"You must never come here again. The wizards here are not good people."
"Harry!"
Hermione, who came with her parents to buy books, spotted Hagrid at a glance.
Hermione, it's been a long time.
After being frightened, Harry Potter gradually calmed down upon seeing Hermione.
"Now that your friend is here, I'll be leaving."
Hagrid smiled at Hermione and turned to walk into the alley next door.
"goodbye!"
Hermione waved goodbye to Hagrid, then turned to look at Harry.
"How did you get so dirty?"
Hermione pulled out her wand and used a cleansing technique on Harry.
"Thank you. I accidentally got separated from Ron and the others earlier."
As the two were talking, Fred waved and shouted from not far away.
"Harry, we're here!"
Having found Harry Potter, the Weasleys all returned to the bookstore, along with Hermione and her parents.
"Hao Yun, long time no see. Looks like you've made a lot of money again."
Upon arriving at Diagon Alley, Hermione noticed many people wearing second-generation projectors, suggesting that Hao Yun must have made a fortune during his vacation.
"It's alright."
Hao Yun smiled and turned to look at Gilderoy Lockhart in the bookstore.
This guy is their second-year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a complete fraud.
Half of the books needed for the start of the school year were books that this guy wanted to buy, and all of them were written by Lockhart himself. He really had a good plan.
Hao Yun was very curious as to why Dumbledore would choose such a person as a teacher. It would have been better to have Snape as the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Actually, this can't be blamed on Dumbledore. There are only a handful of people who come to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts each year, and Lockhart is one of them, which means he is quite capable.
Everyone knows that the mysterious man cursed the position, and no one can serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for two years.
At least that's how it is now. Last year's teacher, Quirrell, is dead, not even a bone fragment remains.
A year earlier, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was gored to death by a wild boar in the Forbidden Forest while drunk.
This has been the case for years, so nobody wants to apply for the position.
Those who dare to come will either die or be seriously injured!
Hao Yun suspected that Lockhart was just trying to scam money from students by applying for the job.
This guy wanted to buy five textbooks, each worth one or two Galleons.
In other words, it costs ten Galleons for a single student to buy books, and the total cost for all students in the school is the same.
Holy crap! Tens of thousands of Galleons! This guy made a killing!
Hao Yun's gaze towards Lockhart immediately changed; this guy was truly an expert at making money.
Earning tens of thousands of Galleons a year, if one is re-elected for several years, as long as one doesn't die, even if seriously injured, one can live comfortably in bed for the rest of one's life.
Lockhart, smiling as he poses for photos, is a total heartthrob, with many married women around him cheering for him.
"Is he our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year?"
Harry was stunned. The person in front of him didn't look like a professor at all; he looked more like a celebrity.
"Oh my god! Harry Potter! I never expected to meet you here."
Lockhart's eyes lit up, and he rushed into the crowd, leading Harry back to the photo booth. He pulled Harry to take a picture with him, taking the opportunity to ride the wave of popularity.
After the photo shoot, Lockhart generously gifted Harry a set of textbooks.
Mrs. Weasley excitedly pulled Harry along, ready to ask him to get her an autograph.
Fred and George, who were standing by, were helpless but could do nothing but let their mother do whatever she wanted.
After spending more than an hour, everyone left the bookstore exhausted.
"Phew~ Finally finished shopping! Hermione, do you want to come over to our house?"
Ron extended an invitation to Hermione, who glanced at her parents and finally shook her head.
"Maybe next time, I have something to do later."
At the entrance of the bookstore, everyone parted ways with Hermione and her family.
Standing in the crowd, Hao Yun stroked his chin in thought. Wait a minute, where's Malfoy's dad? Why isn't he here?
Ginny didn't receive Voldemort's notebook; how can the storyline continue this year?
After observing for a long time, Malfoy and his father still did not appear.
"Kids, is there anything else you want to buy? If not, we're going home now!"
Urged on by Mrs. Weasley, the group used Floo Powder to return to the Burrow.
