Chapter 203 - 203: Hogsmeade

ROAR!!! The silver dragon spread its wings and soared into the air, letting out a thunderous roar. From its gaping maw, a wave of silver-white light pulsed outward, radiating in all directions. In the blink of an eye, it had spread across the entire Hogwarts castle. Every student—whether they were in class, resting, or playing—felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of joy rise from deep within their hearts. And the one who witnessed all of this with his own eyes, Professor Snape, was utterly stunned: Audrey's Patronus was a dragon! Most wizards' Patronuses were ordinary creatures. The only magical creature he had ever known to appear as a Patronus was Dumbledore's phoenix. But compared to that phoenix, this massive beast before him exuded an overwhelming sense of awe and intimidation. Snape had a faint sense that perhaps…this dragon wasn't something that could only fight off Dementors. Whoosh— Audrey lowered her wand, and the dragon Patronus instantly dispersed into silvery mist and vanished. She turned to Snape and offered a sincere smile. "Thank you, Professor Snape. I think I've mastered the Patronus Charm." "..." Her tone was earnest, her demeanour genuine—there wasn't a trace of arrogance. And yet, Snape still felt she was bragging! "…Not bad," he said curtly, nodding with a blank expression. Then he turned and strode out of the classroom. He needed to report this to Dumbledore immediately. Audrey lifted her wand once more and traced a gleaming silver arc through the air, laughing happily. "Well, finally! I've learned a spell that I can do but Edward can't!" That felt so good! ——— [Deep within the Forbidden Forest] Edward's documentation efforts had gone…relatively well. That is, if one ignored the centaurs now lying unconscious all over the forest floor. Hagrid, meanwhile, looked completely bewildered. His large head still hadn't caught up with what had just happened. Wasn't I just accompanying Edward to find Firenze and hear him recount the history of the centaurs? From their earliest appearances in recorded history… To their migrations across continents… To their conflicts and wars with humans… To the development of their astrological studies… And finally, to how this particular tribe had come to the Forbidden Forest at Dumbledore's invitation. Edward had listened while jotting everything down in his notebook, occasionally asking a few well-placed questions. At first, Hagrid had found it all quite fascinating. That was until Firenze began to discuss astrology in his calm, emotionless tone. In that moment, Hagrid felt as though he'd been transported back to a History of Magic lecture at Hogwarts—his eyelids began to droop. Just as he was about to doze off, a group of centaurs hostile to humans, led by Bane, suddenly charged in. They accused Firenze of being a traitor and launched an immediate attack on Edward. Then…they were all laid out flat. Hagrid was completely confused. He cautiously stepped over to Bane and nudged the centaur's head with his foot, confirming that he was indeed unconscious. He mumbled under his breath, "Did these centaurs come down with some sort of sudden illness?" Firenze's voice floated over quietly, "Hagrid, you do realise that what you're doing right now is extremely disrespectful." "Oh—sorry, sorry!" Hagrid quickly backed off. "I was just…curious…" "It was your friend Edward," Firenze said calmly. "He used some kind of unknown ability or magic to incapacitate Bane and the others in an instant." Firenze lowered his head thoughtfully, then muttered, "Ever since your last visit, the constellations have become increasingly strange. Everything I used to see in the stars has changed. I can hardly discern the future anymore." Edward was surprised. "But Mr. Firenze, I remember you saying last time that the stars show only macro trends. In theory, those shouldn't change so easily, right?" "I'm puzzled as well," Firenze replied. "But perhaps this is the nature of astrology—everything is filled with uncertainty and the unknown." He didn't seem particularly concerned by it. "I see…Well, let's return to the earlier topic. You mentioned that centaur history records the emergence of fairies?" "Correct." Firenze nodded. "You come from the Muggle world, so you must know about the theory of evolution, yes?" "Of course." "In fact, the theory of evolution broadly applies to the magical world as well. Most magical creatures today have gradually evolved over time. But there are some exceptions…dragons, fairies, nagas, werewolves…These beings seem to have simply appeared in the world one day." "No…that's not quite right!" He shook his head firmly. "That's not the accurate way to put it. They did evolve over time, and they did exist long ago—but at some point, they underwent an unknown transformation. Outwardly, they still looked the same, but something fundamental had changed—sometimes subtly, sometimes drastically." "Such as?" "I don't know," Firenze said, shaking his head. "These are records passed down from our ancestors who read the stars. You understand—we observe the stars, but we do not seek to interpret them or verify their meanings." Should I call that centaur wisdom…or just a stunning lack of curiosity? If Voldemort were as chill as you centaurs, Harry wouldn't have had anything to do at all. Edward closed his notebook at that moment. "Thank you very much for your answers, Mr. Firenze." "I'm always happy to share the knowledge I have." "Oh right, your tribesmen should be waking up soon. Hmm…they won't catch a cold or anything, will they?" "Centaurs have quite robust constitutions. Don't worry." Hagrid stepped forward and hugged Firenze. "Sorry for the trouble, Firenze. You'd better be careful around Bane and the others—I'm worried they might try to harm you." "I understand." After bidding farewell to Firenze, Edward and Hagrid made their way back the same route they'd