[SSHP] End of life

Early in the morning, before the sun could reach the top of the hill, Harry and Hermione put up the tent.The two of them ate some ice-cold rabbit meat, which was barely enough for a breakfast.

The rabbits had long since hid in the holes, and with no snow showing their footprints, Harry could only use the Reaching Charm repeatedly as he walked up and down the forest.He was disgusted by the idea of ​​ending a life. When warm blood ran through his palm, it felt a hundred times more painful than handling a cold-blooded fish.Even in order to prevent himself and his companions from starving to death, Harry felt his nerves getting weaker and weaker every time he had to kill.A few days ago, this adverse reaction reached a peak. When he grasped a living creature in his hand and felt the warmth of its fur, the throbbing of its pulse, and the rush of blood in its blood vessels, he would even feel guilty for his actions. Intense nausea leading to dizziness and cold hands and feet.

Of course the rabbit escaped.The result is that they are hungry for two meals.Hermione said nothing.

In order to delay the next killing as far as possible, Harry's appetite became smaller and smaller.Part of it was the thought of food as a living being that made him literally unable to eat, and the other part was his subconscious resistance.Hermione must have noticed his mental state, she no longer has a clear line of death rather than crossing it as before, and occasionally abandons her sense of justice to pick up some food from the village.But seeing Hermione trying to talk herself past the edge of justice made Harry feel even more uncomfortable.

Isn't he doing the same thing as Voldemort?Voldemort believed that Muggles were inferior creatures who could kill at will.Although he didn't think animals were inferior, emotionless, or deserved to be eaten, there was no doubt that he killed them to fill his stomach.In the eyes of animals, is every human being Voldemort?

The thought kept Harry awake until he climbed to the top of the hill and saw a strange house.

"I guess this is the Lovegood house," said Hermione, looking up at the house, which looked like a huge black column in the early morning light, with an eerie black moon hanging behind it.Harry ran forward to examine the three signs nailed to the door.

"We found it!" Hermione exclaimed.She pushed open the courtyard door and walked forward along the winding path.Harry saw a lot of plants he didn't recognize, and one bush was covered with the little orange turnip-shaped fruits that Luna always wore.In order to avoid danger, he tried to stay away from the plants he didn't know.

There was an eagle knocker on Lovegood's door, and when Harry tried to knock on it, Hermione stopped him.

"The second board reads, 'Please pick a bouquet of mistletoe yourself.'" She pointed to the trees on either side of the front door, whose twining mistletoes were magically crowned with white flowers on this cold winter's day. .A little owl with a flat head was sitting on a branch and staring at the two of them.

Harry reached out and plucked two handfuls of mistletoe at random, and gave Hermione a handful.Leaves and flowers fell all over the place.He reached out past Hermione and knocked impatiently on Lovegood's door.

In less than ten seconds, the door opened.Xenophilius Lovegood stood in the doorway, in a stained nightgown, with bare feet and messy hair.Harry had the feeling that Bill's wedding was not just a few months ago, but a long time ago.Xenophilius aged 40 years in just four months.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood." Harry held out a hand. "This is Harry Potter. Can you speak to us? We have something to ask."

Xenophilius looked overwhelmed with surprise.He didn't shake Harry's hand, and stood there for a full ten seconds with his mouth open.

After a while, as if recovering from a huge shock, he pulled Harry into the room.Hermione hurried in, and behind her, Xenophilius cast a quick glance at the garden and slammed the door hard.

"Honestly, I'm a little... I don't think I should..." He looked embarrassed, as if he regretted the way he had shown Harry through the door.But there was a strange light in his eyes, and he flicked back and forth between the ground and Harry, as if hesitating about something.

"I don't think...you should come here." He finally said, with a bitter expression on his face as if he was about to cry.

"It won't be long." Harry had to admit, disappointed at the apparent unwelcome.

"...Okay." Xenophilius said after half a minute of silence, "Let's go upstairs."

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, and followed Xenophilius upstairs.They passed the spiral cast-iron staircase, looking down through the cracks, and the kitchen seemed messier than it had been at first glance.Bright colors paint the walls and everything is round, including the house itself.Harry felt like an insect being held up to the bottle by its wings and about to fall.

The upper room was presumably a workshop combined with the living room.There were piles of books and papers everywhere, and chairs and couches were so overstuffed they couldn't sit on them.An old-fashioned machine was rattling, beating and swaying from side to side, and hearing its sound, Harry felt that it was not far from breaking down.

Xenophilius did not immediately clear out a place for them to sit, but rushed towards the strange machine.On the way, he pulled out a dirty tablecloth from under a pile of books and papers, and covered the machine with the paper it spit out with a wave of his hand.After all this was done, he seemed relieved, and stomped over the things scattered on the floor when he pulled out the tablecloth just now, clearing out a dilapidated couch for Harry and Hermione.He himself leaned against his machine, his head bowed hesitantly.Harry watched the pale wizard in silence, as if two minds were fighting each other inside Xenophilius' body, and he seemed overwhelmed.

"Mr. Lovegood, what's going on? There seems to be something that's been bothering you. If we can help, we'd like to do our best." Harry thought for a while, deciding to find out before asking what they wanted to know What help does Xenophilius need.He was Luna's father after all, and had always been their support.

"No...no. I'm fine." Xenophilius said. He raised his head, as if he had finally made a decision, so he was obviously much calmer than before. "Before I talk to you, I have to go to Pour some tea. It's not my style of hospitality to keep you sitting here."

He tore the tablecloth off the machine, gave Harry a final pained glance, and went downstairs.

Harry saw Xenophilius' head disappear completely under the floor, and stood up immediately.From just now, he felt that Xenophilius' behavior of covering the machine in such a hurry was very wrong.The room was full of blank paper, and he walked towards the machine. If it was a printing press that kept spitting out "The Quibbler" as he thought, then there must be something in it that Xenophilius didn't want them to see.

He walked to the machine and turned the tablecloth back a corner.It turned out to be a new issue of "The Quibbler" that was being printed one by one. Surprisingly, the cover of the magazine that was supposed to support him was a photo of him placed very large, with the words "Number One Unscrupulous elements” and indicated the reward amount.

Harry put the magazine back calmly, and felt in his pockets to make sure the cloak could be pulled out smoothly.Now he knew how much he was worth, but he didn't think a pile of Galleons of uncertain cash would convert Xenophilius.After all, he has been supporting him when he has no money to get.

If Ron had been asked to send him to the Death Eaters, the Weasleys' finances might have been fine for generations.Harry thought amusedly.

He walked to the only window in the room and looked into the distance.The sun came out, and there was a small stream at the foot of the mountain, which looked like a gleaming silver streamer in the not-so-hot sun.Hermione was next to him. She had finished studying the delicate animal models hanging from the ceiling, and she was looking at a witch's head on a side cabinet.

After a while, Xenophilius came upstairs.He was carrying a round tray with several teacups and a steaming teapot on it, next to a spherical sugar bowl.

"That's the head of the great Rowena Ravenclaw." Noticing Hermione's gaze, he placed the tray on a stack of papers and said, "Human intelligence is the greatest wealth of human beings!"

Hermione glanced at the tray, looking worried that it would suddenly fall and wet the books next to it.

So Xenophilius really didn't decide to betray them for money?thought Harry suspiciously.

The author has something to say: My God, cats are really the greatest gift God has given to mankind.

The second is coffee.And tea.

It's so refreshing to pet a cat while drinking a hot drink in an air-conditioned room.The fat cat lay down on his lap, it was so soft and warm, it really melted his heart.

There are a lot of things to do next week, so I should try to be faster, but I can only fight, laughing.