章 302: Chapter 302: Walking through the Streets of Hogsmeade (Edited)
Hermione twirled around, sending a breeze of fragrance through the air, leaving Tom amazed.
Such a beautiful girl, and now she's mine! Tom couldn't help but smile foolishly at that thought. It was Hermione who snapped him out of it, extending her white fingers and tapping Tom on the head.
"Have you seen enough?"
"N-no, uh, I..." Tom instinctively said, but then realized he sounded too much like a pervert.
"No more leering!" Hermione puffed her cheeks, pointing her finger at Tom. "Keep it up, and I'll get mad!"
Tom's eyes narrowed slightly, giving her a somewhat shy look.
But Hermione didn't seem genuinely angry. After all, Tom was acting that way, which meant she was very attractive! Hermione would only be mad if he had given her a "Oh, I see" kind of look.
However, that was the end of Tom's view as Hermione shooed him away to freshen up: she was going to choose underwear.
"If you want to see it, you can come to the Ravenclaw dormitory at night and see it all." When Hermione decided to confront him head-on, Tom was completely defenseless. So he ran off to the side, letting Hermione make her selection.
With only one person left, a hot-blooded chill ran down Hermione's spine, and a feeling of embarrassment washed over her. It was hard to imagine that she had just uttered those words. But as she looked at the daring lingerie in the store, Hermione couldn't help but consider buying it.
As she hesitated, the shopkeeper reappeared.
"Why don't you try this? It fits your size nicely." She handed Hermione a black dress. To Hermione's surprise, the dress wasn't so sexy, but rather conservative, with a small circle of lace around the hem.
She hesitated for a moment.
"Girl, you've reached the age to wear this. It has nothing to do with your little boyfriend. Even for you, you should wear it." The shopkeeper then gave Hermione a stern lecture about the necessity of a corset.
First of all, it supports and lifts the upper body, improves blood circulation, prevents breast diseases, and, most importantly, prevents sagging, one of the most painful killers for girls. The softness of the bra protects young girls' delicate nipples from bruises and contusions. It also reduces the impact of exercise and running and prevents cold winds from penetrating the skin.
It was a marvelous invention!
And not only is the corset good, wearing stockings is also very good. The shopkeeper had a keen eye and noticed the stockings in Hermione's hand, so she began to talk about the benefits of stockings after the corset.
"Firstly, they protect you from the sun. When worn, they greatly reduce the intensity of the sun's rays on the legs and protect them. Additionally, our stockings are highly breathable, so even in summer, they keep sweat away from the skin and prevent girls from feeling sticky. Plus, they look fabulous on you!"
"The softness of the stockings enhances the beauty of your legs, they're perfect for slimming and elongating them! Of course, your legs are already quite beautiful, but who can be too beautiful?"
What the shopkeeper didn't know, of course, was that besides protecting the legs from the sun and giving them a nice appearance, wearing stockings can also help apply certain external force to the legs, reducing the likelihood of varicose veins appearing. They are also highly effective in reducing leg swelling after prolonged sitting or standing.
Hermione was astonished to hear what the shopkeeper was saying.
Hermione: How great!
The truth was, she didn't know much about this. Corsets, for example, the Grangers only told her to wear them, but not why, so she often opted not to wear them because they were too cumbersome and airtight.
"We're wizards," the shopkeeper said, reading Hermione's thoughts and proudly describing the product she had in her hand. "This underwear, made by people who apply Enchantments to them, is very different from regular clothing. It creates a slight deformation when you wear it, making it fit your curves better. Plus, it's heating and breathable too, now it costs three Galleons! And with the socks you just chose, I'll give you a discount of five Galleons!"
Hermione: !!!
At that price, it's a bit expensive.
But...
"Trust me, you'll love them." The shopkeeper calmly pointed at Tom, who was outside, bored. Tom felt something and looked back to see Hermione and the shopkeeper chatting furtively about something, with the shopkeeper making gestures.
Tom smiled and waved at them.
"What a good boy, he could have been kidnapped if you hadn't kept an eye on him." The shopkeeper made a deliberate remark.
Hermione made up her mind, picked a few more items, and entered the fitting room to try them on.
While Hermione was trying on clothes, the shopkeeper approached Tom again.
"Handsome, have you ever heard of a love potion?" She asked, lowering her voice.
Tom looked at her coldly, "I don't need those things to maintain my relationship."
He had the absurd feeling that the shopkeeper in this store was trying to sell him a love potion... the word "audacity" came to Tom's mind. Hogwarts was a boarding school, with not much separation between male and female dormitories and little separation between them. In such an environment, was it easy to buy love potions?
Yes, Hogwarts was that scandalous. There was hardly any separation between the male and female dormitories of each house. Gryffindor did have a spell that prohibited boys from entering the girls' dormitories: when they climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitories, the stairs turned into a slide and slid them down.
The boys, Tom was sure, were men in the physical sense. Whether in their minds a boy thought he was a man or a woman, as long as they had that wand down there, they were men. As for males who were psychologically women and physically men, Madam Pomfrey would have been delighted to turn them into witches.
But that was it. The most scandalous thing was that Gryffindor girls were allowed to enter the boys' dormitories.
And the Ravenclaw house was completely unprotected: Hufflepuff and Slytherin, Tom didn't know. But seeing the minimal division of the dormitories, Tom thought that the four founders must have wanted the wizarding population to flourish.
Seeing Tom's uncomfortable expression, the shopkeeper hurried to explain, "It's not about selling you a love potion, but about detecting and blocking the love potion. There must be many girls looking at you as a handsome boy, just in case..."
Tom agreed with her that in today's times, boys had to be careful out there. Ron once ate a love potion chocolate, and if he hadn't been careful, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Naturally, wizards loved and feared the idea of a magical potion that altered others' will. Finally, driven by this emotion, they developed an antidote and a preventive measure for love potions.
The shopkeeper took out a little bottle containing a red liquid.
"Drink this, and if you take a love potion after taking this potion, you will vomit violently. It lasts for up to a year in your system."
Tom was impressed.
As the shopkeeper packaged the mysterious potion, he saw Hermione approaching with several bags and a flushed face.
"The bill!" She placed the bags on the counter and took out her wallet to pay. Tom's eyes fluttered when he saw Hermione pulling out a thick stack of golden Galleons—rich people!
After paying, Hermione led Tom out of the store.
"This shop is a bit expensive, on par with luxury brands," Hermione counted the bags in her hands, suddenly regretting her choices. When she looked up after counting, she saw Tom looking at her with an affectionate gaze.
Immediately, her concern about possessions dissipated. When two people are together, happiness is the most important thing. If you run out of money, you can always ask your father for it!
At that moment, Mr. Granger sneezed, and the dental mold in his hand fell to the ground, causing his front teeth to shatter. He quickly picked it up, wearing an anguished expression on his face.
Carrying bags of various sizes was cumbersome, but it posed no problem as they transferred the bags into Tom's backpack.
"Shall we go to Zonko's Joke Shop first or The Three Broomsticks?" With her plans interrupted, Hermione thankfully left them behind and aimlessly wandered through the streets of Hogsmeade.
"The Three Broomsticks, it could be crowded if we go there late." Tom pondered and decided that it was time for dinner and to visit the famous pub. It was a bar, but they also served other meals and drinks, so there was no problem in going there to eat.
The Three Broomsticks was the most famous bar in Hogsmeade—and probably the most famous wizarding bar in the UK—and almost every wizard who visited the village came here to take a seat, have some butterbeer, and have a laugh with the owner, Lady Rosmerta.
The bar owner, Lady Rosmerta, was no ordinary person. The key was that she started her business from scratch. She had built this popular bar from the ground up. That alone made her an extraordinary woman. Lady Rosmerta was in her forties—the Three Broomsticks had been open since Harry's father was at Hogwarts—but she still had a captivating and attractive appearance. Many young boys had fallen for her. The combination of good looks and brewing skills brought success to the Three Broomsticks. Her mead was so good that Dumbledore used her oak-matured mead for special occasions.
Such wine, such an owner, were worth seeing.
Tom pushed open the door of the bar. As soon as he opened the door, the noise from inside rushed out, accompanied by a cloud of warm smoke. Although it was still some time before mealtime, the place was already filled with people.
Tom struggled to protect Hermione, making his way through the crowd and finally squeezing into an empty table in the corner. Tom guided Hermione inside and sat outside so that the drunken patrons wouldn't bother her.
Despite the bustling atmosphere, the owner, Mrs. Rosmerta, noticed the new couple of customers. She quickly chatted with the other customers, discreetly finishing the conversation, and skillfully made her way through the crowd to Tom's table. Along the way, she engaged in at least three conversations, which she handled with dignity and grace, satisfying all the customers who approached her. Moreover, none of her conversations were long, the longest being four sentences: she couldn't stay in one place for too long, and the longer she stayed, the harder it became to leave.
When she reached Tom's table, her stool was still warm.
"New students?" Mrs. Rosmerta asked with a smile, as a wave rippled through her chest—a sight that immediately caught Hermione's attention and made her feel a bit inferior.
"Why can she be so tall and still have such a good figure at her age?" The question briefly crossed Hermione's mind. "Maybe I should get that cute outfit..."
Mrs. Rosmerta brought this thought to Hermione's mind.
But to her relief, Tom didn't stare at Mrs. Rosmerta like the rest of the old drunks did; his eyes were as indifferent as if he had encountered any ordinary waiter in any ordinary restaurant.
"That's right, your business here is really good," he replied, offering a slight compliment to The Three Broomsticks for its success.
"I'll tell you what, since you two are newcomers, come on, it's on me." Miss Rosmerta smiled charmingly, and with a flick of her wand, two glasses of thick, frothy butterbeer flew over the counter and landed firmly on Tom's table.
Then she put on a slightly weary expression, "Yes, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be warm in a few days. Those Dementors are getting more restless lately..."
With a hint of interest, Tom conversed with Mrs. Rosmerta and learned that the Ministry had stationed a large number of Dementors around Hogwarts to protect it and bring Sirius to justice. But there was a problem: the Dementors had a significant negative impact on the school's atmosphere.
The reason was simple: they didn't have enough food.
Normally, Dementors are held in Azkaban as guards but also as prisoners of a different kind. They aren't free to roam, but at least they have food. Azkaban is a prison for wizards, and besides the lifelong criminals, there are a number of minor offenders imprisoned there. Most of these prisoners are only locked up for a few months, and their main function is to provide sustenance to the Dementors.
After all, it's hard to ask a prisoner who has been locked up for over ten years to provide the emotion of "happiness." Tea fades after a few brews, and when you've been in Azkaban for a long time, you can't squeeze much out of it.
But the Dementors sent to Hogwarts were worse off—their food supply was almost cut off, which meant they were working on empty stomachs!
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