Dudley's words made Petunia feel a bit more at ease.
Soon, they arrived at the place Harry had indicated.
Harry stood at the entrance of a shabby, rundown pub. "The Leaky Cauldron. We're here."
The three Dursleys stared blankly at the empty space before them, seeing nothing at all.
"The magical world isn't advertised to the public, of course. There's a Muggle-Repelling Charm here, so ordinary people can't see it."
As he spoke, Harry waved a hand in front of the three, a flash of silver light briefly flickering from his palm to temporarily block the charm for them.
A dilapidated pub abruptly appeared before their eyes.
Identical looks of disgust crossed the Dursleys' faces.
Petunia frowned in displeasure. "It looks like a rubbish dump."
Dudley scrunched up his face. "Like a pigsty."
"You can go back," Harry suggested. "Actually, quite a few young witches and wizards come to Diagon Alley for their school supplies, and there are bound to be some pure-blood wizards with very high opinions of themselves."
Unfortunately, all three Dursleys were ordinary Muggles.
Dudley disagreed. He was going.
"Fine." Harry shrugged.
Harry knew how famous the Boy Who Lived was in the magical world, and the mark on his forehead was far too conspicuous. Even with his hair covering it, Harry still felt deeply uncomfortable.
He cast a Disillusionment Charm around himself and the three Dursleys. Just before he knocked on the red brick wall, Harry suddenly noticed a man wearing a purple turban in a corner of the pub.
The man hadn't noticed Harry, but when Harry saw him, he felt an inexplicable surge of irritation.
He frowned, shook his head, and set the matter aside for the moment, leading Dudley and the other two into Diagon Alley.
Without showing any outward sign, he used the Mark to notify Agatha about this, asking her to thoroughly investigate who the man in the purple turban was.
Agatha King was the head of the intelligence unit operating in Britain; her sister, Aliyah King, was the head of the unit operating in Germany.
Intelligence networks in other regions were mixed together and controlled by Conti and Hubert.
After all, Britain and Germany were where the last two Dark Lords had emerged, making them worthy of individual attention.
Diagon Alley was a fairly major commercial street in the magical world, and though it couldn't compare to the crowds on a London high street, it was still quite lively.
"Hmm, let's see," Harry said, looking at his supply list. "How about we go get your robes fitted first?"
"..."
No one answered. Harry looked back in confusion to find Petunia and Vernon sticking close behind him. Even Dudley, who had been excited before, was now infected by their nervousness and looked rather apprehensive.
They looked like three turtles trying to retreat into their shells.
It was understandable, though. Suddenly stepping into this bizarre magical world, full of tricksy creatures everywhere, they did stand out as ordinary people.
Feeling nervous in an unfamiliar environment was normal.
Still, Harry was exasperated. He closed the list. "What are you cowering for? Don't be nervous. You're not going to die."
The three of them immediately became even more nervous.
Petunia pressed her lips together, her expression stiff, and spoke in a low voice. "Can you use a bank card in the magical world?"
Harry paused and pointed towards a white-domed building in the distance. "Yes, but you'd need to go to Gringotts and see the goblins to exchange your cash for magical currency."
"I wouldn't recommend it, though. The goblins' exchange rates are absolutely ridiculous." Harry narrowed his eyes. "They're a very greedy breed of creature."
"As the saying goes, 'What's done by a foreigner is not to be trusted.' I wouldn't rely on them."
Petunia fell silent. She discreetly elbowed Vernon, who let out a gruff cough. "Hey, boy, do you have enough money?"
"Plenty," Harry replied with a smile. "I can manage that much."
He waved his hand with the air of someone with money to spare. "Just tell me what you want. After we buy the school things, I'll take Aunt Petunia to pick out a couple of pieces of jewelry to take home."
"Of course," Harry added, looking at Dudley in warning, "no dangerous items."
The three followed Harry into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. A boy was already standing on a footstool getting measured. As the group entered, he lifted his chin and glanced at them from the corner of his eye.
"Oh, Hogwarts first-years?" Madam Malkin asked as she worked.
