The Leaky Cauldron, Cedric Diggory

The Leaky Cauldron.

The first floor of the cramped pub was quite lively at this hour when Vinson Wright and old Barty Crouch opened the wooden door and entered.

A group of Wizards were enthusiastically raising their glasses and chatting.

One of them, a middle-aged man who looked quite talkative, wore glasses on the bridge of his nose and appeared to be a very meticulous old scholar.

"This trip was very enjoyable..."

Now, this middle-aged man with the old scholar's appearance was happily showing off his travels to all the Wizards in the pub: "I saw many Magical Creatures in the rainforest. Mr. Newt Scamander even warmly wrote to invite me to his home after learning I went to the South American rainforest..."

Obviously.

From this man's words, it was clear that being invited to visit by Newt Scamander, the expert on Magical Creatures, was a source of great pride.

And it truly was something to be proud of.

Because Newt Scamander had a very high reputation in the Wizarding World. That old man had written many books about Magical Creatures, which had been used as textbooks at Hogwarts.

"Let's celebrate Amos Diggory's trip!"

"Let's celebrate Mr. Scamander's invitation to Amos!"

Everyone in The Leaky Cauldron cheerfully raised their glasses to celebrate the man who had received an invitation from Mr. Scamander. Among them, a tall figure was the most enthusiastic.

He was a half-giant.

Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest and Gamekeeper, was outwardly a handyman at the school but was actually a person Dumbledore trusted greatly.

This half-giant loved all sorts of Magical Creatures, so he showed considerable enthusiasm for the travel stories told by the talkative man...

Of course.

Rubeus Hagrid was not the main focus of Vinson's attention.

Compared to Rubeus Hagrid, there was a black-haired young man in the pub who caught Vinson Wright's eye even more. He stood behind the talkative man with a slender build.

This black-haired young man was very handsome.

To put it a bit immodestly, Vinson Wright felt that the young man's handsomeness was only slightly inferior to his own.

As if sensing Vinson's gaze, the black-haired young man looked towards Vinson, who had appeared there, and smiled, nodding to Vinson Wright.

He was a very polite person.

Both his actions and his expression appeared natural and elegant, making people instantly feel good about him and want to praise him.

Just then, the middle-aged man, full of conversation, put his arm around the black-haired young man's shoulders and said loudly with a smile: "Unfortunately, I can't visit Mr. Scamander's home for now, because my son Cedric is about to start attending Hogwarts. I'm here today to accompany him to buy the things a new Hogwarts student needs..."

Speaking of his son, the middle-aged man showed some regret: "Cedric is twelve this year, and his birthday is in October, so he had to start a year late..."

Just as other patrons were about to comfort him, the middle-aged man suddenly laughed heartily: "But Cedric has already read through the textbooks I used, and I believe with his intelligence, he will become an excellent Hufflepuff student!"

"..."

Cedric's face flushed slightly with shyness.

Perhaps he felt ashamed by his father's boasting, or perhaps he was shy because everyone in the pub was looking at him.

If it were an ordinary little boy, he might have already hidden behind his father, too embarrassed to face the intense gazes of the adults.

Cedric's reaction was completely different.

After a moment of shyness, the black-haired young man humbly lowered his head and performed a wizard's apology to the many patrons before him: "I'm very sorry, we've disturbed everyone's leisurely afternoon."

"Let's celebrate Mr. Cedric Diggory!"

"Let's celebrate Amos Diggory for having such a good son!"

"Let's celebrate Hogwarts for welcoming an excellent student!"

"Let's celebrate Hufflepuff... Hufflepuff will once again be defeated by Gryffindor in the Quidditch Cup this year!"

"..."

A cheer erupted throughout the pub once again.

Among them were some patrons who couldn't resist adding their own little jabs, clearly Wizards who had graduated from Gryffindor House.

As the patrons in the pub were drinking, Cedric Diggory and his father, Amos Diggory, finally moved through the crowd; they were going to greet someone.

Amos Diggory had also seen old Barty Crouch, and the two could barely be considered colleagues at the Ministry of Magic.

Old Barty Crouch, once highly esteemed, was now semi-retired but still held the position of Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the British Ministry of Magic;

Amos Diggory was merely an employee in the extremely niche Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It seemed those who came from Hufflepuff House were indeed not good at politics...

"Long time no see, Mr. Crouch."

Amos Diggory walked over, extended his hand to old Barty Crouch, and shook his palm firmly: "You look well..."

"You too, Amos."

Old Barty Crouch slowly shook his hand, his gaze falling on Cedric Diggory beside him, and he praised with great seriousness: "Amos, you have a very outstanding son."

"Hahahaha..."

Amos Diggory could no longer hide his pride. He patted his son's shoulder forcefully and urged, "This is also the thing I'm most proud of in my life!"

After he finished speaking, Amos Diggory noticed the gray-haired youth beside the elder Barty Crouch and asked softly, "And this is..."

"This is..."

The elder Barty Crouch looked at Vinson Wright standing beside him. At that moment, he suddenly didn't know how to introduce Vinson's identity.

What if his introduction was too low-profile...

What if Vinson Wright embarrassed him on the spot?

Vinson Wright seemed to sense the elder Barty Crouch's hesitation. He took the initiative to extend his hand to Amos Diggory, saying, "I'm Vinson, Vinson Wright, and I'm also a new student entering Hogwarts this year."

After speaking, Vinson Wright glanced at Cedric Diggory and added, "If nothing unexpected happens, I should also be sorted into Hufflepuff House."

"Oh?"

Amos Diggory's eyes lit up instantly.

A flicker of joy also flashed in Cedric Diggory's eyes. He felt a good impression of a classmate he met by chance, perhaps because of his inherently kind nature.

This kindness.

It must be genuine kindness.

Cedric even took the initiative to extend his hand to Vinson, saying earnestly, "Allow me to reintroduce myself, I'm Cedric, Cedric Diggory."

"I heard that just now."

Vinson shook Cedric's hand kindly, his face full of sincerity as he said, "I think meeting a classmate at this time is something worth celebrating."

"I think so too..."

Cedric nodded joyfully in agreement.