HPS 111

Chapter 111: Hogsmeade Week

On the lawn behind the castle, the three young wizards, clad in thick robes, once again walked out of the fortress.

They paid no mind to the rumble of thunder overhead, the wails of the fierce wind slamming against the castle walls, or the cracking sounds of branches breaking in the distant Forbidden Forest. In just a few hours, they would be battling this storm in the greenhouses outside.

But their expressions were composed, and they even chatted and laughed occasionally, though mostly it was Justin talking, Sean nodding, and Neville smiling shyly.

Doing a difficult thing alone can be somewhat painful and hard to endure, but when the group is enlarged, the shared moments of finding joy amidst the hardship are enough to overcome the present toil.

Before they even reached the greenhouse, they heard the boisterous voices of the upperclassmen:

“Bruce, you damned idiot! Stay away from that Bundimun!”

Leon was currently waving his wand, moving other plants, but unexpectedly, Bruce, having just provoked the Bundimun, scurried away to hide behind Pister. Behind him, the Bundimun was furiously flailing its vines, looking quite angry.

Through the colored windows of Greenhouse Three, Sean guessed that Bruce had messed with its pods, as One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi mentions:

The Bundimun is a vine-like plant that looks like a knobbly stump and produces seed pods the size of grapefruit. As soon as someone tries to take its pods, it suddenly extends tentacle-like vines to attack them.

Bruce didn't even have time to fully hide behind Pister before Pister, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, skillfully dodged out of Bruce’s way. The Bundimun's vines then struck Bruce squarely on the shoulder. He yelled "Ow! Ow!" twice and instantly behaved himself a lot more.

Professor Sprout watched the three of them, her eyes crinkling into a smile, before she briskly left Greenhouse Three. 'Ah—her new sprouts are due to arrive,' she thought, 'and thanks to them, Greenhouse One looks as orderly as it does now.'

Yes, because the greenhouses posed certain dangers, the division of labor between the Professor, the Hufflepuff upperclassmen, and Sean's group had always been different.

The Professor would handle the most dangerous Greenhouse Seven alone, which was rumored to even contain a small Whomping Willow, though Sean didn't know if that was just a rumor. Bruce and his group usually busied themselves in Greenhouse Three, while Sean and his friends naturally took charge of the plants in Greenhouse One.

At the entrance of Greenhouse One, Sean saw Bruce and his two companions filing out of Greenhouse Three. Behind them, the Bundimun's vines were still flailing wildly.

“Aha!” Bruce made a face at the greenhouse.

“Idiot,” Leon looked at the messy-haired, mud-splattered Bruce, at a loss for words. 'This guy just loves looking for trouble.'

“Oh! Look, it’s little Green!” Bruce’s eyes immediately lit up as he turned around, “I bet you’re really looking forward to Hogsmeade village, aren't you?” he suddenly leaned closer and said with a mysterious smile.

“…” 'Not really,' Sean thought. If Bruce hadn't mentioned it, Sean would have forgotten about it, as it had nothing to do with the lower-year students.

“Yes,” Sean tried his best to look expectant too, seeing the anticipation in the upperclassman's eyes.

“Oh—I told you, little Green, I’d pay you back, not just for the bet, or the Howler…” Bruce raised an eyebrow. His brow was sharp, revealing a touch of cutting boldness quite unlike his usual geniality. “Take this, and choose well!”

After he finished speaking, he hummed a tune and dragged away Leon, who was still drinking water, and Pister, who had just received seeds from Professor Sprout.

Leon choked on a mouthful of pumpkin juice, and Sean could hear Bruce’s subsequent yelp from a long distance away.

As he entered the greenhouse, Sean casually opened the letter. 'Actually… I've been feeling like I've received a few too many letters lately.'

However, what the young wizard hadn't noticed was that this seemed to be because he spoke too little.

[Not a single Knut of markup! Little Green, surprised—to receive this Hogsmeade village shopping list.

Though I'd be happy to pay for all of you, unfortunately, Leon wouldn't let me use his wallet…]

'It would be strange if Leon did agree,' Sean thought.

Sean continued reading:

[But the good news is, Pister has agreed to let me use his wallet to pay the full price for your purchases alone.

So, feel free to shop boldly—don’t worry about your wallet!]

'Pister, huh…' Sean recalled the honest and gentle face in his mind.

[You can share the list at the back with your friends—remember?

The Hufflepuff motto is—To! Share!

Don't worry about whether I can carry it all. I won't let Leon's and Pister's hands, shoulders, and necks sit idle.

But don’t let too many people join, or Pister's neck won't be able to bear the weight.

Attached is a list:

(Dervish and Banges: Magical repair tools;

Honeydukes Sweetshop: Lollipop quill, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans…

Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop: Self-Inking Ink, Self-Answering Quill, Homework Planner…)]

Hogsmeade Week suddenly had relevance to Sean again. Looking at the attached list, Sean also felt a little more anticipation. There were many interesting things in the wizarding world, and Sean was also planning to buy more parchment, ink, and such.

There were a few items Sean was also quite interested in, such as the Homework Planner—a small notebook that could magically track a student’s study progress. Every time a page was turned, it would remind the student to complete their assignments on time; only after finishing their homework could they do things they liked. This would save Sean a lot of time recording things, as he would just need to glance at it. Another was Everlasting Ink—a special ink where any writing created with it would be imbued with magic and never fade.

In short, this was a unique surprise, and Sean was slightly lost in thought.

It was October, the weather was getting colder, rainfall increased, and the nights grew darker, but the mud, strong winds, and heavy rain could not dampen the joy of the three as they emerged from the greenhouse.

“You mean—Sean, the upperclassmen are willing to help us purchase items in Hogsmeade village?” Justin was a little incredulous. They had just been envying the older wizards, and now luck had landed on them so quickly?!

The three of them stepped deep into the wet ground, splashing mud.

“Oh my gosh! We must tell Hermione this good news right away. She's read the description of Hogsmeade village over and over again!” Justin exclaimed with anticipation.

Then, seeing the seven pieces of parchment Sean pulled from the back of the letter, Neville's and Justin's eyes were glued to them.