The Leaky Cauldron, established in the early sixteenth century, is one of the favorite gathering places for wizards and the only entrance to Diagon Alley in the British magical world. When Diana pushed open the door with Kyle in tow, the once bustling and noisy bar seemed as if someone had pressed the pause button, instantly becoming eerily silent. It was as quiet as a study session on the night before finals, where you could hear a pin drop.

It wasn’t until Chris walked in that this strange atmosphere dissipated. However, the bar did not return to its previous state; it felt as if everyone was deliberately lowering their voices. There were exceptions, though. The bar owner, Tom, approached with a look of surprise: “Oh, Diana, long time no see! Would you like a drink? It’s on me.”

“Next time, Tom.” Diana smiled, patted Kyle on the shoulder, and pointed to the approaching Weasley family. “We still need to buy some things in Diagon Alley, and we might be running out of time.”

“Oh, of course.” Tom suddenly realized, “Time flies! Little Kyle is already eleven, so you're going to buy his school supplies for Hogwarts?”

“Yes,” Diana nodded with a smile.

“Well, that does sound a bit urgent. Off you go; you know the way.” Tom stepped aside to clear the path but then looked down at Kyle and said, “I must remind you, little Kyle, if you move that trash can again, I’ll have to write a complaint to Hogwarts. Merlin’s beard, do you know how panicked those new students get when they find they can’t enter Diagon Alley? You can’t keep giving a mobility-impaired old man unnecessary work.”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed at having his past good deed pointed out, Kyle clearly wasn’t new to Diagon Alley. However, honestly speaking, if a time traveler came to Diagon Alley and didn’t move the trash can, were they really a time traveler? That made sense.

But of course, he couldn’t say that in front of his parents, so Kyle could only awkwardly smile and say, “I’ll definitely do it next time.”

Tom didn’t think much of it, but Diana raised an eyebrow and glanced thoughtfully at her son. Her intuition told her there was definitely something wrong with that statement. However, since the Weasley family had already arrived, she chose not to say anything.

“Oh, Kyle, dear.” Mrs. Molly Weasley gave Kyle a warm hug and then pulled Diana aside to chat. Meanwhile, Mr. Weasley naturally walked over to talk with Chris.

The two families had a great relationship; Diana and Molly were close friends, while Chris and Arthur were very good friends. Especially after Kyle was born, they moved here to live permanently at the Weasley family’s enthusiastic invitation. All of this was discussed during family dinners, and Kyle had listened in on quite a bit. Due to the adults' relationship, he and the Weasley children naturally became friends.

Sure enough, as soon as the adults moved away, two arms draped over his shoulders, one on each side. “Hey, Fred, look who’s here.”

“This is this year’s new student at Hogwarts,” George said, emphasizing the words “new student.”

“Hogwarts can be very dangerous, especially for a new student like you…”

“Of course, if you say something nice, maybe we’ll give you some help.”

Kyle ignored the two and greeted the other redheads nearby: “Long time no see, Percy, Ron, and Ginny.”

They all smiled back and nodded at him. “Long time no see, Kyle.”

Originally, there were seven Weasley children, but Bill was in Egypt, and Charlie had gone somewhere unknown a month ago, so only five were here today.

As they were talking, they arrived at the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron, the entrance to Diagon Alley. Mr. Weasley quickly found the right brick and knocked on it with his wand.

Meanwhile, at the back of the line, the Weasley twins exchanged glances, their eyebrows raised in silent agreement, planning to teach a little impolite first-year a small lesson. They had just invented a new product called Jumping Powder; a sprinkle in the hair would give someone an unprecedented ticklish experience. They had tested it on themselves, and the effect was excellent. Who has ever tried going ten days without washing their hair?

If luck was on their side, they might even trigger a hidden bonus and get a taste of the special treatment reserved for middle-aged gentlemen.

Without further ado, the brothers took out the Jumping Powder and were about to act when Chris’s voice suddenly rang out ahead. “Hagrid? What are you doing in Diagon Alley?”

His tone was no longer calm but carried a hint of alertness, which caught the twins' attention. They couldn't help it; they had heard that tone of vigilance far too often—it was a reflex.

“No, nothing.”

Upon seeing Chris, Hagrid, the half-giant standing three meters tall and two meters wide, instinctively shivered, his eyes slightly wandering.

