An Old Friend of the LeMay Family

Dumbledore's favorite student?

Harry thought about it and didn't think Dumbledore much.

If Dumbledore really liked him, he wouldn't have spent so much time playing riddles with him.

"I think you're mistaken. I'm not Dumbledore's favorite student," he denied calmly. "Although I'm quite well-known at school, I've heard from professors that Professor Dumbledore seems to have someone else in mind."

"Is that so?" Lockhart's voice was soft. "But you and he are both Gryffindor."

"That doesn't mean he likes Gryffindor," Harry shrugged. "Maybe it's Hufflepuff?"

He sensed Lockhart fall into a moment of silence.

"Lady and gentlemen!" Lockhart exclaimed suddenly, looking up. "What an extraordinary moment! Young Harry walked into Flourish and Blotts today just to buy my autobiography—and I'm willing to give him a complete hardcover set, signed by me, for free!"

"Sir," Harry suddenly interrupted Lockhart.

He thought of Aunt Molly, who was worried about the books for the new semester before she left.

To preserve the Weasley family's pride, he wouldn't directly offer financial assistance—but now is a perfect opportunity.

If we could get some of Lockhart's works, it would surely greatly alleviate the Weasley family's burden, and it would also be a way of helping that takes into account the feelings of others.

Besides, Lockhart grabbed me for a photo without saying a word after seeing me, which was obviously a publicity stunt. It wasn't extortion, much less greed.

Thinking of this, he continued, "As you know, I came with several friends, all of whom are loyal fans of yours—it would be difficult for me if you only gave one to me, so I implore Mr. Lockhart to also give a set to my friends..."

Lockhart's eye twitched noticeably twice.

He truly hadn't expected that this little guy in front of him would be so... shameless.

"How many friends do you have?" Lockhart asked with a forced smile.

"Nine, sir," Harry said obediently.

"Alright, after all, Harry Potter is the great the Savior, isn't he?" Lockhart said through gritted teeth. "Come on, get Harry nine hardcover sets of books with my autograph!"

The crowd began to applaud and cheer, everyone applauding Lockhart's generosity.

No one thought Lockhart was neglecting one thing for another, after all, Harry was the famous the Savior and deserved some preferential treatment.

It must be admitted that Lockhart is a prolific writer—if he were the same height as Ginny, he would be considered the same height.

Harry returned laden with spoils, like a victorious warrior, beaming as he shared his prize with everyone.

"Aunt Molly!" he said with a smile. "Look, I got a complete set of hardcover, signed books from Mr. Lockhart! We all have one... Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Percy, Draco, and me, one each."

"Aren't there eight people?" Aunt Molly asked curiously.

Harry chuckled and said, "I know you like Lockhart too, so I got you a set as well."

"Oh, my good boy..." Aunt Molly hugged Harry happily and kissed him on the forehead. "You're such a good boy, I don't know... I don't know how to thank you enough."

"Then I'd like beef stew with potatoes for dinner, Aunt Molly," Harry said with a grin. "Your cooking is absolutely delicious..."

"This child." Aunt Molly ruffled Harry's messy hair.

At that moment, another cheer erupted from the crowd.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, turning around.

"Oh, Lockhart said he's coming to Hogwarts this year to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor," Draco said without turning his head. "He also said he'll be the most competent Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor in Hogwarts ' history."

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Of course it's true!" Hermione exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement. "My goodness, Ron! He must be Hogwarts's best Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor! You know, the things described in those books are all things he personally experienced!"

"Alright, alright, I know," Ron said impatiently. "My God, I really don't know why you guys like him so much, it's like he's given you some kind of Love Potion."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hermione and Molly each punched him in the back.

"Well done, Hermione," Aunt Molly praised.

In dealing with Ron, Molly and Hermione surprisingly developed a mutual respect for each other.

When they went outside, they were surprised to find Hagrid standing at the door waiting for them.

"Hagrid!" Harry cheered, waving high at Hagrid.

