Chapter 34: A girl rather than a fugitive

The summer vacation of 1993 was a busy one for the Taylor family. This was because Sirius Black, a follower of the Dark Lord and a mass murderer, had escaped from Azkaban. Erskine Taylor, the deputy director of the Dark Repulsion Bureau, was busy dealing with the situation from early morning to late at night every day without a break. Leonard Taylor was also persistently requested by the Ministry of Magic to develop magic and magical tools for the search for Sirius Black. As Leo, he was not interested in Sirius Black, so he did not cooperate, but because it was too persistent, he developed only magic tools for capture and lied that the search was difficult to avoid involvement.

Today was the first time in a long time that the whole family had gathered for dinner.

"Ah… home is the best after all. A relaxing space with my beloved family… I'm working to come back here… I have to catch that idiot as soon as possible."

"Honey, hasn't Sirius Black been found yet?"

"That's right. It's still unclear how he escaped from Azkaban. His wand had been disposed of and there were no traces of any magic being used. Leo, what do you think about this?"

"Well… I can't say anything without actually seeing the scene. Besides, it's been a long time since we've all had dinner together, so let's not think about troublesome things."

Today's dinner was more extravagant than necessary because Feriss was excited to make it. It was as if they were going to have a party.

"By the way, Leo, how is Hermie-chan doing? She hasn't come to play for a while."

"Hermione is on a family trip to France. She sends me owl mail almost every day. We're exchanging various thoughts about travel and magic. She'll be back on the last day of summer vacation, so we're planning to go shopping in Diagon Alley."

"Oh, I see. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing how she's changed."

August 31, 1993. The last day of summer vacation. When Leo met Hermione Granger in Diagon Alley for the first time in a long time, she had transformed. Anyone who knew her would pinch their cheeks in disbelief. Her bushy hair had become straight, and her buck teeth had been corrected and were now normal. Just that alone dramatically changed Hermione Granger. She had transformed into an attractive girl who would turn around eight out of ten boys.

"It's been a while, Leo! Um… what do you think? I tried messing with my hair a bit… Is it weird?"

"No, honestly I was surprised. Just changing your hair can change your impression. Yeah, it's beautiful. I didn't think it was strange before, but maybe this is better now. Did you use a magic potion for your hair?"

Hermione replied with her face turning red at being called beautiful straight out. Her parents watched her reaction with grins on their faces.

"Oh, thank you… This hair is using Sleek-Eazy's straightening potion. But it's quite troublesome so it's a bit too much to do every day."

"In that case, should I concoct a magic potion? If you use it once, you can change your hairstyle as you like and it will be done in one go, and you can also return to your original hairstyle."

"Really? For me?"

"You can think of it as an early birthday present. I'll also give you another present on your birthday. Now let's get today's shopping done quickly."

The parents walking behind the two who started walking talk while watching their situation.

"Wow, she has become so beautiful. I'm a little jealous of Leo."

"Honey, we have something to talk about later. But aside from that, Hermie-chan is amazing! And Leo saying she's beautiful straight out is already one step forward!"

"I might be a doting parent but I think my daughter is beautiful. I'm starting to not want to give her away…"

"Please give up. She is the one who will do that until Hermie does that. This year we're going to attack aggressively and drop her!"

It was certain that their parents were the most excited about their relationship.

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I, Ronald Weasley, felt good.

No, not just me. The whole family is happy. This summer vacation we won the Galleon lottery and were able to go on a family trip to Egypt, and today we even got a new wand bought for us. We also got an unusually large amount of pocket money and are now eating triple-decker ice cream at Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor in Diagon Alley.

Next to me my best friend Harry Potter is also eating ice cream when he seems to notice something.

"Hey, isn't that Taylor? Shopping for the new term?"

Hearing his name makes me feel complicated.

He's good at magic, he's good at studying, and he's strong. But he's a nasty guy who doesn't think about us. I hate him to the core because of Hagrid.

