Kael and Conna braved the wind and snow, making their way to the Three Broomsticks Inn.
Compared to the quiet Madam Puddifoot Tea House, this place was much more crowded and noisy; freshly prepared Butter Beer was still steaming, shrouding the room in a haze.
The bar owner was a striking woman with graceful curves, who was now tending to a rowdy group of wizards at the bar.
"I'll go get the drinks, you find us a seat," Kael said. "Hope we're not too late—there are never enough tables here."
Conna walked to the back of the inn and found a small empty table between the window and a Christmas tree, next to the fireplace.
Soon, Kael came over as well, a big floating tray drifting behind him.
Two bottles of Butter Beer, two plates of meat pies, and a dish of freshly baked pine nut cookies filled the whole table.
Conna cut a piece of pie and popped it into her mouth, then took a big gulp of Butter Beer, her face instantly showing a look of pure satisfaction.
"Just as I thought, I like this best..." she mumbled, mouth full.
"Me too," Kael said, biting into a pine nut cookie, then raised his mug: "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!"
Their mugs clinked together lightly.
Kael took a big swig, and it felt as if warmth rushed through his whole body.
This stuff really is great, though it'd be even better if I could try something else.
Kael had actually wanted to order the signature drink here, Ogden's Golden Honey Mead, but Ms. Rosmerta said it had whisky in it and couldn't be sold to young wizards—so he ended up with Butter Beer instead.
Though maybe it was just because it was so busy today; normally, Ms. Rosmerta's standards weren't so strict.
Fred and George, at least, had managed to buy Honey Wine with whisky in it here before.
After putting down his mug, Kael glanced around and noticed quite a few familiar faces.
Like behind the Christmas tree, where Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting together.
They were well hidden by the tree; Harry was sitting the farthest in, and if Hermione hadn't greeted him, Kael probably wouldn't have spotted them at all.
Looks like Fred and George had already passed the map to Harry.
Just as he was thinking this, a sudden cold wind blew in—the door to the Three Broomsticks opened.
Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick swept in with the snow, followed by Hagrid and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
There was a noisy clattering sound behind them; apparently Ron and Hermione were shoving Harry beneath the table.
The inn was all out of empty tables. Some wizards, spotting Fudge, immediately wanted to give up their seats, but Fudge just laughed and waved them off, saying he was here as an ordinary guest today and everyone should carry on as usual.
Right then, not far behind Kael, two wizards quickly finished their drinks, got up as if it was the most natural thing in the world, settled their tab, and left the inn.
Now there was an empty spot.
"What luck! I thought I'd have to stand and drink," Fudge said, laughing as he greeted people left and right on his way over.
He even recognized Kael.
"So glad to see you here, young Kael," he said warmly. "The youngest recipient of the Merlin Knight Order badge—truly remarkable! I can still remember the scene that day, as if it happened just yesterday."
"It's fresh in my memory as well, Minister," Kael replied.
"A pity I couldn't present you the award myself," Fudge said with a smile. "They invited me, of course, but I thought, as it was taking place at the school, I'd better leave it to Headmaster Dumbledore."
Behind Fudge, Professor McGonagall pressed her lips together.
If she recalled correctly, Fudge hadn't refused to present the award at all—it's just that absolutely nobody paid attention to him.
This kind of excuse-making reminded Professor McGonagall of a certain Defense Against the Dark Arts professor...
After everyone sat down, Ms. Rosmerta came over from the bar and nimbly listed off everyone's favorite drinks.
Professor McGonagall's Violet Water... Hagrid's four pints of Honey Wine... Professor Flitwick's syrup soda...
"And for you, Minister, that's Redcurrant Rum."
"Thank you, Rosmerta," said Fudge cheerfully. "So glad to see you again! Why don't you join us, have a round on me?"
Ms. Rosmerta was happy to agree and went to fetch their drinks from the bar.
Kael had wanted to listen in to their conversation, but it was much too noisy, and besides, their tables were a bit apart, so it was impossible to hear clearly.
He could only catch bits and pieces... Sirius Black... Dementor... vile, filthy traitor... things like that.
And that was mostly thanks to Hagrid.
Whenever he got angry he seemed utterly incapable of controlling his volume—half the inn could probably hear every word he said.
And their choice of topic seemed bound to rile him up.
Especially after a few drinks, he lost his temper even more often.
"Are they talking about Sirius Black?" Conna whispered, having clearly heard Hagrid as well.
"Obviously," Kael said, taking a sip of Butter Beer, "If anyone could get Fudge to come all the way out to Hogsmeade before Christmas, it'd have to be Black."
"But why..." Conna frowned. "Aren't there already Dementors here? Why would the Minister come in person?"
"That, I don't know," Kael shook his head. "I reckon he's probably here to see Professor Dumbledore, to try to persuade him to let Dementors search the castle...
Today's the Hogsmeade visit day, so there aren't many people left in the castle. If they gather the rest of the students in a secure spot, the Dementors could just swagger right in."
"I bet the Headmaster would never agree to that," Conna said firmly.
"Of course not. Otherwise, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick wouldn't be here in the Three Broomsticks keeping our Minister company."
Kael spread his hands. "But that's just my guess. It's also possible Fudge is just here to check whether the Dementors are slacking off—that's not impossible either."
"The Minister really cares that much about Black?" Conna sounded surprised. "I heard from a lot of people that he prefers attending all sorts of banquets."
"Can't really blame him," Kael said, chewing a biscuit.
"No one's ever broken out of Azkaban like that before—Sirius Black was the first.
The fallout is huge, and if it's not sorted quickly, people will start thinking he's a useless Minister."
...
"I saw him after Lily and James died. The boy was pale, shaking all over..."
At that moment, Hagrid's booming voice rang out again from not far away.
"You know what I did? I comforted that traitor! I comforted him!"
...