Chapter 7 - 8

As making new robes would take a while, Mrs Weasley permitted Evan and Ginny to purchase the remaining items on the school's list and rendezvous at Leigh Trace Bookshop.

Evan managed most of the shopping, while Ginny had a lot of things left by her brother Percy, who had recently obtained 12 O.W.L.S certificates and now served as Head of Year.

Evan managed most of the shopping, while Ginny had a lot of things left by her brother Percy, who had recently obtained 12 O.W.L.S certificates and now served as Head of Year. Evan managed most of the shopping, while Ginny had a lot of things left by her brother Percy, who had recently obtained 12 O.W.L.S certificates and now served as Head of Year. Mrs Weasley purchased fresh school supplies for him, so there were many things to get rid of.

"Ginny blushed and thanked Evan, "This is the best Christmas present I've ever received!" It seemed as though she was looking at Harry.

Evan replied, "Oh, that was just an excuse to get Mrs Weasley to agree. I'll get you another present for Christmas." Evan thought about what might happen to Ginny this year and continued, "I think a diary with a red cover would be a good present."

Ginny responded, "That's a good idea. I will send a black one back to you."

"That's exactly what I need!" Evan thought. It would be even better if Mr Tom Riddle had signed it too.

They walked along the winding streets paved with stones. The shops on the street made selling sounds from time to time, and the coins in Evan's pocket jingled pleasingly, urging him to spend them.

However, after looking around a few magic shops and getting a rough idea of the prices in the magic world, Evan's enthusiasm waned a little. Compared to the items he wished to buy, these gold coins in his pocket were not enough.

Evan was a first-year student at Hogwarts, and although he had a substantial amount of cash in his hands, it was not enough to satisfy the items on his school list, as he wanted to purchase much more.

"I need to find a way to make extra money!"

Although Evan could ask his parents for more money, this is not a sustainable solution as they won't give a young child too much money, especially for unnecessary purchases.

Evan had a rough idea on how to make money, but he had to wait until Hogwarts to execute it.

Following Ginny's guidance, Evan purchased the required tin crucible, a high-quality balance for measuring medicine, and a collapsible brass telescope from the school list. At the chemist's, they purchased normal herb amounts for the first-year potion class. They also got quills, ink, and parchment for note-taking.

They passed by a magic creature shop, but did not venture in.

Evan had considered entering, but decided against it because his mother was allergic to birds. Besides owls, other pets were not useful to wizards and would be difficult to care for.However, Evan had gathered lists of items from almost every shop on Diagon Alley. He may need to purchase additional materials from there when preparing for his senior classes.

Evan knew he would have a lot of trouble in the next few years and could not afford to spend time studying from a textbook, especially since he was a year below the Saviours.

During Harry's seventh year, he was forced to remain at school and be tormented by the Death Eaters instead of joining his friends on their travels.

While on the journey, Evan and Ginny had a pleasant conversation and quickly became good friends.

This was a frightening prospect. At the Bouncing and Hilarious Magic Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Jordan Lee, who were purchasing a large quantity of "Dr Flibbert's self-igniting, water-activated magical fireworks."

In a second-hand shop full of worn-out magic wands, flimsy brass scales and old stained cloaks, they discover Percy engrossed in a very dull book called "How the Leader of the Ranks Became Powerful."

Without disturbing Percy, they strolled past Florin's Cold Beverages where Evan purchased two big chocolate lemon ice creams for himself and Ginny. By the time they arrived at a damp alleyway, they spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushing out of Tumbleweed Alley, all three looking pale and upset.

Behind them stood Hagrid, the stocky groundskeeper, who shouted at the trio, "You lot, going to Tumble Alley? It's not a nice place, Harry, don't let no-one see you there!"

Are you thick? "Tumble Alley? Mum wouldn't let us go there," Ginny said with concern. Mum wouldn't let us go there," Ginny said with concern. Mum wouldn't let us go there," Ginny said with concern.

