A Certain Scientific Harry Potter

Most of the time, however, it was they who asked the questions, while Hagrid only answered what he could.

Everyone was quite curious about this uninvited guest, especially the Grangers, who couldn't help but drop hints, trying to pry out more information about Hogwarts.

It was clear they wanted to analyze Hagrid as a person to get a rough idea of what the wizarding world was actually like.

However, Harry felt they were probably overthinking it.

A guy as endearingly simple-minded as Hagrid was really unlikely to provide them with any useful information.

Moreover, Hagrid was the type of person who couldn't go three sentences without mentioning magical creatures; the things he brought up, like Trolls or Acromantulas, only made the Grangers feel even more uneasy about the wizarding world.

Hermione, on the other hand, was very interested in these things.

Or rather, once she learned that Hagrid was a half-giant and that many legendary creatures actually existed, she couldn't help but look forward to her own wizarding education even more.

"So... Hagrid, is the reason you came to see me just to celebrate my birthday?" After the family had enjoyed their meal, Harry asked curiously.

"Not entirely, actually. Dumbledore entrusted me with some business, er..." Hagrid replied carelessly, but then he realized his slip and hurriedly changed the subject. "Anyway, if it hadn't happened to be your birthday, Harry, I might not have agreed to make this trip! You haven't had much contact with the wizarding world since you were little, so after we finish eating, I'll take you and Hermione to Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies~"

"Thank you so much, Hagrid!" Harry wore a smile, but his brain was already running at high speed.

Dumbledore's errand must have something to do with that bank.

Harry had only seen one movie, so before officially heading to Hogwarts, he had to recall as much of the plot as possible!

After the birthday lunch, Hagrid took Harry and Hermione to the legendary Diagon Alley.

The Grangers had wanted to come along, but Harry had dissuaded them.

Harry had always believed that the wizarding world was by no means a safe place. If the Grangers wanted to know something, they could just ask him or Hermione; the less contact they had with those irrelevant wizards, the better!

Furthermore, Harry vaguely recalled that many of the wizards in the movie were dressed like the witches and sorcerers of feudal superstition. If the Grangers saw their appearance, they would definitely be very worried about Hermione's future.

Walking, taking the subway, and walking again—amidst the trio's idle chatter and Hagrid's complaints about how "nothing in the Muggle world is convenient"—they finally arrived at the famous place Hagrid had mentioned.

"We're here, the Leaky Cauldron."

Following the direction of Hagrid's finger, Harry and Hermione saw an incredibly filthy and dilapidated little pub.

The pub was hidden between a large bookstore and a record shop, its storefront completely inconspicuous; it was safe to assume that any reasonably normal person wouldn't even notice it.

Even when Harry had been hiding out in various pubs across London last year, he would never have chosen to duck into a place that looked this insecure!

But before he could complain about it in his mind for long, Harry and Hermione were pushed inside by Hagrid simultaneously.

Harry didn't want to pay much attention to the situation inside the Leaky Cauldron; in fact, he had no time to do so, because as soon as he and Hermione entered, they were surrounded by all sorts of strangely dressed people.

These people shouted at him excitedly, constantly crowding in to shake his hand, and even Hermione, who was beside him, was nearly pushed aside.

It was also Hermione's first time seeing firsthand just how famous Harry was in the wizarding world!

However, Harry couldn't be bothered to deal with these people, because not a single one of them could actually get his name right.

Harry Potter—this was the name of the savior in the minds of this crowd, but for Harry, it could now only serve to refer to the original work.

He, at this moment, did not want to bear the title of savior, did not want to be controlled by anyone, and wanted to walk a path of freedom...

Harry Granger!!

"Alright, please leave Harry alone for a moment; I still need to take him to Diagon Alley to buy things!"

Hagrid was clearly a regular here; he just shouted a few times, and he successfully helped Harry and Hermione out of the predicament.

They went together to the back courtyard of the pub. While Hermione was amazed by the moving wall, Harry had already precisely memorized the secret code Hagrid tapped out with his umbrella.

Behind the wall, a brand-new world unfolded before Harry and Hermione's eyes!

"Harry, Hermione, welcome to Diagon Alley!" Hagrid said with a smile.

The afternoon sun spilled onto the cobblestone street, the surrounding shops were dazzling, and the bustling crowd wore all kinds of exquisite and exotic clothing. Everything was so novel.

"Is this the shopping street for wizards? It's simply too interesting!!" Hermione took a great deal of effort to barely tear her eyes away, but after that, she gave Harry a rather reproachful look.

Hmph! This guy actually obstructed her, not letting her come into contact with the wizarding world!

Sure enough, he just wanted to enjoy such a fun place all by himself~

Of course, Hermione knew Harry was doing it for her own good, but girls, as a species, always have to have some unreasonable privileges.

However, Harry did not look as wide-eyed as Hermione; instead, he looked a bit strange.

Diagon Alley was truly a rather noisy place.

This noise was not the sound of hawking along the street or pedestrians chatting with each other, nor was it the various chirps coming from the pet shop, but something else—a mysterious, low humming sound.

The sound came from all directions, as if hidden in those inconspicuous corners, or as if it were floating directly in the entire space, constantly buzzing.

And when Harry gripped his Space Ring and silently recited 'Clear Mirror Still Water' in his heart, the sounds he heard became even clearer.

The chaotic, noisy sounds were blocked out, replaced by all kinds of constantly leaping and calling voices.

They were either high-pitched and enthusiastic, or whispering softly, as if every sound had its own unique rhythm and melody, yet when blended together, they seemed exceptionally harmonious, playing out segments of melodious music.

Harry didn't know what these sounds were, but he knew very well... these sounds should only be audible to him!

Chapter 22 Hermione Wants to be the Housekeeper

Looking around greedily, every single thing here seemed very attractive, but as she looked, Hermione suddenly revealed a bitter face.

"Hagrid, how are we supposed to buy things later? Can we really use British pounds in the wizarding world?"

"Of course not, the shops in Diagon Alley don't accept pounds," Hagrid explained as if it were obvious. "But we can exchange money first. Look, right there! The wizarding world's bank, Gringotts."

Following the direction Hagrid pointed, Harry and Hermione saw a peculiar building.

It was a snow-white structure that stood two stories taller than the surrounding shops, truly standing out from the crowd.

"Gringotts is a bank run by goblins; it's probably the safest place in the entire wizarding world... except for Hogwarts, of course," Hagrid explained. "Hermione can exchange her pounds for Galleons here and open a vault as well. As for Harry, there's no need for that."

"Why doesn't Harry need to?" Hermione asked, pursuing the matter like a curious child.

"Because all his money is already stored here!" Hagrid led the two children to a goblin teller who was working. "We need to withdraw some money from Mr. Harry Potter's vault... er, Harry, you have to understand, the goblins don't know you've changed your name."

Hagrid was indeed very considerate of Harry's feelings. After learning that Harry didn't like his former name, this big man, who should have been quite careless, was careful in every way.

Harry took note of all his kindness.

"Do you have his key, sir?" the goblin teller asked.

"I do!" Hagrid dumped almost everything from his pockets onto the counter, finally finding a shiny gold key under the impatient gaze of the goblin teller.

"There's one more thing..." After the other party confirmed the authenticity of the key, Hagrid handed over a tightly sealed letter. "This is a letter from Professor Dumbledore. I am under orders to retrieve the item in vault 713."

"Er... vault 713? Oh, very well... your letter and key are in order. I... I think I'll have Griphook take you there instead~"

At the mention of vault 713, the goblin teller seemed to become somewhat flustered. He only glanced at the items briefly before tossing them back to Hagrid, as if he were pushing away two hot potatoes.

The goblin named Griphook also appeared unwilling. After glaring resentfully at the goblin teller sitting on the high stool, he led the three of them away with a look of misery.

"Vault 713, is there something special in there?" For Hermione, who had just come into contact with the magical world, many things were novel, and she wanted to ask about everything she encountered.

"Sorry Hermione, that matter is top secret! Even if Harry asked, I would never tell him!"

Unfortunately, in some respects, Hagrid's lips were sealed tight.

Led by Griphook, the three rode a small cart through the intricate tracks. Along the way, Hermione screamed with delight, while Hagrid looked quite uncomfortable.

As for Harry, he kept listening intently to the sounds here.

The sounds in these underground vaults were clearer and more singular than in Diagon Alley above... especially deep underground, Harry even felt he heard a scream so intense it cracked the air!

Hagrid said the underground vaults of Gringotts were guarded by dragons...

Could this have any connection to the sounds he was hearing?

"We have arrived, Harry. This is the fortune your parents left for you."

Griphook stopped the cart in front of a small door in a passageway. He unlocked it with the key, revealing a flash of gold inside to the three of them!

