233: The Leaky Cauldron's Christmas Guests

The Leaky Cauldron remained as it always was.

No matter the season, the pub never seemed to close—not even on Christmas. Old Tom was behind the counter as usual, endlessly wiping a seemingly endless supply of glasses. He had a Muggle pipe clenched between his teeth, not even lit, just chewing on the stem absentmindedly.

At that moment, a dark shadow shot into the pub with a whooshing sound. The swirling black mist dissipated, revealing two figures standing in the center of the room.

"Oh, Merlin—Mr. Von Draugr!" Tom's jaw dropped in shock, causing his pipe to fall to the floor. "I do believe I've told you before to be careful when using Apparition! If the Ministry sees—"

"Relax, Tom, that wasn't Apparition," Nolan said casually, tossing a few silver Sickles onto the counter. He ordered a small snack, waiting for Eve to suppress her urge to gag from the sudden teleportation. While doing so, he made idle conversation. "How's business this Christmas?"

"Absolutely dreadful, Mr. Von Draugr. Even the laziest of wizards don't feel like leaving their homes on Christmas. Who wouldn't rather stay by their fireplace with a warm mug of butterbeer? The only customers I've had today are a few poor, homeless wizards…" Tom paused, his expression turning thoughtful. "Though, there was someone here I reckon you might know."

Nolan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Tom smirked. "That would be Gilderoy Lockhart. I'd wager my best bottle of Firewhisky that the only reason he came here was to show off his new robes. He spent the entire evening yesterday trying to sell me his books, as if I don't already know how to chase a house-elf out of the kitchen!"

"That man is insufferable." Nolan narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "But then again, Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professors never last more than a year. Either they resign or something… unfortunate happens to them. Without exception. I just hope our dear Professor Lockhart has the spine to last the whole term."

At that, Eve suddenly chuckled. She turned to Tom with an apologetic smile. "Forgive me, but Nolan really hates Lockhart. You know, we skipped our very first Defense Against the Dark Arts class this term because Nolan dragged me away. To this day, we haven't attended a single one of his lessons."

"That's not teaching," Nolan scoffed. "That's just him parading his own stupidity. Honestly, Dumbledore's choice of professors makes me question his own wisdom. Why couldn't he at least pick someone useful? Even letting Quirrell stay another year would've been better."

And so, the three of them—Nolan, Eve, and Tom—spent the next half-hour casually roasting Lockhart in the warm, dimly lit pub.

It wasn't until nearly eleven o'clock, just before their scheduled meeting, that the Chang sisters finally arrived, slightly out of breath.

"Sorry for being late, Nolan, Eve," Cho apologized. "I had to bring Bai with me, and since she can't use Floo Powder, we had to rely on Muggle transportation. But with all the snow, the buses stopped running, and we ended up running two kilometers just to catch the subway."

"Oh, that's awful! Poor Cho." Eve hugged her sympathetically. "How was your Christmas?"

While the two girls exchanged warm greetings, Nolan turned his attention to the younger girl beside Cho—Bai Chang, her little sister. The small, energetic girl had flushed cheeks from the cold and was practically glowing with excitement.

"Bai, do you remember me?" Nolan asked with a small smirk.

"Of course!" Bai beamed, eyes shining. "Nolan Von Draugr! Of course I remember you! My father says that among the younger wizards, you are the most talented! You know, Nolan, if I could go to Hogwarts, I would definitely study magic seriously with you. Unlike Cho, whose grades are terrible!"

"Hey, Bai!" Cho frowned, sticking her head into the conversation. "We've talked about this! My grades are not terrible!"

"But you're in Ravenclaw, aren't you? Shouldn't you be top of your year?" Bai pouted. "Yet the number one student isn't you!"

"Actually, Cho's grades aren't bad at all," Eve interjected as she leaned in. "She ranks sixth in our year."

In truth, Cho's academic performance was quite decent. If one discounted Nolan and Eve, she was actually fourth overall. And considering how much she disliked Potions, where she often ended up arguing with Professor Snape, her performance was respectable.

"So, what's the plan now?" Cho asked, her usual confidence melting into uncertainty. When she was with Nolan, she had the tendency to just follow his lead, fluttering around him like a little honeybee.

"Obviously, we're going shopping in Diagon Alley!" Eve grabbed Bai's hand and grinned. "I've still got some prize money left from last year, and there are quite a few things I want to buy—like this year's latest broom-care kit."

"Another broom-care kit…" Nolan muttered in irritation. "Can't you all forget about those damn flying sticks for just one day?"

"Absolutely not!" Cho laughed gently. "We're the proud owners of Firebolt prototypes #001 and #002. Even the world's best Quidditch players don't have brooms as good as ours!"

Meanwhile, Bai had tuned out their conversation entirely, utterly captivated by the mere thought of Diagon Alley. Her eyes practically sparkled as she imagined it. And when Eve finally tapped the brick wall with her wand, revealing the bustling, magical street beyond, Bai's mouth dropped open in pure amazement.

With childlike wonder, Bai dragged Eve from shop to shop, pressing her nose against every intriguing display window. And Eve, holding Nolan's wallet like it was her own, would occasionally buy small trinkets to hand to the delighted young girl.

In the back, Cho walked alongside Nolan, chatting idly.

"Do you think we'll run into any classmates here?" she mused.

"Most students went home for Christmas after that incident at Hogwarts this year," Nolan replied. "Only a handful of Slytherins stayed behind. Malfoy was one of them—he enjoys proving how 'brave' he is by not going home."

Cho chuckled. "Malfoy is actually kind of adorable when he tries to act tough. But you're right, almost all the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs left. The Gryffindors, though… quite a lot of them stayed."

"Wouldn't be surprised if they were planning to spend Christmas hunting for the Chamber of Secrets," Nolan said dryly. "That's exactly the kind of thing Gryffindors would do."

Just then, a voice chimed in behind them. "Oh? Talking badly about Gryffindors, are we?"

"Ahh!" Cho jumped, clutching her chest before pouting. "Alicia, you scared me!"

The newcomer was Alicia Spinnet, a Gryffindor Chaser and one of Nolan's classmates in an elective subject. Like most Gryffindor girls—except Hermione—she was cheerful, energetic, and unapologetically bold.

"I heard you talking about Gryffindors!" Alicia teased. "So, what's the gossip?"