Mum wouldn't let us go there," Ginny said with concern. "Git lost, Ginny!" Ron snapped, waving his hand impatiently.

"Hold on, Ron!" Harry looked at Evan and nervously said, "We saw Draco Malfoy and his father visiting Birkin Pokédex, a shop that sells items related to dark magic."

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, clearly not wanting his younger sister to hear.

"So, what did you discover?" Evan asked with interest, ignoring Ron's reaction.

"Well, we observed them from the window for half a day, but they did not purchase anything before leaving." Hermione asked Hagrid, "What were you doing in Tumble Alley? We're following Malfoy."

Hagrid replied, "I was searching for a potion to repel flesh-eating slugs. They're ruining the school's cabbages." Hagrid turned to Evan and said, "You must be Evan Mason. Thank goodness you aided Harry getting out of that house. Those pesky muggles. If only I knew..."

Hagrid didn't finish speaking before he spotted Mrs Weasley rushing towards him wearing her new robes. She was followed by Mr Weasley, and the parents of Evan and Hermione.

Suddenly, Harry and the rest disappeared to Tumble Alley.

Tumble Alley!" "Thanks for seeing him, Hagrid! "I'm leaving now," said Hagrid, looking a bit embarrassed as Mrs Weasley held his hand tightly. "I'll see you at Hogwarts, boys."

After Hagrid vanished from view, Mrs Weasley turned around and scolded the trio harshly. Meanwhile, Mr Weasley was curious about what Harry had to say.

"Clearly, he was planning to sell something and he was frightened!" Mr Weasley stated seriously and happily, "I'd really like to catch Lucius Malfoy in the act."

"Please be cautious, Arthur!" "Mrs Weasley warned him, "That family is dangerous, don't underestimate them".

"You doubt I can defeat Malfoy?" Mr Weasley retorted heatedly, but his focus shifted to the crowd gathering outside Leigh Trace Bookshop.

Most of them were women around the age of Mrs Weasley, and they were all gathered around the entrance, attempting to enter the shop. They managed to peer through the gap in the throng and spotted Giedroyc Harte, who was seated in the centre of the store wearing blue wizarding robes and autographing books.

Large portraits of him surrounded Mr. Harte, and the faces depicted in them all winked at the crowd, showcasing their sparkling white teeth.

Despite being a wizarding buffoon, Evan conceded that Lockhart was a prosperous author, as long as he didn't appropriate others' achievements.

The subsequent point to note is that Lockhart naturally spotted Harry, and brought him over for a photo opportunity whilst announcing that he was going to teach at Hogwarts. When everyone regained consciousness, they saw Mr Weasley and Lucius Malfoy in a fight. By the sidelines, Lohart was enthusiastic. Soon, Hagrid appeared and separated the two.

"Take your book, little girl. It's the best gift your father can give you!"

Lucius Malfoy shrugged off Hagrid's grip, waved to Draco and left the store.

"Arthur, you shouldn't mind him." Hagrid bent down and straightened Mr Weasley's clothing, almost lifting him up. The Malfoys aren't worth paying attention to. "The man is no good, neither is his entire family, and they're all aware of it. Their blood's corrupted, that's all there is to it."

Amidst Mr Weasley's attention-grabbing presence, Evan noticed the dilapidated Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. It had been thrust back into Ginny's hands and by now, a black journal must have made its way into it.

After Lucius Malfoy left, the Li Trace Bookstore's attendant seemed like he wanted to stop them too. But when he saw Hagrid's impressive appearance and the size of Evan's order, he changed his mind about fighting and decided to let them be."Evan, why are you crossing off all those books? Are you trying to empty out Li Trace Bookstore?" Ron was taken aback when he saw Evan rapidly ticking off titles on his list, which had all the books stocked at the bookstore. The total number of books was more than 8000.

"How's that possible? I can't afford that many books. I'm just picking out the ones I need," Evan responded. He knew he couldn't purchase all the books at the same time, so he planned to select the books he needed right now and buy the rest gradually over time.

