Harry Potter: From Muggle Cousin to Conceptual Archmage

Outside the Dursleys' house, Dudley stuffed a large bag of sandwiches into Hagrid's hand, and the three of them chatted as they walked.

"Have some sandwiches! Burly Hagrid!"

Said Dudley. He and Harry had already had breakfast.

"Oh! I like that nickname. I always cause some trouble to others because of my size and strength."

Hagrid put on his flowery overcoat, took the sandwiches, and replied quite naturally. "But most of the time, they make me more reliable and trustworthy. Obviously, that's what Dumbledore thinks!

He always entrusts me with some very important tasks, like coming to pick you up, and retrieving a highly confidential item from Gringotts!"

Dudley suddenly felt that his plan of action was like fighting wits with thin air. He had just played a three, and Hagrid had voluntarily revealed all his trump cards.

Calculating against a simple-minded guy who's as secretive as a 'broken open bottle' (meaning he can't keep secrets at all), really gives no sense of accomplishment.

"What's Gringotts?"

Harry asked curiously. He was in much better condition than last night.

As anyone who has been an orphan can tell you, self-regulating emotions and psychological issues are essential skills.

Harry was no exception. Although he had Dudley's help and guidance, it still can't compare to the love of parents.

"Gringotts is the wizards' bank, Harry. We need to go there first to get the property left to you by your parents. Only then will we have Galleons to buy things." Hagrid replied.

"Galleons! I know! Cousin told me. They are the money used by wizards for transactions. There are also Sickles and Knuts. The exchange rate is really hard to remember! You can also exchange them with pounds!"

Harry showed off the knowledge Dudley had taught him with a youthful air. This was one of the secrets to making himself happy.

But his memory wasn't perfect. In fact, Dudley had mentioned something about Gringotts to him before, but Harry had forgotten.

After showing off, Harry suddenly realized something. "Hagrid! What did you just say? My parents left something for me?"

"Oh! Of course! Let's take one topic at a time. First and foremost, yes, Harry, your parents left you a large sum of money in a vault deep underground at Gringotts.

Most wizards keep their money there. It's managed by goblins, and they're not to be trifled with…"

Hagrid gave Harry a detailed introduction about Gringotts, boasting about its security level. When it came to the second topic, he also corrected a mistake for Harry.

"Harry, Dudley isn't a wizard. The information you heard was inaccurate. The goblins at Gringotts do offer a service to exchange Muggle money into wizard currency, but that's just a tuition assistance benefit for wizards of Muggle origin. There's a limit for each person.

The goblins don't really need Muggle money, Harry. Although you were raised in a Muggle family like the Dursleys, your parents were both wizards. Strictly speaking, you can't enjoy this benefit.

So, we won't be able to use the Muggle money Dudley prepared. You can just use the money in your parents' vault!"

Hagrid just says whatever he knows, hardly knowing how to beat about the bush, which made Dudley roll his eyes.

"Hagrid, you're wrong!

Dudley corrected him, "If the books on wizarding common sense I've read are correct, Gringotts is in Diagon Alley, Diagon Alley is in London, and to go to London, you need to buy train tickets. That is, if you don't plan to use some unconventional means of travel for wizards."

The half-giant smiled shyly. "You're right, Dudley!"

Then he turned to chat with Harry again.

Several black lines appeared on Dudley's forehead. Then he gave up struggling. Having a straightforward friend wasn't too bad as long as you paid a little attention.

The three of them continued walking in the street.

With Hagrid's size and weight, he simply couldn't fit into a taxi, and it was also uncertain whether he could even get on a bus. Not to mention that he had cast the Muggle-Repelling Charm. The only way for the three of them to get to the railway station in Privet Drive was to go on foot.

Along the way, Hagrid ate his sandwich, pointing and gesturing, spittle flying everywhere.

He started talking about how Gringotts used dragons to guard the high-level underground vaults and went on to talk about how he had always had a dream of raising dragons.

Due to Harry's curious questions, he also revealed some details about Dumbledore asking him to pick up something confidential, including Dumbledore giving him a letter of proof for picking up the item, and the fact that the confidential item was stored in Vault 713 at Gringotts.

He almost blurted out the name of the thing.

After that, with a little guidance from Dudley on the topic, Hagrid confessed why he couldn't use a wand to cast spells and the incident where he was expelled for raising Aragog back in his third year.

Poor fellow! Even now, he still didn't know that it was Voldemort who had framed him.

He knew he was wronged, but he didn't know exactly where the injustice lay.

The Acromantula he raised was indeed not a good creature, but when he was young, he really didn't kill Myrtle.

He just shouldered the blame like that.

When talking about this incident, Hagrid's mood became much lower, but soon, he became lively again, expressing his opinions on various Muggle things on the street.

An hour later, the three of them arrived at the station, and Dudley bought the tickets.

With great difficulty, Hagrid squeezed through the ticket gate that was too narrow for him. Guided by Dudley and Harry, he got on the Muggle train.

With a hoot, the train headed towards London.

Privet Drive in Surrey wasn't too far from London. It wouldn't even take an hour to drive there.

Although Hagrid complained about the Muggle train being narrow, cramped, and slow during the journey, it wasn't long before they reached the entrance of their destination.

The Leaky Cauldron, which had also been cast with the Muggle-Repelling Charm.

These unscrupulous wizards managed to seize a piece of land in the busy downtown area of the Muggle world, struggling to survive, and ran an old, dirty, and messy pub between a bookstore and a record store.

Hagrid was a drunkard and a regular at the Leaky Cauldron.

Naturally, he dragged Dudley and Harry inside.

The pub was filled with wizards dressed in vintage clothing. In twos and threes, they were scattered around the tables, clinking glasses, chatting merrily, and chattering away.

As soon as Dudley and the others entered the door, they attracted everyone's attention.

At first, they recognized Hagrid, an acquaintance.

Later, Tom, the bald, ugly, hunched, and old pub owner, recognized that this was Harry, the Savior of the wizarding world by the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

As soon as the name Harry Potter was mentioned, all the wizards in the pub got excited and flocked forward to shake hands with Harry.

It was a very memorable and famous scene. The Boy Who Lived, just stepping into the wizarding world, held a rather special fan meeting with his wizards fans.

Dudley and Hagrid were left on the side.

However, they weren't troubled by this.

Hagrid said he still had to attend to matters for Hogwarts, but he still took the butterbeer summoned by the boss Tom using wandless magic and started tasting it. While drinking, he introduced Harry to his wizards friends.

As for Dudley, while keeping an eye on Harry, he began to peek at the wizards in the pub.

He saw his old friend Mr. Diggory, this not-so-smart wizard who generously gave books. He was excitedly shaking hands with Harry and even mentioned the incident of bowing to Harry in a Muggle store years ago.

When he was pushed out of the way by others, he finally noticed Dudley, the Muggle friend who had once traded celebrity merchandise with him.

Dudley didn't have much of a mood to chat and reminisce with Diggory. He perfunctorily dismissed him with a few words and, by the way, surreptitiously took the wand on his waist and hid it in his coat for emergencies.

You know, he had been poring over the book Standard Spells for several years.

He remembered clearly the pronunciation of the spells and the gestures of waving the wand. It's just that he had never really practiced them.