Haggling, Cat and Mouse

Magical Menagerie.

The walls of this shop are covered with countless cages, each containing a variety of animals.

Mice, owls, cats, newts, turtles, toads, highly poisonous snails, rabbits, and ravens are all available.

However, this shop does not carry powerful Magical Creatures such as dragons, Occamy, Phoenix, or Thunderbird. Even if it did, they wouldn't dare sell them, as the Ministry of Magic could come and confiscate them in a heartbeat.

As soon as the four entered the store, the witch behind the counter focused her gaze on Abei and couldn't help but swallow.

She's seen at least eight or a thousand cats, but she's never seen this one before.

Are you here to examine the animals?

"Yes," Ron said immediately, then placed Scabbers on the counter.

A hint of disappointment flashed in the witch's eyes, but her professionalism compelled her to put on a pair of dark glasses and examine the object carefully.

How old is your mouse?

"I don't know, my brother gave it to me."

The witch picked up Scabbers, looked at its damaged left ear and missing toe on its front paw, and clicked her tongue. "I suggest you get a different mouse. We have healthy and intact ones here."

Ron looked at the large group of lively black rats in the cage, turned his face away in disgust, and didn't think these smug, inferior creatures could compare to his Scabbers.

"Hey!" The witch pulled a small red bottle from under the counter. "You might need this rat tonic."

"How much?"

Just as the witch was about to speak, an orange shadow jumped onto Ron's head, baring its teeth menacingly at the Scabbers creature in the witch's hand.

"No, Crookshanks!" the witch cried out hastily, but the orange figure did not give her any face.

Scabbers sensed a deadly danger and immediately broke free from her grasp, frantically running out the door to escape.

Ron and Harry saw this and chased after them.

"Is this a cat?" Aaron looked at Crookshanks jumping on the counter. "You should look at it. It has so many mice to catch, but it has to target a customer's pet."

"Sir, Crookshanks is usually quite well-behaved," the witch said apologetically.

"It's so beautiful." Hermione looked at Crookshanks, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Beautiful?" A series of question marks flashed through Aaron's mind. "Hermione, are you sure you're not seeing things? I wouldn't believe it unless you said her face had been hit with a brick."

"But I just think it's beautiful." Hermione said dismissively, then looked at the witch. "I'll buy it. How much?"

"Five Galleon."

Hermione was about to take out her wallet when Aaron stopped her.

"Five Galleon is too expensive, can you make it cheaper?"

"This is already very cheap," the witch said sullenly. "If you don't believe me, you can ask at other stores; cats are priced the same."

"It scared my friend just now, so you can tell this cat isn't very obedient."

The witch hesitated for a moment, then said, "Four Gold Galleons will do, won't they?"

"Excuse my bluntness, but this cat's appearance is just too unique. I doubt it would sell in a shop under normal circumstances."

The witch's eye twitched slightly, then she gave a forced smile. "Three Galleon, nine Sickle."

"Although I don't want to say it, this cat seems a bit older than you think, don't you think?"

"Three Gold Galleons, that's the most I can ask for."

Before Aaron could speak, the witch interrupted, saying, "I'm just running a business; making money isn't easy."

"Ugh! Oh, that bottle of rat stimulant?"

"Two Sickle, no bargaining."

"Actually, this cat's hair..."

"This is for you, sir." The witch immediately shoved the small red vial into Aaron's hand, then looked at Hermione, who was standing there dumbfounded, and asked, "Miss, could you please pay for this?"

"Oh." Hermione realized what was happening, readily placed the three Gold Galleons on the counter, and happily hugged Crookshanks to her chest.

"Just a heads up, you're going to buy an owl," Aaron said, speechless.

"I won't buy the owl; this cat is enough," Hermione said. She couldn't possibly keep two pets.

"Whatever." Aaron shrugged and prepared to leave the Magical Menagerie.

"Wait, sir," the witch chased after him. "If I may ask, could you please leave a photo of your pet? I can pay you ten Galleon for publicity."

"Hehe!" Aaron decisively refused, not wanting everyone to know that he was raising a dragon.

The two had only been out of the Magical Menagerie a short while when they ran into Harry and Ron.

When the shivering Scabbers saw the cat, it quickly hid in Ron's pocket.

"You bought this monster?" Ron said, his eyes wide. "It almost ripped my scalp off just now, and what about Scabbers?"

"It's a mouse! Why did you have to buy a cat of all things?"

"Don't worry, Crookshanks in my dorm and Scabbers is in your dorm. As long as we don't run into each other, there won't be any problems."

