"George, thank you for getting me out of there!"
Walking out from the gloomy Knockturn Alley into the bustling, lively Diagon Alley, Harry finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately thanked George.
He felt that if George hadn't led him out, those strange and sinister wizards might have eaten him alive along the way.
"Harry! Harry!"
At that moment, a little girl with thick, bushy brown hair came running towards them from the street.
"It's so good to see you! Why are you covered in dust, and your glasses—"
"I'm glad to see you too, Hermione."
Harry adjusted his cracked glasses and smiled happily.
"It was... kind of an accident."
"Alright then, let me help you. Reparo!"
Hermione took out her wand and cast the Mending Charm on Harry's glasses.
It was as if time had reversed—the previously cracked glasses were restored to a pristine state within seconds.
"Looks like I really need to practice this spell more."
Harry looked at his now spotless glasses and couldn't help but sigh.
He wasn't like Hermione, who not only learned all the spells in the first-year textbooks but also self-studied many more spells beyond that. Harry hadn't even fully mastered the basic ones, including the Mending Charm.
Like Harry, George had a similar thought at that moment.
The Mending Charm wasn't just for small items like glasses; if mastered, it could even repair collapsed buildings with ease.
In the future, in the Marvel universe, just this one spell alone could make him quite a lot of money.
"And you are?"
After helping Harry fix his glasses, Hermione turned to look at George, who was standing beside Harry, her face showing a hint of curiosity.
"He's a friend I just met—George. And this is Hermione Granger," Harry quickly introduced them to each other.
George extended his hand with a smile and said, "Hello, lovely Miss Granger."
"Hello, George."
Hearing George compliment her as pretty, Hermione immediately warmed up to him, cheerfully shaking his hand.
Other than her parents, this was the first time someone had called her pretty—though she had often been praised for being smart.
"Harry, now that your friend is here, I think it's time for me to go. See you at Hogwarts," George said after shaking Hermione's hand. He waved before stepping back into Knockturn Alley without lingering.
For a first meeting, simply getting to know each other was enough. It wasn't necessary to push too hard, as that would seem too deliberate. Besides, his time was valuable—he still had to continue his magical studies.
Most importantly, he didn't plan to stop Lucius Malfoy from secretly slipping Tom Riddle's diary to Ginny.
Tom Riddle's diary contained part of Voldemort's soul and could corrupt people's minds. Even with his mental powers, George wasn't confident he could resist it, so he had no intention of getting involved or taking it for himself.
There was also no point in trying to prevent it. After all, with Dumbledore around, this would ultimately become a trial for Harry without any real harm coming to any of the young wizards. George was more interested in seeing if he could profit from the situation.
"He seems quite nice. How come I've never seen him at school before?" Hermione looked at George's departing figure, sounding a bit puzzled.
George didn't look much older than her. He was either in the same year or just a year ahead, so she should have seen him before.
Harry laughed and explained, "Because he's starting his first year at Hogwarts this year, of course you haven't seen him."
"Oh, he's younger than us then. How did you two meet?" Hermione asked curiously as she led Harry towards Flourish and Blotts.
Harry then began to recount his recent experiences.
Meanwhile, back at the storefront, George unexpectedly saw a rather large figure standing at the door, peering inside.
Calling him "large" was an understatement—he had already exceeded the limits of human size.
With a quick estimate, George guessed he must be about three and a half meters tall. Even if George stretched, he probably wouldn't reach the man's waist—a truly imposing figure.
"What is he doing at my shop?" George wondered.
Judging by the size and appearance, George instantly recognized who it was.
It was none other than Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts Keeper of Keys and Grounds, and a master of magical creatures—a man of both wizard and giant lineage.
Thinking of Hagrid's background, George couldn't help but mentally salute Hagrid's father. What a brave man!
After all, typical giants stood around seven or eight meters tall, and Hagrid's father, a man of normal human height, had managed to not only form a relationship with a female giant but also have a child—a feat deserving of admiration.
"Excuse me, sir, is there anything I can help you with?" George approached and asked.
Hagrid turned and looked down at George, seeing a small and skinny young wizard. His voice instantly softened, "I'm looking for a potion to get rid of flesh-eating slugs. I heard only this shop has it, but it seems to be closed."
Though Hagrid's voice was gentle, due to his massive size, it sounded almost like a shout to George.
"The owner of this apothecary, Mr. Merton, unfortunately passed away recently due to an accident while brewing potions. I've taken over the shop for now, and I know the potion you're talking about—I can get it for you."
George took out the keys, opened the door, and quickly went to the counter to retrieve a bottle of potion.
Although Doran didn't know how to brew potions, he was knowledgeable about herbology and well aware of the properties of all the potions sold in the shop, due to his duties as a salesperson.
"Slug Repellent Potion. It works well not only on flesh-eating slugs but also on cabbage moths and cabbage root maggots."
"Oh, thank you, young shopkeeper."
Hagrid took the potion, a look of pleasant surprise spreading across his face.
"How much?"
"Just fourteen Sickles," George replied with a smile.
"That's cheaper than I expected."
Hagrid dug into the pocket of his enormous moleskin overcoat, took out a handful of silver Sickles, counted fourteen, and handed them to George.
He had thought such a rare potion would cost at least two Galleons.
"Since I'm about to go to Hogwarts myself, I'm in a good mood, so I'm giving you a half-price discount," George said cheerfully, putting the fourteen Sickles into the counter box.
Given his telepathic ability to communicate with animals, George knew he had the potential to become a magical creatures expert. He wasn't going to let that go to waste.
Getting on good terms with Hagrid could help him learn more about magical creatures, which would be helpful for making money or raising creatures to increase his strength.
So when he recognized Hagrid, he decided to make a connection.
Hagrid was warm, kind, and straightforward. Making friends with him wouldn't be difficult.
Sure enough, upon hearing George's words, Hagrid looked surprised and his attitude instantly became much friendlier. He carefully studied George's face and smiled, saying, "So you're a new student this year. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Come find me sometime when you get to school—I'll make you some rock cakes."