There was a thrilling Hogsmeade journey, and just like that, it finally came to an end.

At the staircase of the castle, Matthew Wakefield bids farewell to his two friends and begins his return to the common room in Slytherin.

Both Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom dismissed what had happened before them as a bad "oolong incident", and neither of them said anything before they parted.

It wasn't until he sat down by the campfire in the Slytherin common room again that Matthew barely felt a little warmth.

He vowed never to go to Hogsmeade again......

The two times I've been there before, I've had such a bad experience...... That village sucks!

......

There are very few people in the Slytherin common room.

After all, today was the first day of the semester to go to Hogsmeade, and it was a Sunday.

Matthew reclined in a soft green armchair, feeling the warmth of the campfire burning in the fireplace while reflecting on what had happened today...... At the same time, he was thinking about what he should do!

I have to say that this experience in Hogsmeade was too bizarre...... Even if he racked his brain, he couldn't come up with anything.

"Wakefield!" Just then, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

Matthew was stunned for a moment and responded, "Miss Lestrange, good afternoon......"

"It's still morning......" Agnes Lestrange said coldly.

She came over and came to the campfire, and sat not far from Matthew.

"Okay...... My sense of time is slightly off......" Matthew glanced down at his watch with some embarrassment.

Miss Lestrange was right, it was only half past ten in the morning......

On the surface, it seems that he has been in Hogsmeade for a long, long time...... There were so many "accidents" there that his mental state was a little bad.

But in fact, less than two hours had passed since he left Hogwarts in the morning.

"Didn't you go to Hogsmeade," asked Agnes Lestrange, holding out her hand to bake the fire, "I saw you passing by at breakfast with Longbottom of Gryffindor and Granger of Ravenclaw...... Why are you back now?"

"yes, and then I didn't feel well, so I came back......" Matthew explained, coughing lightly.

There seemed to be a brief silence between the two.

Matthew just didn't know what to say.

And Agnes, she pursed her lips, as if looking down to think about something.

"So ......," she said softly, her tone softer than usual, "don't you like Dementors either?"

"Don't like Dementors?"

Matthew quickly realized that the girl seemed to have misunderstood something.

I went to Hogsmeade early in the morning and came back so soon to make a fire by the fireplace...... In addition, his face is very ugly, and his mental state is sluggish...... So she mistakenly thinks she's under the influence of Dementors......

But Matthew didn't want to explain too much about it, and he couldn't explain it either.

Moreover, it seems that he has found a suitable excuse for not going to Hogsmeade in the future.

After all, he believed that Neville and Hermione, or even Professor Severus Snape, would not make a big deal about the previous "oolongs".

"Yes," he sighed, as if feeling something, "those things, like monsters from hell...... The peace, hope, and joy in the air seem to be sucked dry by them...... As soon as I got close to them, I felt cold and painful...... I hate them, I hate ...... very much."

Matthew's words weren't finished yet-

Agnes Lestrange suddenly lowered her head and covered her face tightly with her hands.

She seemed to cry......

......

To be honest, this made Matthew a little uncomfortable.

Agnes Lestrange has always had the impression of being extremely cold and fierce...... It was the first time she had shown such vulnerability in front of Matthew.

However, Matthew didn't know how to comfort him, so he could only wait on the sidelines.

I don't know how long it took for the silver-haired girl to raise her head again.

Her eyes were still red.

"I'm sorry, I lost my temper......" she whispered, "something unpleasant came to mind......

"It's my fault, I shouldn't have mentioned the Dementors......" Matthew said quickly.

"It's okay," the silver-haired girl smiled a little bleakly, "It looks like we all have a past that we don't want to remember......"

Matthew could only nod vaguely.

Fortunately, at this moment, an owl flew in from outside, relieving Matthew's embarrassment.

The owl threw a letter in front of Matthew, and flew away shortly thereafter.

On the other side of the letter, there is a picture of a huge slug, which is very eye-catching......

It was undoubtedly sent to him by Horace Slughorn, the Potions teacher.

Matthew unhurriedly opened it, and there wasn't much on it, except that Slughorn reminded him to make sure he had to attend the slug's dinner party that night.

After he read it, he threw the envelope and letter into the fireplace, making them part of the fuel.

......

"Slughorn sent it to you?" Agnes asked suddenly.

Her voice was very deliberate.

And Matthew noticed that she didn't use honorifics when addressing the Dean of Slytherin.

"yes......" Matthew nodded.

"I suggest you stay away from him...... Horace Slughorn is a dangerous man!" said the silver-haired girl solemnly.

Matthew couldn't help but frown slightly.

This is the second time Agnes Lestrange has given Matthew such a "warning".

The previous one was last year's Christmas...... Although Professor Horace Slughorn has not shown any "danger" since then.

But Matthew thought that Miss Lestrange had no need to deliberately deceive him in this place.

"Why?" Matthew asked softly.

"Horace Slughorn's little circle...... The members of it, the Muggle-born wizards among them...... They almost all ended badly......" Agnes hesitated for a moment and explained,

"Of course, I've only heard about it......"

“...... Also, Slughorn and some not-so-reputed, out-of-school wizards...... Lucius Malfoy, for example, is very close......"

"Is that so......" Matthew nodded solemnly:

"Thank you!"

He squinted and lay back in his armchair.

At the same time, my mind began to think back to what had happened before.