come. Likely due to the bitter cold, all the unicorns had hidden away somewhere warm. Hagrid even took him on a few detours, but not a single unicorn appeared. "It's fine, Hagrid. Unicorns aren't like centaurs anyway. We can't exactly have a proper chat with them." Hagrid muttered, "Strange…even if it's cold, they still have to come out to forage. I'm telling you, Edward—unicorns are truly the most beautiful creatures in the world. Kind, brave, pure…they're just too sensitive." "I've heard some people say unicorns only like to be close to girls and then go on speculating all kinds of nonsense. But the truth is, they just feel safer around most girls, that's all." Edward believed Hagrid. After all, unicorns were indeed very close and trusting with Hagrid. But…it's not like Hagrid is secretly a cute girl in disguise, right? A cute girl with a bearded face and a giant patch of chest hair? "So that means they're incredibly sensitive to danger?" "Exactly!" Hagrid nodded earnestly. Edward scratched his head. Then…could it be that the unicorns were hiding because of me? After all, I am the Tower. ——— Saturday arrived before long. Hogsmeade was the wizarding village closest to Hogwarts. If you thought of Hogwarts as a university, then Hogsmeade was the equivalent of a bustling college town. Unfortunately, Hogwarts had a rule: only third-years and above could visit on designated Saturdays for food, fun, and shopping. Naturally, once those students returned from Hogsmeade, they would rave about it even more—describing it to the lower-year students as the most magical, marvellous place in the world. This fueled anticipation so much that the younger students would spend the next few years counting down the days until they, too, could go. But when the day finally came and they visited for the first time, they would inevitably realize: yes, Hogsmeade was more fun than Hogwarts…but nowhere near as perfect as they'd been led to believe. Still, thinking of all the years they were misled, a thought would arise: I can't be the only one who got tricked like this. And so, upon returning, they would start the cycle anew, painting Hogsmeade in even more extravagant terms for the younger students. And so it went, round and round. Edward and Audrey came to Hogsmeade together with Cedric and the Weasley twins. But the group soon split up—the twins made a beeline for Zonko's Joke Shop, while Cedric headed straight for Honeydukes. "Where should we go?" Audrey asked, gazing curiously at the quaint wizarding village. Though only a first-year, Dumbledore had given her special permission to visit. "Hmm, let me think." Edward took her slightly chilly hand and led her toward the Three Broomsticks. "Let's try the wizarding world's famous Butterbeer first." The Three Broomsticks was the favourite pub of Hogwarts students: clean, cozy, and lively. The Hog's Head next door, on the other hand, was where professors and various adults preferred to gather. As soon as they stepped inside, a few upper-year students drinking at the bar looked over—then quickly averted their gazes. Most of them had tasted Audrey's wrath firsthand during duelling class. A few whispered quietly: "See that? The Hufflepuff next to her? He transferred here as a first-year three years ago. I've seen him around before—seemed like a totally average Hufflepuff." "But now he's dating Audrey!" "Yeah, I saw them hanging out and thought they were just friends. Now…I've had my heart broken." "You call that heartbroken? I get dumped about 800 times a year." "Heh, you guys are so behind the times. That guy's name is Edward—he's not normal at all. He's helping Professor McGonagall teach Transfiguration to the first through third years, and they say his skills are nearly on par with McGonagall herself." "Seriously?" Meanwhile, the two of them approached the bar. "Two Butterbeers, please." Madam Rosmerta, the bar owner, smiled warmly at them. "Oh, Edward—you came alone last time, didn't you? And this young lady…first time here, I reckon?" "Yes, ma'am. I transferred this year—my first term at Hogwarts." "Well, that explains it." She served them two steaming mugs of foamy Butterbeer and then pushed a small cherry-topped mousse cake toward Audrey. "This one's on the house." "Thank you." Audrey took a sip of her drink and her eyes lit up—it was easily the best alcoholic beverage she'd ever tasted. A single mouthful sent warmth rushing through her, cozy and delightful. Edward downed half his mug in one go and let out an unceremonious burp. "Mmm…way better than Southville Beer." Then he turned to Madam Rosmerta, "Ma'am, I read in a book that Hogsmeade was the headquarters of the goblin rebellion of 1612. Do you happen to know anything the books don't mention?" Madam Rosmerta narrowed her eyes. "Edward, are you saying I'm old?" "Uh—what?" "Well, how else would I know about ancient history like that?" "..." Audrey couldn't help but giggle softly. "Alright, alright, just teasing you." As she wiped down a glass, Madam Rosmerta explained, "Actually, most of what's worth saying about that rebellion is already in the books. The only thing that's still debated…is the cause of it." "Some say the goblins wanted to control and enslave wizards—to flip the tables and become the rulers of the magical world, just like how wizards currently treat them. Others claim the goblins were targeting Hogwarts itself. They believed Hogwarts was producing too many powerful wizards, which posed a threat to their survival." She shrugged. "But all of that's just speculation with no evidence. At this point, it's not realistic to investigate further." Audrey asked curiously, "But for something that important…why wasn't it recorded properly?" "Because the goblins who led the rebellion were either killed or fled. Whether it's goblins or humans—soldiers never really know why the generals or kings start wars." ——— [Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.