Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures-Chapter 1252: An Interesting New Term

“Molly, it doesn’t make sense for all of us to go to Madam Malkin’s,” said Mr. Weasley. “Why don’t those five go with Hagrid, and the two of us can go to Flourish and Blotts and get everyone’s schoolbooks?”

“I don’t know,” said Mrs. Weasley anxiously, clearly torn between a desire to finish the shopping quickly and the wish to stick together in a pack. “Hagrid, do you think —?”

“Don’ fret, they’ll be fine with me, Molly,” said Hagrid soothingly, waving an airy hand the size of a dustbin lid. “There won’ be any trouble at all.”

“Alright then, we’ll head to the bookstore and find you at Madam Malkin’s after we’re done,” said Mrs. Weasley. “Harry, Evan, Hermione, give me your book lists for the next term…”

She did not look entirely convinced, but allowed the separation, scurrying off toward Flourish and Blotts with her husband, while Evan, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Hagrid went to Madam Malkin’s.

Along the way, they felt more and more the tense atmosphere in Diagon Alley. The people who passed them had the same harried, anxious look as Mrs. Weasley, and nobody was stopping to talk anymore; the shoppers stayed together in their own tightly knit groups, moving intently about their business. Nobody seemed to be shopping alone.

When they arrived, Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions was empty.

Evan, Harry and Ron chose ordinary black boys’ robes. Madam Malkin quickly tailored them to fit the three. Hermione and Ginny, however, took much longer to choose, as there were more styles for the girls’ robes. The two of them had specific preferences regarding color and cut.

Harry and Ron were a little impatient, so they went out to wait, while Evan was asked to stay and provide advice.

To be honest, he couldn’t tell the difference between rolling up the cuffs a bit or not, and…

In his view, all these small adjustments made no significant differences.

However, Hermione and Ginny were surprisingly stubborn when it came to these details, trying on robes after robes in front of the mirror.

“Evan, what do you think?” asked Hermione. “Should I pull the sleeves up a little bit? Also, should I choose these black robes or the dark green ones? Hmm, the navy ones look pretty good too…”

“Then buy them all so you can change them up,” Evan suggested.

Just then there was a loud commotion outside and he heard Hagrid’s voice shouting.

Evan hurried out and saw Harry, Ron and Draco Malfoy confronting each other.

The three of them were pointing wands at each other, and Hagrid was trying to stop them.

Also, there was Narcissa Malfoy standing behind Draco.

She was haughty-looking, and resembled her sister, Bellatrix, though her skin was noticeably paler.

“Get out of the way, you big oaf, and you two, put your wands away,” she said coldly to Harry and Ron. “If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do.”

“Really?” said Harry, taking a step forward. “What are you going to do? Get a few Death Eater pals to do us in, are you?”

“Don’ say that, Harry,” said Hagrid, waving his hands vigorously. “You two troublemakers, get out of here.”

Malfoy and his mother had to step back to avoid Hagrid’s swinging blows.

“Enjoy it while you can, Harry Potter. I see that being Dumbledore’s favorite has given you a false sense of security. But Dumbledore won’t always be there to protect you. You —”

“He’s not here now!” said Harry, turning his wand towards Narcissa. “So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!”

“Don’t you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!” Malfoy snarled.

He angrily advanced towards Harry, but was stopped by Hagrid, who ignored the wand in his hand and easily lifted him up.

Hagrid was casually shaking Malfoy around as if he weighed nothing.

“That’s enough, Malfoy. If you’re still looking for trouble—”

“Put down my son,” snapped Narcissa, her pale, slender fingers drawing her wand.

Harry raised his wand higher as well, and the passersby on the street quickly moved away.

Seeing this scene, Madam Malkin, who had just walked out of the shop, squealed and clutched at her heart.

If Evan, Hermione and Ginny hadn’t intervened, they would have definitely come to a real fight.

“What’s going on?”

“Don’t be impulsive, Harry and Ron, put down your wands and think carefully. Don’t use magic, or you two will be into such trouble,” said Hermione, and she and Ginny went over to stop Harry.

Evan walked over to Hagrid and asked him to put Malfoy down.

When Malfoy was set back on the ground, he glared at Evan and the others, his face even paler.

“Hmph, like you’d dare do magic here,” said Narcissa, gripping her son’s shoulder tightly, her whole body trembling. She glanced at everyone with contempt. “Let’s go, Draco. Now I know the kind of scum that shops here. … We’ll do better at Twilfitt and Tatting’s.”

Malfoy glared at Harry and left quickly with his mother.

“The Malfoys are still as annoyin’ as ever, but don’ let them bother yeh,” said Hagrid unconcerned, as if he didn’t think there was anything to make a fuss about. “They wouldn’ dare make trouble in the middle o’ Diagon Alley. Don’ worry abou’ them.”

“You shouldn’t have provoked them,” Hermione warned.

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t like we started it. I can’t believe that Malfoy and his mother dare to show up in Diagon Alley at this time,” said Ron. “How many Death Eaters are there…”

“They are not Death Eaters,” Hermione paused and added, “at least, there’s no evidence to prove that they are.”

“I bet Malfoy knows something. His family is pretty important in that group.”

“You never know, he may have become a Death Eater like his father now,” Harry agreed.

Were the Malfoys really that important?

As one of the oldest and wealthiest pure-blood Wizarding families, the answer was obvious.

But if Voldemort really made Draco a Death Eater, it would not be a reward but a punishment.

Who knows if he’d make Malfoy attempt to assassinate Dumbledore, just like in the original story…

Evan never doubted the abilities of the elite Death Eaters, and a task like this would be far too difficult for Malfoy.

Although many things had already changed, this mission was likely to remain the same. Voldemort was a master at playing with people’s minds, even if it was not to punish Lucius Malfoy for his repeated failures, it would be a test for Dumbledore, to have one of his students try to kill him.

What would Lucius, who was deep in Azkaban, think if he knew about this?

One thing was certain, Malfoy’s assassination attempt would never succeed this time — he didn’t stand a chance. But Evan thought that the upcoming school term was bound to be more interesting. The secrets of the Half-Blood Prince, Slughorn’s return, Malfoy’s clumsy assassination attempt, and the soon-to-be-uncovered treasure of the Four Founders…

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