Howl could tell that this person, while a bit simple-minded, was also Dumbledore's most staunch supporter.
Of course, this wasn't meant pejoratively.
It was quite nice to get along with someone like him.
He was infinitely better than Dumbledore, that old man who tried to use Legilimency to probe him the moment they met!
"Alright, come in and sit down." Howl said indifferently, "Harry, get a chair for our guest."
"Okay." Harry finally took his hand out of the cloth bag.
The Giant's sudden bristling earlier had given him quite a fright; he almost drew his sword.
Hagrid was so tall he nearly touched the ceiling. Harry went upstairs and found a sturdy little stool, feeling that no other chair could support Hagrid's massive body.
As for Hagrid, he noticed Lucifer as soon as he entered.
"Oh, my goodness, what is this Little Wizard?!" Hagrid exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you looking at me like that?!" Lucifer pressed himself against the fireplace.
He wasn't afraid of bad people, only perverts.
"Merlin's beard! He can talk!" Hagrid was instantly astonished.
"I'm sorry, but please don't look at my friend like that." Howl said helplessly.
"Friend?!" Hagrid immediately noticed Howl's choice of words.
Just as Hagrid didn't know Lucifer earlier but still used "he" instead of "it" to refer to him, hearing Howl's word "friend" now made Hagrid feel a surge of goodwill towards Howl.
Most Wizards were arrogant; few Wizards would make friends with magical creatures.
Scamander was one, Hagrid was one.
Now, in Hagrid's eyes, Howl was also one.
At this moment, Harry also brought the chair down. Seeing Harry, Hagrid immediately let go of Lucifer. He took the stool and said happily, "Last time I saw you, you were just a little hairball. You're very much like your father. Your eyes are just like your mother's."
"Thank you." Harry returned a small smile, feeling a bit embarrassed by the nickname "little hairball."
"Oh, right, this!" Hagrid suddenly said, pulling out a slightly squashed box from the inner pocket of his huge black overcoat and handing it to Harry.
Harry tremblingly opened the box to reveal a gooey chocolate birthday cake inside. "Happy Birthday Harry" was written on it in green icing.
Harry was very surprised; this was only the second time he had felt someone cared about him.
And it was from someone he had only known for ten minutes—this… made him feel a bit unreal.
"Thank you, Mr. Hagrid." Harry said solemnly.
"Don't call me mister, just Hagrid is fine." Hagrid said with an indifferent smile, "I specifically picked your birthday today to come pick you up.
You wouldn't believe how many teachers at Hogwarts wanted to come get you; everyone is very curious how you're doing now.
But as you can see,
Ultimately, I! Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, got this opportunity."
Even Harry could tell that Hagrid was happy and a little bit proud to have been assigned this task by Dumbledore.
"Thank you for your concern." Harry said earnestly, "Are we going to Diagon Alley now?"
Hagrid nodded: "Oh, it seems you and this…"
Mid-sentence, he turned to look at Howl.
"My name is Mu En Jones."
"It seems you and Mr. Jones have already been to Diagon Alley." Hagrid said, "But Dumbledore told me you have another friend, right? Also a Little Wizard starting this year. He instructed me to bring all of you over together."
"Oh, it's Hermione, we agreed to go to Diagon Alley together. Shall we leave now?" Harry said impatiently.
Just as every child eagerly anticipates a trip to the supermarket, Harry was very much looking forward to every trip to Diagon Alley.
"Of course, but the cake…"
"It can go in the fridge." Harry said.
"What's a fridge… Alright, let's go, do you have anything you need to bring?" Hagrid readily agreed.
"Wait!!" x 2
With that, Hagrid saw Harry eagerly heading upstairs, with Howl following closely behind.
Ten minutes later, Hagrid understood what they were doing.
Looking at the neatly dressed and well-groomed Harry, Hagrid smiled with satisfaction: "Truly handsome, just like your father."
Howl tugged at Harry's hat, revealing the lightning bolt scar: "Don't hide it; you can't hide it your whole life. It's time for you to enter the Wizarding World."
Harry's face twisted in a bitter, somewhat helpless expression: "Alright."
After all, he couldn't just change his name.
"Then let's go." With that, Howl placed his hands on Harry's and Hagrid's shoulders.
Bang —
Instantly, the rapid stirring of the air even caused an explosion, and the air currents blew Lucifer swaying from side to side.
"This big guy… is too scary." Lucifer muttered with lingering fear.
Leaky Cauldron, courtyard.
After an explosion, a group of five appeared in the small courtyard. As soon as Howl appeared, he clutched his chest, coughing a few times.
He swore that teleporting ten normal people would never be as exhausting as teleporting one Hagrid.
This fellow had an absurdly high magical resistance, was a spellcaster himself, and weighed as much as three or four normal adult males.
Half-Giant…
Howl muttered, glad that he wasn't too intelligent… If he had any advanced spellcasting abilities, Howl couldn't even imagine how powerful Hagrid could be.
After catching his breath, Howl recovered and lightly tapped the brick wall with his wand, and Diagon Alley appeared before everyone.
Hermione and Harry eagerly walked into the alley first.
Hagrid followed closely behind.
Only Howl and Chris were left behind.
"Coffee later? That coffee shop's coffee with unique magic always makes me remember it fondly." Chris suggested.
"Good idea." Howl also nodded.
Chris had been here many times before; he knew his way around and wasn't too worried about the two children.
But before that, they had to go to Gringotts.
These Goblins had a preferential exchange rate for students: pounds to Galleons. This was something Granger and Harry, who were short on Galleons, couldn't miss.
Harry was a bit worried; his small personal vault didn't have much left. After Christmas, due to graduation season and magic studies, he had barely earned any extra money.
"Uncle Howl, can I bring the things from the study to Hogwarts?" Harry tried to ask, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Howl slapped him on the head: "You brat, bringing those things won't save you much. Just buy them; I'll make up for what you lack."
If given the choice, no child would want to use old stationery and books at school.
Besides, a few Galleons really wasn't much money to Howl.
Hagrid also heard Harry's words, first giving Howl an approving smile, then saying, "Harry, don't worry. James and Lily left a very large inheritance."
Harry was instantly surprised, looking at Hagrid: "Wh-what?! Wait… Hagrid, do you mean… I have a lot of money?!"
"Of course, your grandfather quadrupled your family's assets with his exclusive research on sleek hair potion, as well as hair oil and pomade, etc. James didn't even work a single day." Hagrid explained.
"Quadrupled?!" Howl was also a bit surprised.
"Is that sleek hair potion really that good?"