Harry Potter: Westeros’s Plant Life 0210 Unexpected Meetings

After leaving the Magical nagerie, Adrian took out his pocket watch from his waistcoat. The hands showed that there was still an hour and a half before his appointnt with Remus.

He imdiately headed toward the Leaky Cauldron as he crossed through the thinning crowds of Diagon Alley. The familiar crooked building ca into view. It was almost ti for their arranged eting.

He had arranged to et Remus at the Leaky Cauldron, then travel to Hogwarts together—Dumbledore had specifically requested that they arrive at school a day early.

When he reached the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, Adrian paused as he saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking out together. Harry and Ron's face still had an excited flush showing an almost feverish enthusiasm.

Obviously, he had already discovered that what he received was a Firebolt.

Adrian didn't disturb their excitent and pushed open the door to enter the Leaky Cauldron.

The pub was crowded with people. Since tomorrow marked the start of the Hogwarts term, the tavern was mostly filled with students and parents preparing for the new school year.

Trunks and owl cages were stacked in corners, and the excited chatter of young voices mixed with the more passive conversations of worried parents discussing everything from new textbooks to the latest security concerns.

Remus hadn't arrived yet, but Adrian easily spotted familiar faces among the crowd. His eyes were drawn to a particularly energetic corner where a group of redheads was gathered around a large table that had clearly been created by pushing several smaller tables together—it was the Weasley family in all their chaotic glory.

Except for Ron, who had just left with Harry and Hermione, all the Weasley family mbers seed to be there.

The twins were engaged in so sort of plotting, their heads were bent together. Percy sat straight, his prefect badge gleaming as he attempted to maintain so impression of order, while Ginny listened with obvious fascination to sothing her mother was telling her about the upcoming school year.

Adrian approached the table and greeted Arthur, who was sitting on the outside reading a copy of the Daily Prophet, his face was wrinkled with concentration. "Good morning, Mr. Weasley,"

Arthur noticed Adrian approaching and imdiately put down his newspaper, his face lighting up with a welcoming smile.

"Hello there, Adrian," He replied, gesturing for him to join them. "Lovely to see you again."

At this mont, Adrian's attention was caught by the photograph on the newspaper in Arthur's hands—a disturbing image of a wild-eyed man with matted hair and a haggard face.

The picture moved slightly, as magical photographs do, showing Sirius Black in all his alleged madness and nace.

Obviously, Arthur was reading the latest coverage about the escaped prisoner, staying inford about the situation that had the entire wizarding world on edge.

"Has the Ministry caught Black?" Adrian asked casually as he settled into the chair Arthur had indicated, keeping his voice low to avoid alarming the other patrons.

Arthur paused, his expression growing more serious as he glanced around to ensure their conversation wouldn't be overheard. Then he shook his head slowly. "I don't think so, but I have so news that, as a Hogwarts professor, you should know..."

He looked around once more, ensuring no one was listening, then leaned forward and said in a low voice. "Black will very likely target Hogwarts. The Ministry has even taken so extre asures because of this, asures that many of us aren't entirely comfortable with."

"That's terrible," Adrian said.

He knew what the Ministry would most likely do—nothing more than sending Dentors to search Hogwarts and patrol the grounds.

It was a typical Ministry response: heavy-handed, potentially dangerous to innocents, and likely to cause more problems than it solved.

Perhaps in the past, Adrian might have found this sowhat troubleso. But now he had a powerful Patronus and he was confident he could protect the students' safety from those Dentors if necessary.

"By the way," Arthur suddenly rembered sothing and asked Adrian nervously, "Harry spent this sumr with you, didn't he?"

"Yes," Adrian nodded, understanding the concern behind the question. "Most of the ti. He's been staying at my place."

Arthur breathed a visible sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing as so of the tension left his body.

"I guess I was overthinking," He said, though his voice still had traces of worry. "There's nothing to worry about then. Black's target after escaping is probably Harry but with you there, Black definitely won't have a chance to get near him."

"Harry is safe," Adrian said briefly but with conviction. "Completely unhard, and he will remain so."

Arthur nodded with obvious relief.

Then he suddenly looked as if he had rembered sothing amusing, his expression shifting to one of humor. "You know, you're quite famous at the Ministry these days. We've all heard about it!"

"I'm famous?" Adrian was sowhat puzzled, his brow furrowing with genuine confusion. "What did I do?"

"Oh, I'm not sure of the details either, but there's a rumor circulating in the Ministry now," Arthur smiled and said in a low voice, clearly enjoying being the bearer of interesting gossip. "They say you're the person Dumbledore values most, that Dumbledore treats you like an heir..."

"Wait, wait!" Adrian hurriedly interrupted Arthur, his expression shifting to one of alarm as he raised his hand to stop the flow of information. His brow furrowed deeply with concern. "Where did this rumor co from?"

Arthur shrugged helplessly, spreading his hands in a gesture of ignorance. "Who knows? But if the source were clear, it wouldn't be a rumor, would it? These things just seem to spring up from nowhere and take on a life of their own."

Adrian felt sowhat helpless as he processed this information.

Why would there be such ridiculous rumors circulating in the Ministry? He had no significant connection with the Ministry beyond the most basic professional courtesies!

Oh, the only connection he could think of might be that last term, he had chatted a few tis with Fudge, the current Minister of Magic. But those had been brief, polite conversations, nothing more than casual pleasantries.

But that was only a few words of basic courtesy, hardly the foundation for the kind of speculation Arthur was describing.

This was completely and utterly a rumor with no basis in reality!

