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More than half an hour later, Ian, under the mustached goblin’s guidance, returned from the underground vault to the surface. The Granger family had long since completed all their business and were now waiting for Ian at Gringotts’ front entrance, shielding themselves from the scorching sun.
To the goblins of Gringotts, when a family comes to deposit money, they treat the customer as a god. But the moment the money is deposited, they instantly become atheists.
‘Continued warm service?’ Not a chance.
Even the benches in the lobby would be taken away by the goblins the moment you’re done. That’s one of the many reasons why wizards often complain about the goblin race.
Even the wolves of Wall Street would be considered small fry compared to them.
When it comes to truly being opportunistic, you have to look at the goblins of Gringotts.
“Ian, the goblin who took us to the vault, said you went to a special area close to the Earth’s core. Does your vault, as a VIP client, look any different from the ordinary ones?” The moment Hermione saw Ian, she launched straight into her barrage of “one hundred thousand whys.”
She was like a starving kitten, greedily trying to absorb every bit of magical knowledge she could.
Before Ian could even reply, the mustachioed goblin took the lead in correcting Hermione’s wording: “The greater-than-great Mr. Prince wouldn’t be caught dead using one of our so-called ‘VIP’ vaults. His vault is one-of-a-kind, a super chamber reserved only for Gringotts’ sole partner shareholder!”
After coming out of the underground vault, the mustached goblin’s attitude toward Ian had subtly changed, perhaps because, through the vault, it had finally confirmed Ian’s identity.
Of course, even though the goblin’s attitude had shifted a little, the core of its character remained untouched. After a slight pause, it added a clarification regarding Ian’s identity:
“Of course, the greater-than-great Mr. Prince does not own Gringotts’ assets… But aside from that, he’s the most honorable figure in our entire institution!”
Its tone was firm and emotional, but all it did was make Ian feel awkward.
Where’s the “honor” in this? Why does this whole thing reek of a glorified spiritual shareholder?
“Let’s just leave already.”
Ian had no interest in enduring any more half-hearted flattery. He quickly pulled the Granger family along and made their way out of Gringotts’ grand doors.
And behind them, the mustached goblin remained deeply bowed, not straightening up until Ian and the Grangers had disappeared down the street. Only then did it slowly raise its back and wipe the sweat from its forehead.
The branding mark on its forehead had begun to dim, but the goblin’s heart remained unsettled.
“It’s him. It must be him. Only he could open that vault…”
“The third uprising we goblins have been planning for so long… looks like it’ll have to be shelved again. Who knows for how many more years.”
Its soft muttering held both disappointment and a sense of relief. There was also a deep, buried fear hidden in its words, revealing information that could shake the wizarding world like a bombshell.
But, no one, not even Ian, knew what the mustached goblin had whispered to itself.
By the time it turned around and returned to Gringotts to resume its duties, Ian had already gone far.
“Want some ice cream? I can treat you to some~” Mrs. Granger’s eyes lit up as they passed a nearby ice cream shop, clearly captivated by the unique appearance of the magical treats. Ian suspected this thirty-something young mother was just craving some herself, and had asked him and Hermione as an excuse.
“Mom! I want two!”
Hermione had no intention of being polite with her mother. In the sweltering heat, ice cream sounded perfect. Her attention was already locked onto those moving scoops of ice cream on display.
Her little brain was likely already wondering what kind of enchantments were embedded in each flavor.
“I’ll just have one… then it will be alright.”
Ian glanced at the shop, noting how few customers there were. That made him suspect the place might not taste great, after all, how could an ice cream shop have only two or three customers on such a hot day?
“Alright, wait here for me.” Mrs. Granger pulled out her wallet and headed toward the shop, while Ian, Hermione, and Mr. Granger stood on the street, observing the surrounding stores.
On both sides of the street, magical shopfronts sparkled with alluring lights, capturing the attention of every passerby. To their left, the “Potion Curiosities Boutique” had bottles of vividly colored potions slowly rotating on display shelves…
Some of the potions glowed with a faint blue light, as if hiding secrets from the deep sea; others radiated a warm golden hue, like a field of wheat under the setting sun. Each bottle was labeled with names that sparked endless imagination.
“Is there really such a thing as a dream-weaving potion?” Mr. Granger looked somewhat tempted. His expression was rather amusing, Ian suspected he was hoping to have a romantic rendezvous with his first love or some old flame in a dream.
