Lucas had to admit something.
The ice cream shop Dumbledore recommended was genuinely incredible.
The cold sweetness practically melted in his mouth, and even Lucas—who usually preferred spicy food—had to acknowledge that the old Headmaster possessed surprisingly excellent taste in desserts.
Meanwhile, Florin Fortescue himself enthusiastically chatted with Dumbledore nearby while serving customers nonstop.
Harry and Lucas sat together at an outdoor table beside the shop, each holding an absurdly oversized ice cream sundae.
Hagrid remained beside them the entire time.
Honestly, the giant half-breed had thanked Lucas so many times already that Lucas was starting to feel awkward.
"Really, thank yeh again, Lucas," Hagrid said emotionally while wiping his eyes for what felt like the tenth time. "If yeh hadn't been there, Harry might've been seriously hurt! Blimey… who in their right mind tries ter murder someone inside Gringotts?"
Lucas forced an awkward smile.
Technically, this entire situation happened because he replaced Hagrid in the first place.
In the original timeline, Quirrell only wanted the Philosopher's Stone. He had absolutely no reason to risk confronting Hagrid directly.
And because Quirrell never expected Dumbledore to entrust such an important task to a child, he missed Hagrid entirely when he later broke into Gringotts.
Unfortunately—
Today, Quirrell thought Lucas looked like an easier target.
Which had turned the entire underground vault into a magical war zone.
For safety reasons, Dumbledore and Hagrid practically stayed glued to Harry and Lucas for the rest of the day.
Everywhere they went, the four of them moved together like some bizarre celebrity parade.
And honestly?
Walking through Diagon Alley beside Dumbledore was painfully high-profile.
Every witch and wizard they passed immediately greeted the Headmaster respectfully. Some even stopped entirely just to stare.
Lucas finally understood what true social pressure looked like.
Because of this, he never found a proper opportunity to privately influence Harry further.
Planting ideas inside someone's mind required patience.
Trust-building was a long-term project.
Still, today's progress already exceeded expectations.
At the very least, Harry now practically idolised him.
Eventually, Hagrid bought Harry a snowy owl as a birthday present.
Harry looked absolutely ecstatic.
"I'm calling her Hedwig," he announced proudly.
Lucas glanced at the owl thoughtfully.
Interesting.
Despite all the timeline changes so far, some parts of fate still seemed to drift naturally back towards the original path.
Though one thing definitely changed.
After suffering Fiendfyre injuries earlier today, Quirrell probably wouldn't be enjoying life anytime soon.
Honestly, Lucas wasn't even sure the man would recover before Hogwarts started.
By evening, the group returned to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner before preparing to part ways.
And then—
Lucas finally understood why he'd felt uneasy all day.
Because the moment he stepped into the tavern—
A scarlet envelope shot directly into his face.
A Howler.
Lucas froze.
Then cold sweat instantly covered his back.
He forgot to reply to Cassandra last night.
Dumbledore glanced at the smoking red envelope and smiled sympathetically.
"You should open that immediately," he advised kindly. "The consequences of ignoring a Howler are usually… unpleasant."
Then he gently reminded Harry, "Cover your ears."
Harry obeyed instantly.
Meanwhile, Lucas slowly picked up the trembling envelope with the expression of a man preparing for execution.
The moment he opened it—
The envelope exploded open into a screaming mouth.
Kassandra's furious voice instantly shook the entire Leaky Cauldron.
"LUCAS SUMMERS!"
Every conversation inside the tavern stopped instantly.
"I WAITED ALL NIGHT FOR YOUR REPLY!"
Lucas winced.
"YOU DIDN'T WRITE BACK EVEN ONCE!"
Several nearby customers quietly lowered their drinks.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?!"
Now the entire tavern was listening openly.
"MUM ONLY TOLD ME THIS MORNING THAT YOU FOUGHT A DARK WIZARD AND AN ENTIRE AUROR SQUAD INSIDE GRINGOTTS!"
A loud crash echoed somewhere in the tavern as someone dropped their mug.
"DAD SAID YOU WERE AMAZING!"
Lucas slowly covered his face.
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!"
Several witches nearby looked delighted.
"YOU'RE ONLY ELEVEN!"
The Howler's volume somehow increased further.
"YOU HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED HOGWARTS YET!"
People throughout the Leaky Cauldron had now completely abandoned pretending not to listen.
"WHAT IF YOU DIED?!"
Lucas wanted to disappear.
"RIGHT NOW!"
"IMMEDIATELY!"
"INSTANTLY!"
"WRITE ME A REPLY!"
The tavern windows rattled violently.
"And if this ever happens again—"
The Howler paused dramatically.
"I SWEAR I'LL STRANGLE YOU MYSELF BEFORE ANY DARK WIZARD GETS THE CHANCE!"
The moment the final sentence ended, the envelope burst into flames and collapsed into ashes.
Silence.
Complete silence filled the Leaky Cauldron.
Lucas sat there pale-faced while rubbing his ringing ears.
"I know…" he muttered weakly.
Then suddenly—
The entire tavern erupted into thunderous cheers.
Tom slammed a mug of Butterbeer onto the counter and raised it high.
"A toast to Lucas Summers!"
"CHEERS!"
"Brilliant work, lad!"
"Eleven years old and already flattening Auror squads?!"
"Absolutely insane talent!"
"I can't wait to read tomorrow's Daily Prophet!"
"Another Dumbledore in the making!"
"Professor Dumbledore, is he your student?"
Dumbledore smiled warmly.
"I've only guided him briefly," he admitted, "but Lucas's talent is unquestionable."
The surrounding crowd became even more excited.
"No wonder!"
"He reminds me of Professor Dumbledore when he was young!"
"Terrifyingly talented!"
Lucas coughed awkwardly. "You're all making me blush."
Then one older wizard grinned mischievously.
"Still, young man, based on my experience, you'd better hurry and answer your girlfriend."
The tavern exploded with laughter.
"Another Howler might already be flying this way!"
Even Harry looked amazed.
"You already have a girlfriend?" he asked in disbelief. "That's incredible!"
"She's not my—"
Lucas stopped halfway.
Honestly, explaining now would only make things worse.
So instead, he pulled out parchment with the expression of a condemned prisoner and began writing immediately.
Dear Kassandra,
Your Howler arrived very successfully.
At the time, I happened to be dining beside Professor Dumbledore inside the Leaky Cauldron.
Now the entire tavern believes you're my girlfriend.
Lucas paused thoughtfully.
Then his lips slowly curled upwards.
If he was suffering social death, there was absolutely no reason to die alone.
So he continued writing.
Which means congratulations.
You are now officially famous across half the British wizarding world.
....
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