Hogwarts Card System Chapter 109

Chapter 109: The Prankster Elf

Hermione beamed at the two sentences. Ted pulled Hermione to sit down, offered her some snacks, and then told her about his and Jerry’s entrepreneurial journey in Diagon Alley.

Hermione listened intently, her face full of admiration as Ted spoke eloquently.

She wished she could live in Diagon Alley too.

Over the summer, she had gone on a week-long trip with her parents, but for the rest of the time, she was confined to her neighborhood.

However, the amusement parks and libraries that used to bring her joy now seemed dull and uninteresting.

She missed magic—she missed it terribly!

Before long, it was time to meet Neville and Ron. Ted took Hermione to the pub’s main hall and waited at a small round table.

Soon, a green flame appeared in the fireplace, and a red-haired boy emerged.

“Hey, Ron, over here!” Ted waved.

“Ha! Ted! Hermione! Finally, I see you!” Ron was very happy, first, to see friends he hadn’t seen in a long time, and second, that he hadn’t flown to the wrong place. Flying to the wrong fireplace happened often, just like taking the wrong bus.

“I heard you started a business in Diagon Alley? Tell me about it!” Ron sat down, eager for Ted to tell him about the Salty Fish Net.

After all, the twins had made a fortune over the holidays because of it, making Ron cry with envy.

Ron hadn’t realized that the useless junk in the warehouse could be exchanged for money; he was very interested.

But then, the surrounding patrons chimed in, all eager to tell Ron about the fully automatic, magic-powered stick.

Ted quickly pulled his two friends back to the basement, lest they be corrupted by these shameless, boundary-less wizards.

Soon after, Neville also arrived at the Leaky Cauldron via the Floo Network.

As the Boy Who Lived, many wizards in the British magical world recognized him, and a crowd immediately surrounded him, eager to talk.

Ted received a reminder from Ansu and led his friends to rescue Neville.

Once they escaped the crowd and reached the backyard, Neville’s tensed muscles finally relaxed. “You scared me to death. Should I wear a hat?”

“You should wave at them~” Neville disliked it, but Ron, on the other hand, was very envious of such a moment in the spotlight and wished he could take his place.

Ted took his friends to pick up Jerry, who was minding the stall. The “Temporarily Closed” sign was hung on the Salty Fish Net’s desk.

His friends also saw the Salty Fish Net banner advertisement hanging on the table outside the apothecary: “Two-Bit Idiots are Overly Abundant, Salty Fish Can Tell the True from the False~ Last Month, First Twenty Customers Daily Get 20% Off Appraisal Fees!”

His friends: Merlin’s striped trousers?! What kind of amazing advertisement is this! I really want to get something appraised too~

Led by Ted, the group sat down in front of the ice cream parlor, each ordering a large portion of ice cream.

The friends complained about their holidays.

Ron and Hermione both said their holidays were boring, while Neville had been “specially trained” by his family during the break. As for the results, he became even more inhibited.

Only Ted and Jerry had colorful holidays.

Neville: “I really envy you guys. If only I could… oh, I can’t. I get nervous around too many people; I can’t do this.”

Ted and Hermione could only comfort him, saying he would get used to it with more experience.

Neville didn’t seem to mind much; after all, once you accept your weakness, you become invincible~

He suddenly remembered something and said with a troubled expression, “Oh, by the way, this holiday, I also encountered something very terrifying!”

“What happened?” Ron took a big bite of ice cream, his teeth chattering from the cold, and asked indistinctly.

Neville grimaced, “I didn’t have much rest time, and there was a house-elf I’d never seen before, constantly harassing and scaring me!”

When he heard “unfamiliar house-elf,” Ted’s heart stirred, and he recalled a plot point from the original story.

Could it be that even with such big changes, the butterfly’s wings hadn’t even stirred Dobby?

Neville continued, “Just yesterday, that house-elf even appeared while I was in the bathroom, telling me to drop out of school, saying a big conspiracy was waiting for me. It scared me so much…”

He didn’t finish the rest—at the time, Neville was practicing spells outdoors and had found a bush to release a stream of water to irrigate the plants when a house-elf suddenly appeared behind him.

Imagine, a creature about a meter tall, with eyes as big as tennis balls bulging out, a small inverted triangular face, a long nose, long ears drooping to the sides, wearing a tattered pillowcase instead of shoes, and muttering about curses and conspiracies—suddenly appearing behind you while you’re urinating… What would that feel like?

Neville almost wet his pants!

“A house-elf? Not everyone has one, you know? Do you know it?” Ron asked.

Neville shook his head repeatedly, “No! No!”

Just then, someone in the distance called out, “Hermione! Ted! Neville! Ron and Jerry…”

They looked and saw that it was Harry, accompanied by Sirius and his wife.

They didn’t know what she had told the couple, but after a few words, she ran over.

“Ha, we meet again. How was your holiday?” Harry pulled out a chair, sat down boldly, and unceremoniously took a big bite of Hermione’s ice cream.

“Boss, give me a large vanilla one too!”

Sirius, in the distance, watched his daughter chatting and laughing with her friends, feeling both a little sad and emotional.

His daughter had grown up and didn’t like staying at home anymore, which was a bit annoying.

But seeing the six of them laughing and talking reminded him of his own wonderful time at school.

Madam Olivia, who was next to him, linked her arm through his and comforted him, “Harry is grown up now; she’ll have her own friends, don’t worry…”

Harry’s arrival made everyone temporarily forget the house-elf that specifically stood behind people while they were urinating to scare them.

They happily ate their ice cream and then went to the Leaky Cauldron.

They had previously agreed in letters to visit the Weasleys today.

Aunt Molly had wanted Ted and Jerry to visit their home during the first school year.

Now, taking advantage of the holiday, she simply invited all the friends together.

They would travel to the Burrow via the fireplace.

Ron took the lead, standing in front of the fireplace, taking a deep breath, and pinching a pinch of Floo powder. “Remember, speak clearly!”

Then he tossed the Floo powder into the fireplace. The flames immediately turned green, and Ron loudly called out, “The Burrow!”

A green flame flickered, and he vanished.

Neville behind him quickly muttered “The Burrow, The Burrow, The Burrow” several times, afraid of saying it wrong.

The friends proceeded in an orderly fashion. After Neville disappeared, only Ted and Hermione remained.

Ted saw that Hermione was a little nervous and took her hand, saying, “Let’s go together~”

He pulled her into the fireplace. “The Burrow~”

Green flames surged before their eyes. They felt their entire bodies shaking violently, but it ended in a few seconds. The flames disappeared, and a different scene was before them.

“Come out quickly, the fireplace is full of ash~”

Aunt Molly took something like a feather duster and casually patted Ted and Hermione. The dust on their bodies instantly vanished.

“Welcome! Welcome to the Burrow, Ted. And Hermione~” Molly hugged them both.

Everyone else was there, and everything went smoothly.

Besides the friends, there were also the Weasley children: Percy, the twins, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley.

Now there were ten children in the Burrow! It hadn’t been this lively in many years.

(End of chapter)