Birthday Present

Listening to Hagrid and Li Mu's words, Harry's face flushed slightly. He mumbled, "You... you don't have to..."

Growing up, he had always longed for a wonderful birthday, but it was always a pipe dream. In the Dursley's house, he had never enjoyed even a single birthday ritual, as for birthday gifts... last year it seemed to be a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.

But now, Harry felt like he was experiencing the best birthday of his life. He had seen a magical world he could never have imagined before, met good friends like Hagrid and Li Mu, and was even about to receive the best birthday gift in eleven years.

For the first time, the warmth of friendship surged into his heart like hot water.

"Haha, we're buddies, how can we not give a birthday gift?" Li Mu shamelessly treated Harry, whom he had only met this morning, as an old buddy of many years, "Oh right, this, I think you'll like it."

As he spoke, Li Mu reached into his arms and rummaged around, taking out a silver-white round mirror. The mirror shone brightly in the sun, dazzling and eye-catching.

"Heart Protecting Armor, it can protect your heart from the inside out, protecting you from major injuries - this one is said to be the latest research and development from the Shushan Taoist Academy, the effect is very good!"

Harry had no choice but to say thank you, took the silver mirror, and put it in his inner pocket, only to find that the mirror seemed to be conscious, and had automatically become the appropriate size and shape, looking like a silver armor attached to his body, but he did not feel anything extra on his body at all.

Harry couldn't help but marvel at the magic, but a complex and inexplicable look flashed across his face. Even he, who had never set foot in the magical world before, had long seen the magic and preciousness of this "Heart Protecting Armor".

"Harry, I think I should give you an owl," Hagrid looked at Harry and Li Mu with a smile, "Toads haven't been popular for many years, and I don't like cats... an owl is the best choice."

Without waiting for a reply, Hagrid almost picked up Harry, who hadn't reacted yet, and walked forward. Compared to the hill-like burly Hagrid, Harry Potter was too slender and thin.

Li Mu smiled and followed.

A moment later, the three of them squeezed out of the owl rental center, Harry already carrying a birdcage in his hand. Inside, a beautiful snow-white owl was sleeping. "History" is not so easy to change, Harry Potter still chose such a unique female owl.

Li Mu looked at its smooth feathers, feeling a little envious. Hogwarts allows students to bring cats, toads, owls or other things as pets, but this is not a necessity, and many students are not equipped with them.

Along the way, Harry stammered his thanks to Li Mu and Hagrid, and then the three of them enthusiastically discussed what to name this beautiful bird.

"I still think it should be called Little White!" Li Mu smiled mischievously, deliberately leading "history" astray.

"Or... you can name him A Xue?" Hagrid also participated.

"Um, let's just call her Hedwig. That's it." Harry really couldn't compliment the naming skills of his two companions. As he mumbled these words, they finally walked into a wand shop.

"This is it, Ollivander's wands are the best, many big shots make a special trip here to buy wands." Hagrid introduced to the two, shifting his attention from the name of the owl.

His voice was loud and booming, shaking the entire dim shop. If he didn't understand Hagrid's personality, Li Mu would even suspect that this big guy was deliberately carrying a sedan chair to facilitate the next step of bargaining.

Unfortunately, no one responded. The entire wand shop was silent, as if it had been asleep for a long time. Li Mu couldn't help but turn his head to observe, he was full of curiosity about the mysterious Ollivander family in "history".

This shop was narrow and dilapidated, and under the dim light, one could only vaguely see thousands of boxes. They were neatly stacked on wooden shelves, almost reaching the ceiling. When he stepped into the door, Li Mu seemed to hear a crisp sound somewhere in the shop, and then there was silence again.

Gradually, the atmosphere became a bit eerie, even if Li Mu had lived two lives and had been tempering his mind and will since he was a child, he couldn't help but feel a strange and inexplicable pressure.

Not to mention Harry Potter, who had limited experience.

"Good afternoon." After an unknown amount of time, a soft voice came, startling Harry so much that he almost jumped up. Fortunately, Li Mu patted him on the shoulder in comfort, relieving his panic.

The next moment, the two freshmen knew that Hagrid had jumped up. The big man stepped back on the wooden planks, making a loud "bang", and the entire ground trembled a few times. They even suspected that the entire house was shaking.

When they came back to their senses, an old man was already standing in front of them.

"Hello," Harry said a little timidly, but Li Mu was still looking at the old man in surprise, wondering how he had appeared in front of him.

Instant movement?

"Oh, yes." The old man stared with large, bluish eyes, and began to talk garrulously, "Yes, I always thought I would see you soon, Harry Potter. Your eyes are exactly like your mother's, it seems like only yesterday that she came here to buy a wand. The wand she bought was ten and a quarter inches long, made of very beautiful cypress wood, it was an excellent magic wand."

Although he was speaking to Harry Potter, his terrifying eyes were fixed on some unknown void, as if completely lost in memories.

Li Mu looked back at Hagrid's expression, knowing that this was probably Ollivander.

"And your father favored a wand made of mahogany, eleven inches long, quite flexible, but very powerful in transfiguration spells..." Ollivander moved closer to Harry, suddenly pointing to the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead, "Oh, that is... I truly regret that the wand I sold caused you harm. Thirteen and a half inches, phoenix feather, a very powerful wand..."

"Cough, cough..." Li Mu felt a little speechless listening to him and couldn't help but cough to interrupt Ollivander's endless chatter.

Why do I always run into chatterboxes today?

"Oh, right... you're here to buy wands, aren't you?" Ollivander was startled awake by the cough, as if he had just noticed that there were two other living people besides Harry. He didn't have the slightest apology, turning his head to look up at Hagrid with those bruised eyes, "Hagrid! It's really good to see you again, sixteen inches, quite flexible, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right!" Hagrid replied sullenly, his expression a little unnatural, "Although my wand was broken in half when I was expelled... but I still kept some fragments."

"Then why don't you use it!" Ollivander suddenly became angry, his voice sharp.

Hagrid's expression changed as he tightly gripped the red umbrella he carried with him, humming in a somewhat flustered manner. Li Mu knew that the umbrella was just a disguise, and the core inside was Hagrid's wand—just these past two days, he had turned Harry's cousin Dudley into a fat pig.

"Mr. Ollivander, can you tell me about myself? What kind of wand is suitable for me?" Li Mu said with a smile, indirectly resolving Hagrid's embarrassment.

(End of this chapter)