"You, you're not a Mudblood. Whose young wizard are you? I advise you not to do anything rash. My name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. We might even be relatives!"
Seeing this bizarre magic he'd never encountered before, Malfoy immediately decided Kane must be the heir of some mysterious magical family.
Looking at Kane's obviously unfriendly expression, he hastily tried to explain himself.
"Sorry, but my relatives are most likely all dead." Kane waved dismissively at Malfoy. "Keep your eyes open next time you pick a fight."
The next moment, Malfoy was swiftly seized by the shadow claws and lifted up.
Like a failed acrobat, he was bound tightly by the shadows to the ceiling.
"We should move somewhere else. I'm worried Malfoy up there might spit into my ice cream from the ceiling."
Kane picked up his ice cream bowl and prepared to leave the small stand.
Of course, the real reason wasn't this comical excuse. Maxwell had suddenly warned him that an adult who looked remarkably like Draco Malfoy was rapidly approaching.
Seeing this, Harry and Ron also picked up their ice cream to change locations.
After all, having someone on the ceiling constantly crying and staring down at them was rather appetite-killing.
It wasn't until they'd left the ice cream stand that Harry and Ron fully processed what had just happened.
Ron glanced at Kane, then at Harry.
He was finally starting to get why Harry didn't mind dropping cash on Kane.
With someone that strong watching your back, who wouldn't pay for it? Ron would too, if he actually had the money.
Harry was still listening to the crying coming from the ice cream shop.
"Uh… thanks for going easy on me back in that alley. And for trying to shove me out first instead of leaving me to nap next to the garbage all night."
Kane paused mid-bite and gave Harry a look. "What kind of thing is that to say? I'm not some heartless psycho."
Ron stared at the two of them, stunned.
Kane, the same guy who handled Malfoy without even lifting a finger, had actually run away from Harry? Only Harry Potter, who took down Voldemort in diapers, could manage that. Absolutely brilliant.
If Ron's thoughts had been heard by Kane and Harry, they definitely would have thought the kid had some serious issues.
What kind of bizarre understanding was that?
As the three sat on the roadside eating their ice cream, two figures came rushing toward them, one fast and one slow.
One was the adult Malfoy Maxwell had mentioned, presumably the father of the kid currently crying on the ceiling.
Behind them stood Hagrid, lugging three cages.
Normally, giving Ron a pet while his parents were still alive might feel like rubbing it in the Weasleys' faces, but buying pets for Harry and Kane and leaving Ron to stand there empty-handed… that was just too sad. Hagrid was too soft-hearted to let that happen.
"I've got a surprise for the three of yeh!"
Hagrid said as he set the cages down in front of them.
"Picked up three little messenger birds that can carry letters. Each of yeh gets one. It's a surprise, so I didn't say anythin' earlier!"
"One for me too?" Ron asked, genuinely taken aback.
"'Course! I bought these meself, not Hogwarts. Don't worry about any silly rules." Hagrid thumped his chest with a booming thud.
"You two go first, I'll just take whatever's left," Kane said, stepping back awkwardly.
If he'd known Hagrid had run off to do something like this, he never would've let him buy anything for him.
Honestly, keeping himself healthy and normal already consumed all his energy. He really didn't have the strength to raise a... bird.
But this was Hagrid's kind gesture, so he'd accept it. Besides, he'd probably share a dorm with Harry anyway, so he could just have him help take care of his pet.
Soon, Harry and Ron had chosen their pets. Harry's was a pure white snowy owl, Ron's was a gray jay, leaving the last one, a pure black raven.
"Well, how about it? Does it match my vibe?" Kane asked Harry and Ron, holding up the raven's cage.
"Pretty matching. Between the two of you, you look like you won't survive past the end of the month," Harry said, trying to keep a straight face.
"Just shut up. Ron, you tell me."
"Kind of like an evil dark wizard who eats children."
"..." Just as Kane was holding the cage, helplessly dealing with these two championship trash-talkers alone, a low voice came from behind him.
"So this young gentleman is the one who stuck my son to the ceiling?"
Kane turned around. Sure enough, the same blond hair, the same bearing as that Draco student in the ice cream shop.
Hagrid looked somewhat confused at Lucius Malfoy suddenly approaching Kane.
Harry and Ron immediately launched into a jumbled explanation of the whole story.
Understanding the context, Hagrid immediately stood in front of Kane. "Malfoy, you're not planning to attack a young wizard in front of me, are you?"
Lucius had also heard Harry and Ron's overlapping explanation and felt somewhat helpless that Draco hadn't told him the whole truth. Now the trouble his son had stirred up, he had to clean up.
"Don't misunderstand, Hagrid. I'm simply here to apologize to this young gentleman on behalf of my immature son.
My name is Lucius Malfoy. The one on the ceiling is my son, Draco Malfoy. I apologize for his rudeness just now."
Lucius Malfoy's apology could be considered reasonably sincere, but when Kane saw the hand reaching toward him after removing a glove, he ultimately didn't shake it.
He simply stated his name. "Kane Heath. I'm an orphan."
Lucius Malfoy frowned, as if pondering where the surname Heath came from, but ultimately came up with nothing.
This was normal.
Because of Voldemort, too many pure-blood and half-blood young wizards had left the magical world, wasting away early in Muggle orphanages.
After all, that kind of bizarre shadow magic definitely wasn't something a Muggle-born young wizard could use.
He must be from a wizard family with strange and special methods, magical talent passed through bloodline inheritance.
After all, as an orphan, Kane had nowhere to learn magic. Bloodline inheritance was the only explanation.
"It seems you're not particularly inclined to accept my apology," Lucius said while thinking about Kane's possible origins.
"Maybe you could have your son come apologize to me instead." After Kane finished speaking, Harry and Ron behind him both started giggling.
Lucius Malfoy's expression didn't change. "He's still stuck to the ceiling and hasn't come down yet."
Kane understood. After all this roundabout talk, he just wanted him to let Draco down.
"Go prepare a cushion for him," he said bluntly.
Lucius immediately waved his wand, and the floor of the ice cream shop became soft and bouncy like jelly.
Then the shadows gripping Draco Malfoy instantly dissipated, and he fell onto the floor, bouncing twice.
"Your son's down, we'll be leaving now." Seeing everything was done, Hagrid wanted to take the three of them and leave. After all, seeing Lucius Malfoy made him uncomfortable.
"I'll help you inquire about your family in the magical world. You definitely aren't Muggle-born," Lucius said, completely ignoring Hagrid and speaking to Kane's retreating back.
Kane shrugged indifferently. Inquire about his family based on his magic? There was a better chance of tracing back to The Constant.
For the moment, he was more interested in seeing how far along Ollivander's custom wand had come.
Lucius watched as the four of them departed, heading toward Ollivander's wand shop.
Then, a subtle shift in the air caught his attention, and he turned to Draco. "If you have any questions, now's the time to ask."