Chapter 280: Hogsmeade

Perhaps inspired by Harris, Kyle decided to join his friends for a trip to Hogsmeade on the first weekend of the new school year. Although Kyle had visited Hogsmeade before, he'd always snuck in through a secret passage. Now that he was in his third year, he could finally go openly. During the last Herbology class before the weekend, he'd handed in his permission slip to Professor Sprout.

In the foyer, Filch was checking names against a long list, ensuring no unauthorized students slipped out. But Kyle and his friends strolled out confidently, permission slips and all.

...

Unlike the small muggle village of St. Catchpole, Hogsmeade was a true wizarding village, where every resident was a witch or wizard.

However, property prices were anything but cheap. Kyle had looked into it once and found that even building a small house in the most remote corner would cost at least 20,000 Galleons—and that was the current price. Due to the presence of The Hog's Head, there were always a few questionable witches or wizards around, which had caused property values to drop. Decades ago, before The Hog's Head opened, a plot of land here would have cost upwards of 50,000 Galleons; back then, it was considered prime real estate in the wizarding world.

Despite The Hog's Head's reputation, Kyle and his friends had nothing to worry about. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were in Hogsmeade with them, and nobody would dare stir up trouble with professors around. In fact, these visit days were the most orderly times in Hogsmeade. The more dubious witches and wizards were on their best behavior, even being mindful about littering, lest they attract unwanted attention from the professors.

And as the most popular wizarding village, Hogsmeade had plenty to explore. From the moment they entered, they could see the colorful signs of various shops lining the road.

First up was Zonko's Joke Shop, Fred and George's favorite haunt. They spent nearly all their saved pocket money here. Just down the road were the Owl Post Office and Honeydukes Sweetshop.

"We could come here every day, but Visiting Day is always the best," Fred said with a grin.

"Yes," George sighed, "if only we could come every week."

Knowing today was Visiting Day, they had stuffed themselves with Skiving Snackboxes to fake sickness and successfully dodge Quidditch practice.

"The professors don't have all day," Cedric said, counting the Galleons in his money bag. "This isn't so bad, though—last year, our first visit day wasn't until late October."

"Yes, that was rough," Fred laughed. "You've caught it at the perfect time, Kyle."

"We're heading to Zonko's—want to come with us?" he added.

"Sure, let's all go together," Kyle decided after a moment. The others agreed. It was Visiting Day, after all, and they had plenty of time to wander through the village at their leisure.

The group walked into Zonko's, where Fred and George greeted a shop assistant with round glasses behind the counter as if they were at home.

"Hi! Got anything rare?" Fred asked.

"Always…" The assistant, pushed his round glasses up his nose and pointed to a pair on display. "These glasses here—anyone who wears them will get hopelessly lost, even in the most familiar places."

"Sounds perfect," Fred said, stroking his chin. "We could give a pair to that dolt Marcus; maybe he'd end up tossing the Quaffle into his own goal."

"Good idea," George chuckled, "but these glasses are so obvious. Even Marcus, with his troll-like brain, would probably know better than to wear them."

"Not a problem," The assistant replied. He tapped the glasses' frames lightly, and the original round lenses morphed into a subtle, square shape. Another tap, and the frames changed again, this time sporting snakes, lions, badgers, eagles, and shifting styles—round, rimless, monocle-like.

"We've created a total of thirty-nine styles," He said with a grin, nudging the glasses toward them. "There's bound to be one that fits."

"We'll take them!" Fred and George chimed in unison. "How much?"

"Five Galleons and ten Sickles."

"That's pretty steep," Fred observed.

"It's a brand-new item," The shop assistant explained. "But I can offer you a discount."

"Ten Sickles off?" George asked hopefully.

"No, five Galleons and nine Sickles!"

...

Fred and George ended up buying the labyrinth glasses after all, and they also stocked up on fireworks in the shop. Unlike them, the others were almost entirely focused on "browsing."

Kanna and Cho were whispering over a pile of hairpins that would snap at anyone who tried to touch them, while Cedric had paused in front of a broomstick that appeared to hover in midair. Of course, this broomstick was just another prank item; as soon as someone climbed onto it, it would spray glue onto their legs, sticking them in place before letting out a loud popping sound.

Cedric was tempted to buy it, but the twenty-Galleon price tag made him think twice. It was far too expensive—not worth the joke.

When they finally left Zonko's, only Kyle, apart from Fred and George, had made a purchase: a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Zonko's version, however, was nothing like the sweetshop's; these beans weren't remotely sweet. They all tasted awful, yet the packaging was almost indistinguishable from the original. Kyle planned to gift it to some "lucky" recipient for Christmas.

After that, the group headed to Honeydukes, where they were at serious risk of parting with their last Galleon. Row upon row of shelves was loaded with tempting sweets: big, creamy chunks of nougat, shiny pink coconut Ice, honey-colored toffee, a seemingly endless variety of chocolates, and a large bin of the regular Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

On the far side of the shop, though, were the treats with "special effects": Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, which would fill a room with bubbles lasting for days; small black Pepperpots that spat fire when eaten; Peppermint Toads that would bounce around in your stomach; Exploding Bonbons that quite literally exploded; and Acid Pops that could burn a hole through your tongue.

Kyle also spotted a jar in the corner with Dumbledore's favorite treat, Cockroach Clusters. That corner of the shop was noticeably empty. But then again, who in their right mind would buy something like that?