Chapter 652: Snow and Wind

The shop signs were hidden in the misty wind and snow, and only a few of them lit up their neon signs, emitting a faint red and green light, which slightly dispelled the coldness of winter.

Light snowflakes fell on the plush collar, like small white flowers, giving off a chill.

The pores on Slughorn's neck shrank slightly, and he couldn't help but fall silent as he looked at the probing eyes of the two students.

This is the bad thing about smart students. Even though they try not to mention those things, they still have to ask and keep asking. It's so annoying!

After brushing the snow off his shoulders and thinking in silence for a while, Slughorn sighed and said, "Well, it's okay to reveal some news to you in school anyway..."

You know this professor is well-informed!

Loren and Hermione looked forward to it, their eyes shining slightly.

"Remember to keep it a secret."

"We'll try our best, Professor."

"..."

Slughorn glanced around and confirmed that there were no pedestrians nearby. The nearest store was more than ten meters away. He lowered his guard slightly and lowered his voice: "A new war is about to begin!"

Hermione couldn't help but ask: "Didn't it start a long time ago?"

"This used to be a stalemate stage. Whether it was Death Eaters or Aurors, it was either a surprise attack or a tentative attack. It was not considered a real war..." Slughorn tightened his grip on the gun in his hand. Pineapple preserves, "A real war is when both sides are fully prepared, face to face, wand against wand, spell against spell... In such an environment, even Dumbledore cannot guarantee safety."

"Which side is going to take action?"

"I received news that the dark wizards, werewolves and dementors gathered at the edge of the country are planning to make a big fuss. The location is kept secret and the time is set on Halloween!"

"So the Death Eaters are preparing to take action?" Hermione was still confused, "What does this have to do with frontal war?"

"Why can't you understand?" Slughorn exhaled, secretly glad that he was at Hogwarts, at least his safety was guaranteed, "I can receive the news, and the Ministry of Magic can also receive the news. Will they let that group of people make a fuss?"

"If I receive the news in advance..."

"Can you ambush and raid?"

Slughorn brushed off the snowflakes on his collar and said noncommittally, "You are still too young. Can those cunning dark wizards not think of things that students who have not yet graduated can think of?"

Loren reacted: "Is this false news they deliberately released?"

"Maybe it's true, maybe it's false, who knows?" Slughorn shook his head, "I don't know how this war will unfold. I only know that if the peaceful stalemate is broken, there will always be casualties. A group of people..."

"..."

The doors of the shops on both sides of the street were ajar, and sporadic laughter came from inside, and then was blown away again.

The wind and snow were still howling.

It's getting colder and biter.

…

The snow covered the road signs, but no one would get lost in such weather, because the dense footprints on the ground were very directional, and those large and small marks of different shades all pointed to the same place - the Three Broomsticks.

Orange flames burned blazingly in the fireplace, and the heat heated up the entire bar. The moist smell of wine spread everywhere, and the smoke was lingering. It was hard to tell whether it was water vapor or tobacco leaves.

The boy with the scar on his forehead and the red-haired boy were sitting at the back facing the window. One was muttering something about the Quidditch team, and the other was staring blankly at the female owner of the bar, looking silly.

"Katie took Ginny and Demelza to do Chaser training, and they adapted very well...

“The batsmen Perks and Gut are also getting better and better…

"As long as they successfully pass the first game next weekend, they can exert their full strength on the field, and we have a great chance of winning this school year!"

Harry finished speaking in one breath and drank half a glass of butterbeer. When he found no response, he looked at the captain beside him: "Ron, what are you staring at?"

"Huh?" Ron immediately looked away from the bar and shook his head in panic, "Nothing, nothing..."

Suddenly a hand stretched out from beside him, pushing his shoulder to turn around, and a familiar and slightly teasing voice sounded: "Give you a chance, go find your "nothing" lady and help us get two glasses of butterbeer. "

Harry smiled and greeted: "Loren! Hermione!"

The young couple who had just come in from outside sat down across from each other. Loren cast a teasing look at Ron, causing him to quickly run towards the bar. He was a little panicked in the first few steps, but became impatient in the back, and his steps were happy and light.

Hermione looked around: "Where are the Ginny people?"

"She and Luna went to visit the Literary Residence."

"I should have asked her to bring me two stacks of parchment."

Loren took a French fries from the table and bit into it: "Didn't you buy a lot before school started?"

"There are too many homeworks this semester, and the parchment is used up too quickly. I want to reserve more."

“You’ll save a few inches each time on your paper.”

"..." Hermione glanced at him sideways.

"I'll buy it later."

"That's what I thought too."

"..."

Harry took a sip of butterbeer and silently made up his mind to show off in front of them once he had the chance.

At this time, there were footsteps behind them, and the three of them looked back, only to see Ron walking slowly with butterbeer in his hands, with steady steps and a resolute expression. He probably thought that his demeanor was noble, deep, and full of charm.

Unfortunately, Rosmerta was concentrating on opening a bottle of Firewhiskey and didn't look here.

Harry couldn't help but laugh, and gently pulled him: "Stop pretending to be cool, Ms. Rosmerta didn't look at you."

"What's so funny, haven't you done this before?" Ron handed over the butter beer and said resentfully, "This summer, my mother asked you to help catch hens, and you almost got a new scar on your forehead in order to act cool in front of Ginny..."

Harry quickly covered his mouth, his face flushed.

The two people on the opposite side tried hard to hold back their laughter, and in the end, Loren took a sip of beer and coughed twice, interrupting them from backstabbing each other: "Stop joking, let's talk business, we just met Professor Slughorn on the road."

"What's the matter? We have four potions classes a week, and we can meet him at any time."

"He revealed some information about Voldemort, the Death Eaters and werewolves may cause trouble on Halloween, and the Ministry of Magic may organize an ambush raid..."

After Loren finished all the information, he silently apologized to the old professor in his heart. This was considered a drunken slip of the tongue, and he originally wanted to keep it secret.

"..."

As before, Harry subconsciously wanted to go back to school to tell Dumbledore when he heard the news, but this time he hesitated.

He looked at his friends and was silent for a while: "Do you think Dumbledore suddenly started to destroy the Horcruxes he collected, could it be related to this incident?"

"..."

The door of the pub was pushed open by the guests from time to time, and the cold wind broke in through the crack of the door, blowing the firewood in the fireplace to crackle and sparks fly.

The weather was getting worse and worse.