As soon as Anna saw Kevin leave, she ran over on her little legs.
“Luke! Can you teach me now?” Anna looked at him expectantly.
“Anna, you’re still too young. Playing with fire is dangerous. You could easily get hurt,” Luke said seriously.
“Luke, you lied to me. You promised you’d teach me.”
Her voice trembled, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
Luke quickly comforted her.
“Anna, don’t cry. I’ll introduce you to a new friend. Look.”
With no other choice, Luke summoned the Fire Phoenix.
After suppressing its flames, it looked like a beautiful little bird.
“Wow! What a pretty bird!” Anna’s attention was instantly diverted.
“Does it have a name?”
“Its name is Aster. Let it play with you. Tomorrow, Dad will bring Garfield back, and then you’ll have two little friends to play with.”
After seeing Kevin off, James returned to the living room and noticed the beautiful little bird playing with Anna.
“What kind of bird is that? It’s gorgeous. How did it get into the house?”
“Dad, this is an Eastern Phoenix, a gift from my teacher.”
If something couldn’t be explained, blaming it on his mysterious teacher was always the safest option.
“It’s beautiful.” James looked at it curiously.
“Did your teacher send it to you through some mysterious method?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Go wash your hands. Dinner’s ready,” Helen called from the dining room.
She walked into the living room and immediately noticed the bird.
“Where did this little bird come from?”
“Luke says it’s an Eastern Phoenix, a gift from his teacher,” James explained.
“What? This is actually a phoenix? They really exist?” Helen exclaimed in shock.
Unlike James, Helen understood exactly what an Eastern phoenix represented.
Although she had grown up in England, she was very familiar with the legendary creature.
“Mom, I told you this world is full of mysteries.” Luke smiled and winked at her.
The next morning, James drove to Grandpa Byron’s farm to pick up Garfield.
Meanwhile, Luke called Hermione and asked if she wanted to try entering Diagon Alley.
Hermione agreed almost without hesitation.
Luke was speechless.
It seemed Hermione hadn’t even asked her parents for permission.
Around noon, James returned with Garfield.
Luke immediately picked him up and carefully examined him from head to tail before questioning Grandpa Byron about whether anything unusual had happened during Garfield’s stay.
Only after hearing that everything had been perfectly normal did Luke finally relax.
Garfield, however, seemed extremely curious about Aster.
Ever since returning home, he had been staring at the little phoenix.
As long as Garfield wasn’t actually a Flerken, Luke wasn’t worried about him trying to eat Aster.
“Dad, I’d like to go to London in a couple of days. Can you drive me there? We also need to pick up Hermione.”
“Going back to Baker Street to see your teacher again?” James asked.
“Your teacher really is mysterious. He’s never around whenever we go.”
“No.” Luke shook his head.
“This time we’re going somewhere else. The entrance is near 44 Charing Cross Road. You can come inside this time, but you’ll have to follow my instructions.”
“I can go too?” James’s eyes lit up.
“Great!”
He had always been curious about Luke’s magical world but had never wanted to pry.
“Then let’s go the day after tomorrow. I’ll let Hermione know later. We’ll pick her up on the way.”
“Oh, and Dad, prepare £1,000 in cash. We’ll need to exchange it for wizarding currency.”
“I’ll have it ready.”
Luke also prepared several elixirs just in case there were restrictions on exchanging money.
The main one was the Snow Skin Elixir.
The other pills were either too valuable and likely to attract unwanted attention or simply not useful enough for wizards.
Luke’s daily routine was already packed.
Besides cultivating, he spent his time practicing fire magic, refining pills, and drawing new Garfield comic strips.
He had already completed three months’ worth of comic pages in advance.
Once this busy period was over, he planned to acquire an animation studio so the serialization wouldn’t be interrupted after he enrolled at Hogwarts.
Two days passed quickly.
That morning, Helen prepared a Chinese breakfast, and both Luke and Anna ate much more than usual.
“Mom, if everything goes smoothly today, we’ll bring you back some gifts,” Luke said.
“What about my present?” Anna pouted.
“You always go out to have fun without taking me.”
“When you’re a little older, your brother will take you too.”
“I’m already much taller!” Anna stood on tiptoe and compared her height with Luke’s.
Luke smiled.
“Then let me give you a small gift first.”
“You have to keep it with you at all times.”
As he spoke, he took out a small yellow bow for Anna.
