"No need, I guess he's already gotten the message and fled." Fred pushed open the door of the Three Broomsticks. "Since we ran into each other, how about a drink? It'll be on us."
"Then I'll have the most expensive one," Kael said.
"Don't even think about it, only Butter Beer," George said, looking at Conna. "Of course, you can choose anything you like."
Saying that, he gave Kael a challenging raise of his brows.
Kael wasn't going to let him off easy. As soon as he entered the pub, he straightaway ordered the most expensive Ogden's Golden Honey Mead for Conna.
The price of ten Galleons a glass made the twins wince in pain.
"You wouldn't be thinking of backing out, would you..." Kael deliberately said, "But it's okay, I can pay."
"Ha, as if!" George stiffened his neck and pulled out ten gold coins, neatly lining them up on the bar. "This is on me."
"Then on behalf of Conna, thank you," Kael said cheerfully, handing the golden mead to Conna.
"So lucky, I didn't expect someone to buy me a drink."
Seeing Kael's smug look and the Weasley brothers' exaggerated expressions, Conna couldn't help but chuckle.
"Cut it out, you guys get double paychecks, can't you afford those ten Galleons?" Once they found a seat, Kael brought over three glasses of Butter Beer. "What's the situation like outside now?"
"Not good," Fred sighed. "You can almost see the Dark Mark every day, it's making everyone uneasy."
"Nothing from the Aurors' side?"
"They did catch a few Death Eaters, but they're just small fry, not very useful," George said. "By the way, do you know Stan Shunpike?"
"The conductor of the Knight Bus?" Kael asked.
"That's him," Fred said. "He got arrested too, this morning, for being involved in Death Eater activities."
"Wait, there must be some mistake..." Conna raised her head. "He's just a conductor, how could he be a Death Eater?"
"We thought it was impossible too," George said, "But Stan Shunpike admitted it himself."
"And it was in a pub, in front of at least a dozen wizards... Aurors received several tip-off letters."
"And there's Gula, a Goblin, who was also found having multiple interactions with Death Eaters, but Gringotts insists it was all part of a normal transaction process."
"But I think not; if it was a transaction, why not choose Gringotts instead of doing it outside? I guess they fear that Goblins colluding with Death Eaters would damage Gringotts' reputation."
As they chatted and drank Butter Beer, Kael noticed they kept glancing out the window as if looking for someone.
There was also another doing the same, a brown-haired wizard sitting at the door.
It wasn't until Harry, Hermione, and Ron walked into the Three Broomsticks that they stopped frequently turning their heads.
"By the way, you're not still responsible for protecting Harry, are you?" Kael asked quietly.
"How did you know?" Fred was taken aback.
"Just a guess," Kael shrugged.
"Well, it's nothing to hide," George said. "The Ministry really can't spare the manpower... plus, we happened to come to Hogsmeade, so we're just helping out."
"And you still dare to come for drinks."
"It's fine, there are Aurors too, we're just helping,"
"The wizard sitting by the door?"
"You know too?" Fred was even more surprised, he even suspected Kael hadn't been at Hogwarts these days but had been at the Ministry of Magic all along.
"Is it that hard to guess?" Kael calmly said, "I've never seen a wizard with a thick beard, come to a pub and only order a glass of fruit juice soda."
"Well, actually she's Tonks," Fred said. "Being so obvious, no wonder Dad insisted we come to help out."
"Fred, George!"
At this moment, Ron, who had just entered, found the two.
"Why are you guys here!"
"We're here to inform you, Hogwarts will be on holiday tomorrow," Fred said. "Mom asked us to come fetch you home."
"What, Hogwarts is on holiday?" Ron was stunned, "But Professor McGonagall never told us that!"
"Really," George patted Ron's shoulder, "Sometimes we really don't want to admit you're our brother, it's practically a stain on our cleverness."
Ron immediately understood, what Fred and George said about Hogwarts going on holiday was just teasing him.
He was so angry his face turned red, glaring at the two. But Fred and George didn't care at all, continuing to chat with Kael as if nothing happened.
Seeing this, Harry and the others sat down at a nearby empty table.
To be honest, meeting former classmates who had graduated in Hogsmeade felt quite marvelous.
About ten minutes later, the door opened again, and this time it was Slughorn who entered, wearing an enormous furry hat and a matching fur coat, looking like a big walrus.
Luckily, the door of the Three Broomsticks was wide enough, or he might not have gotten in.
"The weather is really cold, Rosmerta, get me a glass of Honey Wine."
"Oh no..." Seeing Slughorn, Harry quickly lowered his head, trying to hide himself under the table.
His idea was good, but Slughorn still noticed him.
"Harry, my boy," Slughorn strode over, and upon noticing Kael and Conna were there too, he seemed even more pleased.