"Is it a matter of whether we meet or not?" Ron said, somewhat annoyed. "Look at Abei, how come it..."

Ron stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

I almost forgot, Abei is a dragon, catching mice is beneath him.

"Um... don't misunderstand."

"My dog Abei doesn't like you either, you rat. He's disliked you ever since he first saw you, but I managed to suppress it," Aaron said calmly, and Abei responded with a low growl.

Ron instinctively clutched his pocket because he noticed his rat was trembling violently.

"Don't scare it, the Scabbers is already in bad shape."

Aaron shrugged, then patted Abei's dragon head, and it quieted down.

"Oh right, you forgot about this." Aaron handed the rat tonic to Ron. "It might be of some use to you rats."

How much is this?

"That witch gave us a gift," Hermione said excitedly. "You weren't here just now, but Aaron managed to cut the price of Crookshanks by 40 percent and even got the witch to give us a bottle of rat tonic."

"It could have been even lower." Aaron with some regret. He was confident he could have bargained the price down from five Gold Galleon to less than two lumens, but the witch was too sensible, and he couldn't continue to haggle.

Upon arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, Arthur Weasley was sitting at the bar reading the Daily Prophet.

He smiled when he saw Harry. "Harry, you're back?"

"Mr. Weasley," Aaron extended his right hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Me too.

Harry glanced at the newspaper in Arthur's hand. "Hasn't Sirius Black been caught yet?"

"No, the department has mobilized most of its forces, but there has been no progress so far."

"How much is the reward for catching him?" Ron asked with interest. "Is it enough for us to go on another trip?"

"Don't even mention once, ten times would be enough." Arthur was also thinking about the fun he had in Egypt. As soon as he finished speaking, his face darkened. "Ron Weasley, I'm warning you, put away your unrealistic ideas. Black can't be captured by a thirteen-year-old Warlock."

"We have Aaron," Ron said immediately.

Aaron silently took a step back; he wasn't going to get involved in this kind of thing!

Sirius Black Black was no ordinary wanted criminal. He could laugh out loud after killing thirteen people, which shows his mental instability. He survived ten years in the harsh environment of Azkaban and still managed to escape, which shows his strong will.

Combining these two traits results in pure madness, and Aaron keeps his distance from such people.

Seeing Aaron take a step back, Ron said nothing more and instead placed a newspaper on the table.

"I have something to show you."

The three of them went over and looked at a black photograph in the newspaper. The Weasley family were dressed in local clothes and chatting and laughing in front of several pyramids.

"Egypt is a magical place with many ancient artifacts."

Mummy, ancient tomb.

"How enviable," Hermione said. "The history of ancient Egypt Warlock is very worth exploring."

"Aaron, where did you go this Summer Holiday?" Ron asked. "Did you go traveling too?"

"Ah... this has to be kept secret," Aaron chuckled.

Was that tourism for him? It was adventure, risking his life.

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley came in carrying large bags and small packages, accompanied by Fred, George, Percy, and Ginny.

Upon seeing Aaron and the others, they all greeted them warmly. Mrs. Weasley even asked Harry several questions, worried that he might have forgotten something when he boarded the train the next day.

Percy's way of greeting them made them feel a little flattered; he shook hands formally and spoke in an exceptionally polite tone, as if it had been deliberately rehearsed.

However, his two twin brothers, George and Fred, imitated his greeting, but their imitation was seven parts humor and three parts wit, which made him look rather unhappy.

Percy was elected president of the boys' council, and a silver badge was pinned to his chest, which was wiped quite clean.

"The first Head Boy." Mrs. Weasley looked at Percy with pride, then turned her disapproving gaze to George and Fred. "Why weren't you two elected Prefect?"

"Why should we be Prefect?" Fred asked, speechless.

"That would take a lot of the fun out of life," George added.

"You should set a good example for your younger sister."

"Ginny is setting a good example for him, unlike her brother," Percy said haughtily. "I'm going upstairs to change first, then I'll come down for dinner."

Seeing him leave, George and Fred both looked a little relieved.

"Aaron, what do you think of the Prefect?" George asked.

"Uh... Niall is a Prefect leader, at least the Slytherin trust him quite a bit."

"That's not what I'm asking," Fred laughed. "Do you want to be Prefect?"

"I don't want to." Aaron shook his head decisively. "Being Prefect is too tiring, and there's no salary. Compared to my own responsibilities, the duties of Prefect are a burden."

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously cast an approving look at Aaron.

"That's wonderful."

"Next time the Mother complains, we'll use this as an excuse."

Aaron:...