But then, as if he thought of something, he relaxed a bit and pulled out a small package from his pocket. “Harry Potter will be coming to Hogwarts next year, and as a welcome gift, I want to bake him a birthday cake, so I came to buy some berry seeds.”

“Really?”

Chris didn’t relax much, eyeing the small package suspiciously. “If I remember correctly, the materials in the Hogwarts dining hall should be enough to make ten cakes, right?”

To be honest, Chris’s tone was somewhat aggressive; if an uninformed person saw this, they would definitely think he was a villain.

However, Kyle, the twins, and even the Weasley couple, who had a good relationship with Hagrid, didn’t react at all; their expressions didn’t change, as if everything was as it should be.

And it was indeed the case. As the Deputy Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and head of the Beast Office, Chris was very familiar with Hagrid.

Let’s put it this way: if Chris had to choose one person he least wanted to see, it would definitely be the iconic half-giant keeper of keys at Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid.

Merlin’s beard, the trouble Hagrid caused accounted for more than one-tenth of Chris’s annual workload. Especially the hybrid magical creatures he tinkered with drove Chris a bit crazy.

What was that last one? Right, the snake-bodied Erumpent, a double-tailed snake bred from a hound and a Niffler.

Who knows where Hagrid got so many magical creatures; they couldn’t all be from the Forbidden Forest, could they? Chris couldn’t recall any Nifflers being in the Forbidden Forest back when he was in school.

As a traditional magical zoologist, he saw such human intervention in hybridization as heretical and an evil act that must be absolutely prohibited.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing wasn’t illegal. He had submitted several drafts of legislation but had never received any response. Not long ago, after Cornelius Fudge took office, he even made a trip to the Minister's office for this, but was continually stalling with expert soft-soap tactics, and it ended up going nowhere.

Clearly, in the eyes of their new minister, this legislation concerning magical creatures was deemed too low in value; with that much time, it was better to visit the Hogwarts headmaster's office a few more times. At least doing so would make him feel more at ease and improve his image and persona among the public.

So, Chris couldn’t do much about Hagrid.

Moreover, the magical creatures he had meddled with were, after all, new lives; he couldn’t just ignore them and throw them away.

Chris could only grit his teeth and observe, record, and classify.

Over time, Chris’s resentment towards Hagrid had reached its peak; he didn’t take action upon meeting simply because there were children around.

Otherwise, he would have been determined to give Hagrid a good beating, even with Dumbledore present.

Don’t be surprised; although he was the Deputy Director, Chris still spent years working on the frontlines dealing with magical creatures, so he had the strength.

It’s hard to say about a pure-blood giant, but against a half-blood giant, especially one without a wand, Chris felt quite confident.

Hagrid also knew he was in the wrong and very willingly opened the package, which indeed only contained a bunch of unknown seeds.

“In Dumbledore’s name, I really just came to Diagon Alley to buy some seeds.”

Upon hearing this, Chris’s furrowed brow finally relaxed a bit; he didn’t continue to question Hagrid, gave him a few simple reminders, and let him leave.

With Hagrid’s respect for Dumbledore, he could not possibly lie about such matters.

As for Kyle, he turned to glance thoughtfully at Hagrid’s departing figure.

“This time it’s not,” but what about other times?

Kyle remembered that the three-headed dog Fluffy, which appeared in the first book, was bought by Hagrid from a Greek man in the bar. Whether that bar was the Leaky Cauldron or the Hog’s Head, he didn’t know.

Don’t think the Leaky Cauldron is very legitimate; there are plenty of gray transactions, and it’s the only place providing lodging without checking IDs, so many smugglers with little to their name and no records choose to stay here.

Less inventory means convenience; just find a box to stuff it in, and basically, no one can tell the difference.

It’s completely normal to make a transaction with a customer while going out to eat.

And it’s well-known in the broker circles that there’s a gamekeeper at Hogwarts who is extremely fond of magical creatures.

Asking about his situation isn’t difficult.

“Tsk, who said Hagrid is simple-minded? He’s got quite a few tricks up his sleeve.”

Kyle guessed that his dad probably still didn’t know about Fluffy, but he had no intention of reporting it.

After all, who could refuse a three-headed dog?