Mountains of copper coins, bundles of silver bars, and piles upon piles of gold coins!!

"No way, is all of this actually Harry's?!" Hermione rubbed her eyes in disbelief. "My goodness! Harry, you're actually a hidden heir to a fortune!"

"Here, you're a little rich girl now too~" Harry placed the key directly into the hands of the stunned Hermione. "Hagrid said earlier that you needed to open a vault, but in my opinion, there's no need for that at all!"

"This... this won't do!" Hermione shook her head in a panic, trying to return the key to Harry. "These things were left to you by your parents; I don't have the right to use even a single copper!"

"Hermione, just keep the key." Harry shook his head with a smile. "As for rights, if I say you have them, then you certainly do! Besides, it is precisely because these things were left by my parents that I want to use them with my current family."

The inheritance from his parents in this life was certainly an important fortune for Harry, but this money didn't weigh as much as the Granger family did in his heart.

Moreover, unlike Hermione, Harry still didn't want to join the wizarding world, so rather than holding onto this pile of useless magical currency, it was better to use it to support Hermione.

Harry just didn't want Hermione to go to Hogwarts, not that he was truly against her learning magic, and he knew very well that the cost of studying magic would certainly not be low.

After taking some money from the vault, they hurried with Griphook to the legendary vault 713. After witnessing Hagrid stuff a certain cloth bag into his coat, the three left Gringotts together.

However, what Harry found a bit strange was that the bag Hagrid had retrieved seemed somewhat flat.

And what the three of them, who were leaving, failed to see was that the goblin Griphook, who was trailing behind them, had just wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead caused by tension, looking relieved.

On the way back, Hermione was no longer chattering and asking questions; instead, she was somewhat silent, the reason naturally being the extra key in her pocket.

She never expected that Harry was actually serious!

The wealth that Hagrid said was enough for someone to live comfortably in the wizarding world for years, Harry had just handed it all over to her!

Family...

Hermione felt that for the first time, she understood the weight of that word in Harry's heart.

No... she couldn't just accept it like this!

The moment she left Gringotts, Hermione made a secret decision in her heart.

She wouldn't accept the money for herself, but as family, as Harry's older sister, she felt she had an obligation to help Harry plan the use of this wealth!

Hmm... at this moment, Hermione didn't realize that the new identity she had just defined for herself was actually what most people would call...

A bossy housekeeper~

"Next, you two go explore on your own. I want to go to the Leaky Cauldron for a refreshing drink, I hope you don't mind." Hagrid deliberately put on a pitiful look. "You know, the Gringotts carts are just too hateful~"

Harry and Hermione certainly wouldn't refuse such a small request.

In fact, Hermione had long wanted to get rid of Hagrid's straight-to-the-point, "straight-man" style of shopping.

As for Hagrid, he felt the excuse he had found was absolutely perfect~

Going to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink was true, but what he really wanted to do was prepare a proper birthday gift for Harry.

Even that Muggle couple had prepared a lavish birthday feast for Harry, so how could he, an old friend who had been separated from Harry for eleven years (or so Hagrid believed), fall behind?

Thus, without Harry knowing, Hagrid slipped into a pet shop called Eeylops Owl Emporium.

Chapter 23 Shopping Is Meant for Complaining

After Hagrid left, Hermione finally got her wish to start her and Harry's... "shopping without spending money" mode.

The reason they had to wander around was that, regardless of size, shopping was a woman's nature, and Harry had to satisfy this nature of Hermione's.

As for why they hadn't spent any money, it was simply because, aside from their wands and school uniforms, there was nothing they actually needed to buy.

Ever since receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter, Harry had contacted Scamander immediately... incidentally, they used a home telephone to communicate.

Seeing as it would be the twenty-first century in less than ten years, who in the real world was still so out of touch that they used owls?

Under Scamander's guidance, most of the items on the school supply list had been cleared away.

First were the textbooks; Scamander told Harry that Hogwarts textbooks were basically like those in universities in the real world, rarely updated for years or even decades, so buying new books was truly not as good as using second-hand ones.

As hidden and genuine top students respectively, Harry and Hermione naturally knew what kind of artifacts the textbooks and notes used by previous top students were to a pupil, so they deeply agreed with Scamander's words.

As for the second-hand textbooks, Scamander had, of course, already used his connections to have them prepared for the two.

Speaking of the wizarding world, there was a pure-blood family with a very long lineage, a lot of children, and a history of producing top students, yet they were exceptionally poor...