Hagrid led Harry down a grim, shadowy alleyway.
Harry couldn't help but notice that some of the folk loitering in the alley looked no different from the Muggles addicted to various… substances… back on the streets of London.
A witch with a face full of angry red boils tried to grab Harry by the arm. Harry was just reaching for his wand when Hagrid delivered a single, well-aimed punch, sending the witch sprawling.
Hagrid, holding up a fist the size of a dinner plate, rumbled, "Don't you worry, Harry, I'll protect ya."
After several twists and turns, Hagrid finally brought Harry to a shop called "Uncle Fry's Magical Menagerie."
The shop door was chained shut, but the proprietor clearly knew Hagrid, unlatching it immediately to let them in.
The shop was crammed with cages. The moment Harry stepped inside, he heard a low, hissing whisper.
He turned to see an orange, three-headed snake in a cage on the counter. Its left head was chattering to the middle one, while the right head was covered by a cloth.
The shop owner, noticing their gaze, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Heh heh heh, fancy one of these, do ya? Runespoor hatchlings are mighty rare in Britain."
"A Runespoor? Looks rather like contraband."
"Heh heh heh, this is Knockturn Alley, lad. You got the Galleons, I can get ya any creature you fancy."
"Can you get a phoenix, then?"
"You looking for trouble, boy?"
"Oi! Never threaten him in front of me!"
"You brash little squirt, put your wand down!"
"Harry, no! Uncle Fry's an old friend of mine, known him for years. He wouldn't strike first."
At Hagrid's words, Harry slowly lowered his wand.
After a long silence, the shop owner suddenly spoke. "Harry? Is he… Harry Potter?"
"None of your business!"
Hagrid glared ferociously at Uncle Fry, then, in a panicked rush, dragged Harry out of the shop.
"Whoa, Hagrid, you're running too fast!" Harry gasped, a little out of breath.
Hearing Harry, Hagrid immediately let go and said apologetically, "Sorry, Harry. I just wanted to show you more interesting magical creatures. Didn't expect that to happen."
Harry didn't say much more, simply followed Hagrid back to the Leaky Cauldron.
Inside the pub, Hagrid suddenly said, "Harry, I haven't given you your birthday present yet. I was going to get you an owl, but Dumbledore said you already have one."
Hagrid pulled a very long quill from his coat pocket and handed it to Harry.
"Dumbledore told me you're a very bright lad, so I got you this quill, made from unicorn hair. Happy birthday, Harry!"
Harry looked at Hagrid in surprise.
He'd already gained a basic understanding of the wizarding world. This quill must have used dozens of unicorn hairs; its price was exorbitant enough to buy every last drop of firewhisky in the Leaky Cauldron.
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"Hagrid, thank you so much for the gift, but it's a bit too extravagant."
Hagrid bent down and whispered in Harry's ear, "Don't you worry about it. There are plenty of unicorns in the Forbidden Forest; I've got a whole bundle of these hairs back at my hut."
After delivering the gift, Hagrid hurried off, claiming he had important business to attend to.
Harry returned to his room, carefully put away the quill, then wrote in his diary: Rubeus Hagrid, my first friend.
The next morning, Harry was distractedly eating his bacon and toast.
He'd spent last night poring over Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which described Runespoors as rare magical creatures native to the small African nation of Burkina Faso.
And the picture of an adult Runespoor in the book perfectly matched Harry's aesthetic, so much so that he'd been thinking about that snake even in his sleep.
Harry made up his mind.
He rushed to Gringotts and withdrew a hefty sum of gold, then bought a black robe from Madam Malkin's. He tucked the gold into a pouch, then placed the pouch inside a briefcase, concealing it beneath his robe.
With everything prepared, he once again stepped into Knockturn Alley.
Uncle Fry was in his shop, feeding the magical creatures. He watched a short figure in a black robe approach the entrance.
The robed figure mercilessly struck down several scoundrels who dared to attempt a robbery using powerful spells.
Harry stood outside the shop, his voice low and raspy. "Open the door and let me in. I'm here to buy a Runespoor."
"Two hundred Galleons."
"Agreed. Open up, then."
"Are you new to this? I don't let strangers into my shop. Pass the Galleons through that window."
Harry hesitated for a moment, but then pushed the Galleons across.
Uncle Fry quickly handed the Runespoor to Harry, the cage thoughtfully covered with a cloth.
"Heh heh heh, do come again."
Uncle Fry cackled as he closed the window.
Harry placed the cage inside his briefcase, eager to leave as quickly as possible.
"Heh heh heh, you little squirt, hand over the goods! I'm not some Squib who can't even use magic; a simple Levitation Charm won't work on me."
An ugly wizard with a grotesque cackle blocked Harry's path.
"Sectumsempra!"
Harry unleashed the spell without hesitation.
A deep gash appeared on the wizard's face. He raised his wand, attempting to heal himself, but Harry hit him with another Sectumsempra.
The wizard screamed and collapsed. The other lurking figures, who had been on the verge of making a move, quietly slunk away.
Harry safely returned to the Leaky Cauldron.
As soon as he took the cage out, the Runespoor defensively coiled itself into a circle, ready to strike.
Right head: "Bloody hell, I'm suffocating! Why do these two idiots next to me not have their heads covered?!"
Left head: "Heh, if you keep talking, I'll bite you to death."
Middle head: "..."
Harry: "All of you, shut up! From now on, I am your master!"
Right head: "My master, you say? You don't deserve it!"
Left head: "Are you a Parselmouth?"
Middle head: "..."
Harry had never encountered a snake like this before. The snakes he'd met in the past had always submitted immediately upon hearing him speak.
He quickly realized that perhaps, because it was a magical creature, Parseltongue couldn't directly control it.
Harry, unflustered, pushed the cage into a corner, deciding to starve it for a few days.
Three mornings later, Harry was practicing spells when he was startled by the Runespoor's anguished cries.
Right head: "Aargh! You two useless lumps actually dared to bite me?!"
Left head: "Harder! Bite it to death!"
Middle head: "So hungry..."
Harry lost his patience. A silent Levitation Charm instantly separated the tangled snake heads, followed by another Sectumsempra, but it only scratched the snake's scales.
"Enough! If you still refuse to submit, then you'll die."
Middle head: "If I submit to you, will I be full? I'm so hungry."
Right head: "You two spineless imbeciles, just you wait!"
Left head: "Silence, both of you! Let me talk to him."
After some "friendly" negotiation, Harry promised to provide fresh food and shelter, thereby earning the Runespoor's allegiance. He named it Humphrey.
"Humphrey, I told you Hedwig is not your dinner."
Harry returned to his room with freshly bought rats, only to find Humphrey circling Hedwig's cage, trying to poke its head inside.
Seeing Harry return, it reluctantly slithered away from the birdcage.
The left head gulped down a rat. "Master, how long are we staying here?"
The right head continued to drone sarcastically, "You two really are useless, giving in to a human so quickly?"
Harry removed the rats and watched as the left and middle heads viciously bit the right one. Only when it was covered in scratches did he separate them.
"If it happens again, I'll cut you off. I know a Runespoor can survive with only two heads."
Right head: "Master, you truly are the greatest master in the world."
Harry felt that his time in Diagon Alley had been the happiest days of his life since he was born.
On the day of the term start, Harry, before leaving, tried to coax a glass of Firewhisky from Tom, the pub landlord, but was refused.
"I never thought the wizarding world would be even stricter than London. Dudley was secretly drinking brandy at ten years old, and I can't even have a taste!"
Harry, disgruntled, exited the Leaky Cauldron, ready to head to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.