Chapter 2: The Leaky Cauldron

The Leaky Cauldron, established in the early 16th century, was one of the favorite gathering places for wizards. It was also the entrance to Diagon Alley, the only wizard street in the British wizarding world.

When Diana led Kyle and pushed open the door, the originally noisy bar seemed to have been pressed on the pause button and instantly became silent.

It was as quiet as a self-study class on the evening of senior year of high school, and it was possible to hear the sound of a needle drop.

This weird atmosphere continued until Chris walked in. But it still hadn't returned to the way it was before. It seemed like everyone had deliberately lowered their voices.

There were exceptions though.

Tom, the bar owner, came over with a look of surprise on his face: "Oh, Diana, long time no see. Do you want a drink? I'll treat you."

"Next time, Tom." Diana smiled and patted Kyle's hand. Over his shoulder, she pointed to the Weasley family who were walking here and said, "We have to go to Diagon Alley to buy some things. We may not have enough time."

"Oh, of course." Tom suddenly realized: "Time flies so fast. Little Kyle is already eleven years old, so he is going to buy school supplies?"

"Yes." Diana smiled and nodded.

"That's really a bit exciting. Go quickly, you know the location."

Tom turned sideways and made way for the road behind him, but then, he looked down at Kyle and said, "I have to remind you, little Kyle, if you move the trash can again this time, I'm going to write a complaint letter to Hogwarts.

Merlin's beard, you know how anxious the freshmen were when they found out that Diagon Alley couldn't be entered. They were wondering what was going on. You can't always add unnecessary work to an old man with bad legs and feet."

Kyle was somewhat embarrassed when the mischievous acts he had done were pointed out to his face.

Obviously, this wasn't his first time in Diagon Alley.

However, to be honest, if a transmigrator did not move the trash can in Diagon Alley, would he still be a transmigrator?

There was nothing wrong with that.

But in front of his parents, he definitely couldn't say that. Kyle could only sneer and say, "Definitely, next time."

Hearing this, Tom didn't think anything of it, but Diana on the side raised her eyebrows as if something was wrong. She looked down at her son thoughtfully.

Her intuition told her that there was definitely something wrong with this sentence.

But since the Weasleys had already arrived, she didn't say anything.

"Oh, Kyle, dear."

Mrs. Molly Weasley gave Kyle a big hug warmly and then took Diana aside to talk.

As for Mr. Weasley, he naturally walked up to Chris and started chatting.

The two families had a good relationship. Molly and Diana were friends who talked about everything, and Chris and Arthur were also close friends. It was hard to tell whether they became friends because of being neighbors, or they became neighbors because of their good relationship.

After all, in the original book, there was no Chopper family in the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, and Chris did not even appear.

Was this a butterfly effect? Kyle didn't know. But because of the relationship between the two adults, Kyle and the Weasley children naturally became friends.

As soon as the adults left, two arms were put on his shoulders, one on the left and one on the right.

"Hey, Fred, look who's here."

"Isn't this the new student at Hogwarts this year?"

George's tone was particularly clear when he said the word "new student".

"Hogwarts is very dangerous, especially for freshmen like you..." 

"Of course, if you are willing to say something nice, maybe we will give you some help."

Kyle ignored these two, minding his own business, and greeted the other redheads next to him, "Long time no see, Percy, Ron, and Ginny." The other parties also nodded at him with a smile on their faces.

"Long time no see, Kyle."*3

Originally there were seven children in the Weasley family, but Bill went to Egypt and Charlie went to who knows where a month ago and was not at home, so there were only five here today.

While they were talking, several people also came to the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley. Mr. Weasley, who was walking at the front, found the correct brick at a glance, then stretched out his wand and tapped it.

At the same time, at the end of the group, the Weasley brothers, who had not received a response for a long time, looked at each other and raised their eyebrows in a tacit understanding, intending to teach a certain little boy who was not polite enough, a lesson.

For example, with the jumping powder they just invented, as long as they sprinkle a little bit on the hair, it was possible to experience unprecedented joy.

They had tried it on themselves, and the effect was great. Did anyone know what it felt like to not wash their hair for ten days?

Very simple, if they were lucky, they might be able to trigger a hidden easter egg and experience the in advance.

Just as they said, the brothers took out the dancing powder. As they were about to take action, Chris' voice suddenly came from the front.   

"Hagrid? What are you doing in Diagon Alley!"

The voice was no longer calm as before, but rather a little wary, which immediately caught the attention of the twins.

