Chapter 231: Fire Arrow
Chapter 231: Fire Arrow
By the time Evan returned to the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione had already come back. She was sitting at the bar, listening absently to Harry beside her.
In front of the two people were two large glasses of orange juice, constantly blowing bubbles.
It looked very delicious, but neither of them seemed to have a heart to drink juice.
Hermione was ruddy, unconsciously playing with her own cup, remembering over and over again how Evan kissed her under the mistletoe.
She did not expect that they would actually kiss on that night!!
It seemed like it felt good. Hermione still remembered Evan’s scent.
Of course, despite the sweetness of that moment, she now had to calm down and think about it. This behaviour was too embarrassing, too outrageous.
The more Hermione thought about it, the more blushed she was, and her head was a mess; completely unaware of what Harry was saying, sitting next to her.
She didn’t know how to face Evan again, whether things would remain as they were, or …
Because she was too shy, Hermione ran straight back to the Leaky Cauldron pub without thinking. She thought that Evan would be back soon, but now that she had been there for so long, and she did not see Evan’s figure, she became restless again.
She was not sure if she should go out and look for Evan. He might be still waiting for her in that alley, or he was angry because she suddenly left.
Perhaps, she should explain herself…
Unlike Hermione, who was lost, Harry was in high spirits.
He looked around excitedly, laughing happily all the time. This was Harry’s first Christmas party. He was surrounded by Lupin, Sirius, Evan, and Hermione. He was completely free with no scruples. There was no need to talk about so many rules.
In his past thirteen years, this kind of thing was simply unthinkable.
Every Christmas at the Dursleys, he sat sadly by Dudley’s side, eating the terrible food that Aunt Petunia gave him, watching, with envy, Dudley showing off his Christmas gifts, or hiding in a cupboard under the stairs, alone.
Even if he had been at Christmas in Hogwarts for the past two years, there was no such feeling.
In Harry’s opinion, this year’s Christmas was the best. And to make everything even better, he just received a Christmas present from Sirius.
First, he thought that Sirius had forgotten about it, and he felt a little down.
He knew that Sirius was not to blame. There were so many things happening today, especially after Regulus’s matter, Sirius must have been sad to death.
It never occurred to Harry that Sirius had not forgotten it, and that he had carefully prepared a Christmas present for him.
And this gift was a real Firebolt, the same as the one he used to look at and dream of every day when he was in Diagon Alley in the summer vacation.
This was really incredible, and Harry could not believe it until now.
He knew the price of the Firebolt, which was astronomical. As Evan said, a Firebolt might be more expensive than all Hogwarts students’ broomsticks combined, and even Malfoy would not receive such a valuable Christmas gift.
The Firebolt had surpassed the general gift category, and this amazing world-class broomstick, which costs a staggering price, was by all meaning a piece of art
Only professional Quidditch players were eligible to own it.
And now, he himself had a Firebolt!
Harry had dreamt of it countless times, but in the end he woke up in a cruel reality. He thought he would be satisfied with his beloved Nimbus 2000!
When his Nimbus 2000 was smashed into wreckage by the Whomping Willow in the game against Hufflepuff two months ago, Harry thought that his Quidditch life had lost its meaning.
But now, Sirius had given him a Firebolt.
Harry would never forget the scene in his life, although Sirius had repeatedly explained that this Firebolt was the compensation for Harry’s inadvertent slip down when Black appeared in the Quidditch pitch in his Animagus form, scaring him.
But Harry knew it wasn’t his fault. He just wanted to see what he looked like at the game. It was the Dementors who eventually shattered his Nimbus 2000.
Looking at the restless Sirius, Harry had no idea what he should say.
He just held him, exhausted all his strength, and tears of joy and emotion flowed uncontrollably.
From Sirius, Harry felt the long-lost family affection.
He sat in front of the bar in excitement, staring at the passageway to Diagon Alley, waiting for Evan to come back. He would first lead him to look at his Firebolt.
Evan had just opened the door and entered the Leaky Cauldron when Harry and Hermione came running towards him, both of them rushing as if they had something to say.
He was standing there, wondering what was going on.
All he had currently in mind were things related to vampires. He was going to collect some magic books about those bloodsuckers, and learn more about their magic.
If ever he would meet again that girl named Elaine, he would not be so passive.
Evan’s thoughts forcibly removed from the vampire and he looked at Harry and Hermione, who had strange expressions on their faces. He didn’t know what was going on with them!
Harry smiled and it seemed that something pleasant had happened.
Hermione standing behind him was ruddy and looked at Evan very unnaturally. The girl must still be thinking about what had happened between them.
Evan just looked at her, and she hurriedly looked away.
As if aware of her misconduct, Hermione apparently took a deep breath and switched her fist-clenched hand through the air.
In the next second, her gaze moved back and she took the courage to look back at Evan.
Hermione’s expression returned to normal, looking the same as usual except for her rosy face.
In fact, Hermione’s face seemed to be calm, but deep down her heart was thumping.
When Evan finally stopped looking at her, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Evan didn’t know Hermione’s actual state. Deep down inside, he was somewhat disappointed.
If it hadn’t been for the vampire girl who came out from nowhere, he was going to confess to Hermione this evening.
This was a rare opportunity, but now he missed it!
Although it was a pity, Evan carefully thought it over. This was the usual Hermione.
There will be other days. He suddenly looked forward to the next Christmas….
Beside them, Harry did not notice anything unusual about them. He said happily, “Come on, Evan, I’ll show you something…”
He run upstairs with Evan; Hermione followed behind them.
“Show me what?” Evan said strangely. “What happened, why are you so happy?”
“I just received a gift from Sirius. It’s incredible. Guess what Sirius gave me?” Harry turned to look at Evan.
“I know. It’s a Firebolt!” Evan realized why Harry was so excited.
He already knew about it. If it wasn’t because of so many things happening today, Sirius would have already taken this gift out, and wouldn’t have waited until now.
“How do you know that?” Harry looked at Evan in surprise.
“You forgot, on the last day of the Christmas holiday, I secretly accompanied Hermione to Hogsmeade. I saw Sirius, who was on the run there, risking being caught. He went to the Owl Post Office to order the broom.” Evan explained, “I thought you had already received it!”
Harry heard Evan’s explanation and thought that Sirius had gone so far for him. He became even more moved.