A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Hagrid was obviously a regular at the pub.

As soon as the three of them walked in, the chatter and conversation abruptly stopped. Everyone turned to smile and wave at Hagrid.

Especially the elderly women in the corner, sipping small glasses of sherry. They were even more enthusiastic.

One of them even handed her long pipe to Hagrid, trying to get him to take a puff.

Hagrid was stuck there for a while before he could break free.

Wow, who would have thought that Hagrid was such a hit with middle-aged ladies!

The pub's owner looked like a shriveled walnut. He picked up a glass, wiped it, and asked, "Hagrid, care for another drink?"

"No, thanks, Tom. I'm on Hogwarts business. Can't be drinking," Hagrid said with a serious face, as if anyone interfering with his work was his enemy.

But a man in a top hat sitting nearby squinted his bleary eyes and said in confusion, "Really? Because when I came in this morning, I saw you…"

"Ahem… Well, I'm taking William to Diagon Alley now. See you all later," Hagrid interrupted hastily.

As they left, he glanced back at Tom and asked, "That old Greek guy hasn't come back yet, has he?"

Tom shrugged. "I haven't seen him since that drink with you this morning."

Hagrid looked a bit disappointed.

They passed the bar and entered a small courtyard surrounded by walls. Apart from a trash can and some weeds, there wasn't much else here.

Roy stopped and couldn't help but ask, "Hagrid, when you said you were delayed this morning, was it because you were drinking here?"

Hagrid scratched his beard awkwardly and said, "Dear Roy, I can explain!"

He cleared his throat. "You see, I walked all the way from Hogwarts to London. It's not unreasonable to sit here and rest for a few minutes, right?"

Roy nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

"And since this is a pub, I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. I had to support Tom's business, so I bought a few eggnogs to wet my throat. That's not too much, right?"

Roy rested his chin on his hand. "Quite logical."

"So… you got drunk?" William interjected.

"No!" Hagrid stammered for a moment, glanced around, and then whispered, "I was about to leave, but then I met a Greek guy.

"He told me he had a three-headed dog, but it eats too much, and he couldn't afford to keep it anymore.

"William, you have no idea how rare and adorable three-headed dogs are.

"I couldn't just let such a fluffy little creature wander the streets or be sent to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures…"

Hagrid lowered his head like a child who had made a mistake.

"Alright, we won't tell anyone," Roy comforted him.

Hagrid beamed. "Thank you, Roy. You really are my best Muggle friend.

"You can rest easy about William. No one will dare bully him at Hogwarts!"

Hagrid patted Roy on the shoulder with his giant hand, nearly knocking the man over.

"Hagrid, are three-headed dogs really that cute?" William couldn't resist asking.

"They're adorable!"

At that moment, a small orange head popped out of William's backpack. Boba Tea gave Hagrid a curious glance. It seemed like the cat had just heard someone praising it.

"You'll be great friends with him, little one," Hagrid chuckled, stroking Boba Tea's head.

Boba Tea meowed softly and then retreated back into the bag.

For some reason, an image of the three goofy sled dogs popped into William's mind.

He started imagining a three-headed dog with the heads of a Samoyed, a Husky, and an Alaskan Malamute… That would be super cute!

But soon, William would realize just how naïve he had been today!

Hagrid started counting the bricks on the wall above the trash can. Because of his height, he had to bend down awkwardly.

"Count three bricks up… then two bricks across…" he mumbled softly. "Alright, stand back."

He tapped the wall three times with his umbrella.

The brick he tapped began to shake and move, and a small hole appeared in the middle.

The hole grew larger and larger, until a wide archway stood before them, large enough for Hagrid to pass through, leading to a winding cobblestone street that seemed to stretch endlessly.

"Welcome!" Hagrid spread his arms wide and loudly announced, "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

They walked through the archway, sunlight shining down on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop.

Above the cauldrons hung a sign reading: Brass — Copper — Pewter — Silver Cauldrons, Sizes Available — Self-Stirring — Collapsible.

"Oh, William, you'll need to buy one of those," Hagrid said, glancing at the sky. "But the sun's almost setting. We should get some money first."

They soon arrived at a tall, gleaming white building towering over the surrounding shops. 

Next to the shiny bronze doors stood a figure in a scarlet and gold uniform — a goblin, with a shrewd, dark face and a pointed beard.

"That's a goblin," Hagrid whispered as they walked up the white stone steps.

Roy's professional curiosity got the better of him. He couldn't help but glance at the goblin's wide smile, as if he wanted to check the health of its teeth.

William decided that from now on, he couldn't let his family come to Diagon Alley on their own.

Roy was fine — at most, he'd just inspect people's teeth. But his mother Liana would likely pull out a scalpel on the spot to dissect a goblin and study the species' differences.

As for Annie, she'd probably try to take a goblin home as a pet.

Good heavens, what a bizarre family. William suddenly realized he was the only normal person here!

He didn't have any strange thoughts like they did. The most he considered… was robbing the place.

William stood in front of Gringotts' second set of doors, his figure half bathed in sunlight, half in shadow.

On the doors were engraved these words:

"Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there."

For some reason, at that moment, staring at those lines, William genuinely considered robbing Gringotts.

Well, in his past life, he'd had similar thoughts when he saw those cash transport trucks.

But the heavily armed soldiers always snuffed out that desire quickly.

Surely, the defenses here couldn't be that strong, right?

William looked up at Hagrid and quietly asked, "Hagrid, are the defenses here strong?"

Hagrid nodded. "Of course they are. This is the safest place in the wizarding world, apart from Hogwarts."

"Oh?" William raised an eyebrow.

Hagrid bent down, his voice dropping to a mysterious whisper, filled with excitement William had never heard from the man before. "There's a dragon down there…"

"A dragon?"

Hagrid's eyes sparkled with longing. "Yeah, I'd give anything to have one of my own!"

Then he sighed, deflated. "But after the International Statute of Secrecy was passed, a law was officially enacted at the Wizarding Conference prohibiting dragon ownership.

"I swear, that's the dumbest decision the International Confederation of Wizards ever made!"

Hagrid's description gave William a vivid picture.

And more importantly, his mind conjured an image of Daenerys' massive dragon, Drogon… If the magical world had dragons of that caliber, robbing the place didn't seem like an option.

Alright. Once again, William's desire was extinguished, this time by Hagrid's enthusiastic spittle.