Harry, they can finally get out of the car, and seriously, they're fed up! The carriage shook like a roller coaster, and it was the kind without a rails or seat belts.

After they had to move the large pile of luggage out of the car, they said goodbye to Mr. Weasley and the others who had sent them off, and dragged their suitcases to Hogwarts Castle with great and small luggage.

Most of the driveway leading from Hogsmeade to the school has been cleared and there is no snow cover. But from time to time there was an icy ground on the road, and they had to walk carefully over it, lest they fall on their backs if they were not careful.

After a while, they staggered to the main entrance of the school.

"Oh, Harry—" Hagrid waved happily at the sight of their children, "Good morning! Come, kids, all here! ”

"Hagrid!" Harry hurriedly tugged at his large suitcase and trotted two steps to the door, "Hagrid, why are you standing here?" Who are you waiting for? ”

"Hey, that's what everyone asks when they pass by," Hagrid shrugged, "and that's not to mention, I have something I need to pass on to you—someone else just asked me for it." ”

As he spoke, he pulled out several rolls of parchment from his coat pocket, all neatly rolled up, with a purple ribbon tied in the middle.

Harry took it and saw that one of the volumes had his name on it, and the others had the names of others he knew.

He left the parchment for himself, and handed the remaining volumes back to Hermione, Ron, and Neville behind him.

"Invitations?"

When Hermione and the three of them had just received it, Harry had already opened his share first. The above content is just a sentence, saying that he hopes to invite him to breakfast or something, and the signature is that Slughorn's seemingly unreliable old man.

"Am I a part too?" Ron looked at the parchment he had given him and said confusedly, "I don't remember our family having a relationship with him...... Not...... Maybe a little bit too? ”

"I don't think he invited us because of our parents' friendship......" Hermione said disapprovingly, "or else, what shall I say?" Could it be that my parents have filled his teeth or something? ”

"This Mr. Slughorn...... Who is it? Neville asked, puzzled.

"Horace Slughorn, who was a Potions professor at Hogwarts a long time ago, was the head of Slytherin House at the time, and is said to be at a high level in Potions." Hermione explained casually, then continued, "But what did he do when he came back?" And also handed us invitations? ”

Hagrid shook his head when he saw her looking at him.

"Just now Maka and I were standing here and chatting for a few words, and he came over." "He invited Maca first, and she quickly agreed, and then he gave me the parchment scrolls to pass you on when I saw you." ”

"Maca is already here?" Hermione was surprised, "I thought he would be late!" He was just discharged from the hospital today......"

"He seems to be in good spirits, he should be fine." Hagrid said, and couldn't help but sigh, "I really didn't expect that the person who couldn't even mention his name would die like this......"

"Now it's time to mention it!" Ron said happily, "Isn't that ...... Well, Voldemort...... How do you feel hairy when you say it? ”

"I think you're just not used to it," Hermione said, "let's go first!" Didn't that gentleman invite us to breakfast? Maca was there too......"

"To be honest, I don't really want to go," Harry said awkwardly, "I don't like him very much. ”

"Mr. Slughorn is actually a pretty good man, and likes to make friends," Hagrid seemed to have a different opinion, "There are very few Slytherins who can make friends like him, regardless of their origins." Of course, sometimes he does get a little too enthusiastic! ”

Hagrid is a typical big boss, and he has always relied on intuition to see people and things. Although this usually makes him overlook a lot of details, and he often looks at people superficially, he is not much worse than those who are smart.

After all, everyone's mind is difficult to guess, and instead of worrying about those ambiguous so-called true faces, it is better to judge a person's character directly by relying on the surface.

You know, the character that people show is usually the part they want others to know. In the vast majority of cases, that is their principle of conduct in the world, which will not be easily changed. If you don't plan to engage with someone in depth, it's more than enough to know the surface.

For the old man Slughorn, Maca befriended him with this mentality. As long as you don't be too gullible, Slughorn is enough to be a good "ordinary friend", especially since he has been obsessed with interpersonal communication all his life, and his useful friends can be said to be all over the global wizarding world.

