"Shut up, you hocus-pocus con man, you little fraud." Apparently thinking the harmless-looking boy would be easier to deal with, Dursley's attitude had become much worse. His other hand even tried to wrench the barrel back into place.
Seeing Dursley's face turn red from the effort, Bing Huan sliced off the bent barrel with a single stroke. "There. Now it's straight." Clearly, against ordinary people who knew nothing about the supernatural, the threat of a blade was more effective.
Ignoring Dursley, who was desperately forcing a smile, Bing Huan signaled that the two of them were ready to leave. He used Flying Thunder God to take them to the Daoist Sect's hideout near the Leaky Cauldron.
Inside the room, Bing Huan handed over a bracelet. "This is a Storage Bracelet I refined myself. It's not very big, only two or three cubic meters, but you can use it to store your own things. Happy birthday, Harry."
"Pika, pika!" Harry was still playing with the bracelet when he felt something tugging at his clothes. Looking down, he saw a large yellow mouse holding a necklace with a red gem in its tiny paws.
"His name is Pikachu. He's my friend." Pikachu raised the necklace a little higher and patted his own chest, signaling Harry to put it on. He would look after Harry at Hogwarts—and if he couldn't win a fight, there was still the one who cleaned up after him.
Harry looked at Bing Huan, Pikachu, and Hagrid, who had just returned, and couldn't stop the little pearls from falling. "Thank you. This is the best birthday I've ever had."
Hagrid rubbed Harry's head. "After all, boys can't keep having their eleventh birthday forever."
"Pika!"
Bing Huan said, "Pikachu said it well."
After dawn, the two of them took Harry to Diagon Alley to shop. While they were being measured for clothes, they even ran into a blond new student who kept challenging Harry, who was "far away at the edge of the world," to duels. Later, Hagrid went to buy Harry a birthday present, while Bing Huan accompanied Harry to buy a wand.
"Old man, I'm back again~"
Ollivander poked his head out from atop the ladder. "I've been wondering when I'd get to see you again, Mr. Potter.
"Your parents bought their first wands from me too. It feels as though it happened only yesterday. Here—redwood, unicorn hair, twelve and one-third inches, very flexible. Give it a wave."
The drawers in the cabinet beside them collectively fled. "Looks like that one isn't right..." Before long, the counter was covered with wands Harry had tried, and the shop itself was in complete disarray.
"You really don't make things easy for anyone, do you?" Bing Huan stepped forward and teased him.
Harry looked at Bing Huan. "Is it my fault, Huan?"
Ollivander came out holding another wand. "No, child. The wand chooses the wizard. If we're being honest, the most difficult customer is standing right beside you. Back then, he tried every wand in the shop and still couldn't find one that suited him."
Harry took the wand. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches. In an instant, it was as if holy light had descended over Harry's head. Bing Huan asked, "Was I like this too?"
"No, you were even more exaggerated. I nearly thought you were about to transform into a phoenix and fly away. Miss Granger was the same."
Bing Huan: o_O???
Harry obtained his first wand and also learned that the owner of the wand's brother was Voldemort, the one who had left him his scar. Outside the shop, Hagrid tapped on the window, holding a snowy owl as a gift for Harry.
Harry decided to name her "Hedwig." At the dining table, Bing Huan received a reply from the Twins. The letter expressed their longing for the Invisibility Charm more than once. Yes, Bing Huan had named his owl "Old Leng."
After promising Harry they would meet again when school began, Hagrid took him back to Privet Drive. Bing Huan returned to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore had told him that tonight he would take him to visit an expert in Fantastic Beasts.
That evening, Dumbledore brought Bing Huan to the front of a house in Dorset.
"You picked up Harry?"
"We bought everything he needed, and I also made a friendly visit to the Dursleys. By the way, which expert is it? You even have to escort me there personally."
"Newt Scamander, my student. Rather than escorting you, I'd say you're helping me. After all, I've troubled Newt quite a bit in the past, so his wife doesn't think very highly of me." Dumbledore said this after taking a sip of black tea from his thermos.
Bing Huan: (￢‸￢) ?
"His wife's upset too? Did you send your student to seduce her?"
"I merely had him go and establish contact on my behalf."
"With whom?"
"Gellert."
"Oh~ Then you deserve that."
Dumbledore said, "You already know the details. I couldn't bring myself to attack Gellert, and the ones truly committing evil were those extreme Pure-bloods. So, can you ring the doorbell now?"
"Still can't bear to step forward yourself and insist on sending your student instead, Professor?" A kindly old woman opened the door. Her voice was strong, and the marks of age were far less pronounced than on others her age.
"Hello, Grandma Tina!" Bing Huan knew that this was the moment to act like a good little boy. Tina crouched down and hugged him. "I've been waiting a long time to hear you call me that, Huan. Come in quickly. Don't catch cold."
