Bang!
The moment the green flames enveloped his entire body, Harry sensed something was wrong.
Without giving him any chance to speak, the Floo Network teleported him to a dark place.
The eerie and terrifying atmosphere sent chills down his spine.
He had only taken a few steps when, through the shop window, a head of thick platinum blond hair appeared before Harry's eyes like a savior.
He scrambled to his feet and began waving his arms in Draco's direction.
"Draco! Draco!"
"Harry?"
Draco hurriedly pushed open the door and walked in, looking at Harry, who looked disheveled, with a puzzled expression.
"Harry? What are you doing here?"
"I was originally at the Burrow, Ron's house, trying to use Floo Powder to get to Diagon Alley, but... I opened my eyes and found myself here."
"Draco, what are you doing!"
A stern voice rang out from outside the door.
Upon seeing Harry, his eyes flashed with hostility.
"Dad, he's my friend. He got lost using Floo Powder and stumbled here by accident."
Lucius looked Harry up and down and realized that the other person did not seem to be following them.
His guard had mostly lifted.
"Since he's your friend, I'll go with you. We'll take him to his family later."
Because he received information from Argus, Lucius was able to process Dark Arts items much faster than in the original story.
This trip was just to wrap things up; he was not concerned about the time.
Draco breathed a sigh of relief and patted Harry on the shoulder in comfort.
"Come on, Harry, your dad and I will take you home."
"Wait a minute, what did you say his name was?"
"Harry? Harry Potter... What's wrong?"
Harry Potter?
Upon hearing this name, Lucius wished he could stuff Draco back into the furnace for a complete overhaul.
Damn it, your father is Voldemort's henchman, and you're all siding up with the Savior?
If this gets out, will your father even want his life?!
Looking at Draco's bewildered expression, and then thinking of Argus's almost supernaturally intelligent schemes.
Lucius took a few deep breaths, trying to reassure himself.
My own child! My own child!
Even if they're silly, they're still my own child!
He wanted to leave Harry there, but the words were already out.
Moreover, even if he were to abandon him, Draco, with his temperament, would definitely stay by his side.
Left with no other choice, they had to take Harry with them and head towards Diagon Alley.
...
They arrived at Argus's Bookstore in Diagon Alley.
The Weasleys were already waiting there.
After a year of operation, most wizards had switched their first choice from Flourish and Blotts to Argus's Bookstore.
Lockhart's book signings had also moved from Flourish and Blotts to the more popular Argus's Bookstore.
The shop was packed with all sorts of wizards who came to buy books and attend book signings.
"Oh, thank goodness, you didn't go too far!"
Upon seeing Harry approach, Mrs. Weasley hurried over and brushed the dust off Harry's clothes.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley."
"Fortunately, we met Draco and his father."
Harry briefly recounted his recent experience, forgetting that the Malfoy family and the Weasleys had always been at odds.
Especially recently, Arthur had been frequently leading his men to the Malfoys' house to search for Dark Arts items!
At this moment, the two were like enemies meeting, their eyes blazing with hatred!
"Look who this is! The famous Director of the Muggle Misuse Prevention Division, Mr. Arthur Weasley!"
"The Ministry of Magic must be very busy, always conducting surprise inspections?"
"I hope you get overtime pay."
"I'm afraid that, based on the current situation, it's not the case."
"The Ministry of Magic won't even give you a decent salary, so why don't you stop bringing shame to wizards?"
Lucius's words were barbed, which made Ron's eyes red with anger.
Arthur, showing no sign of weakness, strode up to Lucius.
Both were members of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, yet their clothing and attire presented a stark contrast.
"It seems we have very different understandings of shame."
"Malfoy!"
Lucius scoffed: "Obviously, hanging out with Muggles..."
Could your family become any more degenerate?
Sparks practically flew between Arthur and Lucius's eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
A loud voice interrupted the angry glare between the two.
"Please welcome Gilderoy Lockhart!"
Everyone's attention was drawn to the figure walking up the stairs.
Mrs. Weasley tugged at Arthur's sleeve.
"Arthur, there are children here."
Draco, not wanting to cause trouble in Argus's shop, quietly reminded Lucius.
"Dad."
Lucius snorted coldly, flicked his robe, and drew a sharp arc.
"You can look at the books you need here, I'm going to take care of something."
After saying that, he turned and walked upstairs.
Mrs. Weasley glanced at Draco, then at Arthur, hesitated for a moment, and finally pulled Draco over.
"Come here, child. The things that happened in your father's generation should not involve you."
"Thank you for bringing Harry back."
Arthur nodded, indicating that he would not hold a grudge.
Harry moved closer to Draco.
"Your father just went to..."
"He must have gone to talk to Argus. You know, the Acolytes have partnerships with many families."
"An evil black wizard!"
Ron still harbored resentment over Lucius's words and treated Draco with extreme hostility.
Mrs. Weasley grabbed him and pulled him over.
"Ron! Don't say things like that!"
...
On the other side, after Lucius went upstairs, he saw Argus sitting in front of the coffee table, holding a thick book and looking at something.
Hermione was standing to the side, holding a large orange cat.
It was Crookshanks.
Argus had been interested in this cat for a long time.
In the original story, it had been able to keenly sense Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, so as soon as it appeared in the pet store, Argus had sent someone to buy it.
He gave it to Hermione as a gift since she came over today.
Good morning, Mr. Grindelwald.
Good morning, Mr. Malfoy.
Argus put down his book and invited Lucius to sit down.
"This must be Miss Granger."
"Draco and Mr. Grindelwald have mentioned you more than once. You are the second best student at Hogwarts after Mr. Grindelwald."
"Nice to meet you."
Lucius's attitude toward Hermione at this time was completely different from his attitude toward their first meeting in the original book.
In the original work, he had perfectly embodied the aloofness of a pureblood.
But now, he adopted a polite and respectful attitude.
The Malfoy family had always been opportunistic and avoided harm, so being able to sit next to Argus was enough to demonstrate their status.
Even if her parents were Muggles, or even if she were a werewolf, he wouldn't show the slightest disdain!
"Hello, Mr. Malfoy."
Hermione rose and bowed, glancing at Argus and then at Lucius.
The wise choice was to leave temporarily, giving the two space to talk.
"Mr. Grindelwald, thank you for your help to the Malfoy family."
"Malfoy will be your eternal partner."
Lucius bowed to Argus, a wave of fear washing over him as he thought of the recent surprise inspections.
The Malfoy family had amassed a considerable number of Dark Arts items over the years, and dealing with them would require a significant amount of time.
If it weren't for Argus's reminder, he would probably have had to spend a lot of money to completely distance himself from the situation.
"We are partners, so naturally we should help each other."
Argus picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
Seeing that Lucius had no intention of speaking, he gently reminded him.
"Mr. Malfoy, you should know that I don't like wasting time."
"So please speak frankly."