On a weekend morning, at Charlie's suggestion, Harry donned his invisibility cloak and headed to Hogsmeade with Charlie, Ron, and Hermione.
Walking along the road, Harry finally no longer had to worry about the threat of the Dragon. He felt much lighter and even hummed a little tune on the way.
"Can you stop humming?" Ron whispered.
"It sounds creepy, like there's an invisible ghost right next to us."
Harry hummed even more vigorously.
It wasn't until Ron angrily punched Harry that Harry was satisfied and shut his mouth.
Not being a jerk to your friends is simply a waste of friendship.
As soon as they entered the village, they spotted Colin Creevey looking around with a camera in his hand.
Colin's eyes searched the crowd, clearly looking for Harry.
Ron lowered his voice and said to the air beside him.
"You really guessed it right."
Colin didn't find Harry, but he spotted Charlie at a glance.
He immediately broke into a smile and trotted over.
"Senior Charlie." Colin's voice was a bit nervous.
"Could you take a photo with me? Just one."
"I want to show my mom and dad what the warrior who defeated the Dragon looks like."
He raised his camera, his hands shaking.
He was a bit nervous because he hadn't really talked to Charlie much before.
Charlie stopped and looked at the short kid in front of him, whose face was flushed with excitement.
"No, I'm allergic to photos."
Charlie refused outright; he didn't want to be constantly pestered by Colin like Harry was.
A straightforward refusal—as long as the other person was sensible, they wouldn't keep nagging.
Colin's expression froze, his mouth opened, but in the end, he didn't say anything.
He lowered his head and slowly turned to leave, his back looking exceptionally dejected.
But Charlie felt no sympathy at all. Pestering someone regardless of their feelings and then getting rejected for it was purely deserved.
The four of them entered The Three Broomsticks Pub, where it was warm, noisy, and bustling with people.
The fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, dispelling the chill from outside.
Charlie walked straight to the bar and tapped on the counter.
Madam Rosmerta turned around, and upon seeing Charlie, a smile immediately appeared on her face.
"Mr. White, what would you like to drink today?"
"Four butterbeers. Also, I'm covering everyone's tab today," Charlie said.
[His Majesty is extravagant, tyrant points + 20]
Madam Rosmerta was stunned for a moment, then smiled even more brightly.
She turned to face the entire pub and shouted loudly.
"Everyone! Today's tab is paid for by Young Master White!"
Cheers erupted instantly in the pub.
"Well done!"
"Long live Young Master White!"
"Another butterbeer!"
Ron's eyes widened, unable to imagine how much money this would cost.
Madam Rosmerta quickly brought over several glasses of butterbeer, specifically adding extra cream.
"Mr. White is truly generous; these few are on the house."
From time to time, people would walk over with their glasses, chat with Charlie for a few moments, and thank him for his generosity.
Charlie responded indifferently.
Harry sat to the side. Although Colin wasn't there now, he still didn't take off his invisibility cloak.
Through that thin layer of fabric, he could see everything in the pub without worrying about being discovered.
This feeling was very strange, like being a pervert peeping at the neighbor's wife.
Just as everyone was enjoying their drinks, the door to the pub was pushed open.
Moody limped in, the sound of his cane striking the floor exceptionally clear in the noisy pub.
His scarred face looked even more ferocious in the firelight of the fireplace, and his magical eye spun wildly in its socket, scanning the entire pub.
Moody walked to the bar and ordered a Firewhisky.
After Madam Rosmerta told him that Charlie was paying today, he turned around, and that magical eye suddenly stopped spinning, staring straight at the corner where Charlie was.
To be precise, it was staring at the spot where Harry was.
Harry's heart skipped a beat.
He looked down at himself; the invisibility cloak was wrapped securely around him, so it shouldn't be possible for him to be seen.
Moody carried his glass and limped over.
He stopped by the table, his normal eye looking at Charlie, while the magical eye remained locked on Harry's direction.
"Thank you for Mr. White's generosity," Moody said in a low, gravelly voice.
"It allowed me to benefit as well."
"You're welcome, Professor Moody," Charlie said indifferently.
Moody took a sip of Firewhisky and suddenly lowered his voice.
"Potter is here too, isn't he? Sitting in that corner."
Ron almost spat out his butterbeer, and Hermione's eyes widened.
Harry froze in place; this was the first time someone had pointed out his invisibility to his face.
"That invisibility cloak works well," Moody continued, his magical eye still fixed on Harry.
"Ordinary people can't see through it at all, but unfortunately, this eye of mine is not very ordinary."
Moody put down his glass, and after his magical eye spun around once, it locked back onto Harry's location.
"Harry, I have a request," Moody said.
"Could you lend me your invisibility cloak for a few days?"
Harry was stunned.
"Lend the invisibility cloak?" Ron blurted out. "Why?"
Moody didn't answer immediately, but instead looked around, and after confirming that no one was paying attention to them, he lowered his voice.
"I have never given up on catching Death Eaters; you all know this," Moody said.
"They have many tricks up their sleeves. Don't doubt it; there's nothing they can't do, only things you can't imagine. Of course, invisibility is among them."
"Although I can see through their invisibility methods, many Aurors at the Ministry of Magic cannot."
"I want to use your cloak to test some new methods, some methods that could help Aurors see through invisibility."
Hearing this, Charlie's heart skipped a beat.
When he snuck into the Ministry of Magic to steal the time-turner, this was the invisibility cloak he wore.
Although Moody's reason was testing, who knew what his real intentions were?
Could Moody have sensed something?
But Charlie wasn't panicked. Even if Moody really suspected him, what could he do? He had no evidence, and he couldn't beat him anyway.
Harry was a bit hesitant.
He still needed the invisibility cloak to hide from Colin. If he lent it out, what would he do if he ran into him on the way back to the Castle?
But Moody had always taken good care of him and taught him quite a few practical spells in class.
Back when Draco tried to ambush him, it was Moody who taught Draco a lesson.
Harry felt that Moody was a trustworthy person.
"Alright." Harry finally nodded, unfastened the buttons of the invisibility cloak, and the silver fabric slid off him.
His figure suddenly appeared, but because he was in a corner, no one noticed that there was suddenly an extra person there.
Harry folded the invisibility cloak and handed it to Moody.
Moody took the invisibility cloak, examined it carefully for a few seconds, and then stuffed it into his coat.
"Thanks, Harry," Moody said, downing the rest of the Firewhisky in his glass.
He turned and left, the sound of his cane striking the floor gradually fading away.
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