"Oh wow, that's a ton!" exclaimed Ron.

"Expanding one's knowledge can't be a bad thing," replied Evan.

"You're starting to sound like Hermione." Ron approached and observed as Evan selected a copy of Professor Libba Shoebarach's Advanced Potion Making. "Ah, I recognise that book from Bill's place. It's only necessary for the N.E.W.T Advanced Wizarding Levels Exam," remarked Ron.

"I agree with Evan, it's always good to prepare in advance!" Hermione checked Evan's list of books and added some magic books for herself that were only for upper grades. She said, "Evan, we should compare our book lists later to avoid duplicates."

Evan agreed, "Of course, Hermione!"

Harry said, "They're both

crazy!" and Ron added, "You're right!" Harry paused, taking a copy of Spells and Jinxes by Professor Wendyk, which he had desired to acquire in the previous year, though Hagrid forbade him. "It's essential to learn more, particularly when dealing with Malfoy, isn't it?" he asked.

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Due to the difficulty of carrying too many items, Evan made few purchases. Instead, he placed numerous orders, eventually depleting all the gold Galleons in his possession. These items will be sent in batches by owl to Hogwarts at the beginning of the school year.

Upon returning to the Broken Cauldron pub fireplace, it was already close to evening.

After they said goodbye to their parents, Evan, Harry, and the Booksleys went back to their humble home using Flyway Powder, while the Masons and Grangers returned to the streets on the other side of town where the Muggles lived. It was clear that Mr Weasley wanted to follow them to see what the bus station was like, but upon seeing the expression on Mrs Weasley's face, he had to abandon the idea.

As this was Evan's initial attempt using flyway powder, he inhaled fireplace ashes while arriving at Harry's modest home via a sudden and heavenly swirling. Harry stood before him, and Evan recognised he felt just as awful.

Evan curiously surveyed the surroundings upon exiting the fireplace.

This was his inaugural visit to a wizarding home. The kitchen featured a neat wooden table and a few chairs in a confined space. The clock on the far wall had only one hand, no numbers, and phrases like "make tea" and "feed the chickens" written on its face.

Beside the fireplace, there was a large mirror.

Evan had just walked past it when the mirror suddenly shouted, "Tuck your shirt into your trousers, scruffy!"

Above the mirror was a bookshelf with three rows of books, such as Enchant Your Cheese, The Magic of Toasting Bread, and Make a Feast of a Table. These books are magical guides for household chores. Next to the sink, there was an old radio.

"Kids, go to your rooms and put your new things away," said the parent. Mrs Weasley appeared from the fireplace and gazed at Fred and George. "Make sure you don't create any messes when I cook dinner," she said.

"Alright, Mum!" exclaimed Fred. "We'll stay in our bedroom and keep quiet," he continued.

"Silent as house elves," added George. 

Without delay, the twins cackled and hurried out of the kitchen. Soon after, Percy and Ginny followed with their possessions.

"Let me show you my room," Ron said, beckoning to them. Harry and Evan remained in the same spot until Ron nudged them.

The trio walked through a narrow passageway and reached an uneven set of stairs.

The stairs twisted and turned, and there was a partially open door on the first floor. Percy sat at his desk and wrote a letter with his new pen while a lovely brown owl remained close to him.

"That's the new bird that Percy's parents got him when he was made Head Boy," Ron said. "But he wouldn't let me borrow it, and he's been acting weird this summer. He's been spending all his time inside the house by himself, writing lots of letters."

"There's nothing weird about it, your brother has a new girlfriend."

"Oh, my goodness!" Ron looked surprised when Evan spoke and said, somewhat clumsily, "But that's Percy, who'd look at him, I mean..." "Sure, he's got big dreams of becoming Minister of Magic, but I'll check with Fred and George first." 

"Calm down, it's only my assumption." Evan was surprised by Ron's delayed response.

