 91, 92 Diagon Alley..."

Hermione didn't continue counting. The joke shop was so conspicuous that she didn't even need to look at the door number to see it.

The facades of the surrounding shops were all covered with notices and were dim, while the windows of the joke shop were as colorful as a fireworks display. They were filled with various rotating and jumping products. Pedestrians on the road stopped to observe, and some students dressed up The little wizard opened his eyes wide with an expression of obsession on his face.

There were also several notices posted on their walls, but what was more conspicuous than the notices were those vulgar slang homophones, which were the advertising slogans of the joke shop.

"Why are you worried about the mysterious man? You should be worried about Constipation Ren..."

"Special grade dung bombs allow you to experience the feeling of a dung eater..."

"Who's worried about Dementors? Let your dim-witted friend taste Fat Tongue Toffee..."

The parents standing nearby read the advertisement softly and couldn't help laughing.

Loren and Hermione chuckled as well.

"Loren! Hermione!"

Suddenly there were footsteps in the aisle next to him, and Ron ran over. He was wearing the student wizard robe from Madam Malkin's shop, black clothes and black trousers. Apart from the Gryffindor House lion badge, the most conspicuous thing was the pin on his chest. emblem, symbolizing the captain of the Quidditch team.

Anyone could see what he wanted to show off. His face turned red and he smiled brightly. He rushed to a stop in front of the two of them. Even though he was out of breath, he still asked with difficulty:

"Do you see any difference in me?"

Loren looked up and down, ignoring his efforts to puff up his chest, and pondered for a moment: "Have you grown taller?"

"That's a little bit, but that's not what I want to say."

"Have you gained weight?"

"My mother said I lost weight, guess again."

"The magic robe is new."

"Guess again."

"Oh! I know!" Loren prolonged his tone and said in a deep voice in response to his ardent expectations, "There are more freckles on my face!"

"Ahhhh!" Ron was extremely uncomfortable, "It's a badge! A badge! I have officially become the captain, and my status is equivalent to that of a prefect..."

Harry and others who arrived later burst into loud laughter, which blended with the laughter from the joke shop and echoed for a long time, like bright sunshine, piercing the solemnity that shrouded the entire Diagon Alley.