[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]

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  Anduran Cherbis' eyes fell on Harry's forehead, where his thick fringe covered the skin, revealing nothing. Then his gaze moved to Harry’s face, and suddenly, he hesitated.

  However, Hagrid wore a smug expression and said in aone, "I was entrusted by Professor Dumbledore and Professonagall to take young Harry to get ready for school."

  "Is it true?!" Anduran excimed, grabbing Harry's hand in ahusiastic shake, almost yanking him forward.

  "What an honor! What an honor to meet you, Harry, ah, I mean, Mr. Potter! What an absolute honor!"

  His voice was so loud that it drew the attention of the other passengers in the vehicle.

  "Potter? Which Potter? Harry Potter?" some of the passengers shouted, while others even leaned halfway out of the bus windows. Most of the people on the bus were dressed rather strangely, but sidering they were likely wizards, Harry figured it might just be a wizarding fashion trend.

  "Of course! Who else would it be? Mr. Potter himself! Damn it, you lot are incredibly lucky to see Mr. Potter in person, just like me!" Anduran bellowed.

  Then something happehat Harry couldn't quite prehend. The few passengers and even the bus driver all stepped off. Though they had looked somewhat skeptical when they first saw him, after Hagrid firmed his identity, their expressions shifted to surprise.

  Then, something even more ued occurred. These peculiar individuals actually formed a line, eae eagerly waiting to shake his hand, their faces alight with joy aement. One persoried to shake Harry’s hand twice by sneaking back to the end of the line, but Hagrid caught him.

  "Alright, alright! Our Harry o get to the Leaky Cauldron. It’s getting te, and he needs a good night's rest!" Hagrid announced.

  "Of course, of course!" the passengers agreed, noddiedly.

  "Please, step onto the bus. We have both seats and beds! Feel free to sit anywhere you like, Mr. Potter!" Anduran said excitedly, pulling Harry onto the bus and guiding him to a seat. He beamed. "I'll cover your fare. Please don’t worry about it, it’s an honor!"

  "And what about me, Anduran?" Hagrid asked with a grin.

  "Eleven Sickles!" Anduran replied, turning his head with a serious expression, shifting from generosity to sternness faster than flipping the pages of a book.

  "We've known each other for nearly ten years!" Hagrid protested.

  "Yes, exactly! So, eleven Sickles. But I’ll give you a cup of hot tea for free!" Theurned back to Harry with a fttering smile. "Mr. Potter, what would you like to drink? Milk? Hot chocote? We also have regur chocote, of course. Everything is free for you!”

  Hagrid grumbled but still dug into his pocket, pulling out a handful of silver s and dropping them into Anduran’s hands. He then sat beside Harry, muttering something that sounded a lot like "stingy git."

  Harry was still dazed. The st four or five minutes, from the moment Anduran had shaken his hand up until now, were pletely bewildering. Why do all these strange people seem to know who he was?

  But before Harry could ask Hagrid for an expnation, the bus suddenly lurched forward.

  "Bloody hell!" Harry cursed involuntarily.

  With a sharp whistle, he was thrown back against his seat.

  The Knight Bus was unbelievably fast! The overwhelming force pinned him to the seat, and the sery outside the window blurred into streaks of light and shadow. Even when he'd ridden in his cssmate's dad's sports car, he'd never felt anything like this.

  "Oh, Harry, I’m sorry! I fot to warn you, it’s your first time, after all," Hagrid said apologetically. "When the bus is in motion, you o press your back against the seat and hold onto the armrests. But don’t worry, it won’t matter after a while."

  Hearing this, Harry quickly grabbed the horizontal handrail in front of him. Instantly, the overwhelming pressure on his back disappeared.

  "Magic!" he gasped in amazement.

  Although he was already familiar with a few minor spells, mostly mental enhas like sensiions, improving memory, or indug excitement or trahis was somethiirely different.

  Still, meditation had made Harry feel healthier, and his memory and reflexes had improved signifitly.

  As for more advanced magic, the elemental spells in his mind had been rgely iive due to his limited magical power and the scarcity of magical elements. For example, the Fire Dragon Teique was supposed to summon a massive fming dragon, but iy, it could barely light a cigarette.

  That’s why, in Harry’s opinion, this enormous, high-speed bus was far more magical.

  "Uh… yeah," Hagrid chuckled. "Just a little bit of magic!”

  "A little bit?" Harry smacked his lips, growing even more intrigued by the magical world unfolding before him.

  In Britain, wizarding culture was well-known to the general public. After all, Merlin, the legendary figure said to have aided King Arthur, was a wizard. But who had ever actually witnessed real magic?

