Hogwarts Raven

Chapter 171: Destiny has leaned towards the abyss
More than half an hour later.

Led by the mustachioed goblin, Ian returned to the surface from the basement. The Granger family had already finished all their business, and they were waiting for Ian at the gate of Gringotts under the scorching sun.

For the goblins in Gringotts, when a family wants to deposit money in Gringotts, they believe that the customers are God, but when the customers have deposited the money, they will instantly become atheists.

It is impossible for them to continue to provide enthusiastic service. Even the benches in the lobby will be taken away by them. This is why many wizards are full of complaints about the goblin race.

The Wolf of Wall Street are all younger brothers.

When it comes to real power, we have to look at the goblins in Gringotts.

"Ian, the goblin who took us to the vault said that you are in a special area close to the center of the earth. Does your VIP customer vault look any different from the ordinary vault?"

As soon as Hermione saw Ian, she started to ask a hundred thousand questions. He was like a hungry kitten, greedily trying to absorb any magical knowledge that she could know.

Before Ian could answer.

The mustached goblin was the first to correct Hermione's wording.

"Mr. Prince, who is even greater than the Great, would not bother to use our Gringotts' VIP vault. His vault is one-of-a-kind. It is a super secret room that belongs only to him, the only partner of Gringotts!"

After coming out of the underground vault, the mustached goblin's attitude towards Ian changed subtly, perhaps because he had completely confirmed Ian's identity through the vault.

of course.

Although the mustache goblin's attitude had changed a little, some things in its nature remained unshakable. After a pause, it provided additional information about Ian's identity.

"Of course, Mr. Prince, who is greater than the great, does not have the right to the property of Gringotts. Apart from that, he is the most distinguished person in Gringotts!"

Its firm and emotional tone made Ian speechless. Where was the dignity reflected? No matter how you looked at it, it had the flavor of a spiritual shareholder.

"Let's get going." Ian didn't want to continue accepting insincere flattery, so he pulled the Granger family and quickly left the magnificent gate of Gringotts.

And behind them.

The mustached goblin also kept bowing deeply until Ian and the Granger family disappeared at the end of the street. Then it slowly straightened up and raised its hand to wipe the sweat from its forehead.

The brand on his forehead had begun to fade, but the mustachioed goblin was still restless.

"It's him, it must be him. Only he can open that vault... The third uprising that we goblins have been planning for a long time... looks like we have to put it on hold for who knows how many years."

Its whispered murmurs were filled with a hint of regret, but more of a feeling of relief and fear. Its mumblings to itself contained secret information that was absolutely as explosive as a bomb.

only.

Neither the little wizard nor anyone else had any idea of ​​the mustache goblin's whispers. By the time it turned around and returned to Gringotts to continue its work, Ian had already walked away.

"Would you like some ice cream? I can treat you to some ice cream." When Mrs. Granger passed by a cold drink shop, her eyes were immediately attracted by the unique cold drinks. Ian suspected that this young woman in her thirties wanted to eat it herself, so she pretended to ask him and Hermione.

"Mom! I want two!"

Of course Hermione would not be polite to her mother. The extremely hot weather was indeed suitable for eating ice cream, and her eyes were also attracted by the ice cream that could actually move.

I guess he's already thinking about what kind of magic is attached to the ice cream in his little head.

"I'll just eat one."

Ian looked at the deserted cold drink shop. He suspected that the food in this shop was not good, otherwise there wouldn't be only two or three customers buying things in such a hot day.

"Okay, wait a moment." Mrs. Granger took out her wallet and walked towards the cold drink shop. Ian, Hermione and Mr. Granger stood on the street and looked at the surrounding shops.

On both sides of the street, the shop windows are shining with attractive lights, attracting the eyes of everyone passing by. In the "Magic Potion Shop" on the left, bottles of colorful magic potions are slowly rotating on the rotating rack.

Some are glowing with a faint blue light, as if hiding the secrets of the deep sea; others are emitting a warm golden color, like wheat fields under the setting sun. Each bottle is labeled with a name that inspires imagination.

"Is there really such a thing as dream weaving potion?" Mr. Granger seemed a little moved, and his expression was quite interesting. Ian suspected that he wanted to meet his white moonlight or first love in his dream.

