Chapter 59 A Disappointing Return
The next day, Basil rose early.
Unlike the games and movies, Hogwarts didn't have a long bridge leading directly to the Great Hall and the outside world.
The castle's only land exit was a wide driveway.
Recently, it had been deeply buried by snow.
But today, the snow had been cleared in advance.
Holding Hermione's little hand, he followed the cleared stone path to a pair of magnificent cast-iron gates.
Inside the gates were many carriages pulled by Thestrals; to those who had never seen death, these carriages appeared to be magically powered or pulled by invisible horses.
On the other side of the gates was the path the upperclassmen used after disembarking from the train, flanked by many stone pillars, some topped with winged boars.
A considerable number of students had already gathered in front of the cast-iron gates.
Filch was holding the key, putting it into the lock.
The Hufflepuff students nearby complained that Filch had gotten up too late.
Otherwise, the carriages would have simply stopped outside the castle;
they wouldn't have needed to walk all the way to the gates.
Hermione, hearing this, echoed Filch's incompetence as the caretaker.
Basil raised an eyebrow.
"Don't pretend, you're happy. On the contrary, you wish he'd gotten up even later."
His ability to detect lies, granted by his [Truth Detector], made him realize Hermione was lying.
"No way!" Hermione turned her head away.
Basil pouted.
A lie, still a lie.
Living in a world without lies is that simple, dull, and monotonous.
"Do you still want me to take you to Hogsmeade Station?"
Hermione lowered her head. "Yes. Well, I do wish Filch would get up even later."
Ten minutes later, they boarded the carriage.
Passing between tall stone pillars topped with winged boars, they arrived at a dark street.
Ahead was the station.
To the left was the legendary Hogsmeade Village.
After their third year, with parental consent, they would be allowed to go.
And today, he was preparing to go to Hogsmeade.
The Weasley twins' Marauder's Map made Basil decide against going to Hogsmeade through the secret passage.
Although they weren't particularly gossipy, to the point that they hadn't discovered Peter Pettigrew, who shared a bed with Ron ,
Basil still wanted to play it safe.
Leaving school yesterday with Ron and Percy was the same.
After all, even outside of school, the Marauder's Map could still show the real-time location of everyone at Hogwarts.
However, going to Hogsmeade this way wasn't without its advantages.
Just like going to Diagon Alley with the Weasleys, riding the Hogwarts carriage to the station with a group of students meant avoiding any tests set up by Voldemort and Dumbledore.
In reality, Basil knew he was suffering from paranoia.
Dumbledore was a good person bound by rules and regulations; as long as he was a Hogwarts student, there was really nothing to worry about.
Voldemort was now only a remnant of his soul, his main target being the Philosopher's Stone.
He doesn't really need to worry about Voldemort causing trouble.
By killing ants—each ant dealing 0.0001 damage—his [Killing Intent] has accumulated to 34.241.
His talent [Killing Spirit] has also become much clearer, now boasting a damage bonus of 67.241.
That's 83.241 for a [normal attack], and with [True Word Appraiser], it's roughly 41.6 [True Damage].
Dealing with Quirrell would probably just be a matter of a [normal attack], requiring only a swing of his arm.
Not to mention, using the Killing Curse.
A Killing Curse activated with approximately 34 [Killing Intent] can deal 204 damage.
If he uses the [True Word Appraiser] cosmetic component, it would reach 102 [True Damage].
Let alone instantly killing a wizard with a short health bar, even a fire dragon would probably be no problem.
His caution stemmed entirely from having only skimmed the movies, played some Harry Potter-themed games, and gleaned information from his interactions with the twins. He knew nothing about the novels. What if
Voldemort had other henchmen he could utilize in the novels?
The house-elf Lyrae certainly hadn't been mentioned in the movies.
What if he, an ordinary wizard, was ambushed by a dark wizard and didn't have time to react? His only advantage
was exceptional attack power.
Defensively, he could only use Trolls as meat shields.
He'd tried the [Ironclad Charm], but the [Killing Intent] damage bonus was useless for defense.
Just like it increases damage on a Stunning Charm, but doesn't increase the magic power used to inflict the stun.
At most, he could leverage his high magic power to 'consume' more magic for greater defense.
The [Fashion Component], a valuable item that could potentially provide magic resistance and physical defense, was lost again.
Basil dared not be too reckless.
Therefore, after breaking up with Hermione,
he didn't head to Hogsmeade.
Instead, he immediately summoned Lyrae.
The next second, two figures appeared in a house where wallpaper had peeled off the walls, the floor was stained, the furniture was broken, and the windows were boarded up.
"Cough, cough, so dirty," Basil fanned the air. "Is this the Screaming Shack?"
At the same time, a mechanical voice entered his mind.
[Zzzzz...Zzzzz Location [Screaming Shack], [Hogsmeade] Activated]
The mist outside Hogwarts Castle in his mind dissipated, spreading forward to Hogsmeade Station, then to the left.
A complete [Hogsmeade Village] appeared in his mind.
However, only [Zoko's Joke Shop], [Honeydukes Shop], and [Lady Patiffe's Tea House] were lit up.
"You can go now, Lai Lai," Basil commanded.
*Crack!* After the Apparition sound, Lai Lai vanished.
Basil began to complain, "Damn it! Only these three shops are lit up in the game, and it's the same in reality!"
The information in his mind told him that the lit shops, streets, villages, and the road to Hogwarts all belonged to him.
Just like Hogwarts Castle, he could freely explore and travel through space to reach any area around the castle except the Forbidden Forest.
Hogsmeade was a wizarding village, not as small as in the movies and games.
Besides shops, there were also houses.
Some students and professors lived there.
Professor McGonagall and her deceased husband's house was in the village.
However, she rarely returned after her husband's death.
And now, the unlit shops and private houses in his mind were not under his name.
He couldn't observe them or travel through space to reach them
unless he spent gems to light them up.
Damn it! He had to spend money on the game after traveling through space! Wasn't this a waste of time?!
The cost for each shop and house was different.
Famous shops like the Three Broomsticks Pub cost 500 gems to light up.
However, Lady Rosmerta was really beautiful, with two fleshy mounds about to burst out.
Basil felt it was worth the money.
The building went off-topic, like the [Screaming Shack].
Perhaps because Lupin had lived there, it was also considered a private residence.
It required gems to activate,
but only cost 50 gems.
Other private residences, like the [Hangis Family House] and [The Bachelor Raymond Swark's House], which Basil had never even heard of, cost 30 gems each.
In short, he spent 610 gems today and returned disappointed.
Gems: 30688.385 (-610)
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(End of Chapter)