Hagrid noticed him and returned a big smile.

"Hagrid? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked curiously.

"So many of the cabbages in my house have been eaten by carnivorous caterpillars," Hagrid said regretfully. "What a pity for those cabbages; they should have been on the dinner table."

"Why don't you just pick off the bitten leaves?" Ron asked naively.

"These dishes are for the cafeteria," Hagrid added.

Ron quickly said, "Oh, I don't think that's necessary..."

When Mr. Weasley returned to the Leaky Cauldron, he was still happily drinking Butterbeer with some people.

Judging from Lucius's appearance, he had clearly developed some interest in the Muggle world —though it was probably in how to make money, as he even asked Mr. Granger about some books on ways to make money.

Buying a few books by Muggle isn't considered misuse of Muggle items, so Mr. Weasley turned a blind eye and let it go.

Besides, he can't control what other people want to learn about the Muggle world, can he?

Everyone's packages were placed in Harry's little pocket with the Untraceable Extension Charm, so they moved very quietly. When Harry threw the books in, Harry could clearly hear Pabbie make an "ouch" sound.

"You hit me!" Pabbie said, feeling wronged.

"Oh, I'm sorry—" Harry felt a little apologetic, but not much.

Since it was still early, everyone decided to have lunch in the Muggle world.

After all, they weren't dressed like wizards; they were just dressed in everyday clothes, so they weren't afraid of being stared at.

Lucius and Draco took their leave first; they seemed to have other things to do at home.

"I really don't know what's wrong with him," Arthur muttered to himself, watching the Malfoy and their father's retreating figures.

Over the years, Lucius has never shown any sign of closeness to him. He usually tries to avoid running into him when they walk together, and even if they do bump into each other, he just gives a greeting.

However... perhaps it's because of the need to confiscate Dark Arts items?

Arthur pondered to himself that this matter was originally going to be put on the agenda, but it was interrupted by the sudden Muggle incident.

The Ministry of Magic's manpower is largely devoted to erasing Muggle ' memories, leaving them with no time to search house to house for suspicious Dark Arts items.

As a member of the Ministry of Magic, Lucius must have heard rumors of this or that.

However, Arthur felt it didn't quite seem right, and after thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

The Mr. and Mrs. Granger were very welcoming to the Weasley family, inviting them to sit down in the restaurant. As soon as they ordered, Mr. Weasley continued to chat with them.

The topics of conversation included, but were not limited to, things that didn't exist in the Wizarding World, such as television, telephones, computers, cars, and bus stations. Mr. Granger didn't mind talking to Arthur about these things, and the two chatted very enthusiastically.

Fortunately, it was a private room; otherwise, it would have definitely attracted a crowd.

When it was time to part, Arthur was a little reluctant to leave. He had talked with Mr. Granger for so long and he had solved many of the problems concerning the Muggle world.

He absorbed knowledge about Muggle technology like a sponge.

That afternoon, after saying goodbye to the Granger family, Harry and his friends returned to the Weasley family using Floo Powder.

Harry really didn't like using Floo Powder for transportation, as he had to Clean-up himself with it every time—otherwise, he'd be covered in ash and really dirty.

In the evening, Aunt Molly didn't keep Harry waiting long and made him a big pot of beef stew with potatoes.

"It smells delicious," Harry said, patting his belly as he sat on the stool and burping.

"Indeed." Ron was almost too tired to move.

Thanks to Harry, he's been eating a lot of good food these past few days.

As the days passed, on August 15th, Harry decided to say a temporary goodbye to the Weasley family.

"I'm going out to visit some friends," Harry said.

Arthur and Molly didn't ask any further questions, only telling Harry to be careful.

After all, they had all witnessed Harry's abilities...

After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to bring Pabbie along.

He also went to Diagon Alley and bought Pabbie a lot of delicious food so that Pabbie wouldn't go hungry.

After everything was ready, Harry Apparition and arrived at the LeMay family.