"It's all just a gimmick. It's meaningless and the price is ridiculously high." Ian's words dispelled Mr. Granger's thoughts. He felt that he had saved Miss Hermione Granger's family happiness.

Time passes minute by minute.

About ten minutes later, Mrs. Granger was still at the window, and seemed to have encountered some difficulties. Ian immediately walked over and wanted to help Mrs. Granger.

however.

"Question: In which era was the world's first automatic feather pen invented?" The owner of the cold drink shop was actually asking the Muggle lady, Mrs. Granger, a less popular question that even Ian didn't know the answer to.

"I don't know what this has to do with buying ice cream, sir?" Ian looked at the tall and thin owner of the cold drink shop. He shook his head in confusion to indicate that he didn't know.

"Of course it does. This means you lose a two-knut discount coupon and a small sticker with a three-dimensional image of Albus Dumbledore."

The shop owner even took out his prize, trying to show off to Ian and Mrs. Granger.

"..."

The little wizard was silenced.

"Of course, if you can tell me what amazing designs the flying carpets popular in the 1940s had, I can still give you a two-copper-knut discount coupon."

The store owner dangled his unappealing coupons.

"No, thank you. I'll buy it at the original price. I don't need any additional services." Ian directly rejected the shop owner's embarrassment, and Mrs. Granger immediately agreed.

"That's right, we don't want any discount." She had probably thought it was some kind of social rule when buying cold drinks in the wizarding world because she found it difficult to refuse sales pitches in an unfamiliar environment.

"Then this is your regret."

The owner of the cold drink shop shrugged, put the coupon aside, then took out a thick contract and handed it to Mrs. Granger under the confused gaze of the little wizard.

“Like we said just now, you want a raspberry sundae without the cores, so you have to sign a disclaimer. If you get upset due to the cores, it has nothing to do with our store.” The store owner’s behavior was definitely getting more and more outrageous. Ian felt that he knew why no one came here to buy things.

The few customers who were there also looked abnormal.

"See, Boss Sheldon Cooper is really thoughtful."

"I learn a lot from him every day. His ice cream shop is really the best in the world."

"I'm touched that there are people who like flying carpets as much as I do."

……

Ok.

Case solved.

There are really few normal people with this name.

The comments of several customers made the little wizard feel really difficult to judge, and the behavior of the cold drink shop owner taking out an insurance policy to sell after Mrs. Granger signed the contract was beyond his imagination.

"This is an insurance policy that can provide compensation after being choked by a fruit core. If..." Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the little wizard who took out his magic wand.

"Hurry! Give us the damn sundae!"

This was definitely the first time the little wizard had used his wand to threaten someone.

The effect is remarkable.

The shop owner looked genuinely terrified.

"Okay, okay, no problem, of course, sir, put down your wand..." He produced five Christmas treats at a dazzling speed and handed them to Mrs. Granger.

After collecting the money with a clip, he put his hands on both sides and gave Ian a forced smile, as if he wanted to prove to Ian that he was harmless.

"Wouldn't it be better if it was done earlier?"

After Ian and Mrs. Granger, who was finally rescued, left, the owner of the cold drink shop finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued to sell and ask questions to the next customer.

not far away.

"Cough cough~"

Mr. Granger ate his sundae in a hurry and choked a little. Then, a head popped out of the ice cream shop and shouted in the direction of Ian and the others.

"I told you guys to buy insurance!"

While this guy was serving other customers, he was still observing Ian and the Granger family. When he saw the little wizard looking at him, he immediately retracted his neck.

“The world is so big, there are all kinds of people.”

Mrs. Granger sighed heartily.

"Wizards are not always this weird..." Ian was about to defend the reputation of wizards when he saw a wizard performing a kissing performance with a monkey on the street.

Or tongue kiss.

"..."

The little wizard really didn't know how to save face for the wizards.

"That's an immigrant from India, not a local wizard."

He could only try his best to find a seemingly convincing excuse. This was indeed a reasonable thing to do in Britain, after all, everyone knew that Britain was gradually becoming a colony of India.

Continue walking on the street.

Ian also bought everything he needed. When passing by a pet shop, Hermione rejected her parents' idea of ​​buying her a pet.

"Right now, I can't even take care of myself, let alone an owl or other pets. Maybe you can give me a cat when I'm older."

