Outside the Dursleys' house, Dudley handed a large bag of sandwiches to Hagrid, and the three of them walked and talked.
"Have some sandwiches, big guy!"
Dudley said. He and Harry had already eaten breakfast.
"Oh! I like that nickname. My size and strength always seem to cause a bit of trouble for others."
Hagrid, now wearing his colorful coat, took the sandwiches and replied naturally. "But most of the time, they make me more reliable, more trustworthy. Clearly, Dumbledore thinks so too!
He always gives me important tasks, like coming to fetch you two and retrieving a highly confidential item from Gringotts!"
Dudley suddenly felt like his carefully laid plans were overkill. He had barely started playing his hand, and Hagrid had already revealed his entire strategy.
Outsmarting someone as straightforward as Hagrid felt almost too easy.
"Gringotts? What's that?"
Harry asked curiously, his mood much better than the night before.
Growing up as an orphan, Harry had learned to regulate his emotions and cope with psychological challenges—a necessary skill. Though Dudley had helped and guided him, it still couldn't replace the love of parents.
"Gringotts is the wizarding bank, Harry. We need to go there first to access the fortune your parents left you. That way, we'll have Galleons to buy what you need," Hagrid explained.
"Galleons! I know about those! Cousin told me—they're the money wizards use for trading. There are also silver Sickles and bronze Knuts, and the exchange rates are hard to remember! You can also use pounds to exchange for them!"
Harry proudly shared the knowledge Dudley had taught him, one of his ways to lift his spirits.
But his memory wasn't perfect. Dudley had mentioned Gringotts to him before, but Harry had forgotten.
After his little boast, Harry suddenly realized something. "Hagrid! What did you say earlier? My parents left me something?"
"Oh! Of course! Let's take this one topic at a time. First and most importantly, yes, Harry, your parents left you a sizable fortune in a vault at Gringotts.
Most wizards keep their money there, managed by goblins. They're not to be trifled with..."
Hagrid went on to explain Gringotts in detail, boasting about its security measures. When he moved on to the second topic, he corrected one of Harry's misconceptions.
"Harry, Dudley isn't a wizard, so the information he heard might be a bit off. Gringotts does offer a service to exchange Muggle money for wizarding currency, but that's only a special benefit for Muggle-born students. There's a limit to how much you can exchange.
Goblins don't really need Muggle money, Harry. Even though you grew up in a Muggle family like the Dursleys, your parents were both wizards. Strictly speaking, you wouldn't qualify for that benefit.
So, the Muggle money Dudley brought won't be of much use. You'll use the money from your parents' vault instead!"
Hagrid spoke without filter, almost as if he had no concept of subtlety, making Dudley roll his eyes.
"Hagrid, you're wrong about that!"
Dudley corrected him. "If the wizarding books I've read are accurate, Gringotts is in Diagon Alley, and Diagon Alley is in London. And to get to London, we'll need train tickets—unless you plan to use some unconventional wizarding travel methods."
The half-giant chuckled sheepishly. "You're right, Dudley!"
Then he turned back to continue chatting with Harry.
Dudley sighed, giving up on trying to steer the conversation. Having a straightforward friend like Hagrid wasn't all bad, as long as you were careful.
The three of them continued walking down the street.
Given Hagrid's size and weight, taking a taxi or a bus was out of the question. Plus, with the Muggle-Repelling Charm in effect, their only option was to walk to the train station in Little Whinging.
Along the way, Hagrid munched on sandwiches, gesturing wildly and talking nonstop.
He went from explaining how Gringotts used dragons to guard high-security vaults to sharing his lifelong dream of raising a dragon.
When Harry pressed for more details about the confidential item Dumbledore had sent him to retrieve, Hagrid spilled everything—from the letter of authorization Dumbledore had given him to the fact that the item was stored in Gringotts' Vault 713.
He stopped just short of revealing the item's name.
Later, with a little nudging from Dudley, Hagrid confessed why he couldn't use his wand freely and how he had been expelled in his third year for raising a "cute little spider."
Poor Hagrid. To this day, he didn't know it was Voldemort who had framed him.
He knew he was innocent but couldn't pinpoint exactly how.
The Acromantula he had raised might not have been a good idea, but it certainly hadn't killed Myrtle back then.
Yet, he had carried the blame all these years.
When talking about this, Hagrid's mood dipped, but he quickly bounced back, commenting on various Muggle things they passed on the street.
An hour later, they arrived at the train station. Dudley bought the tickets.
Hagrid struggled through the narrow turnstile and, with Dudley and Harry's guidance, boarded the Muggle train.
The train chugged its way to London.
Little Whinging in Surrey wasn't far from London—less than an hour by car.
Though Hagrid complained about the Muggle train being cramped, stuffy, and slow, they soon arrived at their destination.
The Leaky Cauldron, hidden in plain sight in the heart of London, was protected by a Muggle-Repelling Charm.
Unscrupulous wizards had carved out a space in the bustling Muggle world, wedged between a bookstore and a record shop, to run this shabby, old pub.
Hagrid, a regular at the Leaky Cauldron and a bit of a drinker, naturally led Dudley and Harry inside.
The pub was packed with wizards dressed in old-fashioned clothes, gathered around tables, clinking glasses and chatting animatedly.
As soon as the trio entered, all eyes turned to them.
At first, it was because they recognized Hagrid.
But then Tom, the bald, hunched, and rather ugly bartender, spotted the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead and realized he was looking at the Boy Who Lived.
Once Harry Potter's name was mentioned, the entire pub erupted in excitement. Wizards rushed forward to shake Harry's hand.
It was a memorable scene—the Boy Who Lived, stepping into the wizarding world for the first time, holding an impromptu fan meet-and-greet.
Dudley and Hagrid were left on the sidelines.
But they didn't mind.
Hagrid, despite claiming he had important business for Hogwarts, accepted a butterbeer summoned by Tom using wandless magic and sipped it while introducing Harry to his wizard friends.
Dudley, meanwhile, kept an eye on Harry while discreetly observing the wizards in the pub.
He spotted his old friend, Mr. Diggle, the not-so-bright wizard who had generously given him books. Diggle was eagerly shaking Harry's hand, reminiscing about the time he had bowed to Harry in a Muggle shop.
After being pushed aside by the crowd, Diggle finally noticed Dudley, his Muggle friend who had traded celebrity memorabilia with him.
But Dudley wasn't in the mood for small talk and dismissed him with a few perfunctory words. He also took the wand from his waist and hid it in his coat for future use.
You know, he has been reading the book "Standard Spells" for several years.
He remembered the pronunciation of the spell and the gestures of waving the wand very clearly, but he had never actually practiced it.