Harry Potter: Don't Touch the Badger's Plants

Chapter 301: Meeting Harry and the Weasley Family

Hearing that surprised exclamation, Ciel turned around. The face that appeared was Harry's. Standing with him was an entire family with flaming red hair. Obviously, there could be no one else in the magical world with such distinctive features. It was the Weasley family.

It looks like it turned out similar to the original story. Harry did end up at the Weasley house, Ciel thought to himself. The difference is probably that in the original, Harry was confined by the Dursleys and was rescued by Ron and the twins. This time, after that dinner party, the Dursleys probably didn't dare do anything to Harry. Harry probably accepted an invitation to visit the Weasley house of his own accord.

As Ciel's thoughts turned over these possibilities, Harry rushed over enthusiastically, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Ciel. Without you, I probably would have gone mad at the Dursleys this summer. But now they're so polite to me. When I said I wanted to visit friends, I could see that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia both looked relieved. Oh, and Dudley's actually started dieting since you left. He's really serious about wanting to become a boxing champion!"

Harry spoke excitedly about all of this. Ciel simply waved a hand dismissively.

"It was nothing, really. Harry, you're the one who helped me immensely by lending me your Invisibility Cloak and teaching me Parseltongue."

At that moment, Fred and George Weasley, the twin pair, walked over to greet Ciel. Then came Percy, followed by a shy little girl who was presumably Ginny. The Weasley couple themselves looked at Ciel with evident delight.

"We've heard all about you already, young man. How wonderful that you found your way back to your family. We're so happy for you and Professor Sprout. And about what happened at the end of last term," they lowered their voices, "The children have forgotten about it, but we heard some things. You're a brave boy, and we must thank you for saving everyone."

Ciel responded to the Weasley family's kindness with a smile and polite replies. But at that moment, Ron, who had fallen back several steps, saw their harmonious group, and his expression darkened considerably.

Throughout this month, since Harry had come to stay with the Weasley family, the couple's focus had undoubtedly centered on Harry. Ron, already receiving little attention, felt increasingly sidelined. Though considering that Harry had once been his closest friend, despite this "betrayal," Ron could accept it reasonably well. After all, he had his own matters to attend to. His parents' attention being on Harry actually made things more convenient for him in terms of movement.

But now, Ciel's appearance seemed to be stealing away even the scant remaining attention Ron received. A sense of resentment began to churn in Ron's chest, making his expression increasingly unpleasant. Especially when he saw Hannah clinging shyly to Ciel's side, dressed in a way that was so different from how she looked at school. It reminded him of Ciel going on dates with Hermione. His fingers clenched so hard they made crackling sounds.

At that moment, Ciel smiled and waved farewell to the Weasley couple.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I'd love to chat more with you both, but we're rather short on time today, I'm afraid."

The Weasley couple paused, then their gazes swept over Hannah, whose face had turned as red as an apple and who looked shy enough to sink into the ground. Both wore expressions of knowing amusement.

"Ah, it seems we've interrupted a date. Go on, go on, continue!"

Fred and George couldn't resist whistling.

Ciel smiled, then took Hannah's hand and led her away. The Weasley couple exchanged knowing looks and couldn't help but sigh.

"Youth is truly wonderful. It seems Professor Sprout can rest easy. The Sprout family bloodline won't be an issue."

"Alright then, children, we still have much to do."

Meanwhile, Ron's eyes flickered subtly as he added quietly, "You all go ahead. My stomach hurts a bit. I'll buy what I need later. Don't worry. I have money, and I know Diagon Alley better than anyone."

Hearing Ron say this, Mrs. Weasley hesitated for a moment. But recalling that Ron had indeed been visiting Diagon Alley frequently this summer, she figured that even with so many people here today, it shouldn't be a problem. She nodded and gave Ron a few reminders before leading the other children through the crowds with some difficulty.

Ron first headed toward the public restrooms. Only after he saw the Weasleys' figures disappear did he immediately turn around and follow in the direction Ciel and Hannah had gone.

Not long after, he spotted Ciel and Hannah coming out of an ice cream shop. Hannah held an ice cream piled with five or six different flavored scoops, her face beaming with happiness. She and Ciel then headed toward a nearby gift shop.

Ron let out a cold laugh and slowly made his way over in that direction. His eyes flickered with an unusual expression. Though a month ago in Conston Swamp, he'd been bitten terribly by Black-backed Ring Flies, it had been agonizing, teaching him a painful lesson. The harvest had still earned him several Galleons. Over the following month, Ron returned to Conston Swamp multiple times. Though he still hadn't found the Queen, selling ordinary Black-backed Ring Flies had earned him considerable coin.

If the market for Black-backed Ring Flies hadn't nearly reached saturation, and if his large-scale sales hadn't already attracted some attention, Ron could have earned much more. As it stood, after giving three Galleons to his family for household expenses, he still had nearly one hundred Galleons on hand. Among young wizards, few had Ron's level of wealth. Even pure-blooded aristocrats rarely gave schoolchildren this much money.

With money in his pocket, Ron tasted what it was like to have this kind of confidence. No matter where he went, he carried himself with assurance. Even this gift shop, which looked expensive and would have made the old Ron hesitate, now held no barrier for him. Ron walked through the doors without any change in expression.

Thinking about what was about to happen, Ron's lips couldn't help curling into a smile. In his mind, even if Ciel was the sole heir to the Sprout family, the allowance Professor Sprout gave him couldn't be excessive. Especially since the Sprout family itself wasn't the kind of enormously wealthy family that Ciel, receiving allowance money, couldn't possibly compete with someone like him who could actually earn money.

Ron felt a sense of superiority blooming in his chest. The suffering he'd endured this month hadn't been for nothing. After waiting this long, before opening school and having the basilisk recognize him as master, he'd get a little payback from Ciel first. It would let Ciel get used to the feeling of being trampled under Ron's feet.

With that, Ron held his head high and walked into the gift shop.