She does have a very clear self-awareness, but judging from the emotions emanating from the little witch's heart, Ian felt that Hermione's decision was also related to her wanting to spend more time learning magic first.

Women can affect how fast a man draws his wand.

Of course, cute pets will also affect the speed at which a woman draws her magic wand.

"See you when school starts."

After spending most of the day shopping, Ian said goodbye to the Granger family at the Leaky Cauldron. He had stayed upstairs in the pub last night. The room rate was not expensive and allowed for custom renovations.

"Thank you for your patience in accompanying me today. You are such a good guide." Mrs. Granger hugged Ian and started the return journey home with her family.

"I must make good use of my time to prepare in advance when I get back. I must be far behind those students who have been exposed to magic since childhood." Hermione was still worried about her learning progress when she said goodbye.

"That's right, some little wizards can already impress the professor before school starts. You really have to work harder." Ian chose to add a little more psychological pressure to Hermione. Of course, he was telling the truth, but he didn't tell Hermione that there was only one little wizard like him in the whole school.

"I knew it! I knew it!"

Hermione's face showed visibly worry. She took out the books she bought today before walking out of the bar, and it seemed that she planned to keep her eyes on them even on the bumpy journey home.

London has a lot of bad roads.

"Another day of guiding people to study."

Ian felt that he had gained another +1 in merit. He ordered a non-alcoholic butterbeer at the bar's front desk, drank it all, wiped his mouth, and stepped onto the creaking stairs of the bar.

“This year is destined to be a different year!”

"Yeah! I didn't expect that Harry Potter has already reached the age of school enrollment!"

"Do you think the Savior would smell better than other little boys?"

……

In the bar.

Because of the sensation Harry Potter had caused before, they were still discussing the savior for the past few hours, but the topic seemed to have shifted towards a British style.

"Senior Lupin, look what I brought you!" Ian found Lupin who had locked himself in the room for the whole day, and took out the photos of Harry Potter he had taken.

They just met Hagrid on the street again, who was taking Harry Potter shopping.

"I didn't expect the Potter children have grown up so much..." Lupin's expression looked complicated after receiving the photo. His trembling hands also showed that he was not at peace inside.

"I thought you didn't go to Diagon Alley with us today because you knew Harry Potter would come here to buy things." Ian looked at the downtrodden werewolf in front of him with some surprise.

"I'm not a prophet, how can I predict the future?"

Lupin shrugged helplessly.

"Then go to Diagon Alley now, maybe you can meet Hagrid and Harry Potter." The young wizard immediately gave the suggestion, but Lupin's reaction was a little weird.

"We should go back early and not let Ms. Elena and the others worry." After saying that, Lupin packed up his things and left the hotel room first.

His back looked a little hurried.

Seemingly running away from Harry Potter.

but.

Perhaps more of them are escaping from the good past they once had.

……

Of course, the means of transportation back to the orphanage is still the Knight Bus.

In the next month or so.

Ian had a peaceful and enjoyable time.

Although he still couldn't return to the hazy fantasy, every time the hazy night came, he could finally sense the other side of the world clearly again.

It's just that I can't get over it yet.

Ian guessed that the black robe skeleton's "blacklist" had not been completely eliminated in the hazy illusion.

"At least the trend is good. I guess in a few weeks, I'll be able to jump around in the hazy fantasy again." Ian made a superficial judgment based on his own feelings.

This was definitely good news for him, however, the "qualification" that was about to be restored did not affect his habit of dragging out the black-robed skeleton and stewing it every time he failed to enter the misty illusion on a misty night.

Boil the bones into soup.

Not only will plants grow after being watered, but feeding some livestock will have the same effect. In these few months, Ian has raised a rooster that is over one meter long.

He also put the big rooster into the suitcase, ready to let his baby basilisk see the world.

"Aren't you coming to Hogwarts?"

On the day when school is about to start.

Ian didn't see Lupin packing his luggage.

"I will stay here for a long time."

The response from the downtrodden werewolf was somewhat beyond Ian's expectations.

"Is this a commission from Dumbledore?"

The young wizard made a slightly confused guess.

however.

Lupin shook his head in denial.

