On a night when the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, a lively family dinner was taking place in the Leaky Cauldron pub. The pub was a cozy and warm place, with wooden tables and chairs, a fireplace, and various magical objects hanging on the walls. Apart from Charlie and Bill, who were working abroad, the entire Weasley family was present. They occupied a large table near the window, where they could see the bustling Diagon Alley outside.
In addition to the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Bryan were also special guests of the family dinner. They had been invited by Mrs. Weasley, who wanted to express her gratitude to them for saving her two youngest children from the Chamber of Secrets. Even the pub owner Tom, who usually kept a low profile, was pulled by Mrs. Weasley, whose cheeks were flushed from drinking, to sit on a chair and drink two glasses of mead with them.
"I don't know how to thank you, dear!"
Mrs. Weasley clutched Bryan's sleeve and said, this was the fifth time she said this to Bryan tonight, "I can't imagine what would have happened if Ginny and Ron really…oh, it's too horrible!"
She shuddered at the thought of her children being killed by the Basilisk that had been unleashed from that chamber. She hugged Bryan tightly, as if he was her own son.
"We were going to Hogwarts personally to thank you, Bryan–"
Mr. Weasley wiped the sweat beads on his slightly bald forehead and said with a smile. He was wearing a mismatched suit that he had borrowed from a Muggle friend for the occasion. He had been very nervous lately because of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban prison. He worked at the Ministry of Magic's Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, and he had been busy dealing with the aftermath of Black's breakout. Therefore, he rarely encountered a happy thing. Tonight, he indulged himself a little and drank a lot of rum with his old friend Tom.
"That thing back then." Mr. Weasley burped and said, "I mean when you and Bill and Charlie were at Hogwarts, after that terrible incident that night, Molly and I wanted to go to Hogwarts to thank you in person, but Snape told us you needed to be locked up for rest of the term and wouldn't let us see you for half a year. He said you had been exposed to some dark magic that could affect your mind. After you got Ginny and Ron out of the Chamber of Secrets, we planned to visit again. I wrote to Dumbledore to ask if it was appropriate, but he told us you had left school and your whereabouts were a mystery!"
He looked at Bryan with curiosity and admiration. Sitting opposite Bryan, Fred and George, the two brothers looked at their dizzy parents and snickered nonstop. The other little ones also had roughly the same reaction. Only the biggest child of the Weasley family in here, Percy frowned and looked unhappy.
"Oh, Dad and Mum!"
Percy straightened his chest with the badge of the Head Boy on it, so that the badge would be more dazzling in the candlelight, and complained in a serious tone.
"We are all very happy to see Professor Watson again, Dad and Mum, but you are being a bit rude!"
"It's okay, Percy–"
Bryan leaned on Mrs. Weasley, who was dizzy but still smiling warmly at him, and smiled at Percy.
"This is not school, we don't have to be too rigid. Ah, by the way, I haven't had time to congratulate you on becoming the Head Boy. Dumbledore made a wise choice, didn't he? I think you deserve it, just like your brother Bill–"
Percy blushed and didn't know how to answer, so he could only use a 'fierce' look at the twins who were making vomiting gestures on the side.
The family atmosphere of the Weasley family was indeed very good. Influenced by this atmosphere, Bryan was also in a good mood. He talked with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley about his classmates who had graduated.
Among these people, quite a few of them had faded away from the crowd. Some of them even had closer ties with the Muggle world, such as Francis Riley, who had become a slightly famous painter, and Bridget Bacon, who had joined a rock band. There were only a few outstanding ones, such as Nymphadora Tonks, who had joined the Ministry of Magic as an Auror.
"Oh, I know that girl. She's very passionate and very popular in the Auror office–"
Mr. Weasley picked up his glass and clinked with Bryan again.
"Speaking of which, Rufus and his men have been unlucky lately. They ran into a hard nut to crack. They stayed in St Mungo's for more than half a month before they came to their senses. They were ready to make some achievements in front of Fudge and old Barty, but they ran into Black–"
Cough–
Bryan coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the topic.
