Homecoming from Hogwarts

"It depends on the situation—"

Old Tom warmly invited Harry and Ron to sit down.

After serving them two bottles of butterbeer and stoat sandwiches, and seeing that there were no other customers who needed his service, he sat down at their table and began to answer Harry's questions.

“As 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.

As for the owners of these plots of land, the Ministry of Magic will negotiate with them and give them a choice -"

Harry wolfed down his sandwich and mumbled,

"What--"

"It's actually no secret now—"

Old Tom said enthusiastically,
"The Ministry of Magic has a plan for this place. It is said that it is presided over by Mr. Brian. They plan to expand it based on the ruins of Diagon Alley and build it into a magical city that can accommodate more wizards!"

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

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

"That is top secret, Mr. Weasley, and I'm afraid that apart from senior officials in the Ministry, few people know about it -"

Tom smacked his lips, a little regretful.

"But there is no doubt that the land in that magic city will be more valuable than it is now. Therefore, 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 Galleons according to the previous price of the land."

The Magic City. Harry was drawn to it just by hearing it. 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 prefer that they choose to pay compensation directly in Galleons. They don't want these valuable assets to be held in the hands of a small number of people."

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

That's much simpler.

Before the Battle of Diagon Alley, almost all merchants moved all the items in their stores away, and the Ministry of Magic would compensate the remaining losses in the form of gold.

After all, a lot of wealth accumulated by wealthy pure-blood families through centuries of extortion and plunder was confiscated, and the goblins also invested heavily.

The thing that the British Ministry of Magic lacks the least right now is gold.

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

It is precisely these policies that have enabled these merchants to take risks and rebuild 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 some regret,

"Once that great magical city is built, I will take out all the gold in the vault and 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 would not be enough to buy a shop here!"

This was indeed a good suggestion, and even Harry, who had never thought much about making money, was tempted.

However, after careful consideration, Harry shook his head.

"If Mr. Weasley can't afford it in his whole life at the Ministry, then there's a good chance that I won't have enough gold in my vaults, and -"

Harry pursed his lips, Amelia's face flashed before his eyes, "Sirius wouldn't mind if I lived in Grimmauld Place, but I can't stay there forever, right? I have to have my own house."

Ron wanted to give some new suggestions. He was always in high spirits when it came to talking about making money. However, two people came in after opening the tent curtain, which made Ron shut up immediately.

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy and Master Malfoy!"

Old Tom quickly ran over from the other side of the bar, and came to Draco and Narcissa with a much more humble attitude than when he had entertained Harry and Ron just now, bowing his head.
"What can I do for you two?"

"Prepare something to eat for us, we are in a hurry."

Narcissa didn't even look at Old Tom. She just squinted her eyes and looked at every table of guests in the bar, and said in a cold tone.

Mrs. Malfoy and Master Malfoy --
Needless to say, the two wizards who walked into the bar were well-dressed, elegant, and had an aristocratic temperament. They looked like mother and son and were from the Malfoy family.

Many of the guests did not want to cause trouble, so they avoided Narcissa's cold gaze and focused on their food.

Just as Harry had predicted.

Draco seemed to be thinking about something, his indifferent eyes dropped to the ground, and he didn't notice that they were looking at him, but after her mother noticed him, her eyes suddenly fixed on his face, and her thin eyebrows were slightly frowned on her pretty face.

Draco suddenly felt his mother's hand on his shoulder tighten, and he was pulled out of his thoughts and turned his head in confusion.

Then, he also noticed Potter, who was staring at him expressionlessly, and Potter's 'little follower' who had been with him forever'.

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

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

Speaking of which, overall last school year, things between him and Draco were peaceful.

There was basically no mutual ridicule or tripping over each other when we met, as was the case in the second and third grades.

But the way Harry glared at Draco and his mother was as full of hatred as when their relationship was at its worst!
Kingsley had lost a leg in the recent war, Emmeline Vance, a witch who was always soft-spoken and polite, Dedalus Diggle, who was always so excited when he saw him, and the bodies covered with white cloth he saw in St. Mungo's, and the wailing families of the strikers.

All of this should be blamed on Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

All 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 had thought that Draco and his mother would respond to their undisguised hatred.

After all, this family has never been a good family.

But what puzzled him was that Draco subconsciously avoided 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 gave him was not condescending like the one she gave other people in the bar, but rather a look of fear.

Harry could understand this.

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

This was not publicized in the newspapers, but as minions of Voldemort, the Malfoys must have known about it, and she probably thought she really possessed some amazing power.

In fact, until now, Ron, Hermione and the wizards of the Order of the Phoenix still believe that he easily defeated Voldemort entirely by himself, and Professor Braine couldn't do it that day! (End of this chapter)