  Harry felt incredibly lucky. Although he had some magical knowledge, it was disanized and cked structure—nothing more than a colle of minor tricks. But now, he was about to bee a real wizard.

  "Will I finally be able to use my magic properly once I learn wizardry the right way?" thought Harry.

  Ihe bus, nearly everyone was either openly or covertly staring at Harry, as if they'd suffer some great misfortune if they didn’t take o look at him.

  At first, he didn’t notice, but sihe sery outside was a blur and he had no choice but to look around the bus, he soon became aware of the stares. The realization made him unfortable.

  Sure, he had been stared at by girls in school before, and when he was younger, boys had also been curious about him. But now? Now, it was all old men.

  Luckily, the ride didn’t st long.

  "Leaky Cauldron, London!" Anduran called out. This was Harry’s destination.

  Harry and Hagrid were the first to step off the bus.

  Many of the bus passengers were actually supposed to reach their destinations earlier. However, nearly all of them were willing to pay extra just to ehat Harry was dropped off first, allowing them to spend a little more time in his presence, even if they never exged a single word with him.

  With so many eyes on him, Harry didn’t say much, though he had plenty of questions he wao ask Hagrid.

  When he finally stepped off the bus, he had to gh another round of handshakes and goodbyes with the passengers. He was fairly certain he had never shaken this many hands in his entire life as he had in just one night.

  "Why are they like this? I mean, why do they all seem so..." Harry trailed off, struggling to find the right words to describe the odd behavior of the wizards.

  "Overly enthusiastic?" Hagrid seemed to uand what Harry was getting at and chuckled. "Harry, you don’t realize it, but in the wizarding world, you’re incredibly famous, a proper celebrity!"

  "Me? A celebrity? Why?" Harry asked, pletely baffled.

  Sure, back at school, he had been somewhat well-known at first because of the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Later, his good looks had made him popur among both girls and, occasionally, boys. But that was a far cry from actual celebrity status.

  Of course, Harry was still well-known at sostly because his appearance had fooled plenty of people. However, pared to real celebrities, like famous athletes or top students, there was still a huge gap.

  "It’s a bit plicated," Hagrid admitted, rubbing his . He seemed to realize that it wasn’t easy to expin, so he shook his head.

  "Let’s not worry about that now. We’ve got plenty of time tomorrow. I’ll think carefully about how to expin it to you then." He theured to a nearby building. "For now, this is the Leaky Cauldron, one of the most well-known pces in the wizarding world. It’s the oldest pub in the British magical unity."

  It was only then that Harry took a proper look at where they had arrived.

  Had no oold him otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to guess that this was actually London.

  The narrow alley was lined with small shops on both sides, a stark trast to the t skyscrapers of the global financial hub he had always imagined London to be.

  And acc to Hagrid, the Leaky Cauldron, the most a and prestigious inn in the wizarding world, was barely noticeable, even in this humble alley!

  It was wedged between a massive bookstore and a record shop, with nothing more than a small, battered wooden door marking its presence. Harry had no doubt that even in broad daylight, if a hundred people walked past, not a single one would give it a sed gnce.

  Before he could ent, however, he ushed inside by Hagrid. The half-giant hadn’t used much force, but his sheer size gave him an overwhelming strength, and Harry had no choice but to stumble forward.

  If it weren’t for how absurdly magical the bus ride had been, Harry might have seriously started suspeg that Hagrid was some sort of human trafficker, judging by the way he hahings.

  Of course, Hagrid wasn’t a trafficker, but the Leaky Cauldron’s interior was far from the grand, famous establishment Harry had expected.

  It was dimly lit, dusty, and rundown. The tables, chairs, and benches looked a, as if they had been in use for turies. Despite the te hour, a few oddly dressed individuals sat at the bar, drinking and chatting.

  Well, calling someone "oddly dressed" was retive. To an ordinary person, these people would seem bizarre. But if they were all wizards, then long cloaks and pointed hats made plete sense!

  With a single loud statement, Hagrid once again revealed Harry’s identity, and immediately, another round of handshakes began, just like on the Knight Bus. her he nor Harry were allowed to rest until Hagrid finally decred that Harry had important things to do in the m.

  "You o tell me what’s happening tomorrow!" Harry insisted as Hagrid bid him goodnight at the door to his room.

  "Of course!" Hagrid agreed easily.

  Still buzzing with excitement, Harry tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.

  Yet, despite going to bed te, he woke up early the m.

  His first instinct was to kno Hagrid’s door door, but just as he raised his fist, there was a loud BANG beside him.

  A short figure had suddenly appeared right o him.

  ******

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