Severus needed to restock his Potion ingredients, so Lily accompanied Harley to the robe shop.
Harley's luck was quite good today; perhaps because the chosen one, Neville, was drawing a lot of attention at the Leaky Cauldron, there weren't many people inside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Aside from her, there was only one other new student.
Coincidentally, she actually knew this new student—Alexandra was dressed very formally today. She stood tall and straight on the footstool behind the curtain, her dazzling platinum-blonde hair carefully styled into an elegant bun that perfectly showcased her fair, slender neck.
When she saw Harley reach out to pull open the curtain, a flash of astonishment flickered in Alexandra's beautiful eyes, which shimmered with a grey-blue light.
A second later, Alexandra gathered her thoughts and greeted Harley politely, "Miss Snape, good day. It is a pleasure to meet you here."
Harley stepped onto the footstool next to Alexandra and was surprised to find that she seemed a few centimeters taller than her—it seemed all those health-boosting Potions she'd taken over the years hadn't gone to waste.
Harley responded, "What a coincidence, Miss Malfoy... are you here alone?"
Alexandra nodded. "My parents and I are moving separately to improve our overall shopping efficiency... By the way, Miss Snape, if I may ask, is today your birthday?"
As Harley held out her arms for Madam Malkin to take her measurements, she said with some surprise, "Yes, how did you know, Miss Malfoy?"
She wasn't very close to Alexandra, having only met her once before at the World Cup. How did Alexandra know when her birthday was?
"My father overheard it by chance while doing business with Professor Snape... I wish you a happy eleventh birthday, Miss Snape."
"Thank you for the wishes, Miss Malfoy... Uh, may I ask when your birthday is?"
Since the other girl remembered her birthday, Harley felt it would be a bit impolite not to ask.
Whether it was her imagination or not, Harley felt that Alexandra's mood improved considerably after she asked that question.
"I was born on June 5th, less than two months older than you."
"Oh~ then I suppose I should call you Big Sister Malfoy."
Harley teased, then noticed with some surprise that the tips of Alexandra's ears turned red instantly.
The eldest miss of the Malfoy Family is way too easy to embarrass... Is this really the carbon copy of Bellatrix as a child that Sirius talked about?
Harley felt something was slightly off. She instinctively looked toward Lily outside the curtain, only to find Lily staring at her and Alexandra with a knowing, doting smile.
Wait, what are you smiling about over there?
Fortunately, at that moment, Madam Malkin finished her work and handed the newly tailored clothes to Alexandra.
Alexandra paid, took the bag, and hopped down nimbly from the low stool.
"Then, I shall take my leave, Miss Snape. I look forward to seeing you again on the Hogwarts Express. Please be sure to come find me in Carriage Seven after boarding... and please take this as a birthday gift. I sincerely wish you a happy birthday!"
With that, Alexandra quickly unfastened the charmingly lustrous emerald bracelet from her wrist and, ignoring Harley's stunned expression, placed it directly onto her slender, fair wrist.
"Wait, Miss Malfoy, this is a bit too valuable... Miss Malfoy!"
Harley's measurements weren't finished yet, so she couldn't move freely. She could only watch as the Malfoy girl left Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Her gaze met Hermione's at the glass door, who had arrived at some unknown point.
Wait, how does Hermione always appear out of nowhere!
Uh oh~ I'm doomed.
"So you've only met that pure-blood Miss Malfoy once, and she gives you such an expensive gift? You really are quite charming."
"The Malfoy Family is very wealthy. This bracelet is probably just a trinket to Miss Malfoy, so she gave it away casually."
Contrary to the volcanic eruption Harley expected, Hermione only teased her with a bit of jealousy and didn't dwell on it.
"Hermione... your temper has gotten much better."
As if seeing through Harley's confusion, Hermione rolled her eyes and said:
"What kind of reaction is that? Am I some kind of female T-Rex? I've already taken this kind of situation into account."
Hermione had long since grown accustomed to Harley's heartthrob constitution. Back at school, Harley was the type who could gain a little fangirl with just a few words.
Hermione wouldn't believe it if there weren't at least a few young witches in the Wizarding World coveting Harley.
Furthermore, Harley addressed Alexandra Malfoy as 'Miss Malfoy,' which was completely different from the closeness of calling Cho Chang 'Big Sister Cho.' It was highly likely she really wasn't close with Malfoy.
Hermione sighed, her eyes flashing with determination—once they started at Hogwarts, the flies and butterflies around Harley would likely only increase. she had to be prepared in advance!
"Hermione? Your clothes are ready too. Let's go buy our wands."
Harley waved a hand in front of Hermione's eyes and handed her the bag of clothes. The Grangers had just been taken away by Lily, who said she'd show them around Diagon Alley so they could understand the Wizarding World better. Currently, only the weary-looking Professor McGonagall was with them.
"Professor McGonagall, if you're tired, why don't you rest at the cafe nearby for a while? I've got Hermione here with me."
Seeing that Professor McGonagall's dark circles were almost as bad as a panda's, Harley couldn't help but try to persuade her.
Professor McGonagall had been working non-stop for the past few days, delivering letters to Muggle-born students by day and working overtime on paperwork by night. The Hogwarts budget for the new term wasn't finished yet, and although a new defense against the dark arts professor had been found, it hadn't been reported to the Ministry of Magic... In short, Professor McGonagall wished she could split herself into several people to get the work done.
The most frustrating part was that she couldn't even blame Dumbledore for it—as the frequency of Lord Voldemort's movements increased, Dumbledore and Grindelwald had also become busy, essentially heading out to resolve two or three incidents every day.
Things were taking a turn for the worse; it was estimated that in a few months, even Hogwarts would experience abnormalities... Thinking of this, Professor McGonagall looked deeply at Harley—the future of the Wizarding World might rest on this child's shoulders. Although the Longbottom child was currently acting as a smokescreen, Harley's future situation was still not very optimistic.
"Professor McGonagall? Professor McGonagall, are you alright?"
Harley felt a bit helpless. What was wrong with everyone today? First Hermione spaced out, and now Professor McGonagall looked like her soul had left her body.
To be honest, seeing Professor McGonagall dazed like that, combined with her overworked appearance, Harley was afraid she might just drop dead in Diagon Alley.
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