"This is also a decision I made after considering it for a long time. Maybe I should pause for a while, and... to be honest, I am a little worried about the children here."

Lupin looked at the little wizard in front of him with a slightly strange look, "I have observed that you feed those children the potions you brew in various ways every now and then."

obviously.

He has been secretly paying attention to Ian's behavior.

"It's just a growth potion."

Ian's helpless expression only made Lupin sneer. Of course, this was not a question of acting skills. Even if he had Oscar-winning acting skills, Lupin would not choose to believe him.

This outstanding graduate of Hogwarts believes his own eyes more.

"I felt a faint magical power on the three children. Are you going to tell me this is a coincidence?" Lupin had an expression that said, "It's up to you whether I believe you or not."

"Of course it's not a coincidence."

Ian did not deny it.

He just gave a "reasonable" answer in a serious tone.

"Three, five, maybe even more. Of course, there is an appropriate explanation for all of this. Don't you know that our Wu's Orphanage has a good feng shui and is blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery?"

The young wizard's expression of faith was filled with a kind of amazement at metaphysics. His tone was just right.

There is also a kind of... persuasiveness that makes it difficult for Lupin to refute.

"How come you have so many weird ideas, little brat..." Lupin rolled his eyes speechlessly. Just as he was about to say something else, he heard the sound of Ms. Elena walking outside the door.

"Have a good talk with Dumbledore about your potion." The werewolf with sensitive ears glanced at the door, swallowed back what he was about to say and reminded seriously.

"no problem."

This time Ian did not choose to play dumb.

"Here are new clothes for you."

At this time, Ms. Elena also came in with a small bag. She was like every mother who sent her child on a long journey. She seemed nagging but at the same time she was very heartwarming.

"Don't fight with your classmates at school."

“Remember to respect your teachers and professors, even if they may not be very likable.”

"When it's cold, you should put on more clothes. I've prepared a few sweaters for you. I'll put them at the bottom of your suitcase. I heard this winter will be colder than last year."

……

Send Ian all the way to the door of the orphanage.

Ms. Elena was still giving Ian instructions. She was followed by a group of children who were reluctant to leave Ian, and the young wizard hugged and said goodbye to almost every child.

"See you next year."

Amid the cries of the children.

Ian carried the suitcase into the car.

"Don't worry, Ms. Elena, I will hand him over safely to the boarding teacher at school." Lupin could drive a car, which was obviously something Ian didn't know before.

As the familiar streets got farther and farther away, Ian's slightly sad mood slowly eased. He looked at Lupin, who was nervously moving the steering wheel, and he wished his face had sixty eyes.

“Do you really have a driver’s license?”

He strongly suspected that Lupin was driving dangerously.

"We once thought about building a flying car, so another friend and I took the Muggle driver's license test... I just haven't touched this kind of Muggle tool for a long time."

Lupin was a little unfamiliar with the gear shifting operation and accidentally pushed the gear into reverse gear. As a result, the moving car immediately made an extremely scary clanging sound.

He quickly stopped the car and restarted it.

"The Confusion Charm must have played a big role in your getting your driver's license, right?" Ian wanted to pull Lupin down and get on himself. If it wasn't for fooling his family, he would definitely have chosen the Knight Bus.

"You're kidding. Who would use a Confounding Charm to do something like that?" Lupin's response sounded extremely guilty. He studied it for a long time before he finally successfully started the car again and got on the road.

After experiencing more than ten near-car crashes, more than twenty emergency brakes, and more than thirty subconscious steering turns, the lucky little wizard was finally safely delivered to King's Station by Lupin.

This is one of the oldest railway stations in Europe and the largest railway station in London today. It looks quite old and there is not even much modern atmosphere.

"What have you got on you?"

Lupin noticed that when Ian got out of the car, the whole car shook a little as if relieved. He looked at Ian in surprise as he took the two boxes out of the trunk. Even when Ian took the boxes, the old car didn't shake that much.

"Just some scrap metal... Alas, they're too heavy, and my weight-reducing spell has reached its limit." Ian's slightly ashamed explanation did not dispel the confusion in Lupin's heart.

however.

Before he could continue asking questions.

The little wizard was already dragging two suitcases and walking quickly towards the entrance of the train station. He could only hold back his confusion and start the car again.

of course.

