"Horatio, why did Floo Powder make you pass out?" Fred came over to help Horatio up.
"I think anyone who gets stuffed into a washing machine drum and sent through fireplace after fireplace would get dizzy, blegh—" Horatio began to wonder whether that blond guy had been right: maybe his reflexes were too poor to use the Flying Thunder God?
No, no, it had to be a problem with magic, not him. Tomorrow, he would study that book from Kamar-Taj.
"Pfft... Hahaha!!!" Ron could not help laughing at the sight of Horatio, while Ginny looked at him with undisguised schadenfreude.
Fine, fine. Apparently, Horatio had not made a move in so long that Ron thought he could no longer lift a blade. And that little female brat Ginny—there was nothing he could do to her at home, but once she got to Hogwarts, he would show her what true terror was.
Horatio pulled Fred and George over and began plotting how to prank Ron.
Watching the three of them laugh strangely like a gathering of Dark Wizards, Ron felt a chill run down his back. He was done for. He had gotten a little carried away just now and forgotten that Horatio was a demon with an incredibly petty heart.
"Horatio, what if we scare Ron with spiders and make him faint in front of everyone?" George suggested.
"Not good enough. I want him to suffer social death," Horatio said darkly.
"Wouldn't that be a bit too cruel?" Fred asked.
"Hm???" Horatio and George turned to look at Fred at the same time.
"I mean, please count me in." Fred felt absolutely no psychological burden about selling out his younger brother.
When they reached the steps outside Gringotts, Arthur and Harry had been waiting there for quite some time. Arthur excitedly told Molly, "I found Harry at Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. Do you know who I ran into there? Lucius Malfoy. The Ministry has been investigating strictly lately, so I knew he would be getting rid of the Dark Arts items in his house. If he hadn't run so fast, I would have caught evidence against him."
Molly tenderly wiped the dust from Harry and Arthur's clothes. "Knockturn Alley is a dangerous place. You must keep yourselves safe and don't get into conflicts with those Dark Wizards."
"It's fine. We ran into Hagrid there. He was buying medicine to get rid of flesh-eating slugs," Arthur replied.
At that moment, Hermione emerged from Gringotts with Mr. and Mrs. Granger. When she spotted Horatio, she happily charged toward him like a rampaging boar.
Horatio turned and ran.
"Don't run!! Horatio, explain what you meant by 'helipad'! And what was that beaver statue from the Ganges supposed to mean? Are there even beavers in the Ganges?" Hermione chased after him in the direction he fled.
"Does your house have a helipad? Isn't it a Ganges beaver?" Horatio mocked Hermione as he ran.
Hermione's rage meter reached its peak. Her battle fury stacks were full, giving her a forty percent critical-hit rate. She entered a state of endless rage.
Horatio turned around and unleashed the skill Frenzied Taunt at Hermione behind him, failing to watch where he was going and crashing into a blond, slick-haired boy.
"It's you!! Horatio." Malfoy covered his aching nose.
"Can't you watch where you're going? No wonder a crude and rude person like you hangs around with the Weasleys." With his father at his side, Malfoy found his confidence and sneered at Horatio while looking at the approaching Weasley family.
"Well, well! Little slickback, you've grown some nerve after a few months. You dare mock me now?" Horatio revealed a cruel smile, drew Yi, and pointed it at Malfoy. "Go on, tell me. How do you want to die?"
Terrified, Malfoy hid behind Lucius. "Don't do anything reckless. My father is here. If you touch me, he won't let you get away with it."
Horatio raised his head and sized Lucius up, estimating his combat power. Without using the Dark Arts, he could take on five Luciuses. With them, he could take on fifteen.
But using the Dark Arts seemed like it would get him sent to Azkaban. Wait—Azkaban? At that thought, Horatio put Yi away, took out Li, and pointed it at Lucius. "Slickback, do you want to stand up for little slickback?"
Lucius's lips twitched. Remembering his previous conversation with Snape, he suppressed the anger in his heart and said calmly, "I apologize for Draco's rudeness and am willing to offer compensation."
"Uh, being this cooperative makes things difficult for me." Horatio withdrew Li with a conflicted expression. "How about this? I smell a familiar soul aura on you. Hand that thing over, and we'll let this matter go."
"A soul aura?" Lucius thought for a moment, then took out a black diary. "This?"
Horatio snatched the diary away and sniffed its cover like a pervert. "That's right, this is it. That rotten stench."
He retched to the side, then looked at Voldemort's sleeping youthful soul within the diary. Stroking its cover, he said cruelly, "Little pigs, we meet again. This time, you can't run away again, okay? Uncle Johnny won't be happy if you do."
Watching Horatio's actions, Lucius shuddered and quietly asked, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Horatio stared at the diary, considering how to express his joy at reuniting with little Tom. He impatiently waved Lucius away. "You're done here. Leave already. Don't get in my way."
Lucius pulled along the dissatisfied Malfoy, bowed to Horatio, and turned to leave.
"Father, why did you apologize to Horatio? He was clearly the one who ran into me first," Malfoy asked in confusion.
Lucius recalled what Snape had told him.
"Voldemort has ambitions. Everything he does is for power and immortality."
"But Horatio Quibble does not have the slightest ambition. He acts entirely according to his whims and without any restraint. With talent as great as his, a person like that is a bomb that could explode at any time."
Lucius told Malfoy, "When you return to school, try your best to get along with Horatio. At the very least, do not become enemies with him."
"But he's a Muggle-born wizard," Malfoy asked, confused. "Father, haven't you always taught me not to associate with those who aren't pure-blood?"
Lucius said sternly, "Do as I say!!"
"Okay, Father," Malfoy replied weakly.
Lucius had a headache. Decades ago, Voldemort had appeared, but fortunately, he acted under the banner of pure-bloods, so the Pure-blood families only needed to cooperate with him. Now, an even more uncontrollable Horatio had emerged. What did he think of pure-bloods? Where would the future of the Pure-blood families lead?
Far away at Hogwarts, Dumbledore felt that he had not even said anything yet.
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