Bing Huan was led away, looking bewildered. (･_･?) Was she always this familiar?
Once inside, an energetic old man was staring at him excitedly. Bing Huan turned to Tina. "Was he really looking forward to me calling him Grandpa that much?" Tina smiled and rubbed Bing Huan's head. "He got up especially early today to wait for you."
Bing Huan had never met an elder who was so fond of being treated like an elder. Still, calling him that didn't seem like it would hurt. (Probably?)
"Grandpa Newt...?"
"Ah~ What a good boy!"
For some reason, Bing Huan felt as though he had gotten the short end of the stick. He frowned at the adults. "Why does it feel like you all met me a long time ago and have been waiting for me to call you that?"
Tina brought out a plate of fruit. "We really did meet before."
"Really? Why don't I remember?" Bing Huan thought for a moment, but he truly had no memories of anything like that.
Apparently seeing his confusion, Newt comforted him. "It's all right. You'll remember eventually."
Bing Huan: (ー`´ー) Thanks. That was very comforting. Please don't comfort me again.
Over the next ten days, Bing Huan followed Newt in getting to know all kinds of Fantastic Beasts: Nifflers, Bowtruckles, Occamy, and even a Zouwu from China.
For some reason, this Zouwu liked Bing Huan very much. Though it was already over a hundred years old and fully grown, it still loved to play like a young beast. The Niffler was even more interested in the gems on Bing Huan's Storage Ring, while the Bowtruckle was quite fond of Bing Huan's wand.
In the days that followed, Bing Huan, the Fantastic Beasts, and the Scamander couple all got along happily. By the time Fawkes appeared at the window and startled everyone, ten days had already passed. Before leaving, Tina took out a scarf she had knitted herself—without magic. Pikachu had one too.
She personally wrapped it around the child. "Come visit again whenever you like. Of course, it would be even better if you brought your little girlfriend next time."
"I don't even have one of those. Besides, I'm only thirteen. There's no rush."
"Is that so? Don't come back in two years saying something different. All right, it's time for you to go. Take care, child."
"Ta... take care." Indeed, aside from the first day, Newt still acted somewhat socially anxious.
"Mm. Goodbye, Grandma Tina and Grandpa Newt. Remember to take the pills I gave you." Bing Huan turned, grabbed Fawkes, and vanished in a flash of fire.
After a squeezing sensation similar to Apparition, Bing Huan arrived at an old cottage. After handing him a letter, Fawkes vanished as well.
"Huan, I trust you had a good time at Newt's house. Next, you'll spend a few more days studying alchemy with my old friend, Nicolas Flamel. He is currently the only alchemical master known to have created and possessed the Philosopher's Stone.
"In ten days, I'll have Fawkes bring you back. One final old friend will be waiting for you at Hogwarts.
"Signed, Old Dumbledore."
"You're even cuter than I imagined."
Bing Huan turned around. A thin, tall old man was smiling at him. His skin was even paler than that of most white people, but not with a sickly pallor. His eyes were kind, as though he were looking at a younger relative who had been away from home for a long time.
"Mr. Nicolas?"
Nicolas Flamel smiled and stepped forward to hug Bing Huan. "No need to be so formal, child. Just call me Grandpa Nicolas."
Bing Huan nodded and lightly returned the hug. This was a man more than six hundred years old—and not even a cultivator. He didn't dare use any strength.
Noticing Bing Huan's caution, Nicolas laughed heartily. "Don't worry, child. Apart from the Elixir of Life, I've also been taking pills from China to nourish my body. I'm still quite hale and hearty."
Hearing this, Bing Huan examined Nicolas Flamel's body. His bone age really was over six hundred, yet his condition was scarcely worse than that of a man in his sixties or seventies. "Really? Are they pills from Medicine King Valley?"
"No. A little fellow from the Daoist Sect told me about them." Nicolas Flamel looked at Bing Huan meaningfully.
That strange feeling surged up again. "Grandpa Nicolas, have you met me before?" Nicolas Flamel waved his hand, and the two of them arrived in a library containing an alchemy table.
"Child, time is a mischievous thing. Even the past of someone like me and the future of someone like you may meet. What matters is how we live the lives ahead of us. All right, although we have ten days, that isn't enough time for alchemy. Let's begin."
Perhaps because he devoted himself entirely to studying, the ten days passed quickly. Before returning to Hogwarts, Nicolas Flamel specially called Bing Huan back and told him something. Before Bing Huan could understand it, he sealed it away, intending to unseal it at some point in the future.
By the time Bing Huan returned to Hogwarts, it was already late at night. Dumbledore told him to rest first. Lying in bed, Bing Huan's thoughts kept circling around the words of Tina, Newt, and Nicolas Flamel.
Irritated, Bing Huan sat up. "No, seriously, what is wrong with them?!"
Before you continue