"So what should I do?" Harry asked uneasily.
"Make some friends, Harry. We can't always fight alone on the road to growing up. When you encounter difficulties, you'll understand just how much help a friend can provide," Victor Wick chuckled.
Harry was still a bit anxious. He only had a basic understanding of the wizarding world. If others saw the famous Harry Potter and realized he couldn't even cast a simple spell...
"Don't worry, just remember what I said and keep a good head on your shoulders. Then, enjoy your school days... In fact, most of the professors at Hogwarts were comrades of your parents. They'll look at you like their own nephew. You're among friends. As long as you don't blow up Hogwarts, what is there to worry about?"
"But I don't know any magic yet..."
"Then study your textbooks well over the holidays, Harry. No matter how smart a wizard is, they still need diligence to grow. Alright... we're here!"
The Bentley came to a stop.
Harry looked out the window, a look of confusion on his face.
"Isn't this a clothing store? Is the wizarding world hidden inside?"
"Of course not!" Victor said cheerfully. "This is one of London's most famous designer boutiques."
"Huh? Then what are we doing here?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"You go to a clothing store to buy clothes, obviously. Is our Savior really going to start the next chapter of his life wearing clothes that don't fit at all?" Victor smiled. "Remember, no matter a man's age, he should always have a decent suit! Honestly, if I'd dressed any worse today, Dursley wouldn't have even let me through the door. Besides... it's your birthday, isn't it? Consider this my birthday present to you."
...
Hagrid had been waiting outside the Leaky Cauldron for a long time.
Originally, picking up Harry was supposed to be his job, but at the last minute, Dumbledore told him the task had been handed over to Hogwarts' new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Hagrid had been a bit disgruntled at first, but when he heard the new professor was Victor Wick, his dissatisfaction vanished instantly.
Everyone in the Order of the Phoenix knew Victor and respected him immensely. This was because at least half the members of the Order had been saved by him at one point or another...
Take the Longbottoms, for example. If Victor hadn't sounded the alarm in time, Frank and Alice would have been in grave danger!
By the time the Order members arrived, the two had already been captured by the notorious Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange. The Death Eaters were preparing to use the Cruciatus Curse to torture them for information on the Dark Lord's whereabouts!
If the intel hadn't been delivered so promptly, their fate would have been grim indeed!
Unfortunately, the intelligence that could have saved James and Lily arrived one step too late.
Hagrid still vividly remembered the pain and regret on Victor's face back then...
Vroom!
A sleek, brand-new Bentley pulled up in front of Hagrid.
Victor opened the door and stepped out. "Sorry, Hagrid, got held up by a few things... You wouldn't believe how awful the Dursleys were! Harry's been through so much! It's a good thing you didn't go, or you'd have definitely turned them into pigs!"
"What! They mistreated Harry?" Hagrid gasped in shock.
"Yeah! I couldn't believe it—Harry didn't even know about his heritage until today!" While Victor and Hagrid were busy chatting, Harry climbed out from the passenger seat.
They say fine feathers make fine birds, and when Hagrid saw Harry, his eyes lit up.
Harry looked like a completely different person.
He was no longer wearing the oversized, hand-me-down rags from his cousin Dudley. Instead, he wore a perfectly tailored, high-end suit. Victor had replaced the tattered sneakers Harry had worn forever with a pair of polished brand-name leather shoes. The broken glasses on his nose were gone, replaced by a new pair, and even his messy hair had been neatly styled by Victor.
Currently, Harry looked more like a pureblood than those who prided themselves on their noble bloodlines...
Harry tugged at his clothes uncomfortably. Victor had bought him several sets and cast some spells on them that Harry didn't quite understand. Apparently, these spells would allow the clothes to automatically adjust to his size as he grew...
Magic was truly miraculous...
At this moment, Harry's anticipation for magic reached its peak!
Then Hagrid walked over, his massive frame making Harry's eyes widen in amazement.
"Oh... Harry! You look so handsome now! Just like James... Goodness, I remember when you were just a tiny thing, no bigger than this. Now, the little tyke is all grown up." Hagrid pulled out a handkerchief large enough to be a bath towel for Harry and wiped away tears of excitement.
Victor's lip twitched slightly as he watched him use that filthy handkerchief.
If he wasn't mistaken... that looked like a towel woven from unicorn tail hair...
A single unicorn tail hair sold for five Galleons...
This big guy's net worth was probably more than Victor's own vault at Gringotts.
"Were you a comrade of my parents too?" Harry asked.
"Comrade?" Hagrid blinked, then nodded vigorously. "That's right, we were comrades... close comrades! Harry... I just heard Professor Wick mention what you've been through all these years. I'm so sorry, we had no idea!"
"Let's head inside first... Hagrid, your size is attracting a bit too much attention out here," Victor suggested.
"Oh, right, right. To Diagon Alley we go," Hagrid said, preparing to lead Harry into the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry took a few steps and then turned back to see Victor standing still. "Professor, aren't you coming with us?"
"I have other duties, Harry. Let Hagrid take you shopping. We'll meet back here this evening, and I'll take you home," Victor said with a smile. "Don't worry, Hagrid is a good man. You can trust him completely."
Harry nodded and followed Hagrid into the Leaky Cauldron, looking back several times...
Victor watched Harry's departing figure as Dumbledore's old face flashed through his mind.
It was obvious that Dumbledore knew exactly how Harry had been living all these years. Otherwise, he wouldn't have suddenly reassigned the task of picking up Harry to Victor instead of letting Hagrid do it.
Because when dealing with the Dursleys, Victor was indeed much better suited for the job. If it had been Hagrid...
Even if Hagrid had threatened the Dursleys into letting Harry go to school, Harry's life at their house during the holidays wouldn't have changed much.
But now it was completely different. With Victor's presence, the Dursley family wouldn't dare treat Harry the way they used to.
Clearly, Dumbledore had subbed in Victor at the last minute because he guessed that once Victor understood the situation, he would definitely find a way to solve these problems.
'Sigh... Albus, you really do know me... But couldn't you have told me in advance? If I hadn't gone on a whim to acquire some shares in Grunnings, things might not have turned out so well.'
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