“It’s all just hype. Nothing special, and the price is outrageous.” Ian’s response immediately quashed Mr. Granger’s interest. He felt he had just saved Miss Hermione Granger’s family happiness.
Time ticked by.
About ten minutes later, Mrs. Granger was still at the shop’s counter and seemed to be facing some difficulty. Ian quickly walked over to offer help.
However,
“Question: In what era was the world’s first automatic quill invented?”
The tall, lanky owner of the ice cream shop was unexpectedly posing a trivia question to Mrs. Granger, a Muggle woman. It was such an obscure question that even Ian didn’t know the answer.
“I don’t see what that has to do with buying ice cream, sir,” Ian replied, frowning at the shopkeeper in confusion and shaking his head.
“Of course it matters. Answering correctly gets you a two-knut discount coupon and a collectible sticker featuring a 3D image of Albus Dumbledore.”
The owner even took out the prize to show off, attempting to dazzle Ian and Mrs. Granger.
“…”
Ian was left speechless.
“Of course, if you can name some of the most iconic flying carpet designs from the 1940s, I can still give you the two-knut discount voucher~” The shopkeeper shook the utterly unattractive coupon enthusiastically.
“No thanks. We’ll just pay full price. No extra services needed.” Ian rejected the nonsense flatly, and Mrs. Granger immediately echoed him: “Yes, we don’t want the discount.”
She had likely just been too polite to reject the shopkeeper in an unfamiliar environment, assuming this was a normal part of purchasing cold treats in the wizarding world.
“Well then, that’s your loss.” The shopkeeper shrugged, set the coupon aside, and then pulled out a thick contract, handing it to Mrs. Granger under the utterly baffled gaze of Ian.
“Just like we discussed, you ordered the raspberry sundae without seed removal.
So you’ll need to sign a waiver stating that if you get a stomachache from a seed, the shop won’t be held responsible.”
This shopkeeper’s behavior was becoming more and more outrageous by the second.
Ian was beginning to understand why no one was buying from here.
The few customers present? Also clearly not normal.
“See? Boss Sheldon Cooper really thinks of everything.”
“I learn something new here every day. This is the best ice cream shop in the world.”
“Someone else who loves flying carpets just like me, I’m so touched.”
…
Yeah.
Case closed.
With a name like that, how could anyone here be normal?
The customers’ chatter left Ian completely at a loss. And just as Mrs. Granger finished signing the contract, the shopkeeper brought out an insurance policy for upselling,
completely blowing Ian’s mind.
“This is a policy that provides compensation if you choke on a seed. If– ” He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before he was cut off, by Ian drawing his wand.
“Just hurry up and give us the damn sundae!”
This was definitely the first time Ian had ever used his wand to threaten someone.
It worked. Instantly.
The shopkeeper was visibly terrified.
“Okay! Okay, no problem! Of course, sir, please, put your wand down…”
He prepared five sundaes at lightning speed and handed them over to Mrs. Granger.
After clipping the payment into his register, he raised his hands and forced a smile at Ian, as if trying to prove that he was a harmless civilian.
“You could’ve done this from the start!”
After Ian and the finally-liberated Mrs. Granger left, the shopkeeper clutched his chest and exhaled in relief, then turned toward the next customer to resume his cycle of upselling and quizzing.
Not far away,
“Cough cough~”
Mr. Granger had eaten his sundae too quickly and choked a little.
Immediately, a head popped out from the ice cream shop, yelling toward Ian and the others’ direction: “I told you that you should’ve bought the insurance!”
The guy was still serving other customers, yet somehow continued keeping an eye on Ian and the Granger family. The moment Ian looked his way, the shopkeeper immediately ducked his head back inside.
“The world is vast.
Mrs. Granger sighed sincerely with emotion.
“Not all wizards are like this, really…” Ian was about to defend the wizarding world’s reputation when he saw a wizard on the street making out with a monkey.
It was also a tongue kiss.
“…”
Ian had no idea how to salvage the image of wizardkind after that.
“That’s… an immigrant. Not a local wizard.”
It was the only excuse Ian could come up with, and honestly, in Britain, that kind of excuse could actually sound believable. After all, everyone knew Britain was slowly turning into a colony of India.
They continued down the street.
Ian also used the opportunity to purchase all the supplies he needed. When they passed by a pet shop, however, Hermione firmly declined her parents’ suggestion to get a pet.
“I can barely take care of myself right now, let alone an owl or some other pet. Maybe when I’m older, you can give me a cat.”
