In the bustling Diagon Alley, Howl reappeared and immediately saw Harry, who had already returned from shopping, both children holding multi-flavored ice cream cones from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
Harry, leading the way, spotted Howl in the crowd and waved repeatedly: "Uncle Howl, where did you go?"
"I met a friend and he gave me some gifts," Howl said, handing the parchment-wrapped box to Harry.
Harry also took out the gold-threaded cloth bag he had received from Gringotts earlier and tucked the box inside.
"Mr. Jones, do you have anything else to do? If you have time, how about a casual meal in London?" Chris asked, standing up.
"Of course," Howl nodded, not refusing. The Granger family seemed easy to get along with.
Afterward, Howl went to the Potion shop and bought many things that looked very... strange to the Granger family. Then, the group returned from the Leaky Cauldron the way they came.
The two adults also visited the record store next to the Leaky Cauldron.
In a French restaurant on Charing Cross Road, the group chatted casually. Chris clearly wanted to know more about the Wizarding World. Perhaps because it concerned his beloved daughter, he seemed a bit anxious.
As for Hermione, she didn't think that much; she wasn't very happy. Because Diagon Alley didn't accept pounds, she had seen many books she liked but couldn't afford them.
It was then that Howl realized there were restrictions on exchanging pounds for Galleons. It was a welfare policy provided only for Hogwarts students, and there was an exchange limit.
Harry, with Howl's permission, excitedly shared the interesting things that happened in Moonlight Fortress with Hermione. Before long, Hermione no longer minded the Diagon Alley incident as much.
Although she also had a strong curiosity about magic, it was certainly not as important as her upcoming final year of primary school.
At least, that's what Hermione thought...
It was here that the Granger family learned Harry Potter's real name, but the reason for hiding the name was not explained.
After dinner, Chris learned that the group lived in Surrey and even offered to drive Howl home, but Howl politely declined.
He also performed Apparition for them.
...
Upon returning to Moonlight Fortress, Howl sprawled lazily on the sofa, feeling completely at ease.
It had been a long time since he had gone out for a walk like this.
"Harry, give me that Ancient Greece manuscript," Howl said languidly.
Earlier, when he saw this manuscript in Borgin and Burkes's shop, he immediately recognized its extraordinary nature.
Some of the runes in that notebook bore too many similarities to the runes on tritons sword, which he had seized from Blackbeard in the Caribbean Sea.
Howl's main research directions currently consisted of two, both originating from the Caribbean Sea.
One came from tritons sword, seized from Blackbeard. The other was a trident obtained from the depths of the sea.
The Curses and artifacts of the sea, even Davy Jones's power, he cared nothing for.
What a true Wizard needed was merely the occult knowledge behind these Curses or the power of these artifacts.
As long as he could successfully decipher them, he could advance one step further.
Based on this, he immediately took that book from the display case. He then discovered that although this manuscript was only a fragment, it came from Thales, one of the Seven Sages of Ancient Greece.
Although Howl could not confirm whether this was from Thales himself, or a copy by a later follower.
But for a notebook of this caliber to end up in a Dark Arts shop was simply unbelievable.
Just then, Harry handed the manuscript to Howl.
Looking at the expression on Harry's face, Howl asked curiously, "Are you that happy today?"
Harry gave an awkward laugh: "No... I just... well, Hermione is my first friend."
After speaking, Harry was a bit unsure: "Uncle Howl, does this count as a friend?"
Harry had never had friends before; at school, he was always the one being bullied, and no one wanted to be friends with him because that meant making an enemy of Dudley.
This led to Harry now... not even knowing what counted as a friend.
"I think, yes, that certainly counts as a friend," Howl thought for a moment and nodded.
A smile immediately appeared on Harry's face, and Howl then asked, "How much longer until your school starts?"
"Half a month," Harry replied.
Howl nodded: "Then next, if you have nothing to do, you can go out more. The work on the Castle is almost done, there's no need to stay cooped up here every day."
Harry was a bit happy, then suddenly thought of something and shook his head: "Never mind, there's nothing for me to do outside. Dudley and his gang will still bother me if they see me out..."
Through extensive reading of history, he already knew that Wizards now had to hide among ordinary people. He no longer had the idea of retaliating against Dudley after learning magic.
Howl stood up: "Suit yourself, or you could go up the mountain and ride a flying broom or something."
"Really?" Harry looked excitedly at the flying broom, Meteor.
Howl didn't even turn his head: "Just be careful. Oh, and the next magic is [Scourgify], get familiar with it within a week."
"Okay!" Harry quickly nodded.
Seeing Howl go down to the basement, Harry looked at Meteor, who was hopping towards him, and excitedly grabbed its broomstick.
It was clearly restless; as a flying broom, it had been reduced to sweeping the floor at home every day.
Just as Meteor thought they could finally go out for a good flight, it didn't expect Harry to suddenly let go.
Harry said apologetically: "Sorry, Meteor, I think I should do my work first.
We'll clean up first, then I'll learn the magic Uncle Howl told me, and finally, we'll go out to play."
Meteor's broomstick immediately drooped, like a noodle, expressing its disappointment.
Then, the broom head rustled back to the corner, leaning against the wall with a resentful look.
Harry gave an awkward smile, then walked to the wardrobe on the second floor; he hadn't folded the clothes he had brought back this morning...
Knock knock knock —
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Lucifer poked his sleepy eyes out from the fireplace: "Privet Drive calling."
After speaking, he shrank back inside to sleep.
Harry quickly walked over, and with a 'ding', the dial on the door pointed to Privet Drive, then he opened the door.
Outside the door was a familiar face to Harry, Mrs. Hudson, who lived next door.
"Oh, little Potter, what are you doing here? I thought you lived at Number Four, Privet Drive?" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed softly.
"Hello, Mrs. Hudson, I'm... playing here," Harry said casually: "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Mrs. Hudson said: "Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to ask if there's a lawnmower here? My lawnmower broke down halfway through, and I don't know why. I wanted to borrow one from the homeowner so I could finish trimming the lawn."
Lawnmower...
Harry thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Sorry, Uncle Howl doesn't have a lawnmower."
Hearing this answer, Mrs. Hudson sighed: "Well, I guess I'll just have to ask the other neighbors. Have fun, little Potter."
"Thank you, Mrs. Hudson," Harry smiled in response, watching Mrs. Hudson's departing back. Suddenly, a thought struck him.
Perhaps, he could subtly use magic to change some things, just like before.
It's just that he couldn't control it before, but now he could, and he could even do it better...
"Mrs. Hudson, if you don't mind, could I take a look at the lawnmower?"