Chapter 9: Hello, Harry!

Three days later, George successfully obtained a book titled A Guide to Gesture-Based Spellcasting from a clerk at Flourish and Blotts.

Ten days after that, George stood in his yard, waving his wand and casting a spell at a locked chest:

"Alohomora!"

A blue beam of magic shot from the tip of his wand, hitting the chest precisely.

Most spells, when cast, are accompanied by colored beams of light, especially offensive or targeted spells such as unlocking charms, disarming spells, and the killing curse.

However, some spells are cast silently, with no obvious signs—like the summoning charm, the repair charm, or the levitation charm.

"Click."

A crisp sound came from the lock as the latch automatically popped open.

"Finally, success."

Seeing this, George's face lit up with a satisfied smile.

After ten days of tireless study—along with occasionally asking Tonks for advice when she dropped by for a meal—he had finally managed to successfully cast the unlocking charm.

Through these days of learning, George also realized that he wasn't exactly a magical prodigy.

The real prodigies were people like Hermione, who, despite having no prior exposure to magic and no guidance, managed to grasp several spells before even starting school, while spending most of her time studying the history and common knowledge of the magical world.

And then there were geniuses like Snape, who could invent powerful spells while still in school.

As for Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort—they couldn't even be described as mere geniuses; they were on a level of their own.

But luckily, George had his own methods.

While it appeared that he had spent ten days learning, he had actually spent twenty.

Because whenever his body here grew tired and needed rest, his other self in the Marvel world would pick up where he left off.

In learning magic, talent is most important, followed by hard work. George lacked the natural talent, so he made up for it with diligence.

His true self in the Marvel world had plenty of free time when he wasn't training at the lab, so he would practice gestures with a stick, mimicking a wand to get the right feel for casting spells.

Through relentless practice and reflection, he was able to speed up his mastery of spells.

As long as he avoided the cameras or kept his back to them, no one would notice. Even if someone did, they wouldn't understand what he was doing. In the future, once his true self gained more freedom, his magic learning would accelerate even more, since he effectively had twice the time for study and research compared to others.

In fact, even without counting his "cheat" method, mastering a spell in ten days would still be considered remarkable among wizards.

Most young wizards barely managed to learn a handful of spells in a whole year, and some struggled to master even a few.

"Next up is practicing gesture-based spellcasting continuously until I can cast spells successfully without a wand. Then, I'll move on to the next spell."

After experimenting several more times and confirming that he had completely mastered the unlocking charm, George immediately set his wand aside and began practicing according to A Guide to Gesture-Based Spellcasting.

Eight days later, through constant practice with both his true self and his duplicate, George finally managed to cast the unlocking charm without using a wand.

However, compared to casting the spell with a wand—which took only one or two seconds—using gestures alone took him seven or eight seconds. Even when he became proficient, it would still take five or six seconds.

In a duel between wizards, five or six seconds would be enough for the opponent to cast three or four attack spells with a wand.

It was no wonder this method of casting had been abandoned.

"August 21st, today is the day Gilderoy Lockhart will be signing books at Flourish and Blotts."

That morning, George was eating breakfast while glancing at the date on his magical calendar, his mind beginning to calculate and plan his next move.

George had no interest in that fraud, Lockhart, of course. What intrigued him more was the fact that today, if he remembered correctly, Harry Potter would be coming to Diagon Alley with the Weasley family to buy supplies for the new school year.

After completing his first year at Hogwarts, Harry had returned to his loathsome aunt and uncle's house for the summer. Due to interference from the house-elf Dobby, Harry's uncle locked him up, forbidding him from returning to Hogwarts. It was Ron and the Weasley brothers who had secretly flown their father's enchanted car to rescue Harry and bring him back to The Burrow.

"So, I guess I should make contact," George thought.

In the end, he decided it would be a good idea to approach Harry. Compared to Voldemort, who wouldn't be fully revived for a few more years, George figured he could gain more by aligning himself with Harry and his friends in the present.

There were many places in Hogwarts and numerous magical objects that George couldn't access on his own. However, if he stuck with Harry and his group, those barriers would disappear. For instance, sneaking into the restricted section of the Hogwarts library to browse forbidden magic books was nearly impossible for someone like him. But if he were with Harry, Dumbledore would likely turn a blind eye. The Room of Requirement was another example—being part of Harry's circle would give him access to these kinds of secrets.

So, after finishing his breakfast, George decided not to continue his usual magical research for the day. Instead, he stood by the window in the apothecary, watching the street outside.

About an hour later, he spotted a father and son, both with pale blond hair, elegantly making their way into Borgin and Burkes across the street.

"That must be the Malfoys," George mused. "Which means Harry Potter is likely already in the shop."

It wasn't hard to identify them: a father daring to bring his child into Knockturn Alley at this exact time, wearing expensive robes and exuding an aura of superiority, made it easy to guess their identities.

Sure enough, about ten minutes after the Malfoy father and son left Borgin and Burkes, a skinny boy with glasses, covered in dust, came rushing out of the shop in a panic.

"Where is this place?" Harry muttered.

He found himself in a narrow, dark alley filled with sinister shops dealing in Dark Arts. He shuddered as he glanced at the neighboring storefront, which displayed shrunken heads in a creepy window. Two doors down, a large cage filled with enormous black spiders squirmed ominously.

Turning to his right, Harry noticed two ragged-looking wizards lurking in the shadows, whispering to each other while watching him.

"I need to get out of here quickly. Hopefully, I can find my way out," Harry thought nervously.

It was his first time using Floo Powder, and something had gone wrong. Instead of landing in Diagon Alley, he had wound up in this creepy place. To make matters worse, he had unintentionally witnessed an illegal transaction between the Malfoys.

"Are you lost?"

Just as Harry was about to sneak away from the shady alleyway, a calm yet slightly youthful voice suddenly called out from behind him.

Turning around, Harry saw another boy, just as skinny as him but with a resolute expression, holding a book of magic and standing right behind him.

"This is Knockturn Alley," the boy said. "It's a gathering place for Dark wizards. It's not safe for someone like you to be here alone."

"Hi, I'm Harry," he replied quickly, sensing the boy's good intentions. "I ended up here by accident while using Floo Powder. I was trying to get to Diagon Alley."

The boy smiled upon hearing this.

"Hello, Harry. I'm George. You must've mispronounced Diagon Alley as Knockturn Alley when you used the Floo Powder," George explained. "But don't worry, they're connected. I'll take you out of here."

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