It was obvious, they had heard this vigilant tone too many times, and this was their conditioned reflex.

"No, nothing."

After seeing Chris, Hagrid, a three-meter-tall and two-meter-thick hybrid giant, trembled subconsciously, and his eyes were wandering a little.

But then, he seemed to have thought of something, and he relaxed a lot in an instant. He took out a small package from his pocket and said, "Harry Potter will come to Hogwarts next year. As a meeting gift, I want to hand him a birthday cake that I made in person, so I came to buy some berry seeds."

"Really?" 

Chris' tone did not relax much, and he looked at the small package warily, "If I remember correctly, with the materials in Hogwart kitchen, it should be enough to make ten cakes."

To be honest, Chris' tone was a bit aggressive. If someone unfamiliar with the situation saw this, they would definitely regard him as a villain.

But when Kyle, the twins, and even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who had a good relationship with Hagrid, saw this scene, they didn't express anything. Even their expressions didn't change, as if everything should be like this.

This was indeed the case.

As Deputy Director of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, 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 Hogwarts key keeper in front of him, the famous half-blood giant Rubeus Hagrid.

Merlin's beard, the trouble he caused alone, accounted for more than one-tenth of Chris's workload throughout the year.

Especially the hybrid magical animals he created drove Chris a little crazy.

Right, what was it last time? A snake-bodied Crup, which was a crossbreed between a Crup and a Runespoor.

God knows where Hagrid got so many magical animals. They couldn't all be from the Forbidden Forest. Chris didn't remember that there were Runespoors in the Forbidden Forest when he was in school.

As a traditional Magizoologist, in his view, this kind of human-made hybridization was simply heresy and an evil act that must absolutely be prohibited.

But unfortunately, this kind of thing was not illegal. He had submitted several bills but never received any response. After Cornelius Fudge took office some time ago, he made a special trip to the minister's office for this purpose but was delayed again and again by the other party's superb conciliatory tactics, and in the end, nothing was done.

Obviously, in the eyes of the new minister, the value of this bill on magical beasts was too low. If he had time, he might as well go to the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts a few more times. At least, doing so would give him peace of mind, and could also improve his image and personality in the hearts of the masses.

Therefore, Chris couldn't do anything to Hagrid. What's more, those magical animals that he tinkered with were also newborns after all, and the ministry couldn't just get rid of them without any care for the animal's lives.

Chris could only bite the bullet, observe, record, and classify.

Over time, Chris' resentment towards Hagrid had already boiled over. When they met, Chris couldn't take action directly, purely because he had children around him.

Otherwise, he would beat Hagrid at any cost, even if Dumbledore was around.

Don't be surprised. Although he is the deputy director, Chris was still on the front line of handling magical animals all year round, and he still had strength.

It was hard to say for a pure-blood giant, but for a hybrid giant, and a hybrid giant without a wand, Chris was still very confident.

Hagrid also knew that he was in the wrong and opened the package consciously. There was indeed only a bunch of unknown seeds inside.

"In Dumbledore's name, I really just came to Diagon Alley to buy some seeds this time."

Hearing Hagrid say this, Chris' frown relaxed a lot, and he did not continue to question him. After a few brief instructions, Hagrid was allowed to leave.

With Hagrid's respect for Dumbledore, it was impossible for him to lie about this kind of thing.

Kyle, on the other hand, turned his head thoughtfully and glanced at Hagrid's back as he left.

'"Not this time", but what about other times?'

Kyle remembered that the three-headed dog, Fluffy, who appeared in the first film was bought by Hagrid from a Greek in a bar. He didn't know whether this bar was the Hog's Head or the Leaky Cauldron.

The Leaky Cauldron was not very formal. There were too many gray transactions. Moreover, it was the only place to provide accommodation, and it was the kind where identities were not checked. Therefore, many smugglers who had few goods and no criminal record chose to come here to stay.

The small amount of goods meant convenience. They could just find a suitcase and stuff it in, and basically no one would notice.

While going out to eat, it was normal to have a transaction or something with a customer, and Hogwarts had a gamekeeper who loved magical animals. This fact was already well-known in the brokerage circle.

It was not difficult to find out about him.

"Tsk, who said Hagrid was honest, he must have a lot of tricks up his sleeve."

Kyle estimated that his father probably didn't know about Fluffy at this time, but he didn't intend to snitch.

After all, who could say no to a three-headed dog?

(End of chapter)