Due to the recent constant green fire on his head and his concerns about his jumbled thoughts, Harry really didn't want to go out—
But there was no choice; today was the last day of summer vacation. Because he completely forgot that he still needed to buy textbooks for the next semester when he went out earlier, it wasn't until today that he finally realized he seemed to have completely "wasted" the hard-earned freedom of the past half-month.
Regret... overall, just very regretful.
Feeling the peculiar gazes from the crowd around him, Harry helplessly scratched his nose—but there was no way; actually, he had already thought about how to cover the glaring green fire on his head when he was at school last time, but even with a hat, the flame would shoot out from the top of the hat, staying brightly on his head.
Just like…
Just like someone's bad taste...
"...It's just a side effect of a magic potion, that's all."
Feeling a bit helpless, Harry explained to Florean Fortescue as he accepted the ice cream handed over to him. While talking, he headed towards Flourish and Blotts located on the other end of Diagon Alley. Probably due to the upcoming start of school, Diagon Alley was bustling today, and Harry had already seen several acquaintances just now while purchasing magic potion materials and new robes—
Seamus and Dean were gathered around the window of the broom shop, arguing softly about the newly released Firebolt, Neville seemed to have lost something again and was now flushed red, explaining to his grandmother, and Draco Malfoy's figure flashed by the street corner, but Harry felt the other had glared at him—
Oh, that was really unusual… Logically, the other should have rushed over barking in his face.
"... "
Since many classmates could be encountered today, maybe… Because his mood wasn't ruined by a certain Slytherin, a thought arose in Harry's mind. He quickly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding crowd, and the next moment, just as he anticipated, a familiar calling sounded not far behind him—
"Harry! Harry!"
Harry instinctively turned around, only to see Ron standing in the shadow of Florean's Ice Cream Parlor, waving at him, with Hermione standing beside him. Both were very tanned, and Harry even felt that the freckles on Ron's face had faded quite a bit.
"Hey, Harry, we were just about to look for you—"
Hermione pulled Ron out of the shadow, clearly having a different opinion on facing the sunlight, but the next moment, they both looked simultaneously at Harry's head, Ron's throat moved, swallowing back the words he originally wanted to say, "Uh, have you fallen in love with this look?"
Of course, Harry knew what they were talking about, but when he tried to speak, he found himself at a loss for words, so he could only sigh, "It's a long story—"
"So, did you really your aunt...?"
Hermione blinked, asking somewhat suddenly and seriously.
"Uh, how did you know..."
Harry's expression grew a bit rigid. Now, as soon as this topic was brought up, he felt a bit afraid... He constantly felt that his situation was not as lightly described in William's letter, for example... that night at the beginning of summer… hallucination.
But, was that really a hallucination?
The jungle that looked incredibly real, and that sinister voice… though it all flashed by, and he soon returned to the kitchen of the Dursley household, but… but he clearly remembered hearing that voice…
Back in the first year.
"My dad told me."
Ron's voice floated over, breaking the boy's train of thought.
"But I didn't mean it," Harry tried hard to make his explanation sound less flimsy, "I just—couldn't control it for a moment."
"Relax, no one blames you—"
Seeing Harry's slightly pale face, Ron reassuringly patted his shoulder, speaking in a light tone.
"This isn't a small matter, Ron!" Hermione's tone was very serious. "Seriously, the fact that Harry wasn't expelled is just..."
"Do you want to see Harry getting expelled then?"
Seeing Hermione who seemed to be "intrusive," Ron retorted somewhat displeased.
"Oh, of course not, I just wanted to say..."
Hermione's momentum suddenly weakened. Now, she also noticed Harry's strangeness, and no matter how low her emotional intelligence was, she could see it wasn't the time for a lecture. Meanwhile, Ron continued to speak beside her, "That's it, Harry not only wasn't expelled but also taught the annoying relative a lesson—everyone's happy."
Aunt Marge: so?
"...By the way, have you bought all your textbooks and supplies?"
Seeing the two starting to fall into silence, even with the fire on his head, Harry felt a chill down his back. He quickly diverted from the topic he was a bit reluctant to bring up, after all, the thoughts that arose in his mind at that time he didn't plan to let anyone other than William know—if possible, he didn't even want to tell William.
Having the Dark Lord's soul inside… that sounds extremely evil.
But there was no choice; he needed a way to solve the problem.
And William was the only one who knew he swallowed Voldemort's soul, even the "devouring" ritual was hosted by him... it should be; the already completely blurred dream memory made him unable to recall the details.
"Oh, not yet."
Ron said, taking out a long slender box from his pocket. He carefully lifted the lid of the box, "We just bought this, look at it, a brand-new magic wand, willow wood, fourteen inches long, with a unicorn tail hair inside, it's really beautiful—"
Ron was obviously very satisfied with his new magic wand, or perhaps more so because he finally had a wand truly belonging to him.
"Oh, where's your old one?"
"Broke, uh, Harry, the pyramids in Egypt are really too dangerous—"
As he said this, a look of fear suddenly appeared on Ron's face, but when the two wanted to ask further, Ron looked as though he didn't want to bring it up, and Harry, of course, didn't pursue it deeply, like him—everyone still needs some of their own secrets.
"Maybe we should go to Flourish and Blotts."
Seeing the crowd growing denser around them, Hermione interrupted the boys' conversation. It was already nearing noon, and another large group of customers poured into Diagon Alley, with nearly eighty percent of them having the exact same purpose as theirs.
Realizing they couldn't linger any longer, the three quickly made their way through Diagon Alley, pushing through the crowd as they gradually approached the bustling Flourish and Blotts, and the store clerk, standing at the door holding a wooden stick and panting, had an ominous premonition when he saw the three walking towards him—
"We need three copies of 'The Monster Book of Monsters'..."
Hermione pulled out her long list of books, speaking in a light tone. In stark contrast to her was the bookstore clerk's expression, which seemed as if his mother had died.