After entering the bookstore, they unexpectedly encountered Harry and the Weasley family. They also ran into the Malfoy father and son, witnessing a commotion.
A loud crash echoed as a cauldron flew out. Mr. Weasley lunged at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him into a bookshelf.
Dozens of thick spellbooks fell on them as they wrestled, and people around couldn't stop them.
Finally, a towering figure, Hagrid, emerged from the crowd and effortlessly separated them.
Alaric also noticed Lucius Malfoy intentionally or unintentionally slipping a thick diary into Ginny Weasley's Transfiguration textbook in the chaos.
This diary was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes and marked the beginning of a new conspiracy for the upcoming school year.
If Alaric wanted to, he could grab the diary immediately and use Fiendfyre to destroy it, severely damaging Voldemort and ensuring a peaceful year.
However, Alaric chose not to do so because he wanted to wait for Voldemort to release the Basilisk from Slytherin's Chamber through the Horcrux.
Since this was Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing event, many media outlets were present.
The two fighting parties weren't ordinary individuals – one was the head of the ancient pure-blood Malfoy family and one of Hogwarts' directors.
The other was the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic – although that department had only two members. Such prominent figures openly fighting was sensational news.
Reporters approached to interview the brawling parties, but suddenly, a young female journalist spotted a bigger target beside them.
"Isn't that the youngest wizard chess champion, Alaric?" she exclaimed, then regretfully shut her mouth – realizing she could have had an exclusive story.
It was too late; everyone saw Alaric buying books, and reporters abandoned Lockhart and the two brawling elderly men to run toward Alaric.
Just over a month since Alaric became the international wizard chess champion, the Ministry of Magic planned to award him the Order of Merlin, Third Class, next month for inventing the portable Floo Network technology.
In other words, Alaric's popularity had yet to wane, and he was still a hot topic – surpassing Gilderoy Lockhart due to his age.
This unexpected turn frustrated Alaric because it meant his Diagon Alley trip had to end hastily. He had to leave immediately to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Thinking quickly, he shouted to the girls, "Use Floo Powder to get back to the car."
Then, he turned and ran, escaping the bookstore.
Reporters and onlookers followed him, leaving the bookstore empty except for a few customers and the bewildered Lockhart.
This incident finally revealed Alaric's true fame to the girls.
Hermione looked at the dejected Lockhart and then at the departing Alaric. Suddenly, she felt a sense of loss.
She realized that compared to Alaric, who had various achievements and had always been helping her, Lockhart wasn't that great.
Her admiration for Lockhart was mainly due to his fame and good looks, but someone even more handsome and admirable was right beside her.
So, she and Cho Chang didn't approach Lockhart for autographs. After buying a set of books, they hurriedly left the bookstore.
...
In the last few days of the vacation, Alaric strangely noticed that Hermione and Cho Chang's attitudes towards him had improved significantly.
Since they got in the car, they would occasionally quarrel with Alaric because of the other two girls.
Now, Hermione no longer argued with Alaric on academic issues, and Cho Chang no longer got jealous when Alaric spoke to the other two.
They even took the initiative to learn how to cook with magic from Alaric and prepared breakfast for him.
Curious, Alaric asked Penelope what happened, but she just smiled and winked at him.
So, he began to enjoy this inexplicable tenderness.
...
Happy times always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the summer vacation ended.
On the last night before school started, Alaric prepared a luxurious candlelight dinner for everyone.
Ignoring the fact that they were all underage, he took out a bottle of red wine – a rare collection he got from Russia, probably a diplomatic gift – Romanée-Conti from 1945, tasting remarkably good.
Not many of them had tasted red wine before, and it was the first time they drank such good wine. They all got a bit carried away.
After dinner, with a bit of intoxication, they started playing cards in the living room, with the loser having to drink a glass of wine.
In the end, everyone got wild, and the punishments became bizarre.
Early the next morning, Alaric found out that the four of them had slept together in the living room.
They were all in thin clothes, sprawled in a mess, and he even found many lip prints on his face, obviously from different people.
Fortunately, nothing more happened.
But afterward, there was a bit of awkwardness among the four.
Alaric sighed inwardly, feeling that things had gotten a bit out of hand. It would be difficult to gather them like this again.
On the afternoon of that day, before they left for Hogwarts from Hogsmeade, Alaric received that day's Daily Prophet.
Like many adult wizards, Alaric subscribed to newspapers such as the Daily Prophet and the Wizarding Weekly.
In addition, he subscribed to academic journals like Today's Transfiguration, Magical Innovation, and Practical Potionry.
Alaric didn't read the newspaper immediately. He still needed to tidy up his laboratory. When he returned to the living room, he found the three girls gathered, eagerly reading the Daily Prophet.
"What happened?" Alaric didn't understand. He had left for a while, and now these three girls were huddled together. Previously, even talking to each other seemed awkward.
"Harry and Ron secretly took Mr. Weasley's car! They actually dared to fly the car to Hogwarts!" Hermione exclaimed loudly, her surprise evident in her tone.
Alaric was greatly surprised. How did Hermione know about this? Glancing at the newspaper in Hermione's hand, he instantly understood everything.
He took the newspaper and saw the bold black headline: "Ford Anglia Can Fly, Muggles Astonished."
He continued reading, "In London, two Muggles are convinced they saw an old car fly over the post office…
At noon in Norfolk, Mrs. Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out laundry... Angus Fleet, owner of Perkins' Hardware, reported to the police..."
"How did you know it was them?"
He was still a bit confused. Hermione and the Savior duo were currently just ordinary classmates.
They didn't even communicate with each other. It was impossible for her to know about this, as in the original story.
"It's in the letters from Harry and Ron."
Penelope handed Alaric a letter, mentioning that they couldn't pass through Platform 9 3⁄4 and hoped Alaric could help them figure out a solution, or else they would have to drive Mr. Weasley's car to school.
"They still don't know that you drove the car to Hogsmeade. They think you're taking the train to school like before.
So, they sent letters to you for help. Unfortunately, Hogsmeade is too far from London, and the letters just arrived."
"Well, I hope they won't be scolded too badly tomorrow," Alaric chuckled.
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