The next day, Basil woke up early.
Unlike in the games and movies, there wasn't a long bridge directly facing the Great Hall leading to the outside world.
The only land exit from the castle was a wide carriage drive.
Recently, it had been buried deep in snow.
But today, the snow had been cleared in advance.
Holding Hermione's small hand, they walked along the cleared flagstone path to a pair of magnificent wrought-iron gates.
Parked inside the gates were many carriages pulled by Thestrals. To those who hadn't witnessed death, these carriages appeared to be driven by magic or pulled by invisible horses.
Beyond the gates lay the path the older students took after getting off the train, flanked by stone pillars topped with winged boars.
Quite a few students had already gathered in front of the iron gates.
Filch, holding the keys, was just sliding one into the lock.
Nearby, Hufflepuff students were complaining that Filch had gotten up too late.
Otherwise, the carriages would have parked right outside the castle.
They wouldn't have had to walk all the way to the main gate.
Hearing this, Hermione chimed in, agreeing that Filch wasn't very competent as a caretaker.
Basil raised an eyebrow.
"Drop the act. You're happy about it. In fact, you wish he'd gotten up even later."
The ability to detect lies from [Veritaserum Connoisseur] let him know Hermione was fibbing.
"I am not!" Hermione turned her head away.
Basil curled his lip.
Lies, nothing but lies.
Living in a world without lies was just so simple, dull, and boring.
"Do you still want me to walk you to Hogsmeade Station?"
Hermione lowered her head. "Yes. Fine, I did wish Filch had woken up later."
Ten minutes later, they boarded a carriage.
They passed between the tall stone pillars topped with winged boars and arrived beside a dark street.
Ahead was the station.
To the left was the legendary Hogsmeade Village.
They would be allowed to go there after their third year, once they got a parent's signature.
And Basil planned to go to Hogsmeade today.
Because of the Weasley twins' [Marauder's Map], Basil decided to abandon the idea of using the secret passages to get to Hogsmeade.
Although the twins weren't gossipy enough to notice Peter Pettigrew sleeping in Ron's bed all this time...
Basil still wanted to play it safe.
It was the same reason he left school yesterday with Ron and Percy.
After all, even outside the school, the [Marauder's Map] could still track the real-time location of people inside Hogwarts.
However, going to Hogsmeade this way wasn't without its merits.
Just like having Mr. and Mrs. Weasley accompany him to Diagon Alley, riding the Hogwarts carriages to the station with a bunch of students meant he wouldn't be set up for any "tests" by Voldemort or Dumbledore.
In reality, Basil knew he was being paranoid.
Dumbledore was a good guy bound by rules; as long as Basil was a Hogwarts student, he didn't really need to worry too much.
Voldemort was currently just a remnant soul whose main goal was the Philosopher's Stone.
He didn't really need to worry about Voldemort causing trouble either.
By killing ants—one ant giving 0.0001—his [Killing Intent] had accumulated to 34.241.
His talent [Heart of Killing] had also become much clearer; the current damage bonus was 67.241.
That meant a [Basic Attack] dealt 83.241 damage. With [Veritaserum Connoisseur], that was about 41.6 [True Damage].
Dealing with Quirrell would probably just take one [Basic Attack]—literally just a wave of his arm.
Not to mention using the Killing Curse.
Driven by roughly 34 points of [Killing Intent], the Killing Curse could dish out 204 damage.
Even using the [Veritaserum Connoisseur] skin, that was still 102 [True Damage].
Forget about one-shotting a wizard with a short health bar; even a dragon probably wouldn't be an issue.
The reason he was so cautious was entirely because his knowledge came from skimming the movies, playing Harry Potter-themed games, and picking up lore from hanging out with the twins. His knowledge of the novels was mostly just hearsay from the internet.
What if, in the books, the current Voldemort had other minions he could use?
At the very least, the House-elf "Lala" definitely wasn't mentioned in the movies.
He was just an ordinary little wizard. What if he got ambushed by a Dark Wizard and couldn't react in time?
His attack power was off the charts.
But his defense? At best, he could summon a Troll to act as a meat shield.
He had tested the [Shield Charm]; the damage bonus from [Heart of Killing] didn't apply to defense.
Just like how using it on a Stunning Spell increased the damage, but didn't strengthen the stunning effect itself.
At most, he could rely on his high Magic stat to "burn" more mana for a stronger defense.
And since the [Fashion Component]—the rare component that might have offered Magic Resistance or Physical Defense sets—was missing...
Basil didn't dare to be too reckless.
So, after parting ways with Hermione...
He didn't walk toward Hogsmeade.
Instead, he immediately summoned Lala.
The next second, two figures appeared inside a house where the wallpaper was peeling, the floor was stained, the furniture was smashed, and the windows were boarded up.
"Cough, cough, it's so dusty," Basil fanned the air. "This is the Shrieking Shack?"
At the same time, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Bzzzt... Location: Shrieking Shack. Hogsmeade activated.]
The fog surrounding Hogwarts Castle in his mind instantly dispersed, spreading forward to Hogsmeade Station and then extending to the left.
A complete [Hogsmeade Village] appeared in his mind.
However, only [Zonko's Joke Shop], [Honeydukes], and [Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop] were lit up.
"You can go now, Lala," Basil ordered.
Crack! With the sound of Apparition, Lala vanished.
Basil started complaining. "Crap! 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-up shops, the streets, and the road from the village to Hogwarts now belonged to him.
Just like Hogwarts Castle and the grounds (excluding the Forbidden Forest), he could view them at will and teleport there.
Hogsmeade was a wizarding village, not as small as it appeared in the movies or games.
Besides the shops, there were residential houses.
Some students' and professors' homes were here.
Professor McGonagall and her late husband's house was in the village.
Though after her husband died, she rarely went back.
Currently, the unlit shops and private residences in his mind did not belong to him.
He couldn't observe them or teleport into them.
Unless he spent Gems to light them up.
Damn it! I have to pay microtransactions even after transmigrating?! Did I travel here for nothing?!
The cost for each shop or house varied.
A famous shop like the [Three Broomsticks] cost 500 Gems to light up.
However, Madam Rosmerta was truly gorgeous—practically bursting out of her dress.
Basil felt it was worth the price.
Focus! Back to business. Like the [Shrieking Shack].
Perhaps because Lupin had lived there, it was considered a private residence.
It required Gems to light up.
But only 50 Gems.
Other private residences he had never heard of, like [The Hengist Family House] or [Bachelor Raymond Swoke's Home], cost 30 Gems each.
In short, he spent 610 Gems today and returned in low spirits.
Gems: 30,688.385 (-610)