At night, George's consciousness returned to his Marvel body again. It was another day of sweat-drenching training, without anything particularly significant happening.
But his instincts told him that a prison break was likely in the near future.
He had noticed that those mutant kids had a comic book in their hands, titled "The Uncanny X-Men."
Up until now, he still hadn't figured out the historical context of this universe.
This universe had the X-Men, as well as X-Men-related comics, which suggested that mutants must have been quite famous in the past. Then why was there still the Super Soldier Project? Why was Captain America even a thing?
All these questions would have to wait until he escaped from the experimental base, so he could dig into history and figure out what was really going on.
In the Harry Potter world, it was morning.
When George retrieved the Daily Prophet from the mailbox at his store's entrance, he found an extra letter.
"It's finally here."
On the pale yellow envelope, written in emerald-green ink, it said: To Mr. George at Merton's Apothecary, Knockturn Alley.
That's right, it was a reissued letter of acceptance from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Even though Scrimgeour and Tonks had both reassured him, and he knew it couldn't be wrong, his heart still couldn't calm down when he actually held the letter.
This was Hogwarts, a real school of magic, and soon he could go there to learn all kinds of incredible magic.
Magic—who could resist the allure of magic?
"Well then, let's begin a shopping spree!"
After finishing breakfast as quickly as possible, George took the book and equipment list that came with the letter, and left Merton's Apothecary in high spirits.
But just as he stepped out, his good mood was ruined by an unpleasant encounter.
"Isn't this little Doran? I heard you've been re-accepted to Hogwarts. Off to buy school supplies, are you?"
A hunchbacked, greasy-haired old wizard was standing at the entrance of the shop opposite, greeting George with a sinister smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Borgin. Yes, I'm off to buy the school books.
And, I've changed my name to George now."
George felt uncomfortable, but he still answered politely on the surface.
This old wizard was not a simple figure; in fact, he was the most senior dark wizard in all of Knockturn Alley. He owned Borgin and Burkes, the largest magic shop in the entire alley.
They dealt in a wide range of items, selling and buying back objects that had dark magic or other dangers, and provided secret appraisals for rare and ancient magical artifacts.
Young Voldemort had once been an employee of this shady antique shop, and through its complex connections, he managed to find and create two Horcruxes.
Old Borgin was the one George worried about the most. If this guy decided to leave him alone, then no other dark wizard in Knockturn Alley would dare make a move on his inherited apothecary.
"Such a good boy. I saw that Auror lady at your place having lunch yesterday, didn't I?"
Borgin smiled, but his smile was somewhat unsettling.
George also smiled, but his smile was far more radiant.
"Yes, Tonks loves my cooking. She said she would bring her colleagues and Uncle Scrimgeour over for lunch next time."
"That must be tough on you."
Borgin squinted slightly.
George shook his head with an innocent face and said:
"Not at all. I enjoy cooking. Next time when they come, I'll make some extra—why don't you join us and taste my cooking, Mr. Borgin?"
"Uh, no need for that."
Borgin's face stiffened, then he turned around and went back into his dark shop.
Seeing Borgin leave, George muttered to himself:
"Dare to have ideas about me? One day I'll take over your shop and deal with you, you old piece of garbage."
He quickly composed himself and set off for Diagon Alley.
Compared to the narrow and dim Knockturn Alley, Diagon Alley was much more open and bright, bustling with regular wizards shopping with their kids and clerks hawking various goods.
"Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce!"
"Cauldrons of copper, brass, pewter, and silver, with all sizes available. Self-stirring and collapsible!"
"Gray owls, horned owls, tawny owls, brown owls, snowy owls, we have every pet you want!"
"The Nimbus 2001, the fastest racing broom! You deserve it!"
Strolling through the lively Diagon Alley, George didn't hesitate to spend money, buying mostly the best tools available.
While there's a saying that poor students have many tools, he felt that the best tools provide the highest efficiency. Since he had the money, why not use it?
"A full set of uniforms, cauldron, telescope, potion bottles, scales, and wand—only the books are left. Oh, and a pet."
Two hours later, George pushed a cart full of school supplies, mentally ticking off the items that were still missing from his list.
Buying the other items hadn't taken much time. Even choosing a wand was quick; he tried a few until he found one that felt right and bought it.
It was only the uniform fitting that delayed him, as measurements needed to be taken.
"Eeylops Owl Emporium, perfect. I'll get an owl then."
Seeing the owl store on the side of the street, George thought for a moment and pushed the cart inside.
Young wizards had a lot of choices for pets, but he felt the most useful one was an owl, since magical owls in the wizarding world were different from regular ones.
Wizarding owls were smarter and had built-in tracking spells. They could find recipients no matter where they were, unless a relevant shielding spell was used.
In addition to delivering letters, they could also carry various items and were much stronger than normal owls—carrying twenty kilograms was no problem for them.
George was a pragmatist. If he had to buy a pet, it should be a useful one. Otherwise, he wouldn't bother. He didn't have the energy to care for a pet just for fun.
"Welcome to Eeylops Owl Emporium. Sir, what kind of owl are you looking for?"
Seeing George enter, a clerk quickly came up to greet him.
"That one!"
George scanned the shop and soon found the owl he wanted.
The clerk's eyes showed a look of surprise when he followed George's finger:
"Are you sure you want that one?"
"Yes."
George nodded firmly.
The clerk hesitated for a moment but explained:
"I should inform you, that one is ten times more expensive than a normal owl—it costs one hundred Galleons."
The owl George had pointed at wasn't a normal-sized owl; it was a giant eagle owl that stood nearly a meter tall.
Usually, such large owls were purchased by adult wizards with special interests or for research purposes. The clerk had never seen a young wizard buy one of these as a pet.
Partly because they were so expensive, and partly because parents wouldn't feel safe—such a large owl wasn't exactly friendly.