She clearly had a very sharp sense of self-awareness. But judging by the emotions Ian sensed from the little witch, he figured Hermione’s decision had a lot to do with her desire to spend more time studying magic.
Women influence how fast a man draws his wand.
Cute pets? They influence how fast a woman draws hers.
“See you at the start of term.” After a long half-day of shopping, Ian said goodbye to the Granger family at the Leaky Cauldron. He had stayed at the inn upstairs the previous night, an affordable place that even supported custom room enchantments.
“Thank you for your incredible patience today. You’ve been a wonderful guide.” Mrs. Granger gave Ian a warm hug before leaving with her family.
“I really need to start studying early. I must already be so far behind those kids who grew up with magic.”
Even during her goodbye, Hermione was still worrying about falling behind in her studies.
“That’s true. Some young wizards can already stun professors before school even starts. You’ve definitely got to push yourself harder.”
Ian deliberately piled on a little more pressure. He was telling the truth, of course, he just didn’t mention that he was the only young wizard in the whole school who could do that.
“I knew it! I knew it!”
Hermione’s face visibly tensed in concern. Even before she stepped out of the pub, she was already pulling out the books she had bought, clearly planning to study on the bumpy ride home.
And London’s roads?
Absolutely terrible.
“Another day of enlightening the youth.”
Ian felt he had once again earned a bit of karmic merit. He ordered a non-alcoholic butterbeer from the bar and downed it in one go, then wiped his mouth and climbed the creaky staircase to the upper floor.
“This year is definitely going to be something special!”
“Right? Can’t believe Harry Potter is finally starting school!”
“You think the Boy-Who-Lived smells better than other boys?”
…
In the pub, because Harry Potter had caused quite a stir earlier that day,
everyone was still talking about him hours later. Though… the conversation was starting to take a distinctly British gossip tone.
“Lupin-senior, look what I brought you!” Ian found Lupin, who had locked himself in his room all day, and pulled out a photo he had taken of Harry Potter.
They had run into Hagrid earlier on the street, he had been shopping with Harry.
“Didn’t think Potter’s kid would be this grown already…” Lupin’s expression was complicated as he took the photo. His trembling hands showed how shaken he was inside.
“I thought you skipped Diagon Alley today because you knew Harry would be there.” Ian looked at the down-and-out werewolf with some surprise.
“I’m not a Seer. How could I possibly know that in advance?” Lupin shrugged helplessly.
“Then you should go to Diagon Alley now, you might still run into Hagrid and Harry Potter,” Ian immediately suggested, but Lupin’s reaction was a little strange.
“We should head back soon. We don’t want to make Miss Helena and the others worry.”
As he spoke, Lupin began gathering his things and left the inn room ahead of Ian.
His retreating figure seemed somewhat hurried.
As if… he was avoiding Harry Potter.
But more than that, perhaps he was trying to avoid the beautiful memories of his own past. To return to the orphanage, they once again took the Knight Bus.
For the next month or so, Ian enjoyed a relatively peaceful and pleasant period. Though he still couldn’t return to the Twilight Zone, every time the world slipped into a dreamlike night, he could once again clearly sense the existence of that other world.
He just couldn’t cross over yet.
Ian suspected that the Black-Robed Skeleton’s “blacklist” hadn’t been fully cleared from the Twilight Zone.
“At least things are heading in the right direction. Give it a few more weeks, and I should be bouncing around the Twilight Zone again.”
That was a definite piece of good news for Ian. But even though his “qualifications” were soon to be restored, that didn’t stop him from dragging the black-robed skeleton out for stewing every time he couldn’t enter.
Big bones, boiled into soup.
Not only did it make plants grow like crazy, but feeding it to livestock had equally miraculous effects. Over the past few months, Ian had even raised a rooster over a meter long.
He packed the giant rooster into his trunk, planning to let his beloved basilisk get a taste of the wider world.
“You’re not coming to Hogwarts with us?”
On the day before term started, Ian was surprised to see Lupin hadn’t packed anything.
“I’ll be staying here long-term.” The down-and-out werewolf’s answer caught Ian off guard.
“Was this Dumbledore’s idea?” Ian made a slightly puzzled guess.
However, Lupin shook his head and denied it.
“It was my own decision after a lot of thought. I think I really do need to pause for a bit. And… truthfully, I’m a little worried about the kids here.”
