"Alright, since you weren't caught, just let it go. The Malfoys are always unpleasant, right Ron? You should know that."
"Exactly," Ron nodded in agreement.
Strangely, every time they returned to Diagon Alley, they always ran into the Malfoys. Ron's father often fought with old Malfoy, and they never saw eye to eye, just like Harry and Malfoy.
After Hagrid's interruption, Hermione couldn't say anything more and could only sulk while taking a sip of tea.
At that moment, Hagrid handed Wayne a large, bulging bag made of snakeskin. "Here, Wayne. Check to see if everything's inside. If anything is missing, just let me know."
Wayne was not polite and immediately opened it. Most of what he saw was animal hides and a few vials of liquid. The most valuable item was the venom of an Acromantula; Hagrid had given him quite a large amount.
"That's enough, thank you, Hagrid."
The half-giant scratched his head, feeling bashful. "No need to be polite. Um..."
Wayne knew what he wanted, and with a thought, he summoned his phoenix.
As she appeared, the temperature in the room rose significantly, making Hagrid excitedly bounce around, wanting to touch her, but the phoenix disdainfully avoided him and settled on Hermione's shoulder. She was still upset with her master and didn't want to snuggle with Wayne just yet.
Harry and Ron were watching the phoenix curiously. "Is this your phoenix?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Yes, her name is Fawkes."
"She looks amazing..." Harry nodded in agreement.
Hermione, feeling smug, glanced at Wayne and prepared two basilisk leaves she had saved from herbology class. The phoenix didn't like the cramped space, so she lingered a moment before Wayne offered her some fresh white silk; Fawkes affectionately rubbed her beak against his cheek before leaving.
She stayed for less than fifteen minutes, but it was long enough to make Hagrid extremely happy as he brought out cakes and candies to treat everyone, along with his signature rock cake.
Everyone ignored the rock cakes and focused on enjoying sweets and cake instead. Despite being overly sweet, the chocolate cake was still a vast improvement compared to the rock cakes that could break their teeth.
While chatting, Harry and Ron instinctively avoided bringing up what they had seen the night before. To them, Hermione was frightening; if she found out that they hadn't just dueled Malfoy but had also ventured into the forbidden area set by Dumbledore, they wouldn't get a moment's peace that day.
Harry watched Wayne munching on a rock cake with wide eyes, astonished. "Wayne, is your tooth made of iron? How can you bite into that?"
As Hagrid went to warm the tea, Harry couldn't help but stare at Wayne, who was enjoying his pie with a satisfied expression.
"I used a softening spell," Wayne said casually. "Want to give it a try? It actually tastes quite good." As he spoke, he gently tapped the pie, and its crust immediately softened considerably.
Harry couldn't help but think, "Sure enough, I'm just a loser." He picked up a piece and took a bite. "It's really not bad."
"By the way, I've recently invented some new little gadgets. Want to buy any?"
"What are they?" Harry asked, intrigued.
Under Hermione's almost murderous glare, Wayne pulled out a rewriting quill.