Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Wizard

Chapter 23 Diagon Alley Procurement, Hagrid's Dragon-Raising Wish!

Gringotts, the main service hall.

Dudley and Harry rode in the cart, retracing their steps, and returned to the same spot.

But there was already a lot of people gathered here in a mess, and they were being calmed down by another group of fairies who stayed behind.

These people can be divided into two types: journalists and Aurors.

The explosive spell that Quirrell cast earlier affected the geological structure of the underground vault, causing a slight tremor throughout Diagon Alley.

Nature has attracted all those who were meant to be attracted.

Reporters from the Daily Prophet were on the periphery, snapping photos incessantly with their magical cameras and bombarding the fairies with questions about what had happened.

The Aurors sent by the Ministry of Magic to settle the matter were in the inner circle, having a serious conversation with Dumbledore, who had arrived later.

Hagrid stood alone to one side, in the inner circle, where the reporters couldn't bother him for the time being, and the Aurors, with Dumbledore handling the communication, didn't care about him.

Dudley led Harry quickly to Hagrid's side.

"Dudley, Harry, you and Professor Dumbledore..." Hagrid began hesitantly in a low voice.

"Close your ears and plug your ears!"

Dudley first tried using his wand a few times, casting an anti-eavesdropping spell, before explaining seriously and patiently:

"Hagrid! You are an adult and should understand that a friend's friend is not necessarily your friend. Our business with Dumbledore has nothing to do with you, and you don't need to worry about it."

You just need to recognize one fact: Dumbledore is your friend, and we are your friends too, that's all! The two relationships should be kept separate!

"Oh! Dudley, Harry, you still consider me a friend! That's wonderful! You're not angry that I revealed your identities to Voldemort?"

Hagrid was overjoyed; he ignored what was making him unhappy and focused directly on what he wanted.

Dudley was not agitated by Hagrid's excitement, and continued, "Everyone has their flaws, and you didn't mean to expose us."

Even if you hadn't revealed our identities, Voldemort wouldn't have let us go just because he wanted the treasure. Also, and most importantly, today's events didn't cause any serious consequences.

Therefore, I can forgive your rashness this time.

“Your cousin forgives you, and I don’t blame you either, Hagrid!” Harry said.

"This is wonderful! I was so scared!" Hagrid cried tears of joy.

“But Hagrid, you must learn a lesson from this.” Dudley’s expression grew even more serious. “If what happened today really caused irreparable harm to Harry or to me, then even if you didn’t mean it, we can’t be friends anymore.”

You should try to keep your friends' secrets and learn to judge situations. Otherwise, Harry and I will inevitably hold back a lot from you in the future.

Hagrid's expression also became complicated, a mixture of guilt and determination: "I understand, Dudley, I will try my best!"

"It's good that you understand." Dali's tone softened a bit. "Now that we've got the money, we should go buy school supplies. You promised us this, you're not going to go back on your word, are you?"

"Oh! No regrets? Of course I won't go back on my word!"

Hagrid became delighted again. He glanced at Dumbledore and pointed to the side door of Gringotts.

Dumbledore spared a glance and nodded to Hagrid.

Hagrid then turned around, trying to cover Dudley and Harry as they escaped Gringotts amidst the frenzied reporters.

Unexpectedly, Dudley had already bent over to protect Harry, found a goblin as a guide, and headed towards the secluded exit.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Hagrid quickly stepped forward to catch up.

On the other side, Dumbledore spoke his final words to the Auror squad of the British Ministry of Magic:

"Tell Fudge that Voldemort, that terrible Dark Lord, is coming back! The Ministry of Magic needs to prepare for battle!"

After saying that, regardless of the Aurors' reactions, he quietly left Gringotts and followed Dudley and his group.

The Aurors present were stunned by Dumbledore's news. If anyone else had said that, they would have pulled out their wands, subdued the person, and sent them to St. Mungo's Hospital for mental treatment.

But now, these words came from the mouth of Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the twentieth century and the uncrowned king of the British wizarding world.

They had no choice but to listen.

The Aurors exchanged glances, then Apparated back to the Ministry of Magic to report to their Minister Fudge.

……

After a minor earthquake, although Diagon Alley appeared unaffected, the fear of the unknown made it temporarily much quieter.

It's nothing compared to when Dudley and Harry first entered Diagon Alley on their way to Gringotts.

However, this actually made it easier for Dudley and Harry to shop.

Partridge's Cauldron Shop: Buy the utensils and top-tier equipment needed for potion making, often buying four or five sets at a time.

Slug & Giggs Pharmacy: Buy the ingredients for making potions. Besides the dozen or so required by the admission notice, Dudley also bought a lot of other potion ingredients.

Madam Malkin's Robe Shop offers a wide variety of wizard robes and formal wear to fit Dudley and Harry's figures, complete with automatic ironing and repair functions; you can buy a dozen or more at a time.

Dudley bought two sets of Hogwarts' regular textbooks for grades one through seven at Flourish and Blotts. He also picked out some novel books on spells, curses, and alchemy to enrich his bedroom bookshelf.

At the Eeyore Owl Shop, Hagrid offered to pay for a snowy owl for Harry as a gift between friends. Dudley didn't stop him, and Harry named the snowy owl Hedwig, just like in the original story.

Hagrid originally wanted to buy Dudley a pet, but Dudley refused.

"Dali, are you really not going to get a pet? I think that grey wood owl is pretty good!"

Inside the owl shop, Hagrid was somewhat sullen. He thought Dudley's refusal of his gift stemmed from his continued resentment towards him.

"Owls aren't impressive at all! One is enough for delivering mail; buying more is useless!"

Dudley grinned dismissively. If he needed to deliver mail, besides his cousin Hedwig, Hogwarts also had the Owl Post Office. If he really wanted to go to school, he wouldn't have to worry about not having an owl.

"Hagrid, don't forget the compensation the Gringotts goblins promised me. Raising a pet is definitely more exciting with a dragon!"

After the group left the owl shop, Dudley told Hagrid his true thoughts, "Didn't you say before that your dream was to raise dragons?"

Once you've settled in, find a place, and I'll write to the fairies to have two fire dragons delivered to you. You'll raise them for me, and the eggs they lay are yours!

"Huh?!" Hagrid exclaimed in shock. "But... but Hogwarts doesn't allow dragons!"

"Be bolder, think outside the box! Hagrid! When the dragons arrive, give them a makeover and say they're winged fire lizards. Nobody can argue with that!"

Dali offered his advice with an indifferent expression.

"Is this okay?" Hagrid realized, and a new world opened up for him.

If he had known he could do it this way, he wouldn't have raised the eight-eyed giant spider in the first place, but rather an ordinary spider that had been swollen and malfunctioned after drinking the swelling potion!

[Advanced Unlock: Rubeus Hagrid - The Hunting Grounds Guardian's Dragon-Raising Dream (Rank A)]

[Details: Hagrid has always wanted to own a fire dragon, but he is unable to fulfill his wish due to regulations.]

In the original story, Hagrid was tricked by Quirrell into exchanging the weakness of his three-headed dog, Fulve, for a dragon egg, which eventually hatched into a Norwegian Spinosaurus named Norbert.

Ultimately, to prevent the school from discovering the truth, Harry and his friends worked together to move Norbert to Charlie Weasley, who was a professional dragon breeder in Romania.