Lupin looked at Ian with a rather peculiar expression.
“I’ve been watching. Every few days you come up with new ways to feed the children potions that you’ve refined yourself.”
Clearly, he had been quietly observing Ian for a while.
“They are just gust growth potions,” Ian replied, feigning helpless innocence.
But Lupin let out a cold chuckle. Of course, this wasn’t a matter of acting skill. Even if Ian had Oscar-worthy talent, Lupin still wouldn’t believe him.
This outstanding Hogwarts graduate trusted his own eyes more.
“I sensed a faint magical aura in three of the children. Are you really going to tell me that’s a coincidence?” Lupin’s look said do you think I’m that stupid?
“Of course it’s not a coincidence,” Ian didn’t even try to deny it.
He simply offered a “reasonable” explanation in a serious tone: “Three, five, maybe even more in the future, it all has a perfectly good explanation. Haven’t you heard? Our Orphanage is built on auspicious land, blessed by the spirits!”
Ian’s devout expression radiated a sincere belief in feng shui and mysticism. His tone hit just the right balance, so much so that Lupin couldn’t even find a good counterargument.
“Why are you so full of bizarre nonsense…” Lupin rolled his eyes in exasperation. Just as he was about to say more, they heard the footsteps of Miss Helena outside the door.
“You’d better talk to Dumbledore properly about that potion of yours.” The sharp-eared werewolf gave a serious reminder instead of pressing the issue.
“No problem.” This time, Ian didn’t pretend to be clueless.
“Here are the new clothes I’ve prepared for you.”
Miss Helena entered with a small pouch in hand. She was like any mother sending her child off on a journey, nagging, yes, but also deeply warmhearted.
“Don’t get into fights with your classmates at school. Be sure to respect your teachers and professors, even if they’re not the most pleasant people. When it gets cold, put on more clothes. I packed a few sweaters for you, they’re at the bottom of your trunk.
They say this year’s winter might be even colder than last year’s.”
She walked Ian all the way to the orphanage gate.
Miss Helena continued to give Ian her motherly reminders. A group of children, reluctant to part with Ian, gathered around her. Ian hugged and said goodbye to nearly every one of them.
“See you next year.”
As the children cried sadly, Ian boarded the vehicle with his suitcase.
“Don’t worry, Miss Helena. I’ll deliver him safely to the boarding teachers at the school,” said Lupin, who could apparently drive a car, something Ian hadn’t known before.
As the familiar streets gradually receded from view, Ian slowly pulled himself out of the melancholic mood and looked over at Lupin, who was nervously gripping the steering wheel, eyes darting like he wished he had sixty of them.
“Do you really have a driver’s license?” He was starting to suspect Lupin was driving recklessly.
“We once thought about building a flying car, so a friend and I both got our Muggle licenses… It’s just that I haven’t touched one of these Muggle contraptions in a long time.”
Lupin clumsily tried to change gears and accidentally shifted into reverse. The moving car suddenly made a terrifying clunk-clunk-clunk noise.
He immediately stopped and restarted the engine.
“I’m guessing a Confundus Charm played no small part in getting that license, huh?” Ian nearly wanted to yank Lupin out of the seat and drive himself. If not for the need to fool his caretakers, he’d have taken the Knight Bus for sure.
“What are you talking about? Who would use a Confundus Charm for something like that?” Lupin’s reply sounded suspiciously guilty. He fiddled with the controls a bit longer before finally getting the car back on the road.
After nearly a dozen near-crashes, over twenty emergency brakes, and more than thirty instinctive sharp turns, the miraculously still-alive young wizard was finally delivered to King’s Cross Station in one piece.
One of the most ancient train stations in Europe, and still the largest in London, it looked rather aged and had hardly any signs of modern technology.
“Did you pack… anything heavy?”
Lupin noticed that when Ian got out of the car, the entire vehicle seemed to sag in relief and gave a little wobble. He looked, surprised, at Ian, who had already pulled two suitcases from the trunk. Even when Ian lifted the cases, the old car hadn’t shaken that much.
“Just some scrap metal… They’re too heavy. My weight-reduction charm is working at its limit,” Ian explained sheepishly, though it didn’t do much to dispel Lupin’s growing curiosity.
However, before Lupin could press further, Ian was already dragging his two suitcases toward the train station entrance. The werewolf had no choice but to swallow his questions and restart the car.