Back at his humble abode, Hao Yun was still pondering this question: Had Malfoy's father changed his target?
Since the target has changed, Hao Yun plans to execute Plan B: install surveillance in the secret room.
Whoever gets the diary will go to a secret room and install a surveillance camera. Then it will be clear who has the diary.
As everyone waited with bated breath, the holiday finally came to an end, and Mrs. Weasley saw the seven of them off at the train station.
As they boarded the train, the seven men waved goodbye to Mrs. Weasley.
"Hao Yun, school starts today. Let's go for a night stroll together when we get back!"
Fred, with his arm around George, stood in front of Hao Yun, grinning mischievously. A night out on the first day of school was their tradition.
"Okay, I'll take you to a good place then. Get your pants ready, so you don't pee your pants in fright."
Hao Yun's words immediately excited the two of them.
"What did you discover at Hogwarts during your vacation? Tell us!"
Hao Yun looked at the impatient Fred and George, refusing to say anything, "You guys forced me to write letters to those girls during the holidays."
"Don't do that. Since you're going tonight anyway, give us a hint."
Chapter 310 The Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin
"I'll give you a hint, in a hidden corner."
After saying the last five words, Hao Yun smiled mysteriously and said nothing more.
Fred and George were racking their brains, but they couldn't figure out where Hao Yun was going to take them that night.
"Hao Yun! Long time no see."
Amanda pushed open the door and walked in, sitting directly next to Hao Yun.
She looked at Fred and George's distorted expressions and asked in confusion.
"What's wrong with them? Food poisoning?"
"No, I just gave them a riddle, and they're thinking about the answer now."
"What riddle is it? Tell me too, I'm a Ravenclaw, I'm sure I can guess it!"
Ravenclaw students are all academic high-achievers; they excel at riddles and the like, because to return to the Ravenclaw common room, they have to answer the door knocker's question.
As a fifth-grader, Amanda says that solving riddles is a piece of cake!
“Okay, then I’ll give you one. There was a wealthy wizard whose neighbors both kept dogs, and every night, the two dogs would bark incessantly.”
"After a month of this, the wealthy wizard could no longer bear it, so he took out 10,000 Galleons and asked his two neighbors to move out. But the next day, the wealthy wizard still heard dogs barking at night. Why is that?"
Amanda replied without hesitation, "Because the neighbors across the street also have dogs."
Hao Yun shook his head, and soon Amanda gave two more answers, but they were still wrong.
While the two were guessing riddles, Anna and Ava also ran over.
"I knew you'd be here, and you actually ditched us to sneak over here!"
Fred and George, sitting opposite each other, felt like they were being force-fed dog food, so they made an excuse and ran away.
The puzzle game continued, and Anna and Ava, who had just arrived, also began to ponder the answer when Hermione walked in from outside.
What are you guys playing?
Amanda glanced at Hermione, not considering her an opponent; she was just a minor and posed no threat whatsoever.
The three told Hermione about Hao Yun's riddle, and Hermione thought about it for a moment.
"The two neighbors moved houses, right?"
Hao Yun laughed. Hermione truly lived up to her reputation as the top student and the know-it-all; her mind worked incredibly fast.
"She got it right!"
Amanda and the other two were starting to question the meaning of life.
After a day of playing and having fun, the sun set and the train finally arrived at Hogwarts.
When Hao Yun returned this time, he was no longer a first-year student, but a second-year student.
Hao Yun's suggestion to skip a grade has been rejected by Dumbledore.
Riding in a carriage pulled by Ye Qi, Hao Yun and many other second-year students arrived at the dining hall to welcome the new students.
Hao Yun, who wasn't really involved, lay on the table yawning boredly, waiting for the food to be served.
After the Sorting Ceremony concluded, Dumbledore first introduced Lockhart, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and then they officially began their meal.
When the Chinese food was served, Hao Yun began to devour it. During his time in the humble abode, Hao Yun had been eating Western food, which he found very unfamiliar.