But it's also true that he helped Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets incident. I don't know how to deal with him. I'm sure Harry feels the same way.

Looking at Harry, his mouth is wide open and he's frozen. His ice cream is melting and spilling onto his hand, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"What's the matter, Harry? Did Snape dance a tap dance with a smile on his face?"

"Ron... That..."

Harry points in Taylor's direction and freezes again. I look in that direction too.

The moment I saw that sight, a shock ran through my head as if I had been cursed.

Walking next to Taylor was a girl who was cuter than anyone I had ever seen.

I fell in love for the first time in my life. Is this what they call love at first sight?

At the same time, I felt a competitive spirit towards that guy Taylor.

He's good at magic and on top of that, he has such a cute girlfriend!

No, no, wait, wait, Ronald Bilius Weasley. Calm down.

It's not decided yet that she is his girlfriend. He's not necessarily handsome, and I'm taller than him! ...Alright!

"Wow, what a huge change... Wait, Ron!?"

Ignoring Harry's voice, he approaches the girl. For now, he decides to strike up a conversation since she's an acquaintance of Taylor.

"Hey, long time no see, Taylor. Are you... well?"

"Yes, hello Weasley. I'm fine."

"Oh, if it isn't Ron. Long time no see, are you shopping for the new term?"

Huh? This voice?

"He, Hermione...? eh, Why?"

"That's right, but perhaps you didn't recognize me because of this hair? It's certainly a big difference from my previous bushy hair, how rude! Could it be that you only recognize women by their hair? Let's go, Leo!"

"Don't get so angry. That just shows how much you've changed. Weasley, see you again at Hogwarts."

The two leave. Huh? That cute girl was Hermione? The bushy hair? The buck teeth? What?

Anyone can tell that Hermione likes Taylor. The only one who doesn't realize it is probably Taylor.

So that means? My first love is? Huh? What?

He feels a tap on his shoulder. It was Harry. His best friend's face was full of sympathy.

He falls to his knees. My first love ended in less than five minutes.

"Merlin's beard!! Damn it, I knew I hated you, Taylor!"

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Leo and Hermione are at a magical animal pet shop. They've already finished shopping for textbooks and other items, and finally, Hermione seems to want a pet and is looking around.

"Leo, what do you think would be good?"

"Hmm... Sorry, I don't think I'd be much help with that. Maybe you should just follow your intuition."

"Intuition, huh..."

She looks around the shop. Among them, she locks eyes with a cat. It was an impactful cat with a red-haired giant body, bow-legged, and a crushed-looking face. Still, her intuition told Hermione that this was the cat.

"Excuse me. I'll take this one, please."

The shopkeeper was astounded when he saw the cat Hermione pointed at.

"Young lady, this... I mean, are you really hoping for this one that's not very cute and has been unsold for years? We have plenty of cuter cats that would suit you better."

"It's fine. I've decided on this one."

"Well, if you say so. But don't come crying to me later asking to change it to another cat."

Hermione leaves the pet shop holding the cat she named Crookshanks. With that, shopping is over.

"Hermione. This one has magical power in its body. It probably has some Kneazle blood or something. I think it's a good pet."

"Really!? When I saw this one, I felt a jolt. If it's a Kneazle, does that mean it's smart?

Nice to meet you, Crookshanks."

The last day of summer vacation is over, and from tomorrow, the days at Hogwarts will start again.

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Sirius escaped from prison. If Leo had become interested, it would have ended immediately.

Hermione transformed! In the original work, it was during the dance party, but the timing has become much earlier.

Ron's heartbreak. And his attitude towards Leo returns to normal. Well, it might have gotten worse.

He's likely to fail trying to show off to Hermione by picking a fight with Leo.

Crookshanks appears. He hardly has any decent appearances except for the Prisoner of Azkaban so hang in there!

So, stay tuned for the next chapter.

The title has been changed!