Of course, with no more prying young wizard watching him, Lupin quietly cast a spell on the old car. Without even turning the engine back on, the vehicle surged forward with the illusion of mechanical operation.
Faster than a sports car.
“Security check over here!”
Perhaps due to a recent, world-shocking terrorist attack, even the train station had increased security measures for passengers.
Ian wasn’t concerned at all.
The entire station had already been enchanted by the Ministry of Magic with a massive Confundus Charm. Muggles would automatically ignore anything magical, including the baggage check staff.
However,
A little mishap still occurred.
“Hmm?”
During the security weigh-in, the staff noticed a bizarre weight discrepancy, who knew why that was even a thing. Maybe it was just cheap to implement, and the government loved performative bureaucracy.
“Kid, you weigh 160 kilos!?”
The staff member looked incredulously at the skinny Ian.
The exclamation made Ian feel extremely awkward.
“If I said I have really dense bones… would you believe me?”
Ian tried to offer an excuse for his abnormal weight. He had fully prepared to be questioned further, but to his surprise, the staffer just blinked, then nodded in realization.
“Ohhh, dense bones, that makes sense now.”
The guard’s sudden understanding didn’t even seem faked, nor did it feel like the result of a Confundus Charm.
“Alright, little guy, off you go.”
He waved Ian through without any further questions.
The little wizard, who kept looking back every few steps, strongly suspected that the security officer was just pretending to understand what he didn’t.
“Too bad I don’t have any proof!”
Ian made his way through the sparsely crowded station and approached Platform 9. However, he didn’t head in immediately. Instead, he waited near the entrance.
If he weren’t escorting a child, he would’ve already been practicing Apparition by now.
Honestly, taking Hermione to school felt unnecessary to Ian. Kids needed to learn how to handle things themselves. But the “red envelope” Mr. Granger had given him was just too thick.
Which made Ian reluctantly accept, once again proving the universal law of “at first you say no, but eventually you say yes.”
“They should still be about ten minutes.”
Glancing at the clock hanging in the station, Ian, finding himself idle, began wandering between the different platforms.
“That guy’s definitely a doctor.”
“Walking with such sass, must be from southern England.”
“Huh? A group of little wizards? Oh, on closer look, they’re just cosplayers.”
While observing the passersby, Ian also took note of the destinations listed at each platform.
Platform 9 led to Aberdeen, Scotland. Platform 10 was bound for Glasgow, Scotland. Based on this arrangement, one could reasonably guess that Hogwarts was located somewhere in the north of the British Isles, probably in the central Scottish highlands, in some desolate, uninhabited area.
Over 600 kilometers away.
The train would run from morning until night.
“Hogwarts Express? More like Hogwarts Slow-press…”
Just as Ian was voicing his sincere disdain for the train’s misleading name,
“Grandmother, I think I lost my toad again!”
A panicked voice rang out as an elderly woman and a timid boy entered Ian’s line of sight. The older woman looked formidable, while the boy seemed rather shy and unsure of himself. Both were wearing wizard robes, looking out of place amid the mundane crowd, yet no one seemed to find their attire strange at all.
“Ribbit~”
Ian spotted a toad at his feet.
“If I’m not mistaken, the toad you’re looking for is right here.” He picked up the toad and waved at the old lady and the clearly destined-to-be Gryffindor sword saint.
“Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Trevor, how did you end up over there?!” The somewhat slow-witted boy excitedly hugged his pet and immediately thanked Ian.
“No need to thank me,” Ian replied with a smile.
“Are you a new student at Hogwarts too?” Neville, who was about the same height as Ian, grew curious when he saw Ian’s luggage and asked without hesitation.
“…”
Ian suddenly understood the average Gryffindor emotional intelligence level.
Thankfully, the old lady, Mrs. Longbottom, recognized him.
“Oh heavens, Neville, look who we’ve run into, it’s Ian Prince! He’s your senior!” Mrs. Longbottom had clearly heard about Ian and likely seen his photo before.
She looked at Ian before her with great surprise and admiration.
“This is the role model you need to learn from! If you had even one-tenth of Mr. Prince’s courage, I wouldn’t be nearly as worried about your future.” Her voice carried a tone of exasperated affection, clearly indicating how highly she thought of Ian.
“You flatter me,” Ian said humbly at once.
“I think your grandson isn’t lacking in courage, just in encouragement.”
He even spoke up on Neville’s behalf, immediately earning a boatload of goodwill from him.
“Everyone says you’re going to be the next Dumbledore. I think they’re definitely right.”
