Chapter 9: Hello, Harry!

Chapter 9: Hello, Harry!

Three days later, George successfully obtained a copy of *The Guide to Wandless Magic* from the clerk at Flourish and Blotts.

Ten days later, George stood in the courtyard, waving his wand at a locked chest and chanting:

"Alohomora!"

A beam of blue magic shot from the tip of his wand, striking the chest with precision.

Most spells, especially offensive and targeted ones like the Unlocking Charm, Disarming Charm, and Killing Curse, emitted beams of light when cast.

However, some spells, like the Summoning Charm, Mending Charm, and Levitation Charm, worked silently, with no visible signs of activation.

*Click.*

A crisp sound came from the lock as it popped open.

"Finally, success."

George smiled with satisfaction.

After ten days of relentless study and occasional advice from Tonks, who often dropped by for meals, he had finally mastered the Unlocking Charm.

Through these days of learning, he realized he wasn't a natural-born magical genius.

True geniuses were like Hermione, who, without any prior exposure or guidance, managed to master several spells before even starting school, all while spending most of her time learning about magical history and theory.

Even more impressive were prodigies like Snape, who created powerful spells during his school years.

As for Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort, they were beyond the realm of mere genius.

But that was okay—George had his own methods.

While it seemed like he had only studied for ten days, in reality, it was more like twenty.

When this body needed rest, his original body in the Marvel world took over.

The most important factors in learning magic were talent and diligence. Since he lacked exceptional talent, he made up for it with hard work.

In the experimental base, aside from training, his original body had plenty of free time. He could practice wand movements with a stick, mimicking a wand, to improve his feel for casting spells.

Through constant practice and reflection, he accelerated his learning of spells.

He just had to be careful to avoid or turn his back to the surveillance cameras to avoid detection. Even if he were caught, it didn't matter—no one in this world would understand what he was doing.

Once his original body was free, his magical learning would speed up even more, as he would effectively have twice the time to study and research magic.

In fact, if it weren't for his "cheating," mastering a spell in ten days would still be considered genius-level among wizards.

Most young wizards only managed to learn a handful of spells in their first year, and some struggled to master even a few.

"Next, I'll keep practicing wandless magic until I can cast the Unlocking Charm without a wand. Then I'll move on to the next spell."

After several successful attempts with the wand, George set it aside and began practicing the Unlocking Charm using hand gestures, following the instructions in *The Guide to Wandless Magic*.

Eight days later, after continuous practice by both his original body and his doppelganger, he finally succeeded in casting the Unlocking Charm without a wand.

However, while the wand allowed him to cast the spell in one or two seconds, using hand gestures took about seven or eight seconds. Even with practice, it would likely take five or six seconds.

In a wizard duel, five or six seconds would be enough time for an opponent to cast three or four offensive spells.

No wonder this method of casting had fallen out of favor.

"August 21st—today's the day of Gilderoy Lockhart's book signing at Flourish and Blotts."

As George ate breakfast, he glanced at the magical calendar and began to plan.

He had no interest in Lockhart, the fraud, but if he remembered correctly, today was also the day Harry Potter and the Weasleys would come to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies.

After completing his first year at Hogwarts, Harry had returned to his aunt and uncle's house, where he was treated with disdain. Due to the interference of the house-elf Dobby, Harry had been locked up and forbidden from returning to Hogwarts.

It was his friend Ron and the Weasley twins who had secretly flown their father's enchanted car to rescue him and bring him to the Burrow.

"Maybe I should reach out."

In the end, George decided it would be worth making contact.

Compared to Voldemort, who wouldn't return for several years, he felt that associating with Harry and his friends would yield greater benefits.

There were many places and things in Hogwarts that he wouldn't normally have access to, but with Harry, those barriers would disappear.

For example, the restricted section of the Hogwarts library—sneaking in to read those books would be nearly impossible on his own.

But with Harry, Dumbledore would turn a blind eye. The same went for the Room of Requirement.

After breakfast, instead of continuing his spell research as usual, George stood by the window of the potion shop, observing the street outside.

About an hour later, he saw a pair of blond-haired father and son, walking with an air of elegance, enter Borgin and Burkes across the street.

"That must be the Malfoys.

Which means Harry Potter is already in the shop."

Only someone like Lucius Malfoy would dare bring his child into Knockturn Alley at this time. Their expensive robes and aristocratic demeanor made their identity obvious.

Sure enough, about ten minutes later, after the Malfoys left Borgin and Burkes, a thin, bespectacled boy covered in dust hurriedly ran out of the shop.

"Where am I?"

Harry stood in the narrow, dark alley, feeling a chill as he looked around at the shops filled with dark magical artifacts.

In the window of the neighboring shop, a collection of shrunken heads was on display. A few doors down, a large cage was filled with enormous black spiders.

Turning to the right, he saw two ragged wizards whispering to each other in a shadowy doorway.

"I need to get out of here. I hope I can find my way back."

It was his first time using Floo Powder, and something had gone wrong. Instead of arriving in Diagon Alley, he had ended up in a strange and terrifying shop, where he had accidentally witnessed the Malfoys conducting illegal business.

"Are you lost?"

Just as he was nervously trying to avoid the shadowy doorway and find another way out, a calm yet youthful voice suddenly spoke behind him.

Turning around, he saw a boy about his age, equally thin but with a determined expression, holding a magical book.

"This is Knockturn Alley, a place full of dark wizards. It's not safe for you to be here alone."

"Hi, I'm Harry. I accidentally ended up here because of the Floo Powder. I was trying to get to Diagon Alley."

Perhaps sensing the boy's kindness, Harry quickly explained.

George smiled.

"Hello, Harry. I'm George. You must have mispronounced Diagon Alley as Knockturn Alley.

But it's no problem—they're connected. I'll take you out."

(End of Chapter)