As they reached the third floor, Evan glimpsed a pair of glowing brown eyes watching them before the door closed.

"It's Ginny!" Can you believe that she actually closed the door? She never does that!" Harry replied, "That's ridiculous, Ron."

Evan examined the closed door and considered how to retrieve Tom Riddle's diary from Ginny.

"I heard she's been talking about you all summer," he said to Harry. Ron looked at Harry with uncertainty and said, "Fred mentioned that she wanted your autograph. Maybe you should sign something for her."

Ron exclaimed, "It's incredible! 

As Evan walked away, he revealed, "Your sister fancies Harry and she wants to be his girlfriend, it's not just admiration.""Evan!"

Ron was taken aback, and Harry stood beside blushing like a ripe apple, pretending not to hear what was being said between Evan and Ron.

"I'm just kidding." Evan covered his face with his hand, thinking how slow-witted these two were. No wonder they couldn't find partners for the fourth-year Christmas dance, they were really innocent boys.

They went up another level and stopped outside the twins' room. The door was shut, and there wasn't any sound coming from inside. I'm not sure what they were doing.

Eventually, the trio made it to the highest floor where they found a door marked "Ron's Room" with faded paint.

Evan and Harry entered, but the sloping ceiling almost touched their heads.

It felt like walking into a huge fireplace, and everything in Ron's room was a bright orange shade. 

The bedspread, walls and even the ceiling had all been covered with posters of seven witches and wizards dressed in a single orange colour. The bedspread, walls and even the ceiling had all been covered with posters of seven witches and wizards dressed in a single orange colour. They were holding flying brooms and waving happily.

"Is this your Quidditch team?" Harry inquired.

"The Chaddery Firecrackers, ranking ninth in the club!"

Ron pointed to the bright orange bedspread adorned with two massive letter C's and a flying ball. While they talked about Quidditch, Evan watched Spotty, a fat grey mouse sleeping in the corner.

Spotty ignored Evan and continued snoring.

Evan looked closely but couldn't see any difference. If he didn't know Spotty was an Animagus, he would have thought it was just a small, sad mouse missing a toe and sleeping all day.

"Bam, bam!" A noise of a pipe being tapped came suddenly from above, and Evan was startled.

Ron explained, "It's just the ghosts in the attic. They're always banging on the pipes and grunting. I tried to get rid of them, but Dad wouldn't let me. He thought it was funny."

Life in the simple dwelling was quite fascinating, as Ron said.

For about a month, Evan and Harry joined Fred, George, and Ron in tidying up goblins in the garden, and occasionally they ventured to the mountain's rear to hone their flying brooms and practice Quidditch.

In the evenings, Harry and Ron worked hard on their homework, whilst Evan visited Percy for assistance who was particularly gifted in the History of Magic and Spells class, as well as offering a unique perspective.

Evan had a conversation with Fred and George and learnt that their inventions were not yet fully developed. He gave them a few suggestions based on his memory. At night, the twins locked themselves in their room to conduct research and occasionally made loud noises.

Over a month, Harry and Evan became very familiar with the Weasley family.Mrs Weasley fixed their socks and made them fill them four times at every meal, while Mr Weasley asked them about Muggle life.

Except for Ginny, everyone quickly adjusted to Harry and Evan becoming part of the family. Specifically, Ginny seemed nervous about knocking something over when Harry was around, but acted normally when alone with Evan.

Because of their age, Evan and Ginny became good friends. However, on the last day of the summer holidays, Evan had not received Tom Riddle's diary from Ginny yet.

He dropped several hints, but Ginny did not respond.

Evan could not explain clearly, and he could not go into Ginny's room to search for the diary. Evan is unsure if Ginny has found the diary or not. He wasn't rushing, there's still time. The worst outcome aligns with the plot, and at that point, Ginny may suffer a bit.

However, it could be an opportunity for Harry to become the hero and save the girl who has a crush on him, which doesn't seem like a bad thing.