Being friends with him, in general, always has more advantages than disadvantages.

It's just that Maca thinks so, but Harry doesn't. Most of the lion cubs like to act on their instincts and preferences, and sometimes even Hermione, who has always been smart and clever, is no exception to this.

After saying goodbye to Hagrid for a while, everyone dragged their luggage to the Gryffindor Tower. Even if they're willing to go to the meeting, they have to drop off their luggage first, right?

"Are you really not going?"

In the bedroom, Ron asked Harry behind him as he cleaned up his bed.

"Hmm...... I don't know if I should go......" Harry didn't stop, but hesitated, "It's just that Maca seems to have gone...... Since Slughorn sent the invitation in front of him, I thought we should probably check it out. ”

"I think so too," Ron nodded to himself, ignoring the fact that the two of them were packing their things back to back, "and have breakfast...... Hey, that sounds pretty cool! ”

Ron, who has lived a somewhat shabby life since he was a child, is always curious about this kind of activity that sounds classy and emotional. Perhaps in the past, he had always imagined himself being invited to some high-level private banquet, and now that there was a similar opportunity, he really didn't want to miss it.

……

I don't know how Slughorn did it, but at least he did find a decent location for the "breakfast together" project. There were plenty of empty rooms at Hogwarts, and Slughorn chose a side hall on the first floor that was barely used.

The house-elves who live in the kitchen have always been diligent, and they will diligently clean every corner of the place where no one goes, so that they are always ready to use.

And now, when Harry pushed open the door to the side hall, a little cluttered human voice came out of it and into the ears of several of them.

Slughorn was the loudest of them all, and at this moment he seemed to be talking happily to a Slytherin student, and the seemingly straightforward sound of laughter echoed softly through the small side hall.

But when Harry followed the voice and looked at Slughorn, they saw a figure they didn't want to see at all.

"Malfoy?" Harry frowned, "As soon as I saw him, I didn't want to be there. ”

However, they have all come here, and it is obviously impossible to turn back. In fact, as soon as the door opened, Slughorn had already turned his gaze to this side.

"Oh! Isn't this our Mr. Potter? And Mr. Weasley......"

He said hello and stood up. Perhaps because the few encounters with Harry had not gone well, he also deliberately adjusted the name of Harry, trying to control the sense of distance so as not to be too abrupt.

"Of course, this must be Miss Granger - you're famous at Hogwarts, everyone knows you, and you're always number one in your studies!"

"Hello, Mr. Slughorn!" Hermione nodded politely, "I'm glad you know me, but academic performance doesn't mean much, and I need more effort." ”

"You are so modest, charming young lady." Slughorn's polite words seemed a little greasy, at least for a young girl who was still underage, it was easy to get goosebumps, "This must be Mr. Longbottom, right?" ”

Neville heard Slughorn greet him again, and nodded his head like a chicken pecking rice. For this overzealous bald old man, he seemed to be a little frightened by the introversion.

Slughorn glanced at Neville's face a few times, a faint hint of disappointment in his eyes, and then he seemed to hide his excitement again.

"Come on, come on! Young ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats! "You can sit anywhere, just be careful not to sit on someone's lap—my meetings have always been easy and free, and you don't have to be too inhibited." ”

That being said, both Harry and Neville seemed hesitant. One of them wasn't very interested in the sudden dinner from the start, and the other didn't know where to put his hands.

Even Hermione, who was relatively normal at first, had some more worries in her heart after seeing the girl next to Maca.

As for Ron, he should have enjoyed this kind of occasion, but Malfoy's presence made him feel a certain awkwardness all of a sudden. Because he found that Malfoy looked very different today, and if he had to say, he was too "honest" - he didn't make any provocative behavior when he met them.

Even if Maca was there, he wouldn't even dare to stare at him, and in Ron's impression, Draco Malfoy was the kind of guy who had to show disdain even if he was hard-headed.