Hogwarts' Golden Glory

"In my letter, I asked you about the Silent Charm and the extra homework Professor McGonagall assigned..."

"Hermione, darling, who is this?"

Mr. Granger gently interrupted his daughter, his gaze sweeping over Kane.

The dentist keenly noticed the unnatural blush that appeared on the tips of his ears when his daughter mentioned the boy.

"Oh! Dad, Mom, this is Kane Malfoy, our classmate at Hogwarts."

Hermione quickly introduced them, speaking faster than usual, "Kane, these are my parents."

"It is an honor to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

Kane gave a perfect bow, his movements so elegant that they didn't seem like those of a fourteen-year-old boy.

"Hermione often mentions you."

The Grangers exchanged a knowing look.

It turns out that this boy was the one who made their daughter restless all summer, asking every few days, "Has the owl come yet?"

Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the bookstore.

"Harry! Thank you, Merlin!" Mrs. Weasley's scream echoed throughout the bookstore.

Harry turned his head and saw a tuft of fiery red hair pushing through the crowd, followed by the rest of the Weasley family.

When Mr. Weasley saw Kane, his relaxed expression, which had been relieved to have found Harry, instantly froze.

His hand unconsciously touched his slightly thinning red hair.

Those were hair growth tonics the twins somehow got their hands on, and this little bit of new hair had finally grown out.

"Malfoy," Mr. Weasley's voice was dry.

Kane's expression became subtle: "Mr. Weasley, your hair... is recovering well."

The air froze instantly.

Ron's face turned as red as his hair, and his fists clenched tightly.

Harry suddenly remembered that Arthur had told him that Kane was responsible for his baldness.

So they won't fight, right?

"Kane! Old man!" Fred's voice suddenly broke the tense atmosphere.

He and George appeared at the second-floor railing at some unknown time, excitedly waving a small cloth bag.

"The 'laughing gas candy' samples are all sorted! Same place for delivery?"

Kane looked up and nodded at the twins, a sly smile playing on his lips: "Remember to mix it according to the proportions we agreed on, otherwise it'll turn into 'crying candy'."

Mrs. Weasley glared at her son: "Fred! George! Don't tell me you're up to your old tricks again—"

Her words trailed off abruptly as she suddenly grabbed Harry's shoulder. "Harry Potter! Do you know you almost scared me to death? You teleported Floo Powder to the wrong place? How dare you!"

Harry was dizzy from being shaken by Mrs. Weasley, but a warm feeling welled up inside him.

The faint scent of cinnamon and toast emanating from Mrs. Weasley reminded him of the warm times he spent in the Burrow's kitchen.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry apologized sincerely, "I choked on soot and mispronounced the place name..."

"Where did you run off to?"

Ron asked curiously.

"Kane said the place is called Knockover Alley," Harry had asked about the location before. "Luckily, I met Kane, and he brought him out."

This statement silenced everyone for a second.

Hermione looked at Kane in surprise, while Ron stared wide-eyed as if struck by lightning.

"That's so cool! Mom never lets us go there, after all, it's a gathering place for dark wizards!"

Fred and George shouted together!

"What are you doing in Knockover Alley?"

Mrs. Weasley smacked the two of them on the head.

He then looked at Harry carefully, as if to make sure he was unharmed.

"That place is full of dark wizards and—"

"But Mr. Kane, what are you doing there? Are you going to buy something?"

Arthur asked, puzzled.

"Mr. Weasley, you seem to have no right to concern yourself with my private affairs."

Kane said calmly, "Now that Harry has joined you, I'll be going now."

Ginny, who had been hiding behind her mother, timidly peeked out at this moment.

Her gaze shifted back and forth between Kane and Harry, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

When Kane glanced at her unintentionally, she quickly lowered her head.

As a result, he accidentally bumped into Mrs. Weasley who was standing next to him.

"Ginny, darling, be careful," Mrs. Weasley sighed.

"So," Ron finally found his voice, blushing as he glared at Kane.

"Are you playing Harry's savior? That's touching."

His tone was so sour it could make you pickle cucumbers.

Hermione immediately defended Kane: "If it weren't for Kane, Harry might still be lost in Knockturn Alley! You should thank him, Ron!"

"Oh? Should we give him a medal? 'Malfoy of the Year'?" Ron said sarcastically.

"Knockdown Alley is no good place, Mr. Malfoy."

Mr. Weasley's voice came through, and he subconsciously touched the patch of newly grown hair that had been burned.

"Let me guess, are you going to Borgin-Bock to pick up the dark magic items your father ordered? Or are you going to deliver a message to those old Death Eater friends?"

The air around them froze instantly.

Several passing customers quietly took a few steps back.

Kane's grey-blue eyes suddenly turned cold, as if covered with frost.

"I'm just looking for some rare potion ingredients, Mr. Weasley. Not everyone who goes to Knockturn Alley is after dark magic."

"Oh, of course not."

Mr. Weasley gave a cold laugh, his freckles appearing even more prominent in his anger.

"Just like when you 'accidentally' burned my hair the other day, was that just an 'accident'?"

"I warned your husband before, but you insisted on searching my room!"

Mr. Weasley interrupted him, "That's because your Malfoy family always thinks money can solve everything! So you need to investigate thoroughly!"

"Dad!" Fred suddenly interrupted, unusually abandoning his playful expression.

"Kane has helped us many times; he's a truly dedicated researcher of spells—"

"And he just saved Harry!"

George added that he and his twin brother stood between Kane and their father.

Mr. Weasley seemed shocked by his sons' attitude.

His gaze shifted back and forth between the twins and Kane, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

Finally, he took a deep breath and turned to Harry.

"We should go, Harry."

He said curtly, his anger still lingering, "Molly, take the children to buy textbooks."

Looking at the group of people in front of them, the Grangers had no idea what had happened.

But they were sure that if that family had a conflict with this kid named Kane...

They will definitely help this child.