After receiving Harry's affirmative reply, she said, "Please wait a moment; I'm not quite finished with this young gentleman."
Harry waited patiently nearby, while Dudley stared around the shop, looking like he was about to spring into action.
The second before Dudley could dash off, Harry moved, stomping hard on his foot to stop him.
"Ow!" Dudley yelped, his face turning red with anger.
"Don't go wandering off. If you want something, talk to your parents first." Harry gave him a firm kick in the rear, shoving Dudley back towards Aunt Petunia.
Petunia quickly wrapped her arms around Dudley and began soothing her "big Duddykins."
Harry rolled his eyes.
Just then, the boy who had been observing them finally spoke. "You're a young wizard going to Hogwarts too?"
His grey eyes held a haughty look as they swept over Harry, Petunia, and the others. Then he drawled slowly, "Oh, you're from the Muggle world."
Harry's eyebrow twitched. The moment he saw that platinum blond head, he had guessed the boy's identity.
He was a Malfoy, and more specifically, the Malfoy family's young heir, Draco Malfoy.
According to Agatha's intelligence, this young heir was so arrogant it made you want to slap him. Harry was certain Dudley wouldn't tolerate it.
Dudley would feel like every breath the other boy took was a provocation.
Draco scrutinised their clothes, his eyes filled with obvious disdain. Not caring what anyone thought, he continued talking to himself. "Are those your parents and brother? I wonder how three Muggles even got into Diagon Alley…"
"My father and mother are buying my schoolbooks and equipment. Perhaps they'll surprise me and bring back a Nimbus 2000 as a gift for starting Hogwarts."
Petunia and Vernon frowned. Harry's expression was blank. Dudley, annoyed by Draco's chatter, couldn't help muttering to Harry, "He talks so much rubbish."
Harry noticed Draco's voice stop.
"What did you say?" Draco suddenly raised his voice, glaring viciously at Dudley. "How dare a few filthy Muggles and one Muggle-born wizard mock a Malfoy?"
When it came to magic, this was Harry's territory, and Dudley had a sense of that.
He glanced at Harry first, and seeing that Harry didn't stop him, immediately puffed out his stomach and glared back. "So what if I mock you? Come on then, hit me if you've got it!"
As he spoke, he waved his fist and laughed even louder. "With a scrawny build like yours, I doubt you could take one punch from me!"
"You, you…" Draco's face flushed red. He stared at Dudley's fist, a flicker of fear stirring inside him. He probably really couldn't win a fight.
But he wasn't about to let this slide.
Draco stamped his foot in anger. "Despicable! Muggle-born wizard! I'll tell my father!"
"I'd still hit you even if your dad came!" Dudley waved his fist more vigorously, startling the young heir so much his face drained of colour, and he stumbled back a couple of steps.
Dudley made a face. "I don't know what you're so proud of. Where I come from, only livestock care about breeding!"
Petunia and Vernon looked a bit panicked. They feared wizards, yet deep down looked down on them, but after only a moment's panic, they beamed with pride at Dudley's charge.
Harry stifled a laugh with his hand.
Draco lost all composure, shrieking and stamping his feet. "Despicable! Despicable! I'll tell my father! I'll make him have you expelled!"
Dudley started to retort, but Harry quickly stopped him.
Neither Dudley nor Draco was easy to deal with; both were tyrants at heart. If they really locked horns, they'd keep at it until one was finished.
And the Malfoy parents weren't dead. Once they returned, this would become a difficult situation.
It wasn't as if a helpless Boy Who Lived could publicly assault the noble Malfoy heir, was it?
Even though it seemed he'd already made an enemy of young Malfoy, Harry didn't think dealing with him would be particularly difficult.
Though still angry, Dudley held back when Harry stopped him.
Harry smiled pleasantly at Draco. "You can have your father inform Dumbledore about expelling me. If the headmaster agrees, everything will be settled."
Draco's face cycled through shades of pale and green.
That old geezer Dumbledore! With those red-headed Weasleys constantly causing trouble for his father, there was no way he'd agree!
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