"Speaking of which, I heard that Bill graduated and went to Egypt's Gringotts as a curse breaker. How is he doing lately?"
"Oh, speaking of this!" Mrs. Weasley, who had been smiling all night long suddenly became angry.
"Bill and his colleagues were entangled by those damn goblins from Gringotts!"
She slammed her fist on the table, making the plates and glasses rattle.
"Goblins from Gringotts?"
Bryan blinked his eyes in surprise and asked, "Isn't he working for Gringotts?"
He had a hard time believing that Bill, who was one of the most talented and responsible wizard he had ever seen, would be involved in a shady business.
"This thing has something to do with Rufus and those dark wizards they encountered."
Mr. Weasley shook his head with a bitter smile. He looked very tired and worried, as if he had aged a lot in the past few months.
"Two months ago, Rufus and his men intercepted a group of dark wizards who smuggled relics. The things they had were exactly what Bill and his colleagues dug out. The group of dark wizards attacked Bill and his colleagues as soon as they handed over the things to Gringotts. This thing was too suspicious. The goblins thought there must be traitors among Bill and his colleagues so they asked the Egyptian Ministry of Magic to lock them all up for interrogation."
He explained the situation in a low voice, as if he was afraid of being overheard by someone. Bryan pursed his lips and lowered his head suddenly interested in the glass in front of him.
"–Of course, the result of the interrogation was that Bill and his colleagues were innocent, but the goblins refused to accept this result. They demanded that all wizard employees must accept their surveillance until they find the things back. In my opinion, those greedy goblins should be more self-reflective. They are more likely to do such things!"
Mrs. Weasley, who had finally had a chance to visit her eldest son, but ran into this kind of thing, shouted angrily. She slammed her fist again on the table, making the plates and glasses rattle. She was very protective of her children, and she hated anyone who tried to harm them or accuse them falsely. She also despised the goblins for their cunning and selfishness, and she wished she could give them a piece of her mind.
"Cough cough, you're right, Mrs. Weasley. Indeed, I think this thing is more like what the goblins did!"
Bryan coughed a few times, with an innocent face, and nodded in agreement.
The lively family dinner lasted until after nine o'clock before it finally ended. Bryan, who had often accompanied customers to drink in his previous life, had a great result. He was still sober and energetic, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were carried upstairs by their three eldest sons. They were both drunk and sleepy, but they still thanked Bryan repeatedly for saving their children. Their youngest daughter Ginny, who looked more energetic than last year, ran to the boss for two glasses of honey water and then ran upstairs. She gave one glass to Bryan with a shy smile, and then followed her brothers to help her parents settle down.
Bryan held a cup of steaming tea and leaned on a pillar that supported the upper floor, looking at the three little ones who had hardly had a chance to talk to him all night long, and said with a smile,
"I noticed that you have something to say to me, right?"
He winked at them playfully, as if he could read their minds. He enjoyed teasing them and making them feel curious and nervous.
After spending a summer vacation and being tanned by two degrees, Hermione smiled shyly and then looked at Harry with concern and said,
"Harry told us some things–"
Bryan's eyes immediately pointed at Harry and his eyebrows were raised.
'This kid wouldn't be stupid enough to gossip about Watson Manor and his identity everywhere, would he?'
"Oh, it's about Black, Professor!"
Facing Professor Watson's sharp eyes, Harry suddenly realized what he had done and shivered, quickly explaining,
"I told Ron and Hermione my guess that Black escaped from prison to kill me, and also that you accepted Fudge's commission and are hunting Black down. I didn't say anything else!"
Bryan nodded in satisfaction and his eyes softened. I had been studying blood curses recently and was short of experimental materials
"You have other secrets you haven't told us!"
Ron immediately understood what was going on and glared at Harry unhappily.
Hermione was also curious about Harry's hidden secrets, but she was obviously more worried about Harry's safety.
"Professor, how are you going to deal with that Black?"
She asked with a serious tone, showing her intelligence and maturity. As soon as Hermione's question came out, something in Ron's pocket suddenly stirred. In a moment, a wilted rat popped out of his pocket. Its black eyes showed curiosity.
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