The Granger Family and Fruit Tea

Vaughan glanced back and saw a thin, stern-looking witch leading a young couple and a little girl out through a narrow archway.

That was the Leaky Cauldron. Vaughan had been there before, but unfortunately, the hunchbacked owner, Tom, had refused to serve him Butterbeer.

When he had read novels in his previous life, he had always been curious about what that stuff actually tasted like.

The young couple were obviously Muggles. They wore a suit and a dress—far too ordinary, making them seem quite out of place in Diagon Alley.

Molly saw them too. Her face immediately lit up with surprise as she called out from afar, "Professor McGonagall, Professor McGonagall! Merlin, it's so wonderful to see you."

Professor McGonagall was clearly familiar with Molly as well. Five Weasley children had already enrolled at Hogwarts, and all of them were Gryffindors. It would have been difficult not to know her.

Her stern expression softened slightly as she led the Muggle family over. "Mrs. Weasley, are you here to buy school supplies for the children?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall... Oh, is this young lady also a new Hogwarts student this year?"

"That's right. These are Mr. and Mrs. Granger, along with their daughter, who is also a new Hogwarts student this year—Hermione Granger."

Professor McGonagall made the introductions, giving Vaughan and Ron a brief look, though her attention lingered mostly on Vaughan. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, this is Mrs. Weasley and her two sons, Vaughan Weasley and..."

"Ron, Professor McGonagall!"

"...Ron Weasley." Professor McGonagall nodded at the shy Ron, who was hiding behind Molly. Her lips remained tightly pressed together, but she quickly turned back to Vaughan, the faintest trace of a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

She bent down and gently shook Vaughan's hand. "Mr. Weasley, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Professor McGonagall."

Vaughan smiled politely, then looked past Professor McGonagall at the reserved Muggle couple greeting Molly, as well as the little girl staring at him curiously.

Snap!

Vaughan snapped his fingers, sending out a faint pulse of magic.

The girl's messy bangs immediately floated upward like seaweed.

It was merely a trivial little trick, one that did not even require a wand.

But for a Muggle family with little experience of magic, it was clearly wondrous enough. Mr. and Mrs. Granger covered their mouths in shock!

The girl widened her eyes. As she curiously tried to smooth down her floating hair, she kept glancing at Vaughan, practically itching to rush over and ask him how he had done it.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat several times. "Ahem. Mrs. Weasley, I still need to take the Granger family to Gringotts to exchange their money, so we won't disturb you any longer."

As she spoke, she hesitated before glancing at Vaughan. "Mr. Weasley, I hope you won't perform such little tricks in front of other Muggles. You should know that the Ministry of Magic strictly forbids it."

Vaughan nodded with a grin. "All right, Professor McGonagall!"

As they left, Hermione Granger was still looking at Vaughan. He smiled at her, and the little girl froze for a moment before her face suddenly turned a little red.

What a cute girl!

Vaughan watched the girl, who kept looking back, disappear into the distance. Then he heard Ron muttering impatiently beside him.

"Aren't we going to buy wands yet? Ollivander might be crowded today. We might have to queue up."

His mind was now completely filled with his new wand. As for that Muggle family they had just met...

Who were they? Did they have anything to do with him?

Vaughan looked at him strangely. Ron felt inexplicably uneasy and touched his face. "W-what are you looking at?"

"Nothing. As long as you're happy."

Of course Ron was happy. It was his first time in Diagon Alley, and his eyes were nearly dazzled by everything around him. Although he kept urging them to buy wands, when they passed Florean's Ice Cream Shop, his legs suddenly seemed welded to the ground, and he could not take another step.

Perhaps worried that he would become upset later when he saw Vaughan buying new books and new robes, Molly generously indulged him for once and bought him an ice cream.

With the ice cream in hand, Ron finally stopped rushing them. Molly, meanwhile, took Vaughan through Madam Malkin's Robe Shop, Flourish and Blotts, and other stores to buy robes, books, and supplies.

Fortunately, all those shops offered owl delivery, sparing the family the awkwardness of carrying armfuls of parcels.

"Books, robes, cauldron, scales... Oh, right, you can also bring a pet. Eeylops Owl Emporium and the Magical Menagerie are over there. Vaughan, what kind of pet do you want?"

Looking at Ron, who was still hugging his ice cream and eating away without a care for the outside world, Vaughan said mischievously, "I want a cat."

Ron froze, his face turning pale.

He seemed to have already foreseen Scabbers' miserable future at home.

But... the new wand...

The devil's whispers tempted and howled in his mind, joining forces with the ice cream to suppress his resistance. In the end, he said nothing.

The Magical Menagerie was the largest pet shop in Diagon Alley. Apart from magical creatures whose ownership was expressly forbidden by the Ministry of Magic, nearly every pet suitable for a wizard could be found there.

Its owner was a witch wearing thick black-rimmed glasses. She warmly received the Weasley family, and upon hearing Vaughan's request, she quickly waved her wand and brought over a row of cages.

"You have excellent taste, Mr. Weasley. Many young wizards don't understand the importance of pets. Their first choice is always an owl, placing practicality above affection. It's rather frustrating... Oh, please look. These are all the cats currently in our shop. We have a complete range of breeds, and let me tell you a little secret: many of them have Kneazle blood, so they're exceptionally intelligent!"

Meow, meow~

The cats truly were intelligent. They seemed to know someone was here to buy one of them. Many that had been lying about lazily rose to their feet and meowed softly at Vaughan.

One of them was especially large. The other cats were at most around two feet long, but this one was a full four feet!

Robustly built, with beautiful fur and long hair draped over its body, it looked two or three times fatter than the other cats. It was also the most eager, pressing its solemn face against the cage. When Vaughn reached out to it, it anxiously tried to squeeze through the gaps.

"Oh, Mr. Weasley, it seems this little girl really likes you. She's a Maine Coon with Kneazle blood. They're currently bred only in the Americas and are extremely rare in Europe."

Vaughn reached out to tease it, and the cat retracted its claws, wrapping its thick paw pads around his finger.

Its gentle manner made Vaughn like it very much, especially its fur—interwoven orange-red and golden-yellow, much like a tea drink he had had in his previous life.

"I'll take her!"

After paying, Vaughn led the cat out of the shop—this fellow was heavy, at least fifteen pounds, and with a body length of four feet, Vaughn's still-undeveloped frame had a hard time picking it up.

When it appeared before Ron, Ron's face turned even paler.

"Th... that's a cat?"

Vaughn laughed happily. "Of course it's a cat. I call her Fruit Tea. Fruit Tea, hurry and sniff out the mouse smell on Ron!"

Meow~