A Web Of Magic - Volume 1 Chapter 78 The Boy Who Lived

Magnus watched as Hagrid led around some boy while carrying what looked like school supplies. He decided to greet the man as they had become friends after their deal with the ingredients. “Hey Hagrid. How are you doing?”

“Hmm? Oh, hey there Magnus. Fancy meeting ye here. Came for the school supplies have ye?” Hagrid greeted in his usual loud manner. But there seemed to be something different about him this time.

“Ah yes. Hagrid are you alright? You seem to be a bit woozy. What happened?” Magnus enquired. Not many things can phase a man with a physique like Hagrid. With his frequent interactions and experience healing him, Magnus knew Hagrid was a half-giant. Hagrid confirmed this himself when Magnus probed, but he was very touchy about the subject. Hagrid was worried at first that Magnus would treat him differently after knowing his half-giant status but no such thing happened. Magnus didn’t care about his birth status and treated him the same as ever. For this Hagrid was grateful and their relationship developed from transactional acquaintances to that of friends.

“Well, I sat in one of those little goblin carts. Never liked those things. How’s a man supposed to sit and travel in those things. These goblins are all mad I tell ye,” Hagrid explained.

‘Ah, I heard about those Gringotts vaults. You need to take their carts to reach the deeper vaults. Guess it didn’t sit well with him. Even half-giants with good magic resistance aren’t immune to motion sickness huh,’ Magnus mused. He never travelled in goblin carts. His vault wasn’t deep and didn’t require such a way of transport. Magnus heard that the deeper vaults had higher security and were for those rich families.

“And why were you in Gringotts Hagrid?” Magnus questioned. He didn’t think Hagrid had a vault in Gringotts. It’s not that he lacks money, but Hagrid isn’t the kind to care enough to store his money in the bank. He’d rather buy some beast egg.

“I took young Harry here to withdraw money for his school supplies. He’s new to the wizarding world you see. He’ll be attending Hogwarts this year. Harry this here is Magnus. He goes to Hogwarts too. I am also on official Hogwarts business. I hope you don’t tell anyone about this Magnus. The Headmaster told me to keep it a secret,” Hagrid spoke as he kept patting his pocket when he said official business. It seemed like he was hiding something very precious. ‘Very subtle Hagrid,’ Magnus smiled wryly. He didn’t know where Dumbledore got the confidence to send Hagrid on a secretive mission.

“Well, why don’t you two catch up? How about ye show him around Magnus? I’ll need a pick-me-up from the Cauldron to shake away this dizziness. I’ll join ye right later,” Hagrid hitched the new kid to Magnus and walked away swiftly in his usual large strides before Magnus could say anything. ‘Or I could have just healed you,’ Magnus thought wryly as he shook his head. Hagrid was like a child with short attention span sometimes.

Magnus took a good look at this new kid, Harry, that Hagrid left him to take care of. Harry was small and skinny with jet black hair and green eyes. Being the healer that he is, Magnus could easily see signs of malnutrition on the boy. He had wobbly knees, wore glasses and was dressed in clothes that were too big for his size. It seemed like the boy had a tough life. ‘I don’t see any parents or a guardian close by. An orphan then if Hagrid is showing him around. But an orphan with a Gringotts vault that is located quite deep. A rich orphan? But I thought the other pureblood families would gladly take care of someone like that. And why did they send Hagrid of all people to introduce him to the wizarding world? I thought it was the professors who handled that. Hagrid is nice and all but he’s not one for details. There’s also that scar in an interesting shape. Hmm, very curious,’ Magnus mused. All those thoughts took but an instant. He decided to introduce himself properly.

“Hello, I’m Magnus. Don’t mind Hagrid, he could be oblivious sometimes,” Magnus offered his hand as a greeting.

“Hello. I’m Harry. It’s alright, he seems like a nice guy,” Harry shook his hand. Magnus took stock of the thin and weak grip of Harry. While Harry might be weak physically, his eyes spoke of a certain maturity beyond his age.

“Alright then Harry. Why don’t I show you around while you continue your shopping? Hagrid will join us later. No point wasting time waiting for him,” Magnus offered.

“Alright. Thank you for the help. It’s all so overwhelming. I got the robes and the cauldron,” Harry told him. He was thankful for any help in this place.

“This way then. We’ll get your books first,” Magnus led him towards Flourish and Blotts. They continued this way as Magnus led him to the required shops one by one. As they walked Magnus gave him some information about Hogwarts and the wizarding world in general to Harry. It seemed like Hagrid didn’t tell the kid much. Magnus didn’t tell him everything about Hogwarts to leave some surprises for the younger boy. It wouldn’t do well to tell him everything. Some things the boy has to explore by himself. Even then Harry was awed with what little Magnus told him. Soon, Magnus noticed that Harry was struggling to carry his supplies.

“Here, let me help,” Magnus stopped Harry and pointed his wand at the luggage. All the luggage immediately shrunk and became pocket sized. Even their weight reduced significantly.

“That’s brilliant!” Harry exclaimed with an open mouth. He saw some magic before from both Hagrid and the other wizards in Diagon Alley, but this was the most brilliant thing he had seen so far.

“Keep working hard at school and you’ll be able to do this too,” Magnus encouraged him. The boy would need to be competent at magic if he were to survive well in the wizarding world as an orphan with no background or support. Magnus gave him a reminder out of goodwill. Whether he would take it to heart is up to him.

By the time they finished buying everything except for the wand, Hagrid joined them. Magnus and Hagrid didn’t enter Ollivanders along with Harry. Magnus stood outside the shop while Hagrid went to another shop. Harry soon came out from Ollivanders with a contemplative look. Waiting for him outside were Magnus and Hagrid who was holding a birdcage with a snowy owl.

“Happy birthday Harry,” Hagrid boisterously wished. Harry was filled with warmth at this gesture. It was the first time someone had ever given him a birthday present. His aunt and her family didn’t count in his mind.

“Oh, I didn’t know it was your birthday. Happy birthday Harry. I don’t have any present to give, but how about we go for an ice cream at Fortescue’s? My treat,” Magnus offered. Harry didn’t know what Fortescue was but he assumed it was an ice cream shop. He rarely ever had ice cream. His cousin didn’t give him any chance at eating usually. Thus, he happily agreed at the proposal. Hagrid was only happy at seeing the two boys get along. He thought young Harry could use some friends. The trio went to Florean Fortescue Ice cream shop and Harry had the best ice cream he had ever eaten. The strangers he met just for a day had treated him better than his aunt and her family ever had. The stare from some of the wizards at his scar made him uncomfortable though. He had never liked much attention. He was thankful for the fact that Magnus was not staring at him like that.

“Very well then. Take care Harry, Hagrid. It’s time for me to be off,” Magnus bid goodbye to them and the two parties parted ways. Magnus saw the two of them going out of the Leaky Cauldron as he waited by the fireplace to use the floo network. ‘So, that’s Harry Potter. Another kid that got caught in propaganda. Interesting.’