NOVEL NEXT 47: Adults and Children
Mundungus started renovating the shop, hoping that working under this Johnny Silverhand could make him someone like Borgin of Borgin and Burkes.
John observed Mundungus's compliance before finally leaving. Walking out of the shop, he headed towards Diagon Alley. He noticed the Malfoy father and son emerging from Borgin and Burkes, indicating they had likely sold whatever they had.
Just as John was about to leave, he spotted a familiar figure coming out of Borgin and Burkes.
"Harry?"
John was stunned. How could Harry be in Knockturn Alley?
Harry, new to Knockturn Alley, was thoroughly frightened. He saw shrunken heads for sale in a shop opposite Borgin and Burkes and a large cage filled with giant spiders. Two ragged-looking wizards were whispering to each other, giving Harry a chill.
Harry ran along the road, constantly adjusting his glasses as they slipped down. The wizards there seemed quite interested in this young intruder. John, following behind, noticed a wizard discreetly approaching Harry.
An old witch grabbed Harry's hand, revealing moss-covered teeth in a creepy smile.
"Lost, are we, dear?"
Harry backed away slowly, feeling the cold touch of the old witch. Her other hand held a dish filled with what looked like a dead man's fingernails.
Terrified, his heart pounded as the old witch approached him.
"I'm fine, thank you. I just want to leave," Harry resisted her advance.
Seeing this, John stepped forward. As the old witch got more aggressive and even tried to offer Harry the dead man's fingernails, John intervened.
"Harry, what are you doing here?"
The sudden voice startled the old witch. She turned to see the handsome John and immediately gave a sinister smile.
John, however, narrowed his eyes dangerously. As the old witch turned, his left hand moved like a snake, striking out and shattering the dish.
The old witch screamed, about to retaliate, but saw John's wand pointed at her eye.
"Get lost, or I'll make you blind," John's icy voice cut through the tension, sending a chill down the witch's spine.
At that moment, a tall figure in the crowd moved towards them.
"Harry! John! What are you doing here?"
Hagrid approached and spotted the old witch, immediately shouting, "Get lost, you filthy hag!" He forcefully pulled Harry away, guiding them out of Knockturn Alley.
The old witch didn't dare stop them, still shaken by John's threat.
As they exited Knockturn Alley, Harry saw the familiar white marble of Gringotts.
Hagrid led the two into Diagon Alley, dusting off the soot from Harry's clothes.
Upon learning that Harry had gotten lost, Hagrid chided him for being so careless.
"John, what were you doing there?" Hagrid asked, puzzled by John's presence in Knockturn Alley.
John smiled and replied, "I was just looking for some interesting alchemy materials."
"That's too risky, you just need to tell me." Hagrid complained.
He came here to get materials for John, but he also bought some medicine to repel carnivorous slugs.
Because of this, he was delayed for a while. If John hadn't appeared, he couldn't imagine what would happen to Harry after being taken away by the old witch.
"Thank you, John, you saved me again." Harry thanked John sincerely.
John shrugged, he just happened to pass by.
"John, you don't know, I'm living in the Weasley family now, it's great." When mentioning this, Harry remembered that he and the Weasleys had been separated, so he was anxious to find the Weasley family.
"Harry, why didn't you reply to my letter?"
"Sorry Hagrid, something happened to me."
Hagrid started talking about Harry not replying to his letter again. Harry told him about the detention by the Dursleys.
Hagrid was so angry that he roared and wanted to teach the Dursleys a lesson.
"Harry! Harry! Over here!" they heard someone shout as they passed Gringotts.
When they passed Gringotts, Hermione happened to be standing on the steps of Gringotts.
She ran down to greet them, her fluffy brown hair flying behind her.
"What happened to your glasses? John, you're here too. Great, and Hagrid, it's great to see you again."
Hermione smiled with two big teeth. She had just come out of Gringotts.
"Are you here for Gringotts?" she asked.
