Last Sunday in September.

The sky is clear and cloudy, like a clean piece of blue paper. It was a rare day of good weather, especially for Hogwarts after a rainy September.

Naturally, the students were happy about it, as it was the day to travel to Hogsmeade.

For Matthew Wakefield, this was his second trip to Hogsmeade, the only wizard-only village in the UK.

The last time was during last year's Christmas holidays, when he went alone, encountered a strange witch following him, and finally escaped back to Hogwarts through the secret passages of Duke Honey's candy store.

During the Easter break in April this year, the first-year students also had the opportunity to go to Hogsmeade, but when the final exams were approaching, everyone obediently stayed in Hogwarts Castle to revise, and Matthew was no exception.

But this time today, Matthew is no longer alone.

In the morning, while eating in the Great Hall, Matthew bumped into Neville and Hermione, and then, after breakfast, the three of them left the castle together, as a matter of course.

......

Mr. Pringer, the castle's keeper, stood at the oak gate as usual, checking the names of the students who had been allowed to go to Hogsmeade.

And it was longer than ever, for Mr. Pringer had to test everyone over and over again with his probe.

And on the other side of the oak gate, two black figures in cloaks, stood there.

They were tall and large, their faces completely hidden under their hoods, their hands outstretched under their cloaks, grayish-white, and seemingly covered with slime and spots...... It is like a decomposing corpse that has been soaked in water for a long time after death.

Once again, Matthew felt the chill he had felt at the castle gate...... He even felt like he couldn't be happy anymore.

Dementors!

It was the first time Matthew had been so close to them.

I have to say that this feeling is extremely emotional, even a little hopeless.

Not only Matthew, but Neville and Hermione's faces turned pale.

Miss Hermione Granger, in particular, was even a little unsteady on her feet as she walked through the dementor-guarded oak gate, tears streaming from her eyes......

This state lasted until almost a quarter of an hour after they left Hogwarts.

Hermione had just let go of her grip on the hem of Matthew's clothes, and on the way Matthew touched the back of her hand slightly, and found that her hand was extremely cold......

She lowered her head and wiped her tears as she gasped for air...... It was not easy to come to my senses.

"It's horrible......" she said in a hoarse voice.

"My dad said that Dementors are the most terrifying creatures in the world. Neville said thoughtfully.

"I've heard that Azkaban is full of Dementors......" Hermione shuddered, "how horrible it must be, I'm afraid it's almost like hell on earth......

"It should be. Neville nodded.

“...... And the three criminals who escaped from Azkaban...... "Hermione continued, "how the hell did they do it...... No wonder Hogwarts has to take such precautions......"

The three of them chatted about the Dementors and Azkaban as they walked along the main road to Hogsmeade Village.

There were quite a lot of students on the roadside, after all, it was the first time this semester to go to Hogsmeade, and everyone was very interested.

Since it was autumn, the leaves on the trees on the roadside had turned yellow, and they fell to the ground, staining the rough road surface yellow.

The shoes of the three men were trampled on the leaves, and only a rustling sound could be heard.

......

Soon, they arrived at their destination.

At the entrance to Hogsmeade, Matthew sees brothers Fred and George Weasley, who are in front of the window of Jokowi's joke shop, pointing at what's inside.

"Where are we going?" asked Matthew softly.

"Let's go and have a butterbeer with two broomsticks first," Neville suggested, "I still feel a little cold......

Matthew had no problem with this, although the influence of the Dementors was already very little to him.

They continued along the main road, past the post office, where every few moments some owls flew out.

A small road next to the post office, which Matthew remembers leads to the Pig's Head Bar...... He could vaguely see the rusty stand and the boar's head painted on it...... A middle-aged man dressed as a waiter was pouring something at the door.

I don't know why, when he saw the sign of the pig's head bar again, Matthew suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable from the bottom of his heart.

The last time he entered that bar more than half a year ago, he hadn't felt like this.

But fortunately, they didn't stop and kept going.

Crossing the street, they soon got into the warm two-broom bar.

......

The bar was crowded with people, almost all of them crowded, a middle-aged woman with a good appearance greeting customers, and a bald middle-aged wizard handing five or six glasses of different colors to the tables.

Matthew and Hermione stood for about ten minutes before they waited for a small empty table, and they quickly sat down.

Then, Neville returned, with three fiery, steaming glasses of Butterbeer.

"I can finally rest for a while!" he sat down and picked up one of the butterbeers, "Cheers!"

Matthew took a sip and had to say it tasted great, at least much better than the last mead he had drunk here.

And because it's hot, the whole body is full of warmth after drinking it.

"It's so much more comfortable. Hermione couldn't help but sigh.

At this moment, a cool breeze suddenly ruffled Matthew's hair.

The doors of the two brooms were opened, and Matthew looked over the rim of the cups and suddenly choked.

"That's like ...... Professor Slughorn!" Neville whispered, gesturing to the door.

The bald Mr. Rosmertha has warmly greeted the past, and he is mainly responsible for entertaining "distinguished guests".

Horace Slughorn swaggered into the bar, and he was not alone, and behind him was a first-grade girl.

First-year students are normally only allowed to come to Hogsmeade during the Christmas and Easter holidays, but if they have a teacher with them, that's a different story...... That's why Miss Elaine Shafiq is here today.

Hermione Granger glared at Matthew and Neville fiercely like a lioness.

As if to warn them, don't go and say hello to Slughorn!