Apparition requires having been to the target location before, and Harry and Veratia visited the LeMay family before Christmas a hundred years ago when Harry was in his fifth year.

Even after a hundred years, the LeMay family remains unchanged.

This house is protected by the Fidelius Charm, and its exact location cannot be found unless the exact address is known—not even Voldemort or Gellert Grindelwald could do that.

Fortunately, Harry knew.

He stepped forward and knocked on LeMay family's door.

After a while, the door opened, and Harry looked down.

"Dico?" he asked in surprise.

"Young Master Potter?" Dico jumped up happily as well.

Neither of them expected to meet each other here.

Dico was House Elf assigned to Professor Weasley a hundred years ago, and he has been in charge of his daily life ever since.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked excitedly. "I even went to the Room of Requirement to look for you, but you weren't there anymore."

As he spoke, he walked through the door.

Dico snapped his fingers and closed the door.

"Miss Grindelwald brought Dico here," Dico said, his expression somewhat somber. "Unfortunately, Dico hasn't seen Miss Grindelwald since—is she alright, Young Master Potter?"

"She..." Harry choked up.

Okay?

Trapped in Slytherin's Study...

"Later, Dico heard that young master Grindelwald had done something terrible." Dico noticed the change in Harry's expression and changed the subject. "But it seems that young master Grindelwald was punished."

"Yes, that's what he deserved." Harry said, still seething with anger. "Do you know what? Veratia had over two million Galleon in Gringotts ' bank! Over two million! Gellert took it all! And that's not all, it included some rare alchemical materials, and materials that could save Veratia... he took them all!"

"That's really bad," Dico commented. "He did it without Miss Grindelwald and Young Master Potter's permission."

"Who says otherwise?" Harry chuckled. "If Veratia comes back and hears that Gellert did something like this, she'll definitely teach him a lesson."

"I'll teach him a lesson!" Dico said with a laugh. "So, has Young Master Potter met any other friends?"

"Oh, there is one."

As Harry spoke, he took Pabbie out of his wallet.

"What is this?" Dico asked curiously. "Young master, I don't remember having Unicorn in the Room of Requirement. I only remember a Phoenix named Fiona, who seems to be a companion of both you and Miss Grindelwald."

"This is Pabbie, Pabbie Sweeting." Harry patted Pabbie, who was still fast asleep, and when she didn't react, he reached out and popped a Pabbie bubble in her nose.

"No, I wasn't sleeping!" Pabbie opened his eyes, looking around groggily. "Where am I, Harry?"

"France," Harry said succinctly, patting Pabbie on the neck. "Look who's here?"

Pabbie down and saw Dico.

"Hey, Dico," Pabbie said with a smile, "Long time no see."

"Long time no see, Miss Sweeting." Dico hesitated for a moment, then tugged at Harry's sleeve and asked, "Young Master Potter, what happened? How did Miss Sweeting turn into Unicorn?"

"The aftereffects of the Magical Animagus." Harry shrugged. "I don't know how to help him. I came to Mr. LeMay this time for two reasons: first, to see if he has any alchemical materials that can save Veratia, and second, to see if he has any good ideas on how to turn Pabbie into human form."

"Oh." Dico nodded and said to Harry, "Then you'll have to wait a bit, Young Master Potter. Mr. LeMay. and Mrs. LeMay. Flamel have just fallen asleep. You know, older people need much less sleep than younger people."

"Okay, I'm not in a hurry." Harry patted Pabbie's thigh again. "Dico, show us to a seat for a bit."

Dico glanced at Harry's actions and wanted to remind Harry shouldn't be doing that.

Even if Miss Sweeting is now Unicorn, he can't treat a girl like this— Dico was only concerned for Young Master Potter's safety, in case Miss Grindelwald saw it...

(Delivered at midnight, please vote with monthly tickets!)

(I'm so tired, I'll skip writing that 2,000-word extra chapter...)