After finishing their shopping, Professor McGonagall accompanied the Grays out of Diagon Alley before departing, as she had another young wizard to guide. The Grays stood outside the Leaky Cauldron, exchanged glances, and smiled at each other.

“Let’s find a hotel first—”

“I think the Leaky Cauldron upstairs also offers accommodations—”

“No! What if we run into a bad wizard? It’s safer to stay in a regular hotel.”

“Right, Miss Fiona! I remember there’s a nice hotel nearby that also allows pets.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Weed pretended to be helpless and shook his head as he carried the owl cage. One of the couple helped him with the books, while the other carried the cauldron and other items, and they quickly went to check into the hotel.

After putting down their things, they returned to the front of the Leaky Cauldron in less than half an hour.

Once they entered, the Grays simultaneously pulled out bags and took out wizard robes from inside. Seeing Weed’s surprised expression, Fiona winked and whispered, “While you were getting your custom robes, I took the chance to buy ready-made wizard robes. Don’t just stand there; yours is here too, go change!”

The three of them put on their robes in a corner. Luckily, it was summer and hot, so they were already dressed lightly, and wearing the robes didn’t make them look bulky. Fiona even added a hooded cloak for herself; once the hood was on, only a small part of her chin was visible, making her look cold and mysterious.

At this point, they looked completely in tune with the mysterious and dim atmosphere of the pub.

Ferdinand pretended to be a regular and ordered lunch. While waiting, he quietly said to the two, “Although this place might be a bit unsanitary, I want to try it.”

“Uh-huh.” Fiona nodded seriously. “I understand! I feel the same.”

“What difference does it make?” Weed quipped. “What’s the best food in England? Foreign food!”

Sure enough, when lunch was served, the Grays stared at each other for a long time, too scared to use the seemingly unwashed fork on the dark and dirty table.

Finally, Fiona picked up a piece of bread with a napkin and forced herself to eat a few bites, while Ferdinand took a few sips of rum.

“It’s no different!”

“Tastier than supermarket food…”

Just then, the door suddenly creaked, and a massive figure blocked out all the light from outside. The Grays looked up and gasped.

“Oh—my goodness—” Ferdinand groaned, instinctively shielding his wife and child. “God bless—”

A very tall and burly man stood there, bending down to squeeze through the door, his head nearly touching the ceiling.

His presence was so strong that most people completely overlooked the small figure walking in front of him. Only Weed looked at the thin child and, as expected, saw—[Harry Potter], as well as…

[Tom Riddle].

Unlike the Grays’ fear, the other patrons in the pub were delighted to see the giant, greeting him with smiles. The pub owner’s tone was even more enthusiastic: “As per usual, Hagrid?”

“No thanks, Tom, I’m here on Hogwarts business!” the giant said earnestly.

“Great! He doesn’t seem to be a dangerous person.” Ferdinand sighed in relief, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“What did he say, Hogwarts?” Fiona noticed the words. “Weed, is that a teacher from the school too?”

She stretched her neck to look, only to see that everyone else in the pub had stood up and gathered around to shake hands with the child brought by the giant…

“Oh, looks like a big shot has arrived!”

Fiona immediately jumped up, dropping her partially eaten bread, and shouted, “Quick! Ferdie, Weed, let’s go!”

Unless necessary, Ferdinand never refused her whims, especially for such trivial matters.

So he pushed back his chair and walked over, mimicking the others as he shook the boy’s hand, saying with a serious expression, “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Potter!”

As if he really knew who Harry Potter was.

Surrounded, Harry Potter found himself shaking hands with one stranger after another, caught off guard by their admiration and compliments.

He unintentionally made eye contact with a black-haired boy in the back of the crowd, feeling a bit awkward under the curious gaze.

Harry still hadn’t adjusted to suddenly being a celebrity, always feeling as though this fame had been stolen from someone else.

Weed was now looking at another person—

A young man wrapped in a purple scarf, looking pale and nervously inching toward Harry Potter. He seemed very anxious, stuttering as he spoke, appearing easily startled.

Seeing this, Fiona kindly made way for him so he could shake hands with the “famous” Harry Potter.

In Weed’s eyes, the young man also had two nearly overlapping names above his head—

[Quirinus Quirrell]

[Tom Riddle]

…………………………

“Wow, wizards and Muggles seem no different! They’re also star-struck!”

Fiona returned, still excited, and Weed didn’t understand what she was so thrilled about.

“By the way, is that kid a child star in the wizarding world? It seems like everyone knows him,” Fiona said.

“By his age, he should be Weed’s classmate.”

Ferdinand wasn’t confused by the crowd’s enthusiasm; he noticed more: “But that kid looks a bit malnourished, and his clothes don’t fit well. He doesn’t seem to be well taken care of by his guardians.”

“Hm? That’s unlikely?” Fiona speculated. “The clothes…I guess it’s a wizarding fashion? These wizards seem to not understand Muggle clothing.”

“Hmm…maybe.” Ferdinand looked at their son. “Weed, we just saw a Hogwarts professor—the young man in the purple scarf—you really should have come over to meet him.”

“Forget it, I don’t think that professor looks very reliable,” Weed replied disinterestedly.

Ferdinand thought for a moment, finding it hard to argue—because he too was doubtful about that professor’s ability, as he seemed unable to speak a complete sentence fluently.

“Alright, we’ve eaten enough!” Fiona pushed the plate away, pretending not to see that there was still more than half of lunch left, excitedly saying, “Let’s go shopping some more!”

Such a marvelous Diagon Alley, just a quick trip back and forth; how could it satisfy the curiosity of the few about the magical world?