Diagon Alley bustled with people, shoulder to shoulder, more lively than usual.
Shop vendors' calls, pedestrians' conversations, and magical creatures' cries wove together in a cacophony.
"Sour bitch..."
Tiger walked stiffly through the crowd, his face hard as he watched Tommy chatting pleasantly with Lucius ahead, his eyes full of displeasure.
He'd never liked noisy places.
Unfortunately, when Draco had invited him, Lucius had also approached Tommy, saying something that made Tommy smile like a bitch.
Simply put—it was fake enough to make one's scalp crawl.
Lucius had his own calculations, and Tommy had his schemes—the two hit it off immediately.
In the noisy crowd:
"Father, would you like some?"
Draco happily emerged from a shop carrying two ice creams, approaching Tiger's side and asking quietly.
"There's sea salt flavor and mint flavor."
Draco already understood Tiger's tastes well—Father never liked overly sweet foods.
"Sea salt then..."
Tiger casually took the ice cream.
After all that fighting, Venom had only eaten half its fill, and he needed sweets to replenish his strength.
Not far away, Tommy and Lucius's smiles grew more intense, like male Veela, causing passing witches to turn and stare, occasionally letting out enchanted sighs.
"Father, how does it taste?"
Seeing Tiger finish the ice cream in just a few bites, Draco showed a successful treasure-offering smile, as if a dragon's tail were wagging happily behind him.
Tiger looked at Tommy's back with disgust.
"Never want to eat it again."
"Tastes like a bitter man's tears..."
He was certain Tommy had taken a fancy to Lucius. That pretty boy was indeed somewhat alluring, but he didn't want to see Tommy repeat another week of dejection.
"Tommy... he has a wife and children."
Draco: "???"
"My goodness..."
"Merlin's flowery underwear..."
Harry and Ron gaped dramatically.
In front of Flourish and Blotts, crowds swarmed densely—not just young wizards buying textbooks, but many screaming witches, keeping the staff frantically busy.
"Who's inside?"
"Definitely not Dumbledore."
Faced with those nearly mad witches, the Weasley twins, for the first time in their lives, lost interest in joining the excitement.
"Gilderoy! I love you!"
"Look this way, Gilderoy!"
"Ahhh!!!"
As if stimulated by something, deafening screams erupted from inside the bookstore.
"Oh my, it's Gilderoy!"
"I should have realized!"
"I nearly forgot about this!"
"Arthur, quickly!"
Hearing that her idol Gilderoy Lockhart was actually inside, Mrs. Weasley couldn't help crying out in excitement.
She hurriedly straightened her clothing, her kind, plump face flushing slightly as Mr. Weasley helplessly took the miscellaneous items from his wife's hands.
"It's nothing."
"Mum's a Lockhart fanatic."
"She mentioned days ago wanting to come to Diagon Alley for Gilderoy's autograph—obviously forgot with all the busyness these past days."
Seeing Harry's bewildered expression, the Weasley twins shrugged and explained helplessly.
"But we have to say, this guy's books are really expensive. Charlie and Bill sent all their wages home."
Fred complained with dissatisfaction.
Then they watched their mother Molly charge into the crowd like a cannonball.
"Oh, that must hurt..."
Watching the crowd suddenly explode apart, Mr. Weasley looked sympathetic, then turned to Harry and the others.
"Let's wait here."
"When there are fewer people, we'll go in..."
"You're absolutely right."
Harry, Hermione, and the others nodded repeatedly.
They were truly afraid of another person charging into the bookstore like that—their small frames couldn't take it...
With additional staff, order outside the bookstore finally improved somewhat, and the chaotic screaming subsided.
"Oh, Hermione?"
Just as the Weasley family was entering the bookstore, a magnetic voice suddenly sounded behind Hermione.
"Tommy?"
Hermione spun around, her eyes sparkling. "How wonderful to see you here."
"Is it?"
Seeing Hermione constantly glancing behind him, Tommy's warm, elegant smile revealed a hint of mischief.
"Of, of course..."
Hermione blushed somewhat embarrassedly.
"Tiger's just behind us."
"If you don't mind, chat with me a bit. I'm curious about your school life."
"You know, that Tiger fellow's very shy—never wants to share interesting stories with his brothers..."
Noticing Lucius seemed somewhat distracted, Tommy naturally changed the subject, casually giving the other an excuse to temporarily leave.
Lucius nodded slightly to Tommy, then walked over to Arthur Weasley, his posture proud and cutting—completely different from his earlier gentle demeanor.
"Weasley, still standing here."
"Can't even afford used books anymore?"
"Do you need me to sponsor you some..."
When Tiger and Draco reached Flourish and Blotts, Lucius Malfoy and Mr. Weasley were already fighting, angry curses flying back and forth.
It had to be said—the Shelbys' battle with the werewolves had given Lucius considerable inspiration. Facing Arthur Weasley's round, sturdy body, he was actually holding his own.
The Weasley twins looked somewhat anxious on the sidelines, constantly cheering and offering advice, wishing they could join in themselves.
"Arthur!!!"
Mrs. Weasley emerged from the bookstore with daughter Ginny and Harry. Seeing the figures rolling on the ground, she cried out and ran over, trying to separate them.
"Aren't you going to help him?"
Tiger approached Tommy, his tone somewhat strange.
"..."
Tommy said nothing. Sensing Tiger's thoughts, his elegant, noble expression gradually twisted.
"Tiger, he has a wife and children!"
His voice came out through gritted teeth.
Tiger was silent for a moment, looking down at Draco, who was cheering for his father.
"Tommy... listen to me... people can't... at least shouldn't... families can't..."
"Shut up!"
"No, pour those damn thoughts out of your head along with the horse piss!"
Tommy cursed in a furious whisper.
He didn't understand when exactly his image had become so disgraceful in his brother's mind.
"Alright..."
"You really don't think that way?"
Tiger raised his eyebrows skeptically.
Tommy took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his chaotic heartbeat, and said through clenched teeth:
"Of course, I like women now."
"What?!"
Tiger looked at his brother in shock.
Then he pointed toward the distance, at Madam Malkin watching the excitement from outside the crowd, saying seriously:
"Tommy, you're into mature charm..."
Before he could finish, Tommy pulled Tiger's hand back, rubbing his forehead and sighing:
"Trust me, there will be such a day."
"But not now."
"I'm not very... skilled yet..."
He closed his eyes somewhat desperately.
To convince his brother, Tommy completely abandoned his principles, planning to seek advice from John...
On the other side, Lucius Malfoy and Arthur Weasley were finally separated by bookstore staff.
Both looked somewhat disheveled, Arthur Weasley's eyes so swollen he could barely open them.
With a victorious smile, Lucius wiped the blood from his lips, picked up the old textbook from the ground, and placed it in Ginny's arms.
This was what Weasley had thrown at him as a weapon.
"Take it, little girl. Your father paid a painful price for these things."
"Come, Draco. I should buy you some toys that certain people could never afford in their lifetime."
With that, he led Draco out of the crowd.
"Dad, you were so cool just now!" Draco's excited cheers could be heard faintly.
Watching Ginny helplessly clutching the old textbook in her arms, Tommy's smile became meaningful.
What Lucius was hiding in his heart—he'd seen clearly long ago. No one looked forward more than him to chaos in the wizarding world...
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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