Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 68 My name is Hermione Granger

In an old house in the suburbs of Nottinghamshire, England.

The fireplace, which hadn't been cleaned in who knows how long, suddenly lit up with a green flame, and then Arthur, Harry, and Severus emerged from the flames one by one.

The acrid dust kicked up by the green flames made all three of them cough.

"Why doesn't the Ministry of Magic send people to clean up Floo Network nodes like these more often?"

"There's nothing we can do. Nottingham isn't a major hub for wizards, so the ministry always tries to cut costs in places like that."

Arthur explained with a pained expression, while constantly brushing the dust off his robes, seemingly quite distressed that his clothes were dirty.

Severus, leading Harry, had arrived at the door of the house, which had been unoccupied for who knows how long. He gently knocked on the door, causing it to creak painfully, finally letting in some fresh air.

"Where are you going next?" He turned to look at Arthur.

Arthur walked toward them as well.

"26 Sherwood Road. Someone reported that an elderly wizard with a mental disability there modified the streetlight in front of his house, making it human-like and wandering around at night, which has terrified many Muggles. I'm going to take care of that light now, and while I'm at it, I'll go to the culprit's house to issue a ticket."

As he spoke, he looked at Severus.

"Do we still have the opportunity to continue our journey together?"

He clearly wasn't very curious about what Severus and his men were going to do.

Arthur, who works at the Ministry of Magic year-round, knows the rules: it's best not to inquire unless the other party asks first.

Severus wasn't very wary of Arthur.

Moreover, it was Dumbledore who arranged for them to travel together. Although he felt that the sweet-toothed old bee wasn't so far-fetched as to be abnormally prescient, who knows, what Arthur was going to do might provide them with a starting point.

"We don't have any clue what we're going to do yet. Nottingham is a big city, and just blindly searching like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Severus spoke up.

"There aren't many wizards living here, so why don't we go with you to check out the streetlights first?"

Arthur readily accepted this offer.

"Let's go then. Let me think... We can use Muggle public transportation. What's it called again? How about the subway?"

At this point, Arthur was clearly very excited. He was eager to try it out and had even started looking for Muggle costumes in his briefcase to change into at any time.

Severus and Harry exchanged a glance, both sensing from each other's eyes their skepticism about Arthur's decision to actively engage with Muggle society.

“Let’s take a taxi. I’ll call it; that might be more convenient,” Severus offered.

"Oh! Hmm~, that's not bad either." Arthur closed the suitcase again with a hint of regret.

They waited for more than half an hour on the roadside in the suburbs before finally getting a taxi to take them to "26 Sherwood Road," as Arthur had mentioned.

This place is also far from Nottingham city center, and there is a forest nearby called "Sherwood". The beautiful red-roofed houses along the roadside look like an apartment complex specifically for vacationers.

When they arrived at the door of house number 26, they indeed saw the strange street lamp! The lamp post looked very dirty, as if it had been brought out of the forest by someone, covered with mud and leaves, and there was even a bird's nest stuck on top of the lamp post!
During the day, the streetlight remained in its original position, showing no signs of moving around, which was normal. At least it helped Arthur, preventing him from having to find a way to grab the light.

"What are you going to do with it?" Harry asked curiously.

Arthur, meanwhile, had already excitedly pulled out a tool that would never normally be found in the hands of a proper wizard from his treasure chest—a wrench!
"It's obvious that someone has modified its circuitry and secretly cast a resurrection spell, bringing it to life like the teapot in the old witch's house! We need to cut off its circuitry first, and then figure out how to undo the resurrection spell!"

Severus gave Arthur a thumbs up.

"No wonder they're professionals!"

"You absolutely must bring Dudley to visit the Burrow sometime!" Arthur glanced around furtively. "I have quite a few at home."

"Who asked you to come!"

A rude shout interrupted the three people who were still discussing the peculiar street lamp with great interest.

This startled Arthur, who was whispering to someone. Severus and Harry also turned around and saw that the person who came in was an old man in pajamas with thinning hair and a fierce appearance.

"Who gave you permission to touch it! Get out of my house! Get out!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Arthur's expression hardened, and he pulled out his Muggle Misuse Department badge from his robe pocket.

“Mr. Foster, my name is Arthur Weasley, head of the Division for the Prohibition of the Misuse of Muggle Items under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic.”

The old man named Foster's fierce expression changed, and he chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Good afternoon, Mr. Weasley. If you hadn't come, I was just about to get rid of this lamp. It's not my fault."

"If you disagree with the punishment, you should take the initiative to submit a review to the Ministry of Magic!" Arthur ruthlessly shoved a ticket into his hand.

Holding the ticket, Foster abandoned his feigned politeness and began to berate the Ministry of Magic. After running back to his room, he leaned out the window and angrily cursed Arthur, who had issued the ticket.

But Arthur disagreed and said to Severus and the others.

"If he had dealt with the lamp earlier, or if the matter hadn't become known to so many people, he wouldn't have received this ticket. But the department has already sent him three warnings, which he ignored."

Just as Arthur was finally free of distractions, he could hold his wand in one hand and a wrench in the other, ready to focus on repairing the streetlight.

A crisp, somewhat arrogant voice suddenly rang out from the side.

"Are you here to fix this strange streetlight?"

Arthur, who was about to cast a spell, was startled again and his hand trembled. A spark appeared at the tip of his wand, and he quickly hid it under his robe.

Harry and Severus both turned to look at the source of the sound.

She was a little girl with thick, fluffy brown hair, and looked about the same age as Harry.

When all three of them looked at her at the same time, she raised her head, smiled, and revealed her large, rabbit-like front teeth.

"Good afternoon, my name is Hermione Granger. My parents and I live next door and we're here on vacation."

(End of this chapter)