Malfoy was wandering around Diagonal Alley while Lucius was busy placing orders at the Quidditch boutique.
When Lucius saw the large amount of gold gallons Malfoy had, he was surprised and said, "Great job, boy. The perfect buyouts will make all Slytherin students grateful to you."
As for why he didn't follow him, wasn't Malfoy just a clerk a few days ago?
Malfoy decided to spend his time at the Broken Cauldron bar, ordering a drink that suited his taste and sipping it slowly.
However, the loud voices of some people around him made him a little uncomfortable.
They were excitedly shouting and from time to time, slapping the table with their hands, as if they were playing cards and gambling.
He estimated that it was almost time to meet, so he left a few silver on the greasy wine table and got up to leave the Broken Cauldron bar.
He walked to the agreed Lizhen Bookstore.
When he was still a distance away from the bookstore, he saw a crowd of people crowded outside, trying to get in.
A large banner was hanging above the store: "Gilderoy Lockhart will be signing copies of his autobiography from 12:30 to 4:30 this afternoon."
The crowd consisted not only of students, but also many middle-aged women.
As he approached, there were more and more people around, and most of the women's faces shone with excitement.
Lockhart was sitting behind a table, surrounded by large photos of himself. In the photos, he was flashing his white teeth to the crowd.
The actual Lockhart was wearing a blue robe, like a forget-me-not flower, which matched his blue eyes.
His pointed wizard hat was playfully crooked on his curly hair.
A short man was taking pictures of him. It was obvious that Lockhart had a legendary experience and charming appearance.
He was the darling of various magazines and newspapers.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. They heard Lockhart jump from his seat in surprise, shouting, "Isn't this Harry Potter?"
The crowd immediately made way for Lockhart. He rushed up and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him to the front.
Applause broke out, and the man taking the pictures pressed the shutter even more frantically, as if the more photos he took, the higher his salary would be.
Then Lockhart gave Harry a set of his writings and took the opportunity to announce that he would be teaching the Black Magic Defense class at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
More enthusiastic applause and screams came from the crowd, mostly from women.
They all looked at Lockhart with admiration, whether they were young girls or middle-aged women.
He was handsome and had a lot of legendary talents and experiences.
Now he would also be adding a teacher halo as a teacher in Hogwarts.
"The brain powder of any world is really unreasonable," Malfoy just shook his head and didn't intend to expose Lockhart as a fraud.
He wasn't that busy. He silently squeezed into the crowd and bought an autobiography called "Adventure" rather than a textbook. He then withdrew from the crowd.
Suddenly he heard a fierce quarrel near the wall. He hurried over and saw that a bookshelf had fallen.
Lucius was fighting with another man with fiery red hair while mocking each other's living expenses for the next month.
They were both buying books while mocking each other's character.
"For my leisurely academy life, your father's plan should be lost," he sighed to himself and then walked to Lucius.
"Draco, come quickly. Stay away from them. I feel a shame like the air they breathe." Lucius saw Malfoy walking towards him and shouted in a hurry.
He had apparently just been in a fight with the other party, and his neatly combed platinum-colored hair was already messy.
One of his eyes was swollen and it looked like he had been hit with a book.
As for his opponent, Arthur was not much better off. His lips were broken.
Malfoy approached his father slowly and said, "My father, don't you always teach me to be graceful at all times? Even if some people are really intolerable, we should just ignore them, right?"
"Draco, you know that some barbarians' blood is full of reckless factors. If you ignore them, they will come to you on their own," Lucius said viciously.
"Father, did you buy this book for me? It's too broken. Could it be an old wizard's experience?" Malfoy exclaimed as he took a dilapidated book from Lucius.
The title on the cover was coming off: "The Beginner's Guide to Deformation."
"We don't use old stuff like some family members. This book is actually the textbook for the little girl opposite you. You should return it to them, otherwise they may not have enough money for living expenses next month. Maybe the Muggle couple next to them can borrow a few of them," Lucius added, sarcastically blaming the Weasleys.
"You say that again!" Arthur stretched out his neck and turned red.
Lucius turned his head to one side, closed his mouth, and stopped talking.
Both sides were stunned with anger.
No one noticed Malfoy secretly pulling a small notebook out of the book. "Okay, you're done. You should be able to spend it safely this year," he thought to himself before handing the book to Ginny.
Fred chuckled, "Treasure it well. I think this book could become the Weasley family heirloom."
When Ginny took the book, she glared fiercely at Malfoy with her bright brown eyes, expressing her anger at the behavior of their fathers and sons.
"Girl, I'm helping you," Malfoy said, looking innocently at Ginny.
