Hogwarts Homecoming

"It depends on the situation--"

Old Tom warmly invited Harry and Ron to sit down.

After serving them two bottles of butter beer and ferret sandwiches, he saw that there were no customers who needed his service, so he sat down at their table and answered Harry's question.

"You know, most of the people doing business in Diagon Alley are renting houses, and the land here actually belongs to some wizards with real status and position.

For the owners of these lands, the Ministry of Magic will negotiate with them and give them a choice--"

Harry wolfed down the sandwich and mumbled,

"What--"

"In fact, it's no longer a secret now--"

Old Tom said excitedly,

"The Ministry of Magic has a plan for this place, which is said to be presided over by Mr. Brain. They plan to expand on the basis of the ruins of Diagon Alley and build it into a magic city that can accommodate more wizards!"

Ron's eyes also briefly left his newly bought broom and looked at Tom curiously,

"Magic city, you mean, like the Muggle city?"

"That's top secret, Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid except for Except for the senior officials in the Ministry, not many people know--"

Tom smacked his lips, a little regretful,

"But there is no doubt that the land of the magic city will be more valuable than it is now, so the Ministry negotiated with the wizards who lost the land in Diagon Alley and promised them that when the new magic city is built, they can give them a shop of the same size for free. Of course, there is another option, which is to directly supplement the Galleons according to the price of the previous land. "

Just listening to the magic city, Harry felt eager. He thought about it,

"I guess most people will still choose a new shop?"

"That's right--"

Old Tom nodded,

"But the Ministry seems to hope that they will directly choose Galleons for compensation. They don't want these valuable assets to be held in the hands of a few people."

Old Tom told them about the Ministry's compensation plan for businessmen who rented shops.

That's much simpler.

Before the Battle of Diagon Alley, basically all merchants had transported away the previous items in the store, and the Ministry of Magic would compensate the remaining losses in the form of gold.

After all, the wealth accumulated by many wealthy pure-blood families through centuries of extortion and extortion has been confiscated, and the goblins have invested heavily.

The most abundant thing in the British Ministry of Magic now is gold.

In addition to direct monetary compensation, the Ministry of Magic has also exempted the merchants whose businesses have been affected from tax exemption from now until the Ministry delivers the new Magic City commercial street shops to them.

And it is these policies that have made these merchants willing to take risks and revitalize their businesses as quickly as possible.

"If I were you Harry--"

Old Tom went back to his own business. Harry and Ron, who had filled their stomachs, chatted with a glass of beer each. Ron said with regret,

"When that great magic city is built, I will take out all the gold in the vault to buy a shop here. I heard my father talk about the value of the land in Diagon Alley. He said that the Galleons he earned from working for the Ministry of Magic for a lifetime were not enough to buy a shop here!"

This is indeed a good suggestion. Even Harry, who has never thought much about making money, was moved.

However, after careful consideration, Harry still shook his head.

"If Mr. Weasley can't afford it after working in the Ministry for a lifetime, then the gold in my vault may not be enough, and--"

Harry pursed his lips, and Amelia's face flashed before his eyes.

"Sirius won't mind if I live in Grimmauld Place, but I can't stay there forever, right? I have to have my own house."

Ron wanted to give new suggestions. He was always very interested in talking about making money, but the two people who opened the curtain of the tent and walked in made Ron shut up immediately.

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy and Master Malfoy!"

Old Tom ran over from the other side of the bar quickly, and came to Draco and Narcissa with a much more humble attitude than when he entertained Harry and Ron just now, bowing,

"What can I do for you two?"

"Prepare some food for us, we are in a hurry."

Narcissa didn't even look at Old Tom, but squinted her eyes and looked at every table of guests in the bar, saying indifferently.

Mrs. Malfoy and Master Malfoy--

Needless to say, the two wizards who walked into the bar were well-dressed, elegant, and aristocratic, and looked like mother and son.

Many guests did not want to cause trouble, so they avoided Narcissa's cold gaze and buried their heads in eating.

Just as Harry had expected.

Draco seemed to be thinking about something, his indifferent eyes fell to the ground, and he did not notice that they were looking at him, but after her mother found him, her eyes suddenly fixed on his face, and her fine eyebrows slightly frowned on her beautiful face.

Draco suddenly felt that his mother's hand on his shoulder increased in strength, and he broke away from his thoughts and turned his head in confusion.

Then, he also found Potter, who was staring at him expressionlessly, and the "little follower" beside Potter.

The two groups looked at each other, and the atmosphere in the air gradually solidified.

Harry's eyes were cold, and the fire in his heart was rising.

Speaking of which, he and Draco had been at peace last school year.

As in the second and third grades, there was basically no mutual ridicule or tripping when they met.

But the look Harry gave Draco and his mother was full of hatred, just like when their relationship was the worst!

In the war that just happened, Kingsley lost a leg, Emmeline Vance, a witch who always spoke gently and politely, Dedalus Digg, who could not control his excitement when he saw him, and the bodies covered with white cloths and the families of the strikers who cried in St. Mungo's.

All these accounts should be attributed to Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

The past conflicts between him and Draco were nothing in the face of these heroic sacrifices.

Ron looked at Draco and his mother with the same hatred.

His father could be said to be lucky to have saved his life in the war!

Harry thought that Draco and his mother would always respond to their undisguised hatred.

After all, this family has never been kind.

But what puzzled him was that Draco subconsciously dodged his gaze, and his face was abnormally pale, just like when he saw him in Gringotts before the war began--

And the look Draco's mother cast on his face was not as condescending as when she looked at other people in the bar, but instead revealed a sense of fear.

Harry could understand this.

At the end of the Battle of Diagon Alley, Voldemort tried to kill him, but his wand fought back on its own and repelled Voldemort.

The newspapers did not publicize this, but as Voldemort's minions, the Malfoys must have known about it. She probably thought she really had some amazing power.

In fact, until now, Ron, Hermione and the wizards of the Order of the Phoenix still believed that he easily repelled Voldemort entirely by himself, and Professor Braine did not do this that day! (End of this chapter)