That was probably the highest praise Neville could come up with.
“I’m just speaking the truth,” Ian laughed.
And in fact, he was.
The innocent little boy and his grandmother had no idea that the “courage” Ian spoke of referred only to the fact that Neville actually dared to speak to him like a normal person.
That alone already made him braver than 99% of Slytherin students.
“Would you like to enter the platform with us?” Mrs. Longbottom clearly wanted her grandson to get closer to Ian.
However, Ian checked the time and politely shook his head.
“Sorry, I’m still waiting for a friend.”
Ian’s refusal was polite, so Mrs. Longbottom only nodded regretfully and didn’t press further. She led Neville toward Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
“Look at him then look at you.”
Along the way, Mrs. Longbottom continued her mental PUA of Neville, a clearly disparaging style of education. It was hard to say whether Neville’s personality was directly shaped by this grandma who pinned all her hopes on her grandson.
“Oof-!”
With his head down, Neville took the scolding in silence and didn’t notice the path ahead. He pushed his trolley right into the corner of a wall, making intimate contact between his forehead and the cart.
Even from a distance, Ian could see a lump swelling on Neville’s head.
“As expected of the future Gryffindor Sword Saint! Training his body through all kinds of physical trauma from a young age!”
Ian genuinely didn’t know how to react to Neville’s clumsiness and misfortunes, so he simply went all in on exaggerated praise.
After another long wait…
Ian finally saw his “escort targets” arrive. He was a bit surprised to see Hermione entering the station alone, without any parents. Apparently, she had even bumped into Harry Potter along the way.
“You two… did you lose your parents or something?”
Little wizards always had a way of ruining a warm greeting with sheer bluntness. Hermione had been waving excitedly at Ian just moments ago, but his words instantly wiped the smile off her face.
“I just had my mom and dad drop me off at the station entrance and told them to head home!”
Hermione, looking a bit huffy, pushed her trolley over to Ian.
“H-Hello, Mr. Prince.” Harry also nervously greeted Ian.
Very politely.
Extremely politely.
He even bowed a little, like a true craftsman.
“Good morning, Mr. Potter. Just call me Ian, then it’ll be alright. You have lovely eyes… I think I have a relative who would be very happy to see you at school.”
Ian returned the greeting with a smile to the young boy.
“Huh?”
Harry looked overwhelmed, unsure how to respond.
“I ran into Harry at the station entrance, so I figured he could come with us to school. You wouldn’t believe how unreasonable his relatives are!” Hermione pulled out a fat red envelope and handed it to Ian, looking genuinely upset on Harry’s behalf.
“Mr. Granger is too generous. This is a lot more than what we agreed on.”
Just from weighing it, Ian could accurately estimate the amount of pounds inside.
This skill came from his high-level alchemy training.
“So, could you help me push this ridiculously heavy cart?”
Hermione was clearly struggling with her trolley and tried to enlist help from Ian, who only had two small suitcases.
“Hermione, you need to learn self-reliance.” Ian showed no intention of lending a hand.
“But my dad gave you so much money!”
Hermione looked visibly frustrated. She stared at the thick red envelope in Ian’s hand with envy, she had never received such a big one in her entire life.
“Mr. Granger simply wants me to make sure you’re not bullied by other students at Hogwarts, that’s all.”
Ian shrugged, giving a response that left Hermione feeling even more helpless.
“But he didn’t say you had to help me, or that you wouldn’t bully me either, right? Ugh! I told my dad he should’ve gone and gotten a law degree, but he never listens!”
She truly was a clever little witch.
Ian nodded with satisfaction.
A promising student indeed.
But then…
There was an even more astonishing child.
Ian swore he hadn’t even looked directly at Harry Potter yet.
And yet,
“You mean… you can pay for protection?”
Harry Potter suddenly pulled up his shirt and took out a heavy pouch of coins, handing it to Ian with hopeful eyes.
His practiced motion was so skilled, it was heartbreaking.
“Wait, there’s such a thing!?”
Ian hesitated for a moment, then cautiously reached for the pouch.
In return, he saw Harry visibly relax with a deep sigh of relief. In this cold magical world, he had finally found something that felt… familiar.
And this time, he was no longer the boy with an empty pocket.
“This is amazing!”
Harry Potter.
The Boy-Who-Lived chosen by Voldemort.
At this very moment…
Seemed to be walking down a very… strange path.
(End of Chapter)
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