Chapter 832: Chapter 713: Conna Didn’t Take the Train
Gotta admit, Fred and George have quite the knack for emptying wallets. By the time Harry left Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, his money bag was almost empty, save for a few remaining Galleons.
If it weren’t for wanting to save some for school expenses, he might not have spared even those few Galleons.
The joke items were just too entertaining, and the ones related to Defence Against the Dark Arts looked really useful too.
Not to mention, Harry hadn’t been out for more than a month, and subconsciously, he just kept buying and buying. Before he knew it, his money bag was drained, and the jingling Galleons had turned into various magical items.
Harry was quite pleased about it, really.
In the last week of the holiday, he and Ron kept fiddling with the little trinkets they’d bought. Once, Hermione accidentally mistook their purchased cup for a teacup, and as a result, her teeth turned blue.
Hermione’s front teeth were already a bit prominent, and turning blue made them even more noticeable, which infuriated her so much that she didn’t speak to Harry for several days.
It wasn’t until Fred and George brought back a color-fading potion, and Harry repeatedly swore that he really forgot to pick it up and didn’t intentionally leave it on the table, that Hermione grudgingly forgave them.
But as a consequence, Hermione refused to let them copy her assignments.
"You better finish quickly."
At the end of August, Kael watched Harry and Ron, who were furiously writing, and said with a smile, "School starts tomorrow. If you don’t finish tonight, don’t think about sleeping tomorrow night."
Harry and Ron didn’t speak. In truth, they now had no other time for anything but homework.
Who would’ve thought that after staying here for two months, they wouldn’t have touched their homework at all.
"You don’t have much room to talk. Who at Hogwarts hasn’t caught up on assignments a few times?" Charlie teased, recalling how he used to be part of the homework-catching-up gang back in the day.
"But Kael..." he said, "I don’t recall seeing you do any homework either. Did you finish it before coming here?"
"Nope." Kael replied calmly, "I didn’t do it either."
Upon hearing this, Harry and Ron almost simultaneously looked up, then shifted over to make space on the side.
"You guys do your own. Don’t worry about me," Kael waved his hand, "I have Ministry of Magic duties to attend to, so I don’t need to do homework. The professors have specially approved it."
"You don’t have to do homework?" Ron’s eyes were red with envy.
Nobody had told him before that joining the Ministry of Magic came with such perks. Had he known, he would’ve applied as well.
...
The next morning, Harry and Ron, sporting dark circles under their eyes, sat in the car, even napping for a bit during the ride.
It wasn’t until the car stopped in front of King’s Cross Station that Sirius shook them awake.
"Hurry up, there are too many people here. We need to quickly get through the barrier." Sirius and Mr. Weasley stood on either side of them with serious expressions.
From their expressions, you’d think Death Eaters had already ambushed the station and were ready to pounce on Harry at any moment.
But in reality, they encountered no problems and smoothly passed through the barrier, arriving at Platform 9¾.
The place was as crowded as ever, with steam from the red Hogwarts Express billowing overhead.
A few seconds later, Kael, Cedric, Fred, and George came in too.
"Brings back memories." Cedric gazed at the train, "Too bad I didn’t bring my luggage with me this time."
"Only fools like you would want to go to school," Fred glanced at the train too, "The best part is not having to attend classes or do homework now."
"It’d be even better not having to go to the Ministry of Magic," George said wistfully nearby.
They’d agreed that by the end of August, they could resign and return to running the joke shop.
But with Hogwarts back in session, they still had to stay at the Ministry because there was no one to replace them.
Of course, the two had their little plans. When Kael suggested it, they didn’t push the matter of resigning.
At that moment, Cho arrived, and as soon as she passed through the barrier, Cedric left Kael and the others, wearing a silly grin as he approached her.
"Cho, long time no see. How was your holiday?"
"Tsk!" Fred’s face looked displeased, and he quipped sarcastically, "Look at that goofy face of his, anyone would think his tongue was having a spasm."
"Sometimes I just want to stuff his mouth full of Sour Explosion Candy," George said, looking disgusted.
"Oh, by the way, the same goes for you," he added, looking at Kael, "I bet you’re waiting for Conna, right?"
"If you’ve guessed, why bother asking?" Kael raised an eyebrow.
This action only made Fred and George more irritated.
"Listen," Fred draped an arm around Kael’s shoulder with ill intent, "This Christmas, you can expect a box filled with Sour Explosion Candy."
"Do you think I’d eat anything you gave me?" Kael shot them a disdainful glance.
"Then we’ll just head to Hogwarts..."
"And stuff the candy in your mouth."
"I’ll be waiting." Kael remained unfazed, "Just don’t chicken out when the time comes."
Another ten minutes passed, but Conna still didn’t show up, and Fred and George seemed quite pleased with themselves.
From behind came the sound of a whistle, and nearly everyone boarded the train, with the doors already starting to close.