"I'll go after I find the Weasleys," Harry replied, having not had the chance to go in since he had been sent to Knockturn Alley.
Hagrid, being tall, spotted the Weasley family pushing through the crowded street.
"Harry, we hoped you only missed one fireplace," Mr. Weasley said, out of breath.
Like all the Weasleys, he had red hair, though he was balding, wore glasses, and was tall and thin.
"Molly was frantic. She'll be here soon. And this is... oh, I remember, John Wick," Mr. Weasley added.
Ron, seeing John, was curious about where Harry had been.
"Knockturn Alley," Hagrid said sternly.
"That's awesome!" the Weasley twins shouted.
Ron looked envious since his family never allowed the children to go to Knockturn Alley.
"It's not awesome at all. If it weren't for John, Harry might have been taken away," Hagrid grumbled, still upset about the old witch.
This only fueled the Weasley twins' curiosity further, and they pestered Harry to recount his heroic adventure.
"Harry—oh, dear, it's so good to see you safe!" Mrs. Weasley gasped as she hurried over, out of breath. She pulled a large coat brush from her bag and began to clean Harry from head to toe.
Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses and, with a gentle tap of his wand, restored them to their original state.
The youngest Weasley, Ginny, hovered around Harry, helping her mother dust him off.
"I need to leave now. See you at Hogwarts," Hagrid said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by Molly's effusive gratitude. He quickly made his exit.
"Oh, John, thank you so much. You're such a good friend," Mrs. Weasley said warmly, having learned it was John who had helped Harry. She looked at him with even more affection, charmed by his good looks and timely assistance.
Even Ginny came over to thank him, and John, a bit embarrassed, rubbed his nose and insisted he had just been passing by.
Soon, Mrs. Weasley seemed to treat John like one of her own children, her enthusiastic kindness making John feel a bit awkward.
"Ahem, I've already been to Gringotts. I'll just wait for you all outside."
John watched as the Weasleys prepared to head into Gringotts, seizing the opportunity to make his exit with a quick excuse.
After waiting at the entrance for a while, John spotted Mr. Weasley and Hermione's father emerging, arm in arm.
They planned to meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour, while Molly took Ginny to buy clothes.
The four of them strolled along the winding cobblestone street.
"John, you went abroad? That's so enviable," Ron said, hearing that John had been to France and wishing he could go too.
"Where in France did you go? Paris?" Hermione inquired, remembering John mentioning it in a letter but without specific details.
John thought for a moment and replied, "I did go to Paris. There was a drunkard in a hidden spot who sold portkeys. One of them was faulty and got me chased by a dragon."
"Ha ha, John, you're so funny," Ron laughed heartily, thinking John was joking.
Even Harry and Hermione chuckled, believing John had a great sense of humor, unaware that he was telling the truth.
John felt exasperated; it seemed no one believed his true stories.
They explored many places in Diagon Alley, finally arriving at Flourish and Blotts an hour later.
The place was already packed with people, and a huge banner was unfurled from the upstairs window.
"Gilderoy Lockhart? I think I've seen that name before," Harry remarked, feeling the name sounded familiar.
Hermione, however, cheered and said excitedly, "We can meet him in person! I mean, almost all the books on our reading list are written by him."
John felt a bit overwhelmed by the long, crowded line and spotted Draco Malfoy.
The trio got separated in the crowd, and John, with his superior physical prowess, managed to reach the second floor.
Seeing Malfoy's gritted teeth expression, he noticed Harry was taking pictures with Lockhart.
"Seriously, are you actually envious of that?" John said, approaching with a look of disbelief.
Malfoy, startled, nearly fell off the ledge, but John grabbed him just in time to prevent it.
"Look at that Harry Potter, his tail is practically sticking up to the sky," Malfoy grumbled, clearly displeased with Harry's moment in the spotlight, while Harry just wished the ground would swallow him up.
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