This time, without the little wizard's attention, Lupin secretly cast a spell on the old car, and the car, without even the engine started, began to run under his fake operation.

Faster than a sports car.

"Over here, security check over here." Perhaps because of a terrorist attack that shocked the world this year, even train stations have strengthened security checks on passengers.

Ian wasn't worried about that.

The entire train station has been cast under a Confusion Charm by the Ministry of Magic. Muggles will automatically ignore anything related to magic, including those responsible for security checks.

of course.

Due to some unexpected reasons, Ian also encountered an episode.

"Ok?"

When weighing Ian during security check, the security personnel discovered that Ian's weight was abnormal - God knows why there is this inspection item, perhaps it is because this item has the lowest cost and the congressmen like to be formalistic.

"Little guy, you have 160 kilograms!?"

The inspector looked at the thin Ian with disbelief.

His exclamation embarrassed Ian.

"If I said I have high bone density, would you believe me?"

The young wizard tried to find an excuse for his abnormal situation. He had already prepared himself to be questioned, but he didn't expect the inspector to show an expression of "I see" after being stunned for a moment.

"Oh, so it's because of high bone density. That's what I was wondering." The security officer's sudden realization didn't seem like an act, or even like the result of being under the influence of a confusion spell.

"Okay, little guy, hurry in."

He simply chose to let Ian go.

The little wizard, who kept looking back every three steps, suspected that the security officer was pretending to know.

"Unfortunately I have no evidence!"

Ian walked through the sparse crowd and came to the vicinity of Platform 9. He did not enter the platform immediately, but waited at the entrance of the platform.

If he hadn't had a child to take care of, he would have practiced Apparition long ago.

to be frank.

Ian didn't think it was necessary to take Hermione to school. Children still needed more exercise. It was just that the "red envelope" given by Mr. Granger was too generous.

This forced the little wizard to demonstrate the law of true fragrance.

"We should wait for them for another ten minutes." Ian looked at the clock hanging in the train station. With nothing to do, he wandered between the platforms of the train station.

"This man must be a doctor."

"The way he walks is so sexy, he must be Nantong from England."

"Hey, a group of little wizards? Oh, when I take a closer look, it turns out to be the second dimension." While observing the people coming and going, Ian also noticed the information between the platforms.

The destination of the ninth platform is Aberdeen, Scotland, and the destination of the tenth platform is Glasgow, Scotland. If we calculate based on the connection between the platforms, perhaps Hogwarts is located in the north of the British Isles, in some uninhabited wilderness in central Scotland.

A distance of more than 600 kilometers.

The trains will run from morning to night.

"Hogwarts Express, I think it's more like Hogwarts Express..." Just as Ian was making a heartfelt complaint about the naming of the Hogwarts Express.

"Grandma, my toad seems to be missing again."

A panicked shout sounded, and the figures of an old man and a young man came into Ian's sight. They were an imposing-looking old lady and a timid boy. Both of them were wearing wizard robes, which made them look out of place with the people around them, but no one felt strange about their clothes or appearance.

"Quack~"

Ian spotted a toad at his feet.

"If I'm not mistaken, perhaps the toad you are looking for is here." He picked up the toad on the ground and waved to the old lady and the true swordsman of Gryffindor.

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Leif! Why did you run to someone else's place!" The boy, who looked a little stupid, hugged his pet in surprise and quickly thanked Ian.

"You're welcome."

Ian smiled in response.

"Are you also a freshman at Hogwarts?" Neville was about the same height as Ian, so after seeing Ian's luggage, he immediately asked curiously.

"..."

Ian felt the average emotional intelligence of Gryffindors.

Fortunately, the old lady, Mrs. Longbottom, had obviously recognized him.

"Oh my God, Neville, look who we met, he is Ian Prince! Your senior!" Mrs. Longbottom might have heard about Ian and seen his photo a long time ago.

She looked at the little wizard in front of her with surprise.

"This is an example for you to learn from! If you can have one tenth of the courage of Mr. Prince, I don't think I will worry about your future life anymore."

Mrs. Longbottom's tone was full of disappointment.

It was obvious that she thought very highly of Ian.

“You are too kind.”

Ian quickly showed his humility.

"I think your grandson does not lack courage, he just lacks encouragement." He even said a good word for Neville, and immediately gained Neville's full favor.

