Chapter 11 The Cause of His Parents' Death
"Hey! Are you talking about me?"
A cheerful, enthusiastic voice reached his ears.
Harry turned around again; it was the blond boy who spoke,
pushing a cart towards him.
This boy's owl was also a snowy owl, just like his Hedwig's.
This similarity, in a certain sense, made Harry unconsciously relax.
He began to notice that the station was empty; most people had already boarded the train.
And the person approaching was Basil.
He was now smiling exceptionally brightly, his eyes narrowed into slits.
He felt as happy as putting on new underwear on New Year's morning!
Not because the two people opposite him might be Harry and Ron.
But because of his now bulging purse and the gems that had reached the 10,000 mark. He
was only two-thirds of the way to activating the world-traveling function and retrieving the important components.
Moreover, he had really made a lot of 'friends'.
As long as they didn't object, they were his 'friends'!
He had even discovered a new function—viewing 'friends' data.
Most importantly, he didn't find any original characters from the game in the crowd.
This further confirmed that this world leaned towards fundamentalism, reflecting the novel's worldview.
After all, with such a lively atmosphere, Robin was bound to appear.
This meant Voldemort would still only be good at welding
, not undergoing an epic upgrade to create a dense, one-touch-kill chain of Avada Kedavra lightning.
Meanwhile, facing Basil's smiling words,
the red-haired boy, Ron, stammered.
"I didn't..."
Harry unconsciously lowered his head.
Basil raised an eyebrow; he hadn't expected Harry and Ron to be so introverted and shy.
"Hello, my name is Basil Granger!"
he said, extending his hand directly.
"My name is Ron Weasley," Ron said, his ears turning red, touching Basil's hand.
"My name is Harry Potter," Harry followed, his touch equally brief.
Both of them were like shy young girls, hesitant and unsure what to say.
*Slap!* Ron slapped his thigh hard, his eyes widening.
Upon hearing Harry's name, Ron instantly transformed from a mimosa into a cheerful sunflower.
"What!"
"Harry Potter!"
"You're that Harry Potter?"
Harry nodded.
"I...I...can I..." Ron stammered, pointing to the scar on Harry's forehead.
"Ron Weasley!"
"How dare you!"
A high-pitched female voice rang out, causing Harry to retract his hand from his bangs.
"Mom!" Ron seemed to shrink considerably.
Basil watched this amusing scene with amusement.
Mrs. Weasley: "You running around everywhere is one thing!"
Ron pleaded, "I'll stay right here!"
Mrs. Weasley: "You dare talk back!"
Nearby, a cute little girl bounced around, "Mommy, Harry Potter!"
Mrs. Weasley's voice suddenly softened, like a rollercoaster going downhill.
She was very gentle with Harry and Ginny.
"Oh, Ginny. Harry isn't some zoo animal!"
"And Harry, it's great to meet you! You might not know, but I'm a friend of your parents."
Ten minutes later, Basil, Harry, and Ron were on the train.
Because it was close to departure, Mrs. Weasley didn't exchange many pleasantries.
However, in those ten minutes, Mrs. Weasley showered all her tenderness on Harry and Ginny.
Even Basil received some.
Well, how to put it...
Mrs. Weasley, though her figure had changed, was undeniably beautiful.
Especially her...
there's definitely a difference between movies and reality!
Like Ginny just now, with her delicate features and captivating charm.
But in the movies, she has a square face, completely unremarkable. Anyway, I
digress.
On the other side, Ron was being bombarded with all his negativity by Mrs. Weasley.
She said he hadn't set a good example for his sister,
was clumsy, and not as good as his brothers, only slightly better than George and Fred.
So, even now, Ron was still like a wilted eggplant
, muttering things like, "Damn it," and "Where are Fred and George?"
Harry wanted to say something to Ron but received no response.
So, he struck up a conversation with Basil.
"You asked me if my recommendations for extracurricular books for grades one through seven are reliable?"
"Well, how should I put it?"
"These are the books I've found in my family library while previewing the first-year textbooks and skimming through the other grades' textbooks."
"Of course, this will definitely help those Muggle wizards."
Basil's words instantly dampened Harry's spirits.
"Previewing? I'm sure I'm terrible at it!"
"I just flipped through all the books!"
"I'm definitely going to be the worst student in the class!"
Harry's worried expression made Ron perk up.
"No way!"
"I'm nothing! I haven't even opened a single book!"
Ron said proudly.
"Basil is a minority!"
"Think about it! Who else can get a pocketful of magic coins like him in such a short time!"
"I dare say, even the most diligent Ravenclaw wouldn't be able to prepare for the course while also compiling an extra reading list!"
"Besides, you're Harry Potter!"
Ron's tone was very confident, which brought color back to Harry's pale face.
Seeing that Harry was alright, he smiled.
"That chart of powerful figures in the Ministry of Magic is obviously a joke," he said with a smug tone. "I can't help but laugh at the thought of Percy being fooled."
He cleared his throat and imitated Percy, "I'm Percy, a Hogwarts superintendent, and the future Minister for Magic!"
Basil coughed. "Excuse me. This is serious."
"My ancestors were all Hufflepuffs. Knowing who not to offend is our way of survival."
"Of course, that's theirs. Not mine. In the wizarding world, profound magic is more important than power."
"Like Dumbledore, though not Minister, he's more than a Minister."
Harry nodded quickly. "I know that! Hagrid said that the Minister for Magic often writes to Dumbledore just to get his opinion."
Ron was a little disappointed and slumped into his chair.
He had heard Dumbledore's great words all along and knew them all too well.
So, he cared more about whether Percy had been fooled.
The thought of Percy not being fooled made him feel worse than dead.
Basil noticed this and added, "The picture is real, but it's probably outdated. It was written by my father, but they both died before I was a year old. They were supposedly killed by Death Eaters passing by."
"That's great!" Ron blurted out, quickly putting on a sorrowful expression. "I mean, my condolences. But... really just passing by? Not specifically coming to visit?"
"My parents too! Us too!" Harry's tone was tinged with inexplicable joy.
So incredibly filial.
"Enough! You two!" Basil rolled his eyes.
"My grandmother said…"
Harry: "You still have a grandmother."
Basil: "Hey!"
Ron: "Harry! Basil, go on."
Basil: "My grandmother said that the Death Eater was indeed passing through. Apparently, he was planning to cross Holbeam Forest to London."
"And then he saw my parents playing aerial acrobatics."
"He got carried away and killed them with his newly learned Killing Charm."
Harry, Ron: "My condolences!"
Basil: "It's nothing. I have no memory of them. To be honest, I've only ever grieved for my grandmother's death."
Harry: "You're an orphan too? Then we're the same!"
Basil, Ron: "Hey!"
Harry's eyes darted around.
Just then, a loud clattering sound came from the aisle, and a smiling woman with dimples pushed open a cubicle door and asked, "Darling, would you like to buy any food from the cart?"
Harry, as if seeing a savior, waved his hand, "Three of each, please!"
(End of Chapter)