While Alaric was immersed in his irresistible research, something significant happened to the Weasley family.
Harry came to the Burrow.
Of course, the way he came here was nothing short of a farce: unable to contact Harry for a long time, Ron, with the help of the twins, secretly drove Mr. Weasley's Ford Anglia and flew to 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.
They rescued Harry, who was imprisoned by his uncle, and brought him back to their residence.
The whole incident was quite ridiculous, all instigated by Harry Potter's fans.
In fact, ever since Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord as a baby, many magical creatures and the like had become his followers.
This time, Dobby, the Malfoy family's house-elf, overheard his master plotting a conspiracy against Hogwarts.
As a devoted follower, he didn't want Harry to return to Hogwarts and get hurt in the conspiracy.
So, he planned an accident that led to Harry's uncle raging at him, locking him up, and preventing him from returning to Hogwarts—since underage wizards couldn't use magic outside school, Harry had no way around it.
After arriving at the Burrow, Harry heard about Alaric's news, making him feel quite envious.
Both he and Alaric lived in the Muggle world, but now Alaric had gained freedom, while he had to submit to the tyranny of Uncle Vernon.
In St. Catchpole Village, Harry spent a rare and enjoyable half of his summer vacation.
Similarly, Alaric also enjoyed this time. In the last half month of summer vacation, he finally left the laboratory and began preparing his Animagus transformation—of course, now he only needed to keep Mandrake leaves in his mouth.
In this remaining time, he also played Quidditch with Harry and the Weasley brothers in a paddock on the Weasley's property on the hill.
Additionally, he met a little girl: Luna Lovegood. Her father, Mr. Xenophilius Lovegood, was the editor of the magazine "The Quibbler," which often published absurd articles.
Luna was a strange little girl. She had a wild, dirty, waist-length mane of blond hair and a pair of seemingly dreamy, protruding gray eyes.
Luna's eyebrows were light in color. She obviously exuded a crazy energy because, for safety, she would insert her wand behind her ear, and her clothing was often different from others.
The girl was cute but always had some strange thoughts that were hard for others to follow. Even Alaric had to admit defeat in the face of her.
In the last week of summer vacation, Alaric bid farewell to the Weasley family and, driving—mainly with Orianna at the wheel—embarked on a road trip in England.
Along the way, he visited the Clearwater, Chang, and Granger families, taking their daughters away as classmates.
The girls were delighted to be able to see Alaric's home on the bus and take a journey with him, but their presence also made them a bit gloomy.
During the journey, the girls curiously asked Alaric about his experience in the Wizard Chess Tournament.
Alaric prudently didn't mention anything related to Fleur—and admired the specially crafted golden Wizard Chess set for the tournament.
They also noticed that in the last few days, Alaric didn't talk much.
He explained that he had to practice Animagus transformation, so he had to keep the leaves in his mouth.
The girls had already gotten used to it, as Alaric always learned many powerful spells ahead of them.
In the last few days of the holiday, Alaric spent time with the girls.
The bus finally headed north, traversing mountains and hills, showcasing its flying capabilities, and finally reaching Hogsmeade Village in Scotland—the only village in Britain entirely composed of wizards.
Hogsmeade was quite close to Hogwarts Castle, and there was a secret passage in the village leading directly to the castle. This way, they could bypass the train and enter Hogwarts directly.
In addition, they also arrived at Diagon Alley through the fireplace on the bus to purchase supplies for the new semester.
The booklist for this semester irritated Alaric because, aside from Miranda Goshawk's "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2," all the other books were by Gilderoy Lockhart.
This semester, Lockhart would be their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
However, Alaric knew that Lockhart was actually a quite incompetent wizard.
He excelled only in the Forgetfulness Charm and frequently used it on other wizards, then claimed their experiences as his own and published books to make money.
Alaric didn't know what Dumbledore was thinking, perhaps he had been deceived by Lockhart.
He invited this incapable person to teach at Hogwarts, and Lockhart seized the opportunity to use his works as the textbooks for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The most outrageous thing was that there were seven Lockhart books on the booklist, and they were quite expensive, each costing two Galleons.
But to Alaric, all these books were just Lockhart's self-praise, with no practical use whatsoever.
So, he strongly advised his three friends not to buy these useless things. However, on this point, Hermione and he had a conflict.
"Don't you think Lockhart is very brave?" Hermione excitedly said to Alaric. "And full of wisdom; he's an outstanding Ravenclaw."
At this moment, they were standing in front of Flourish and Blotts Bookshop in Diagon Alley, where Gilderoy Lockhart was holding a book signing event.
Alaric looked at Cho Chang and Penelope, and Cho Chang showed an expectant expression, while Penelope looked at him with a smile, obviously trusting his words.
It seemed that it was easier to deceive these girls. Back at the Weasley's, Alaric found that Mrs. Weasley was also a loyal follower of Lockhart.
For the first time, Alaric felt that he might be too low-key.
With his achievements, if he actively accepted media interviews, he would definitely become a more famous star than Lockhart.
Perhaps Hermione and Cho Chang would believe him instead of falling for Lockhart's lousy books.
However, this was just wishful thinking. Being surrounded by the media after becoming famous, having no privacy, and being unable to live a peaceful life was not what he wanted.
After finding that he couldn't persuade Hermione and Cho Chang, Alaric could only sigh reluctantly. He followed them into Flourish and Blotts to participate in Lockhart's book signing.
"Just wait and see, isn't he just a celebrity? It's as if I'm not one." He muttered under his breath.
"Within a month, Lockhart will definitely show his true colors at Hogwarts."
"Of course, I believe you." Beside him, Penelope comfortingly patted his shoulder.
"I also think you're a bigger star than Lockhart. Don't worry, they are just young girls; they'll soon understand you."
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