Chapter 18

The moment he stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, Dali felt as if he had completely arrived in another world.

Unlike the bustling metropolis outside, the Leaky Cauldron's interior was dark and cramped, the air extremely stale, as if it hadn't been ventilated in years.

Dali's gaze swept around; several old women sat in the corners, sipping small glasses of sherry, one of them puffing on a long pipe.

A man wearing a top hat was chatting with the barkeep, whose hair was almost gone and whose face resembled a shriveled walnut.

Compared to these normal scenes, Dali also noticed a few rather magical spots.

A bar server raised his right hand, and the chairs neatly stacked themselves onto the tables.

Not far away, a young man read a book while using his finger to direct the spoon in his cup to keep spinning, stirring the coffee.

"What amazing magic."

Dali watched with great interest.

In the Spiritual Consciousness State, he could see energy surging deep in these people's souls, especially those wizards releasing simple magic; the fluctuations of that energy were especially noticeable, their bodies surrounded by a layer of brilliant halo.

From here Dali could simply judge that magical power should be an energy similar to spiritual power, only their methods of use are completely different.

Beside him, Harry was already stunned.

Although they knew magic existed, knowing and seeing it firsthand are still essentially different.

"Oh my God."

Vernon and Penny, who had followed Dali into the bar, immediately let out a scream upon seeing the scene.

That sound immediately drew the attention of everyone in the bar, and many turned to look.

"Another two Muggles, looks like they're bringing a Hogwarts newcomer to buy supplies," someone muttered.

Obviously, they're not strangers to such a scene.

Every year before Hogwarts starts, there are always a few children born to Muggle families and their parents who come here to buy supplies needed for newcomers.

When they first witnessed magic, it was pretty much like this; many have long since grown accustomed to it.

The bartender's glance swept over Vernon and company, then landed on Hagrid, smiling as he greeted him and picked up his cup: "The usual, Hagrid?"

"No thanks, Tom, I'm busy with Hogwarts business," Hagrid said, slapping Harry on the shoulder with his huge hand, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"Also, I'll pick up some supplies Harry needs for his first year."

Hagrid's voice was loud, so everyone in the bar heard him.

In an instant, the noisy chatter in the bar died down, and everyone's eyes turned to Hagrid, or more precisely, to the scrawny boy beside him.

"Good heavens!" the bartender Tom exclaimed, taking a close look at Harry, "This is——Harry Potter!!!"

"Oh dear!"

Tom hurried from behind the bar straight to Harry, took his hand and greeted: "Mr. Harry Potter—what an honor!"

"Welcome back, Mr. Harry Potter."

"Welcome home."

At that moment, the whole bar seemed to boil over, with many people rushing over to shake Harry's hand.

Harry, looking bewildered, tried to cope, having no idea what was going on.

"This kid is that famous?"

Vernon was shocked beyond belief.

Penny also never imagined that Harry had such fame in the Magic World, as if everyone knew him.

Immediately, their faces turned somewhat panicked.

Thinking back to how they'd treated Harry before, if he ever wanted revenge on them, then they…

"Don't worry, Harry wouldn't do that."

Dali watched this scene with interest.

Harry's fame in the Magic World was indeed somewhat beyond Dali's expectations, which made him even more curious—just how terrifying was that Dark Lord back then?

"Honey, maybe we shouldn't learn magic after all." Vernon said with an ugly expression.

"Dad, we've come all this way—how can we just give up like that?" Dali said calmly, "Besides, if Harry really wants to take revenge on you, how could I protect you if I don't know magic?"

Upon hearing that, Penny immediately nodded.

"What Dali said is right; I believe that with our son's talent, he will surely shine in the Magic World, and by then he'll definitely be able to knock that Harry kid down." Penny said seriously.

"Hmph."

Hagrid seemed to have heard Penny's words, glanced over here, and let out a cold snort.

"Oh, to be frank, although Harry hasn't entered school yet, he will surely be the most talented wizard among the new students at Hogwarts!"

A passerby said discontentedly.

All the wizards around who heard Penny's words showed displeased expressions.

"How could a child born to a Muggle family possibly be mentioned in the same breath as the famous Harry Potter? This is simply a joke."

Vernon and Penny tightly shut their mouths, daring not to speak ill of Harry.

"Too bad, you came a bit late; otherwise Harry could have met his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Tom said somewhat regretfully.

"Oh? Professor Quirrell also came?"

Hagrid asked somewhat surprised.

"Yes, he was still here having a drink this morning, then he left." Tom said.

"Alright, once we get to school, Harry will definitely get to see him." Hagrid said.

"Alright, we should be going now." Hagrid said loudly, at the same time gesturing for Harry to say goodbye to everyone.

"Let's go."

Dali followed behind Hagrid and Harry, walking toward the back of the Leaky Cauldron.

"De Shi Li, although your son isn't as fat as you—he's not pig‑like—but I think his head probably doesn't hold much magical talent, so you'd better not pin too many hopes on him." Hagrid said while walking, speaking to Vernon and Penny behind him.

"You..."

Vernon's angry face flushed red, but he didn't dare say much.

After all, this is a wizard's place, and he didn't dare act recklessly here.

As for Dali himself, he didn't care at all.

He had never taken Hagrid's words to heart, and besides, he could see that Hagrid didn't like him to begin with, so he had no need to explain anything.

"Hagrid, actually, Dali..."

Harry wanted to say a few kind words for Dali, after all Dali had been nice to him during this time, but when he thought of how Dali used to bully him when they were younger, some things he still couldn't bring himself to say.

"Alright, we've arrived."

Hagrid ignored it, and led the few of them to a red brick wall.

Then, he took a shabby little umbrella from his pocket and gently tapped the bricks with its tip.

With his tapping, the bricks began to move quickly, spreading to both sides and revealing a doorway large enough for two or three people to pass through.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley."