Knockturn Alley.
Dim light filtered through the cracks of the crooked buildings.
A faint stench hung in the air throughout the street.
Not far away, the black sign of Borgin and Burkes shop hung high between two narrow, scratched windows.
\--The sign was made of a thick, old wooden board, its black paint chipped and peeling, revealing the grayish wood underneath.
The black paint on the surface looked as if time had drained its vitality, leaving it without any luster.
The gilded letters of "Borgin and Burkes" were even more crookedly inlaid, with the gold paint severely peeling, and the remaining parts had lost their original shine.
\--It looked as if it had become dim and withered under the gaze of countless greedy and evil eyes.
Just like people.
Inside the shop.
Cold and damp.
It also smelled of musty decay.
The various Dark Arts objects displayed on the shelves in the shop looked quite dangerous and quite evil.
A man was hunched over the counter, repeatedly smoothing back his greasy hair that hung over his face with one hand.
The other hand clutched a black magic ring inlaid with a ruby.
He was also muttering something under his breath from time to time.
Just then.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.
Mr. Borgin was so startled that his hand trembled, and the ring fell directly onto the counter.
"You—"
He took a step back, just about to say something, but saw that the person who had come was none other than Kalthus, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
"You... you've arrived."
Dylan was standing in front of him at this moment, wearing elevator shoes that made him look at least six foot two.
Mr. Borgin's face shifted from shock to a fawning smile.
"Look at you, arriving without a word to let me know, so I could have come to meet you..."
"Meet me?"
The cold eyes behind the mask flickered. "Do you want to meet me in hell?"
Mr. Borgin's face twitched, and he quickly chuckled. "Just listen to you..."
Dylan was too lazy to waste words with him.
"What Delphini prepared?"
His voice was low and almost devoid of any warmth.
Mr. Borgin snapped out of his daze, not daring to delay, and quickly bent down, rummaging under the counter.
"Here it is, here it is."
A cloud of dust rose from under the counter, and Mr. Borgin coughed a few times before finally fumbling out a small briefcase.
"It's quite a coincidence, actually. You had just left that day, and not long after, Delphini arrived. After I relayed your instructions to her, she brought everything over the next day."
Mr. Borgin pushed the small briefcase in front of him forward.
"Look, it's all here—all the Galleons."
Dylan lowered his head slightly, examining the briefcase that had been charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
\--It didn't seem to have any other magical enhancements.
A small section of wand extended from Dylan's sleeve, and with a light tap of the tip, the briefcase instantly vanished.
"Good."
Dylan looked at Mr. Borgin again. "And your share?"
"Mine?"
Mr. Borgin stiffened, his smile becoming even more forced.
After hesitating for a moment, he slowly lowered his head and reached into the depths of the counter again.
After a bit of searching, he pulled out a slightly worn-looking money pouch.
"You... the Acromantula venom you provided, there haven't been many buyers recently, and it's all here—every last Sickle."
Mr. Borgin's voice trembled slightly, but he still tried to keep his tone steady.
\--He didn't want this fool to think he wasn't doing his job properly and directly point his wand at him, followed by the Killing Curse\!
Dylan first weighed the pouch in his hand, then casually pocketed it.
"Very good. You are my only connected follower. I will come to you for anything in the future."
Mr. Borgin looked miserable.
*Please, no\!*
He quickly said, "Miss Delphini has been wanting to contact you—I was wondering, could you perhaps leave a way for her to communicate with you?"
Dylan paused slightly.
After a moment of silence, he snorted coldly.
"I am researching the greatest magic. I will be the one to seek you out, understand?"
The tip of Dylan's wand, hidden beneath his sleeve, began to emit a dazzling holy light.
Mr. Borgin's face paled.
\--He had seen it once before, hiding inside the shop.
Kalthus had unleashed a beam of holy light that instantly killed a group of people\!
Using holy light to cast the Killing Curse?
Dylan didn't need to explain anything.
Mr. Borgin immediately believed what Dylan said—that he was researching the greatest magic.
However...
Was it great, or was it evil?
Was there even a question?
"I understand, I understand... When she comes next time, I will tell her that it's because her offerings weren't enough. To see you, she must prepare more Galleons..."
Mr. Borgin spoke while carefully observing Dylan's reaction and expression.
However, the mask completely covered Dylan's face.
The black hood was pulled down, making him look like an evil high priest.
\--It was impossible to see any features at all.
*This old guy gets it\!*
Dylan was very satisfied with the little guy's reaction and snorted coldly again.
The next moment, he transformed into a beam of holy light and flew straight out of the shop door.
He disappeared the instant he stepped outside.
Mr. Borgin was stunned.
"This... what kind of magic is this..."
It felt a bit familiar.
And yet, somewhat strange.
...
Time flew by, and it was almost time for school to start.
Dylan stood on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, the Hogwarts Express already standing still and waiting there.
Many young wizards and witches were going in and out of the train doors.
\--Because they couldn't carry all their luggage in one trip.
Dylan lifted his foot, ready to board the train, when a familiar commotion suddenly came from the side.
Dylan turned his head and immediately spotted the Weasley family.
"Mrs. Weasley, over here\!"
Dylan smiled and waved at them.
Mrs. Weasley grabbed Ron, who was walking at the very back, and pulled him forward.
Hearing Dylan's voice, she turned her head. "Oh\! Hello, Dylan, long time no see\! Did you have a good summer?"
Dylan nodded slightly. "Very good, Madam. Very uneventful, nothing exciting happened."
\--Yes, he hadn't gone out robbing anyone this summer using Kalthus's identity.
At most, he had only gone to Knockturn Alley twice.
He had gotten some small change from Mr. Borgin.
Roughly around two hundred thousand Galleons.
\--It had to be said, this follower Delphini was truly devoted.
She hadn't even met him in person.
Yet, she had sent over tens of thousands of Galleons in one go.
More than the fleece he had gotten from Mr. Borgin.
Compared to that, lowering his status to go out and extort some dark wizards seemed too demeaning.
Once Mrs. Weasley got closer.
Dylan spoke again.
"You look even more beautiful than before, Madam. Have you been getting some pampering?"
Mrs. Weasley paused slightly, and a delighted smile bloomed on her face.
\--Even the fine lines around her eyes seemed to hold laughter.
She raised her hand and gently touched her hair.
There was shyness mixed with a bit of happiness.
"Oh, you dear boy, you do have a sweet tongue\! I have to clean the house and cook for these lot every day, I don't have any time for pampering\! Today, I'm just dropping them off here, just tidied myself up a bit."
Ron, who was being pulled along by Mrs. Weasley, glanced up inadvertently and saw the shy smile on his mother's face. His eyes widened.
Ron looked at Dylan, then at his mum.
Seriously?
How did this Dylan have some kind of magic that made everyone who met him burst into laughter?
When had he ever seen his mum show such a smile?
Too exaggerated\!
Shy?
Mum\! He's just a kid, not Lockhart\!
Lockhart's reputation has collapsed now too\!
\--Dylan said so\!
Ron's expression was priceless, but neither Dylan nor Mrs. Weasley paid him any attention.
Dylan greeted Ginny, who blushed and subtly moved to the side.
\--Ron was annoyed again.
During the summer, he had repeatedly tried to get Ginny to call him "brother" like she called Dylan, the whole summer\!
Ginny hadn't agreed\!
He didn't even want to play games with Fred and George usually\!
Mrs. Weasley chatted with Dylan about the fun things that happened during the summer.
Like how Ron, even at his age, still wet the bed, which earned him a good scolding from her.
Ron wanted to protest from the side—it was clearly a prank by George and Fred\! It wasn't him who actually wet the bed\!
Still, no one paid any attention.
Only Ginny covered her mouth and giggled.
Fred and George whistled, looking up at the sky.
Dylan smiled, and Mrs. Weasley started asking about his plans for the new school year.
Dylan spoke eloquently, polite and gentlemanly.
At this moment, Mrs. Weasley seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Oh, by the way, dear, have you seen Harry?"
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Dylan shook his head and answered truthfully, "No, I just arrived too, and I haven't seen him yet. I think he hasn't arrived yet."
Mrs. Weasley nodded and said to her family beside her, "Then let's wait here for Harry for a little while, shall we? Does anyone have any objections?"
Ginny shook her head first.
Percy said, "It's still early, I think we can wait a bit longer."
The older brother had spoken, and the twins, who still wanted to say something, swallowed their words.
Seeing this, Dylan politely said, "Then I'll go find a seat on the train first, Madam. I'd like to read for a while longer."
"Oh\! Of course, dear, go ahead." Mrs. Weasley nodded immediately.
Dylan returned her smile, then turned and boarded the Hogwarts Express.
After he left, Mrs. Weasley turned her head and glared at Ron and the twins.
"Look at Dylan. If any of you were half as studious and well-behaved as him, I'd light a candle to pray\!"
Ron pouted. "Mum\! I want to read for a bit too. I'm going to find Dylan first and come back down later."
As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't wait for Mrs. Weasley to say anything more and dashed into the carriage, running towards Dylan's direction.
"That boy\!"
Mrs. Weasley frowned.
At this moment, Ron caught up with Dylan.
Seeing him rushing over, Dylan wondered what was wrong.
But then he heard Ron grumbling, "Honestly, Dylan, you have no idea how miserable my whole summer was\!"
Without needing any feedback from Dylan, he continued,
"Ever since Lockhart disappeared, my mum heard about what he did at school—it's like she divorced my dad\!"
Ron lowered his voice for the last part.
Dylan blinked.
*Ron, are you sure it's okay to say that about your mum?*
He turned his head to look out the window.
Mrs. Weasley was chatting with her children.
Mr. Weasley wasn't there; it seemed he had something to do.
\--She hadn't noticed what was happening here.
Only then did Dylan turn his gaze back.
Sometimes, Ron really deserved to be punished.
"It's so boring at home. My mum always lectures me, making me study a lot of magic even during the summer—what do I need to learn so many spells for now? There won't be another Chamber of Secrets at school for me to deal with\!"
"Luckily, my dad actually won the lottery in the middle of it all, a whole thousand Galleons\! We even went to Egypt for a trip\! But it was so dirty there."
Ron followed behind Dylan, looking at the already full carriages, and continued walking forward.
"Before we left, I called Harry several times, but only the first few times did he answer. His uncle is so fierce\! And he actually hung up on me directly\! It was awful\!"
Dylan didn't say anything, and he kept rambling.
"Later, I couldn't get through on the phone no matter what, until I wrote him a letter. That's when I found out that Harry used the prank items you gave him to teach his aunt and uncle a good lesson\!"
Ron looked admiringly. "Wow, why didn't I think of giving Harry some prank items before? Fred and George have so many weird and wonderful things\!"
Dylan clicked his tongue. "Couldn't get through? Maybe the phone line was cut."
He remembered that one of the items he gave Harry was quite intimidating.
\--The Golden Snitch-Snips.
Specifically for cutting very thin things.
He guessed Harry had used this item to scare the Dursleys.
"Even though he's named Vernon, he's nothing like the kind and helpful people who work on farms."
Dylan casually pulled open a carriage door, saw that it was full of people, gave an apologetic smile, and closed it again.
Ron chuckled. "After coming back from Egypt, I met Hermione a couple of days ago when I was buying books in Diagon Alley, and then I ran into Harry. He said he had never felt so respected by his aunt and uncle as he did this summer—all thanks to you."
Dylan pulled open another carriage door.
Coincidentally, Neville and Seamus were inside.
"Heh, looks like Harry put the things I gave him to good use."
Dylan replied casually, then looked at his two roommates and greeted them. "Mind if I join you here?"
"Not at all\!" Seamus grinned.
"Come in\! Seamus and I just saw you and Ron through the window." Neville waved Dylan over.
Ron also wanted to come in, but he saw Harry's figure appear on the platform.
