Chapter 157: Scabbers

Soon, the shop owner returned to Arthur with two exquisite walnut boxes.

"Mr. Gaunt, these are your Firebolts. They have been modified according to your requirements. Take a look," the owner said, handing the boxes to Arthur.

Arthur took the boxes and opened one of them, revealing a red and gold Firebolt in front of everyone.

At the tail of the broom, there was a swan carving, and next to it was the name "Cho."

"This one is yours, Cho."

Arthur handed the box to Cho, who took it with joy and admired every detail of the Firebolt.

This time, the young witch did not refuse Arthur's kindness. She already belonged to Arthur, so there was no point in declining.

Arthur opened the other box, which contained a Firebolt with the same color scheme but a different carving on the tail.

Arthur's Firebolt was engraved with a soaring phoenix with its wings spread next to his family crest.

Arthur gave a satisfied nod and put the box away. He whispered to Cho.

"Let's go. Look at the way people are staring at us."

Cho looked around and saw many people staring at the Firebolt in her hand with intense gazes. She felt a bit scared.

The group quickly left the shop and checked the time. It was lunchtime, so they headed to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

Sitting under the canopy, everyone ordered a cold drink. Harry looked eagerly at Arthur and spoke in a very flattering tone.

"Arthur, can I touch it? Just once!"

Hermione and Cho cautiously looked at Harry, and Arthur even kicked him.

"Get lost! Stay away from me!"

Harry quickly realized and hurriedly explained, "I meant the Firebolt, let me touch the Firebolt."

Arthur handed him the box of the Firebolt, and Harry excitedly took it, but then he looked confused and asked, "How did you manage to stop the national team's orders and make yours first?"

In the past few days, Harry had often come to look at the Firebolt and knew that it was handcrafted, with a very limited production, almost only reserved for the national team.

Arthur shrugged, "The owner of their company and I have some business cooperation, so they specially made two for me."

In fact, it was a coincidence. Alia and the others had acquired this shop as a piece of property.

When Arthur found out, he had them customize two Firebolts for him.

The other party wanted to build a good relationship since the landlord spoke, so they completed them in a few days for Arthur.

Harry was taken aback.

He didn't expect to have a connection, but it made sense since Arthur was already a famous alchemist in the world, and it was normal for him to have business dealings with others.

Afterwards, the group chatted about their summer vacation. When Harry mentioned it, he became extremely excited.

This summer might be the happiest he had ever had in his life.

No more trouble from the Dursley family, no restrictions on underage wizards using magic outside of school.

Harry could wake up slowly, read the newspaper, and then go to Diagon Alley to eat dessert and look at the Firebolts at the Flying Broomstick shop.

When he returned home, the house-elf would kindly prepare lunch, and in the afternoon, he could practice some spells.

Except for not having friends by his side, it was even better than his life at Hogwarts.

"But recently, I encountered Fudge. He's acting strangely and told me not to go out casually."

Harry remembered Fudge's strange behavior and was puzzled.

The fact that Fudge didn't even care when he inflated his aunt made it even stranger.

Arthur certainly knew the reason, but he didn't plan to tell Harry just yet.

This information wouldn't serve any purpose other than to make Harry angry and lose his composure.

After capturing Peter Pettigrew, they could tell him the truth directly.

Meanwhile, Hermione focused on the incident where Harry inflated his aunt, criticizing him in a serious tone.

"Do you know that this seriously violates the Ministry of Magic's regulations? Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't been expelled."

Hermione's behavior reminded Arthur of the nickname other students gave her, "Mini-McGonagall."

At this moment, Hermione really felt like Professor McGonagall, scolding Harry so much that he couldn't even lift his head.

"Haha!"

Arthur couldn't help but laugh out loud, attracting strange looks from Cho and the others.

"It's alright, it's alright. You continue attacking Harry, what he did was outrageous!"

Under Harry's angry gaze, Arthur sold him out once again, turning his head and whispering something into Cho's ear.

After listening, Cho gave a strange look to Hermione and buried her head in Arthur's embrace, making muffled noises.

Sharp-witted Hermione couldn't help but know what Arthur said to her and angrily slapped him.

"Arthur!"

A shout came from a distance. Arthur didn't need to turn around to know it was George or Fred.

Sure enough, in a moment, two pairs of hands rested on Arthur's shoulders.

"Ah, someone has become an alchemy master and no longer recognizes his old friends."

Fred spoke in an exaggerated tone, while George sighed in agreement.

Arthur brushed off their hands without paying attention to their antics.

The two of them weren't offended and sat down cheerfully. Ron and Ginny, who had come along, also joined them.

After not seeing each other for the entire vacation, the Weasley family had all gotten darker.

Ginny felt shy and didn't dare to look at Harry across from her.

Ron couldn't wait and asked, "Harry, did you really inflate your aunt? That's just too cool!"

Harry's face darkened. This incident was becoming a black mark in his history.

"Ah!"

Hermione screamed, and it turned out that Crookshanks had escaped from her hug and was heading straight for the Scabbers in Ron's pocket.

Ron was also startled and almost fell to the ground. Scabbers hastily jumped out of Ron's pocket in panic.

But Arthur, with quick reflexes, grabbed Scabbers and lifted him up.

Scabbers trembled in Arthur's grip, but Arthur didn't make any moves. Instead, he simply threw the rat back to Ron.

"Ron, keep an eye on him, and don't let him run wild."

Arthur said it with a meaningful tone. However, nobody noticed that he had secretly taken a small piece of fur from Scabbers in his hand.

...

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