The holiday season wasn't much more interesting; of course, Harry was an exception. He even went for walks with Shooting Star whenever he had nothing to do.
Howl was currently contemplating the curriculum for next semester's Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Undoubtedly, Defense Against the Dark Arts is a subject where practice outweighs theory. And due to historical reasons, this course has, in the past two years, made virtually no progress.
The students' aptitudes vary greatly, and those willing to self-study only achieve higher theoretical scores. Most children, without proper guidance from a Professor, might not even have opened their textbooks.
Even when a reliable Professor appeared for a year or two, it was to no avail.
Professor McGonagall was now urging Howl to quickly send her the list of new textbooks for the course.
On the first floor of Moonlight Fortress, Lucifer added firewood to the hearth. He particularly liked resinous pine wood, which crackled loudly as it burned.
Howl put down his quill, and the parchment floating before him drifted onto a nearby table.
A letter was slipped through the gap in the front door. Howl glanced at it, then closed his eyes.
Outside Number Thirteen, Privet Drive, morning glories clung to the high wall beside the door, stretching their forms. A gentle breeze blew, and a purple and white inflorescence suddenly bloomed.
Within the inflorescence, an eye appeared. Soon, it captured its target.
A barn owl flying far away.
Inside the house, Howl slightly raised his hand, and the letter flew from the entrance into his hand.
"Borgin and Burkes?"
Looking at the black handwriting on the envelope, he was a little surprised. Ever since Dumbledore visited last year, he had removed some of the address-hiding enchantments, allowing people and owls to send and receive letters.
He hadn't expected to receive a letter from Borgin today.
He tore open the envelope and took out the letter. A moment later, he took a deep breath, patted his knees, and stood up.
"What happened?" Lucifer asked curiously.
Howl's lips curved into a smile, and he said with interest: "Borgin encountered a very strange place, so he wrote to ask if I was interested."
Lucifer retreated into the firewood, lazily closing his eyes: "Boring."
Ten minutes later, Harry stood beside Howl, looking bewildered.
"Then we're off, Lucifer, remember to look after the house." With that, Howl placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, and the two suddenly Apparated into the courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron.
However, the two did not enter Diagon Alley. Instead, they turned into the pub and then into the pub's fireplace.
Howl grabbed a handful of floo powder and looked at Harry: "Listen carefully, don't mispronounce it."
With that, he sprinkled the floo powder at his feet.
"St. Gwyneira Valley!"
With a whoosh, green flames erupted, and Howl's figure disappeared.
In a secluded village in the high mountains of Somerset, inside a tavern, green flames suddenly burst forth.
Howl quickly stepped out of the fireplace, first casting a Scouring Charm on himself to brush off the soot.
Before long, with another whoosh from behind, Harry quickly emerged, coughing, clearly having been choked quite a bit.
He pulled out his wand—or, to be precise, a random twig he'd broken off a branch—and quickly cast a Scouring Charm on himself as well.
"Uncle Howl, where are we?"
Howl looked around the tavern, explaining: "St. Gwyneira Valley, a small, ancient village in Somerset. Like Roland Village, Muggles and Wizards live together here."
Passersby glanced at the two upon their arrival, then turned their heads away, each busy with their own affairs.
But in the corner of the tavern, a somewhat hunched figure stood up.
"Captain, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you for a long time." Borgin greeted Howl, then looked at Harry.
Harry pulled down his hat, the brim covering his scar.
"Care for a drink?" Borgin asked.
Howl shook his head. Since it was a rare outing, there was no need to waste time on drinking.
"Let's go straight away!"
Borgin nodded: "Alright, follow me. I believe you'll be interested."
The three walked out of the tavern and, led by Borgin, headed out of the village.
"You've been waiting here in the tavern since you sent the letter?" Howl asked him.
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