He paused, then said, "Harry's here. I'll go say goodbye to my mum."
"Go on, then." Dylan waved his hand.
After Ron left, Dylan sat down opposite Neville and Seamus.
He first took out a book, then placed it in a corner to read later.
Then, he took out the fruit he had specially packed into a small bag charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
\--It had grown in his pet's dimension.
In a way, it could be considered that he had planted it himself.
It was just that he had used the Imperius Curse to control Lockhart, making him water and fertilize it regularly, which is why it grew so quickly.
"Try some, some Windsor currants and Cornish black plums, I grew them myself."
Neville and Seamus's eyes lit up immediately. They didn't hesitate to take the fruit and eagerly began to taste it.
"It's so sweet\! Did you really grow these yourself? I haven't seen your family send you any before." Neville said, munching on a black plum.
Dylan smiled. "Because they weren't grown back then. This is the first harvest, so I brought some over for you to try."
Seamus smiled broadly. "You must have used magical fertilizer, right? Only magical fertilizer makes fruit ripen so quickly."
Dylan shrugged. "Bingo\~ You got it right. Here's another one as a reward."
He looked at Seamus, then scanned the carriage, not seeing a third person's trunk.
"Where's Dean? Isn't he here?"
Seamus shook his head. "No, he probably hasn't arrived yet, or he's in another carriage. I won't go looking for him. We can meet up at the final stop."
Dylan nodded slightly. "Okay, I was thinking if Dean was here too, I'd let him try some of the fruit I grew."
Seamus paused, then grabbed a few more black plums.
"Then I'll go look for him after the train starts moving."
Dylan smiled and nodded. "Alright."
It wasn't long before eleven o'clock.
Through the train window, Dylan saw Ron and Harry meet and chat outside for a while.
Then, Hermione's figure also appeared on the platform.
Ron said something, and the three of them all looked towards their carriage.
Dylan smiled and waved at them. Ron mouthed something.
\--We'll go find an empty compartment to sit in later.
Dylan nodded.
As the Hogwarts Express was about to start moving.
Several Weasleys also boarded the train.
Dylan waved goodbye to Mrs. Weasley.
Seamus also got up, ready to go look for Dean's compartment.
"Hoooonk—"
As the train started moving.
Dylan silently and wandlessly summoned some water to wash his hands.
Then a gentle breeze blew, drying the water droplets on his hands.
Neville was already used to Dylan's actions.
\--Wasn't it just casting some small spells without a wand?
He had even seen Dylan perform advanced magic without a wand\!
At this moment, Dylan also picked up the book he had placed aside.
Neville looked over and realized it was *The Monster Book of Monsters*.
It was now held quietly in Dylan's hands, just like any other book.
Neville's eyes widened. "Hey\! Dylan, is that how you calmed it down? I saw you take it out as soon as you came in, and it hasn't moved at all\!"
Dylan blinked. "What's wrong? It's just a book. Aren't books supposed to be quiet?"
Neville opened his mouth. "Is... is that so?"
Dylan nodded firmly. "Of course."
"But before you came, I saw a young wizard on the platform being chased and bitten on the backside by this book... and it jumped out of his trunk and chased after him."
Dylan chuckled. "This book is essentially just under a Transfiguration Charm. You just need to undo it. If you don't want to undo it, just stroke its spine, and that will calm it down too."
Neville was taken aback. "You mean this book is just like a Chocolate Frog?"
The corners of Dylan's lips curled up. "Very clever\!"
Neville scratched his head sheepishly and changed the subject. "I heard Professor Silvanus Kettleburn is retiring, you know, the one who teaches the Care of Magical Creatures elective. I wonder who will be teaching us next."
\--His elective was Divination, or at least that's what Dylan had told him.
Dylan shrugged. "Headmaster Dumbledore will take care of it. And you only have one Divination class to attend, right?"
Neville nodded. "Yes, luckily I listened to you back then and didn't choose more electives. After going home, I analyzed your reasoning with my grandma, and she agreed."
"That's good."