"George, thank you for getting me out!" Harry finally breathed a sigh of relief after exiting the gloomy Knockturn Alley and arriving at the bustling Diagon Alley. He immediately thanked George. He felt as if, without George's escort, the strange and bizarre wizards along the way would have devoured him.
"Harry! Harry!" Just then, a little girl with thick, fluffy brown hair came running down the street. "I'm so glad to see you. Why are you all covered in dust and your glasses?"
"I'm glad to see you too, Hermione." Harry adjusted his cracked glasses, a happy smile on his face. "It was an accident."
"Okay, I'll fix them for you. They'll be good as new!" Hermione drew her wand and cast a mending spell on Harry's glasses. As if time had flown back, the cracked glasses were restored to pristine condition in just a few seconds.
"Guess I'll have to practice this spell a bit more," Harry exclaimed, looking at his brand-new glasses. He wasn't Hermione. Not only had she learned every spell in the first-year textbook, but she'd also learned quite a few on her own. He hadn't even mastered the basics, including the Repairing Charm.
Like Harry, George was thinking the same thing. The Repairing Charm wasn't just for small things like glasses; if practiced well, it could easily repair a collapsed building. In the Marvel Universe, he could make a fortune just from this magic alone.
"Who are you?" After fixing Harry's glasses, Hermione turned to look at George, who was standing next to him, a puzzled look on her face.
"He's a friend I just met, George. This is Hermione Granger," Harry quickly introduced them.
George extended his hand and smiled, "Hello, beautiful Miss Granger."
"Hello, George." Hearing George compliment her beauty, Hermione's affection for him instantly grew, and she happily reached out to shake his hand. It was the first time anyone besides her parents had praised her beauty; there were plenty of compliments on her intelligence.
"Harry, since your friend is here, it's time for me to go back. See you at Hogwarts." After shaking hands with Hermione, George waved without lingering, then walked into Knockturn Alley. It was their first meeting; getting to know each other was enough. There was no need for any forced interaction, as that would seem too contrived. Besides, his time was precious; he had to continue his magical studies.
Most importantly, he had no intention of stopping Malfoy from slipping Voldemort's diary to Ginny. Voldemort's diary contained a piece of Voldemort's soul, capable of bewitching people. Even with his psychic powers, he couldn't be sure of resisting it, so he had no intention of accessing or taking possession of it. There was no point in trying to stop it. After all, with Dumbledore around, it would only be a test for Harry, and no young wizard would be truly harmed. He was also thinking about whether he could exploit this incident to gain some advantage.
"He seems quite nice. Why haven't I seen him before at school?" Hermione asked, a hint of confusion in her tone as she watched George leave. George didn't look older than her; he was either in the same grade or one grade higher than her, so she shouldn't have never seen him before.
Harry smiled and said, "Because he's only starting his first year at Hogwarts this year, of course, you haven't seen him."
"So he's younger than us? How did you know each other?" Hermione asked curiously as they walked towards Flourish and Blotts. Harry recounted his recent experience.
Elsewhere, George, returning to his shop, was surprised to see a very large figure standing outside his shop, peering in. To say he was large was an understatement, as his height surpassed the normal human limit. A rough estimate suggested he was about three and a half meters tall. He couldn't even reach his waist when he approached, and the pressure was immense.
"Why is this guy here in front of my shop?" George immediately guessed his identity from his stature and attire. It was none other than Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper and master of Magizoology, a man of both wizard and giant blood.
Thinking of Hagrid's background, he couldn't help but give a thumbs-up to Hagrid's father, Mr. Hagrid. He was truly a formidable figure. Considering that a typical giant is around seven or eight meters tall, Mr. Hagrid, a normal-sized male wizard, could actually mate with a female giant and even produce offspring. His remarkable feat is truly impressive.
"Sir, may I ask you something?" George asked.
Hagrid turned and looked down at George, realizing he was a frail young wizard. He immediately replied gently, "I'm looking for a potion to repel flesh-eating slugs. I heard this potion shop is the only one that has it, but it seems to be closed."
His voice was gentle, but due to his sheer size, it sounded like a normal shout to George.
"The owner of this potion shop, Mr. Merton, passed away while brewing potions some time ago. I'm the one who's now taking over. I know the potion you're talking about and can find it for you." George took out his key, unlocked the door, and quickly went to the counter to retrieve a bottle of potion.
Dora didn't know how to brew potions, but because she was responsible for introducing and attracting customers, she was well-versed in herbology and the functions of all the potions in the shop.
"A repellent potion. It's very effective against cabbage worms and heartworms, in addition to carnivorous slugs."
"Oh, thank you, young boss." Hagrid took the potion with some surprise, a satisfied smile immediately appearing on his face.
"How much?"
"Fourteen Sickles," George smiled and held out his hand.
"That's a lot cheaper than I expected." Hagrid pulled a handful of silver Sickles from the pocket of his enormous moleskin coat, counted out fourteen, and placed them in George's hand. He assumed such a rare potion would cost at least two gold Galleons.
"Since I'm about to go to Hogwarts and I'm in a good mood, I'm giving you a half-price discount," George said cheerfully as he placed the fourteen silver Sickles into the box on the counter.
Since he could communicate with animals telepathically and had the potential to become a magical beast master, he naturally shouldn't waste it. Building a good relationship with Hagrid and learning more about magical beasts would be a good option, whether it was to make money or to raise some magical beasts to increase his strength.
So, after recognizing Hagrid, he immediately wanted to make friends. Hagrid was warm, kind, and straightforward, not scheming, so it wasn't difficult to establish a good relationship with him.
Sure enough, after hearing his words, Hagrid was visibly taken aback, and his attitude instantly became much more friendly. He took a closer look at George's face and smiled, "So you're a new student this year. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Come see me when you're free after school, and I'll make you some rock pancakes."
(End of this chapter)