My Friend

"Are you from the Celestial Dynasty?"

Under the scrutinizing gazes, Li Mu suddenly remembered—this was his first time meeting Harry Potter.

Being so familiar and excited upon their first meeting would definitely arouse suspicion. So, he improvised, changing "Harry" to "Hello," and casually came up with a question.

Harry Potter stared blankly at Li Mu for a moment, then timidly shook his head and said, "No, I'm not from the Celestial Dynasty."

Li Mu pretended to be a little disappointed, his gaze still fixed on Harry Potter's face.

"Are you... from the Celestial Dynasty?" Perhaps unable to withstand such scrutiny, Harry Potter paused for a moment and took the initiative to ask Li Mu.

But before he could answer, someone else interrupted the conversation.

"Hey, lad, you don't know who he is?" someone yelled at Li Mu, his tone filled with strong dissatisfaction.

What the hell, did I offend you? ... Li Mu was taken aback, and in frustration, he shook his head slightly. The man seemed even angrier and sat back in his seat to drink in silence without saying a word.

"Diggle, don't be like that." Seeing the conflict arise, the crowd gradually dispersed, and a bartender-like person squeezed in to mediate, "Alright, young man, Diggle is just grumbling... Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"

The term "young man" stunned Li Mu. To be honest, although only ten years old, Li Mu could be described as handsome and heroic, and his wheat-colored skin was a healthy color that he could only dream of in his previous life.

Before Li Mu could answer, the bartender glanced at the suitcase in his hand and continued to speak to himself: "What would you like? I think you'd like a big glass of Butterbeer."

As he spoke, he winked at Li Mu. He must have mistaken Li Mu for a naughty kid who ran away from home.

Li Mu smiled and shook his head at the bartender: "No, thank you, I'm just here to find... um, how do I get to Diagon Alley?..."

As soon as he said this, he felt more people in the bar looking at him curiously, including the bartender in front of him.

Most of those who can find their way to the Leaky Cauldron are from the magical world, so they should naturally be able to find such a famous place as Diagon Alley. Therefore, Li Mu's performance was puzzling enough.

Li Mu didn't want to pay attention to the various strange gazes of the crowd; his purpose wasn't on anyone else.

His eyes rolled slightly, and he suddenly acted as if he had remembered something, raising his voice and exclaiming in surprise at the black-haired boy in front of him: "Are you Harry? Harry Potter?"

Harry Potter's eyes immediately flashed with panic, and he unconsciously stroked his hair, hoping to cover the scar, then nodded.

"Oh, I've read about your deeds in books. I thought you were from the Celestial Dynasty just now! You know, I don't see many black-haired people in England." Li Mu exaggeratedly pointed to his hair, and Harry smiled slightly, relieved.

Harry Potter could feel that the emotion in Li Mu's eyes wasn't like others looking at a rare animal. This made him feel better.

That's right, that's how it is, first approach Harry, win his favor... this is the real purpose of Li Mu's series of performances. As a transmigrator who knows the plot in advance, it's very important to be friends with the protagonist.

Next, Li Mu continued to put on an enthusiastic appearance: "Harry, it's nice to meet you. I'm a student from the Shushan Taoist Academy of the Celestial Dynasty, sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for exchange studies. I'm a freshman this year... I heard you're going to Hogwarts School to study this year too?"

To increase persuasiveness, he also took out the map sent by the school in front of Harry, the bartender, and Hagrid, waving it in front of everyone.

"I think I have to go to Diagon Alley to prepare some things... but I don't know how to get to Diagon Alley. This map only marks that Diagon Alley is behind this bar," Li Mu explained.

The map did simply mark that Diagon Alley was behind the Leaky Cauldron. But the Western magical world is used to making mysteries. Li Mu had already been looking around as soon as he entered the door, but he didn't find any alley hidden behind such a small bar.

The bartender stared at the map, his face full of doubt: "Hogwarts is recruiting from the Celestial Dynasty this year? That's strange..."

Then the voice said to Li Mu again: "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts School. If you don't mind, come with me... By the way, what's your name?"

The voice was muffled and rumbling, really like thunder. Li Mu had to crane his neck to look up. Hagrid's messy beard and long hair were tangled together, covering his mouth.

As soon as the giant finished speaking, he had already stepped forward.

"Li Mu," Li Mu answered, in standard Mandarin, pronouncing each word perfectly, "My name is Li Mu."

Almost at the same time, he and Harry started jogging to keep up with Hagrid's pace.

"Li... Mu?" Harry, who was next to him, suddenly spoke, struggling to pronounce the full name.

"Yes, Li is the family name, Mu is the given name, you can call me Li!" Li Mu nodded. This bit of running was like a stroll to him, calm and composed.

"That's an interesting name," Harry said. They had now followed Hagrid to the back of the pub, entering a dilapidated little courtyard surrounded by brick walls, with only weeds and garbage in it.

In the courtyard, Hagrid stopped, and they paused as well, but the conversation wasn't over.

Harry Potter hesitated, finally gritting his teeth and extending his hand, "I'm also a new student at Hogwarts, so we're classmates. I think we can be friends."

The sudden gesture took Li Mu by surprise for a moment. He observed Harry with interest. It was only at this moment that Li Mu remembered... the famous Harry Potter in front of him was just an eleven-year-old elementary school student without a childhood and lacking playmates.

And at this moment, perhaps due to nervousness in saying these words, the skinny boy with black hair and green eyes had a completely red face.

Li Mu secretly sighed in his heart, put aside his other thoughts, and smiled, extending his hand as well.

The two hands lightly touched, and they shook.

The redness on Harry's face quickly faded, and he smiled happily. In eleven years, this was the first friend of his age that he had made, and they both had black hair, which made Harry Potter feel inexplicably comfortable and at ease.

Of course, Rubeus Hagrid heard all of this. The burly giant smiled without revealing anything, raised the umbrella in his hand, and knocked hard on the wall in front of him a few times. The bricks of the wall began to move, and then a small hole appeared.

The bricks continued to move, as if by some kind of machine, and before long, the hole had expanded into an archway large enough for them all to pass through.

"This is Diagon Alley," Hagrid said.

Li Mu looked over, and behind the archway was a cobblestone street, winding and extending into the unknown distance. On both sides of the street were shops, and many people were coming and going on the road, a scene of prosperity.

This is Diagon Alley!