"Everyone says you will be the next Dumbledore, and I think those people are definitely right." This was probably the best way of compliment Neville could think of.

"I'm just telling the truth."

Ian laughed.

that's the truth.

The innocent little boy and his grandmother did not actually realize that the courage mentioned by the black-bellied little wizard actually referred to the fact that Neville dared to communicate with him normally.

This courage indeed exceeds that of 99% of Slytherin students.

"Do you need to come in with us?" Mrs. Longbottom obviously wanted her child to have a closer relationship with Ian, but Ian looked at the time and shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry, I'm still waiting for my friend."

His refusal was very polite, so Mrs. Longbottom just nodded regretfully and said nothing more. She took Neville to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

"Look at others, then look at you."

along the way.

Mrs. Longbottom is using mental PUA on Neville, which is obviously a derogatory education. It is hard to say whether Neville's character has a direct relationship with the educational method of this old lady who wants her grandson to succeed.

"Hey~"

Neville lowered his head to accept the PUA, which made him fail to see the road ahead. He bumped into the corner of the wall while pushing the luggage, and his head had an intimate contact with the cart.

Even though they are far apart.

Ian could also see a small bump on Neville's head.

"As expected of the future Gryffindor Swordmaster! He has been practicing various forms of physical training since he was young!" Ian really didn't know how to evaluate Neville's carelessness and unexpected disaster.

He simply praised people to the utmost.

Another period of waiting.

Ian finally waited for his "care recipient" to arrive. He looked at Hermione in surprise as she entered the station alone without her parents, as if she had met Harry Potter on the road.

"You two... have you lost your parents?"

The young wizard always interrupted other people's enthusiastic greetings with a new angle. Hermione was waving happily to Ian, but Ian's words wiped out the smile on her face.

"I just asked mom and dad to take me to the entrance and then let them go back!" Hermione pushed her stroller to Ian's side angrily.

"Hello...Hello, Mr. Prince."

Harry also greeted Ian rather nervously.

Very polite.

Very polite.

He immediately adopted the spirit of a craftsman.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. Just call me Ian. You have such beautiful eyes... I think one of my relatives would really like to see you at school."

Ian also greeted the little boy with a smile.

"what?"

Harry was a little nervous and at a loss.

"I met Harry when I was entering the station, so I thought he could go to school with us. You don't know that his family is simply unreasonable." Hermione took out a big red envelope and handed it to Ian, while speaking up for Harry with an indignant look on her face.

"Mr. Granger, you are so polite. This is a lot more than we agreed on." Ian only weighed the red envelope and accurately judged the amount of pounds in it.

This skill comes from his level of alchemy.

"So, can you help me push this heavy cart?" Hermione was obviously having difficulty pushing the cart, and she tried to seek help from Ian, who only had two small boxes.

"Hermione, you have to learn to be self-reliant."

Ian, however, showed no intention of lending a hand.

"But my father gave you so much money!" Hermione suddenly became a little depressed. She stared at the big red envelope in Ian's hand and felt a little sour that she had never received a red envelope of such a large amount in her life.

"Mr. Granger just wants me to make sure you aren't bullied by other students at Hogwarts." Ian shrugged and said something that made Hermione quite helpless.

"But I didn't ask you to promise that you would help me or that you wouldn't bully me, right? Hey! I've already suggested to my father that he should take the bar exam, but he wouldn't listen!"

She is indeed a clever witch.

Ian nodded in satisfaction.

I think the boy is teachable.

of course.

There is also a child who makes Ian even more astonished.

Ian swore he hadn't even looked at Harry Potter.

however.

"I can actually... I can actually pay protection money?" Harry Potter suddenly took out his clothes, took out a heavy purse, and handed it to Ian with full expectation.

His skillful movements are so adept that it makes people feel distressed.

"There is such a good thing!?"

Ian hesitated for a moment before reaching out tentatively.

The immediate result was that Harry Potter was obviously relieved. In this cold magical world, he finally felt a familiar atmosphere.

And this time.

He is no longer the little boy with empty pockets.

"That's great!"

Harry Potter.

The savior chosen by Voldemort.

At this moment.

It seems like things are developing in a strange direction.

(End of this chapter)