Besides, he didn't particularly want to be associated with Dumbledore in the public mind. The headmaster was a powerful figure, certainly, but being seen as his protégé would definitely bring unwanted attention and complications that Adrian preferred to avoid.

That would definitely bring no good, only scrutiny and expectations he had no desire to fulfill.

At this mont, other Weasley family mbers also noticed Adrian, who was speaking quietly with Arthur in what appeared to be a serious conversation.

The twins, ever alert to new opportunities for entertainnt, had clearly been watching the exchange with interest.

One of the twins—Fred, based on the slightly more mischievous glint in his eye—approached Adrian with a casual swagger, holding up a small box filled with colorful Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"Have one, Professor," Fred offered with an innocent smile.

"Oh, thanks, but no need," Adrian said with a knowing smile, "I bet they're all booger-flavored."

"No fun at all, Professor," George pouted dramatically and withdrew the small box with an exaggerated sigh of disappointnt.

These were better saved for their dear little brother Ron, who had a particular talent for always managing to select the most unpleasant flavors from any collection of Bertie Bott's beans.

Ron just loved this booger flavor—or rather, he seed to have an uncanny ability to find it, much to his brothers' endless amusent.

"Don't play pranks on your professor! George, and Fred too!" Molly scolded loudly from across the table. Then she gave Adrian an apologetic look.

"Hey, Mum, I didn't do anything," Fred protested with hurt innocence, placing his hand over his heart in a gesture of fake injury.

However, Molly ignored his protests.

Adrian didn't mind the attempted prank. For the twin brothers, such tricks were probably a way of expressing affection. Well, or maybe they were just being mischievous for its own sake—with the twins, it was often difficult to tell the difference.

After saying goodbye to the Weasley family, exchanging warm wishes for the upcoming school year and promises to look after their children, Adrian made his way to the bar.

Adrian approached the bar and asked Tom for an ordinary beer, sothing simple and uncomplicated to help him relax while he waited for Remus to arrive.

At this mont, he heard footsteps behind him heading in his direction.

He turned around and saw soone completely unexpected—Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, in his usual li-green bowler hat and pinstripe cloak.

"Good morning," Fudge said, though the hour was closer to evening than morning.

Fudge walked up to Adrian with the confident stride of soone accustod to command, and showed a standard politician's smile—practiced, professional, and completely lacking in genuine warmth. "We et again, Professor Westeros."

Adrian nodded politely.

"What are you doing here, Minister?"

He asked, genuinely curious about what could have brought Fudge to the Leaky Cauldron at this particular ti.

"Oh! So business," Fudge replied vaguely, his eyes scanning the crowded tavern. He leaned forward, speaking in a low voice. "The Ministry ca here to handle so matters, you know, about that escaped criminal. And I ca here to look around, see if I could find acquaintances to chat with, hmm... I also need so rest ti..."

His words trailed off, and Adrian got the distinct impression that Fudge was not being completely truthful about his reasons for being there.

"Then I wish you all the best," Adrian said tactfully, raising his beer in a small gesture.

He didn't know why Fudge had co to chat with him specifically, acting quite familiar despite their limited acquaintance. They hadn't t more than a few tis in total, and their previous interactions had been brief and formal. But from Fudge's words and deanor, he seed to be here because of Black's matter and perhaps because of sothing else.

Afterward, Fudge chatted with Adrian about so seemingly aningless topics—the weather, the upcoming Hogwarts term, general observations about the state of magical education.

Most of the ti, Fudge was talking while Adrian nodded along politely, giving occasional brief responses that kept the conversation flowing without committing to anything significant.

Fudge's conversation style was clearly that of a experienced politician—lots of words that said very little, sprinkled with leading questions and careful observations that seed designed to gauge Adrian's reactions and opinions.

A few minutes later, Fudge glanced at his own pocket watch with the air of a busy man suddenly rembering his obligations. "Ah, I think I should go. I still have work to do. Goodbye, Professor Westeros,"

After saying this, he left, leaving Adrian with more questions than answers.

Adrian was slightly puzzled about why Fudge was so willing to approach him with such apparent familiarity. Generally speaking, when a politician approaches soone, they usually have certain motives.

At this mont, he suddenly rembered the rumor Arthur had just ntioned.

Adrian's expression instantly beca strange.

"Professor Westeros?"

A voice brought him back to his senses, interrupting his thoughts.

"What's wrong," Adrian said, looking toward the source of the voice. "Oh, it's you, Percy. What's wrong with your hair?"

Upon hearing this question, Percy stiffly touched the back of his head with. His posture beca even more rigid as he realized sothing was definitely not right.

He imdiately felt sothing was wrong. Sohow, his normally ticulously grood hair seed to have developed a mind of its own, with each strand standing straight up like he had been struck by lightning.

"Fred! George!" Percy called out angrily, his voice cracking slightly with outrage and embarrassnt.

Percy looked furiously toward the twins in the distance, who were laughing uproariously and winking at him with satisfied expressions.

Adrian imdiately understood what had happened. The Weasley twins seed particularly fond of playing tricks on their older brother, and Percy's pompous deanor and rigid adherence to rules made him an irresistible target for their mischief.

Seeing Percy's distress and the twins' obvious delight in their handiwork, Adrian reached out and waved his hand over Percy's head with a casual gesture.

His magic flowed smoothly, and Percy's hair imdiately returned to its originally ticulous style.

"There you go," Adrian said with a small smile. "Good as new."

Percy's face flushed with a mixture of gratitude and lingering embarrassnt as he ran his hand through his restored hair.

"Thank you, Professor," He said stiffly. "I don't know what gets into those two sotis."

From across the room, the twins exchanged glances of fake disappointnt, clearly already planning their next attempt at showing sibling love.

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