An Encounter

With the warm sunlight on his face, Li Mu finally let out a sigh of relief and forcibly suppressed the nausea rising in his chest. Damn it, if a mine cart was already this bad, then using Floo Powder in the future... just thinking about it made him sick and gave him a headache.

It took quite a while before Li Mu finally recovered completely.

"So, I should buy the things new students need next. Are you two coming?" he asked Hagrid and Harry.

Harry nodded. "You know, I'm a new student too. Let's go together."

For some inexplicable reason, Harry Potter felt an immediate fondness for Li Mu, his future classmate with the same black hair who came from China. Li Mu was the first friend his own age that Harry had ever had... or rather, his first friend, period. Before this, in his miserable life, he could only play with his cousin Dudley Dursley. Dudley, who was always bullying him, definitely did not count as a friend!

"All right, you'd better get your clothes made first. That'll take a little time," Hagrid muttered. He twisted his neck, then led them through Diagon Alley's winding streets until they stopped before a clothing shop.

"This is the place—the most famous clothing shop in Diagon Alley. Almost all Hogwarts students have their school uniforms tailored here."

Li Mu and Harry looked up at the shop sign together. On a black hardwood board, several large gilded words were engraved: "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions."

So it really was this place. Li Mu murmured to himself that he had truly become part of the plot of Harry Potter. Back when he had still been on Shu Mountain in China, he had thought he had transmigrated into a xianxia world hidden beneath a modern city. Who would have thought this world had Hogwarts, and Harry Potter...

He had never dared to be certain, but now, everything described in the books was truly happening before his eyes.

Even Hagrid's mannerisms and words were the same.

At that moment, Hagrid did not hurry inside. He scratched his furry head and continued, "So, if I leave for a little while to have a drink at the Leaky Cauldron, you won't mind, will you?"

Li Mu looked at him. This poor man really did need a large glass of strong liquor to settle himself. That insane cart at Gringotts had tortured him until his face was still pale and he looked weak and limp, making his burly frame seem oddly puffy. Still, Li Mu knew that, according to the book, Hagrid was probably going to buy Harry a birthday cake.

After Hagrid strode away, the two of them slowly entered the robe shop.

It was both their first time shopping in the wizarding world, and they were both a little nervous. Fortunately, Madam Malkin was actually a short, plump, kindly woman.

"Darlings, are you going to Hogwarts?" Madam Malkin asked with a smile when she saw them enter. When Li Mu and Harry both nodded, she added, "You'll find plenty of things to buy here."

She led them toward the back of the shop. With his sharp eyes, Li Mu immediately spotted a pale, pointed-faced boy standing on a stool while another witch sewed a black robe for him.

It seemed that his presence in this world had not changed anything after all. Madam Malkin's shop was still spacious, Harry would still meet a certain nemesis here, and what was meant to happen would always happen... Without showing it, Li Mu gave the unfamiliar boy a few extra looks, especially lingering for a moment on his short platinum-blond hair and gray eyes.

There was absolutely no mistake. This pale-faced boy was Draco Malfoy, the antagonistic character from the books.

Madam Malkin had Harry and Li Mu stand separately on nearby stools, pulled black robes over their heads, then measured Harry herself. She called over another witch who seemed to have appeared from nowhere to measure Li Mu.

It had to be said that, as one of the finest clothing shops in Diagon Alley and even all of England, this place truly had a great many employees.

"Are you both new Hogwarts students too?" Draco Malfoy had been observing them all along, and suddenly spoke.

"Yes," Harry answered promptly.

Li Mu curled his lip. This little savior was far too eager for friends, but he still did not understand how to read people. He had not noticed that Malfoy was less interested in making conversation than in finding an opportunity to show off his status.

"My father's next door buying my books, and my mother's buying my wand," the boy immediately said. He put on a listless expression and continued talking to himself without caring whether Li Mu and Harry were listening. "Later, I'm definitely going to make them buy me the latest high-speed broom. I really don't understand why Hogwarts doesn't allow first-year students to have their own private brooms..."

Malfoy sounded somewhat resentful. But Li Mu had lived two lives, and he immediately understood the trick behind those words. The complaint at the beginning did not matter. The important part was introducing the topic of flying brooms. Once Li Mu understood the value of Galleons, he also knew just how extravagant a high-speed broom was.

One Galleon equaled seventeen silver Sickles, enough to buy twenty-eight grams of dragon liver—dragon liver. Even a fine wand only cost around seven Galleons. If he remembered correctly, the Weasley family's savings at Gringotts amounted to just one Galleon, along with a few scattered silver Sickles and copper Knuts. That was already enough for their whole family to live on.

And how much did a high-speed broom cost? The latest model naturally had to be the newly released Nimbus 2000. That had to cost at least six hundred Galleons, right? Yet the message Malfoy was emphasizing between the lines was this—if he wanted one, he could easily buy a Nimbus 2000.

If they had been children from ordinary wizarding families, they might have immediately looked at Malfoy with reverence, perhaps even begged to become his followers. Most people liked being friends with the rich. It was the same in every world.

Unfortunately, Harry Potter had only just entered the wizarding world. How could he possibly catch on? Li Mu understood perfectly well, but he said nothing and merely gave an "Mm."

Then came silence. The two of them quietly waited for the witch to take their measurements.

Draco Malfoy's expression immediately darkened. He had learned those subtle methods of showing off from his father, Lucius Malfoy. They had always worked before, but now it felt as though he had punched a wad of cotton, light and soft, with nowhere to apply any force. It was not a pleasant feeling. He even had the urge to lose his temper, but he had no reason to do so.

After a quiet moment, Malfoy was still unwilling to give up. He asked again, "Do you play Quidditch?"

"Quidditch?" Harry asked softly. Clearly, he did not understand. He wanted to make more friends, but Malfoy's arrogant manner constantly reminded him of his hateful cousin Dudley.

Li Mu gently shook his head and deliberately put on a calm expression. "I haven't played. Compared to flying on a broom, I prefer standing upright on a sword. It's faster and smoother."

"On a sword?" Malfoy froze for a moment. Li Mu's indifferent tone made him seem like someone knowledgeable. But Malfoy had truly never heard of anyone flying while standing on a sword.