“Dad, Mom, I have one for each of you too.”
He took out two small yellow pouches.
“Each one contains a Vajra Talisman. It will protect you if you’re ever in danger, so make sure you carry them with you at all times.”
Luke tied Anna’s pouch around her wrist himself.
“Mom, please help remind Anna to keep hers with her.”
Helen looked concerned.
“Is something dangerous going to happen?”
“Don’t worry too much.” Luke smiled.
“It’s just a precaution.”
“Come on, Dad. It’s getting late.”
“Honey, we’re leaving,” James said as he kissed Helen before heading to the garage.
“Don’t wait for us for lunch.”
“Mom, we’re off.”
“Be careful on the road.”
Traffic was light, and they soon arrived at the Grangers’ house.
Hermione was already waiting outside.
“Luke, you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting forever.”
She smiled and waved.
“Hello, Uncle James.”
“Hello, Hermione.” James smiled.
“Where are your mom and dad?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Grangers came out of the house.
“Uncle Granger, Auntie,” Luke greeted them.
“Would either of you like to come with us?”
Mr.
Granger smiled and shook his head.
“No, the three of you go ahead. Just take good care of Hermione.”
It seemed that while the Grangers didn’t object to magic, they weren’t particularly interested in it either.
“Let’s go, Hermione. Get in the car.” Luke waved goodbye.
“Goodbye, Uncle and Aunt Granger.”
“Goodbye, Mom and Dad.” Hermione waved to her parents before getting into the car.
On the Road
“Dad, once we get to Charing Cross Road, we need to find the Leaky Cauldron first. The entrance to Diagon Alley is through the pub’s backyard.”
“Also, ordinary people can’t see it. When we go in, just hold my hand.”
“Hermione and I will pretend to be young wizards. Dad, you don’t need to say much. Wizards call ordinary people Muggles, and they generally don’t interact much with them. I’ll do the talking, and once we’re inside Diagon Alley, everything will be fine.”
As they drove, Luke explained everything his father needed to know.
He wasn’t sure whether a young wizard who hadn’t yet received a Hogwarts letter could freely enter Diagon Alley with Muggle parents, so it was better to be cautious.
Luke couldn’t hide his excitement.
This would be his first time visiting Diagon Alley.
“We’re here.” James slowed the car.
“This is the address you gave me. I’ll park first.”
He frowned slightly, not seeing any pub nearby.
“Hermione, can you see it?” Luke asked.
“Is this it?” Hermione looked at the shabby building in front of her.
“It looks centuries old.”
“That’s the place. Once we go inside, you’ll be amazed.”
After parking the car, James walked over.
“My dad just needs to hold my hand.”
Sure enough, the moment James took Luke’s hand, a dirty, cramped pub appeared before his eyes.
Luke pushed open the door and walked in first.
There weren’t many customers inside.
After glancing around and confirming there were no familiar faces, Luke looked toward the bartender polishing glasses behind the counter.
It had to be Tom.
“Hello, Mr. Tom. My name is Luke Kirk.” Luke smiled politely.
“Has Hagrid been here recently?”
Tom looked up.
“Hello, Mr. Kirk. I haven’t seen Hagrid for quite a while.”
Luke nodded.
“Hagrid told me last time that he wanted to stop by for a drink, but he was probably too busy.”
He scratched his head awkwardly.
“Could you show us the entrance to Diagon Alley again? I forgot which brick opens the passage.”
Tom glanced at James and Hermione standing behind Luke.
“You’re a Muggle-born wizard, aren’t you?” he said with a smile.
“Come on, I’ll show you again. Make sure you remember it this time.”
Tom hadn’t considered the timing.
Most Hogwarts students were already in school, so he probably assumed Luke was simply visiting Diagon Alley and didn’t realize he hadn’t officially enrolled yet.
“Okay,” Luke replied obediently.
Pulling James and Hermione along, he followed Tom into the backyard.
“Starting from the trash bin, count three bricks up, then two bricks across.”
Tom raised his wand and tapped the correct brick.
“Remember it this time.”
The brick wall began to tremble.
A small opening appeared, then gradually widened until it formed a large stone archway leading into Diagon Alley.
“I’ll remember this time.” Luke smiled.
“Thank you very much, Mr. Tom.”
“When I see Hagrid, I’ll definitely remind him to come by for a few drinks.”