"Let me see, oh my god, what's going on here?" Lockhart was also drawn over.
Seeing the messy ground, his mouth was wide open, apparently stunned by the chaotic scene. "Oh, Lucius, what's the matter with you? Your eyes?" Lucius said nothing and ignored him, but simply picked up his snake-shaped cane in silence.
Soon, his eyes stopped on Harry again: "Potter, we are too destined. Less than five minutes before the last meeting?"
"Your hype skills and skin thickness are really amazing," Malfoy said, trying not to laugh out loud.
"Well, I think you must have misunderstood during this period," Lockhart said, trying to persuade the two sides to resolve the dispute.
As a wizard who actually has no ability but still manages to mix in the wizarding world, he has a strong ability to speak and observe.
The tense atmosphere made it easy for him to guess what was happening, and he hoped to persuade the dispute so that he could make tomorrow's headlines again.
For example, "Lockhart teaches you how to resolve disputes," "Lockhart teaches you how to resolve conflicts," or "Interpersonal relationships? No! What you need is Lockhart's personality charm!"
However, both sides did not accept his offer of help and remained silent.
Lockhart did not seem embarrassed. He laughed a few times and then quickly asked the clerk to organize the bookshelf.
He slowly passed through Lucius and Malfoy, blessing them as if nothing had happened, and returned to his own seat, continuing to attract the girls and women who were fascinated by him.
Suddenly, it was dark around them. It wasn't actually dark, it was just Hagrid coming.
His huge body almost blocked all the light, and then his loud voice overwhelmed all the other voices: "Spead out, gentlemen, spread--"
He came by strides.
"You shouldn't care about him, Arthur," Hagrid said as he reached out to smooth out Mr. Weasley's robe and almost lifted him up.
"This guy is terrible, and his children are more sinister than him." He hit Harry with his thick arms. "Is that right, Harry?" Harry nodded, and Ron nodded his head immediately and heavily, obviously agreeing with this statement.
"Draco, let's go," Lucius said to Malfoy, then limped out of the door with a cane, as if his foot was sprained. It's normal for the middle class (or higher?) to be better off than a proletariat with an embarrassing life, isn't it?
"Okay, Father," Malfoy replied, reaching out towards the bookshelf behind him, but finding nothing there.
Malfoy's face suddenly changed. "What's the situation?" he thought to himself.
It was impossible for Malfoy to keep the notebook in his hand just now, and Lucius would probably see it.
Others would be surprised, so Malfoy simply put it on the back shelf. Now, he turned back and found that the diary had disappeared.
"It's not a wise man's wisdom experience. Whoever stole it back may end up dead," he thought, feeling some headaches.
"It seems that no year can be calm." Malfoy couldn't help thinking.
The plot was once again out of his grasp. The first time was a monster. He spared Hermione from the scourge and turned himself and Chinese girl into a "victim."
This time, the diary that should have been obtained by Ginny disappeared again.
Malfoy didn't know what would happen in the end.
He originally thought that this year might be able to be stabilized by his own foresight, but he had ignited the fuse in a more difficult direction.
"For the sake of insurance, you have to pay a price."
Even on the crowded street, he immediately pulled out a piece of paper from his body. It was the last yellowed paper covered with twisted writing, and then he added another entry in a circle. It seemed to be ready to start a certain plan again.
"I really hope I never have to use this backhand," he thought, his face showing a helpless smile.
"But at that time, I wouldn't hesitate." After the helpless smile, his expression became firm and resolute.
In the bookstore, Hermione stared dullly at the book in front of her, not even reading a single word.
She was stunned by the scene just now. The seemingly elegant man was Malfoy's father, but his words were so unbearable.
For the first time, she truly felt the malicious words of pure-blooded wizards towards "Muggles" sting her heart madly.
She wanted to say hello to Malfoy and ask him what the spells and reminders written on the note were, and about the Academy Cup, but she couldn't speak a single word.
In front of him and the school he seemed to be two different people, making Hermione feel an indescribable sense of alienation and strangeness.
"Which side is he on?" She couldn't help but ask herself, but she found that she was even more confused and couldn't get any answer.
"We should go," the Grangers said to Hermione as they prepared to return to the Muggle street on the other side of the city.
They didn't have flying powder, so they had to leave early.
After saying goodbye to the Weasleys, the Grangers left the bookstore.
"I'm still curious about the bus station," said Mr. Granger.
"You need to take care of yourself first!" Mrs. Weasley said as she wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I thought wizards were as friendly as the Weasleys, but that doesn't seem to be the case," Mr. Granger said as they walked down the street.
"Look at that platinum-haired man. He was really unpleasant."
Hermione nodded in agreement, still in shock.