"So touching... Clap, clap, clap..."
William's voice suddenly broke out, like a missile hitting the calm surface of a lake, shattering the crowd's brewing complex emotions into pieces.
"Richard... Professor."
Percy's face turned red; evidently, he had found out about William's "promotion and wealth."
"Oh dear, oh dear, terribly sorry to interrupt your emotional outburst."
He stepped over from behind the bookshelf, his left hand casually resting on Sirius' shoulder—
The latter's expression could be described as colorful, his gaze occasionally flickering between William and Tom, who was buying books with Ginny and Hermione, his face showing a struggle between "Oh my, this is real" and "Can I run now", while Kabuda squatted atop the man's head, curiously looking at the awkward Percy in front of him.
William simply smiled, as if ignoring Percy's awkwardness.
At this point, Ron and the now-recovered Harry felt a pang of sympathy for Percy's expression, while Hermione astutely sensed the change in atmosphere and lowered her "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," peering over with curiosity.
"Mr. Richard, I..."
With a "colorful" face, Percy opened his mouth, trying to explain something, but finally all the words got stuck in his throat.
"We... we should go buy books, Ron."
Harry hurriedly spoke, attempting to break the suffocating situation—at least he could escape first; he tugged Ron's arm, "Let's... go?"
Ron too realized and nodded eagerly as if granted amnesty, "Yes, yes! We're still missing materials for Transfiguration Class—" He almost pushed Harry forward.
Finally, Percy found a way out; he took a deep breath and tried to straighten his slightly hunched back. "...Alright, I need to find some more reference materials too." He replied vaguely, hugging that pile of hefty volumes, swiftly turning and disappearing behind a row of taller shelves, with a sense of haste.
Watching Percy vanish away, Ginny pursed her lips, saying nothing more, but simply explaining to Tom, "That's our brother, mine and Ron's."
"I could tell—you all have the same hair color."
Tom nodded; red hair wasn't uncommon, but the Weasleys' hair was strikingly uniform and tidy.
The boy responded, but his gaze curiously fell on William's side, upon Sirius. When Sirius met those seemingly clear (at least on the surface) black eyes, he shivered involuntarily, rubbing his neck and looking up at London's perpetually overcast sky, "The weather seems nice today?"
"Indeed, it's quite alright."
William casually agreed and then clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, "Alright, everyone, have a free activity, hand your purchased textbooks to Blake—then, gather at the Leaky Cauldron before sunset; those who are late might have to write thirty eight-inch essays next term—"
"?"
Thus, the crowd dispersed once more at the bookstore's entrance.
Ron and Neville decided to take Tom back to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, a few boys clearly hadn't had enough fun; Hermione wandered over beside William, and after a brief discussion, they decided to visit the Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour to taste the shop owner's newly developed flavor; Sirius hesitated a bit but eventually decided to join Harry and Ginny who were planning to check new broomsticks—
Although he didn't want to intrude on his godson's date with the girl, Sirius nonetheless decided to keep his distance from the "eight-year-old Dark Lord" that challenged his understanding.
What? You ask why he didn't continue to bother William?
Oh. Because he still wanted to live.
...
Diagon Alley remained bustling, filled with the pre-term excitement, a few magically animated paper cranes clumsily flapped above the crowd.
On the roadside, Harry was discussing the price of broomstick polish with Ginny, while Sirius was teasing a Golden Snitch confined in a display case; they had just come out of the Quidditch boutique, and Sirius wanted to splurge gold coins for Ginny and arrange a Firebolt—he wouldn't hesitate over spending Black Clan's money.
But in the end, Ginny stopped him, explaining that she could borrow Harry's Nimbus 2000.
And just then, Harry suddenly paused.
An inexplicable cold shiver abruptly surged from his spine, akin to a slimy snake slithering past the nape of his neck, chilling him to the bone, his scalp tingling, and his heart gripped as if by an icy hand, blood solidifying at that moment—
He whipped around.
Yet, behind him was merely the bustling crowd—curious little wizards led by hand, mothers furrowing brows over expenses, a man with a pointed hat crouching before a goblin's stall discussing prices, students excitedly chatting about new subjects...
The dim sunlight seemingly couldn't pierce through the clouds, and everything appeared normal, continuing to be noisy.
There was no shadowy figure, no noseless man, no watchful gaze, nor serpent-like cold hissing.
Yet Harry began to pant heavily, complexion turning white, soon catching the attention of Ginny and Sirius regarding his oddity.
"Harry? Are you alright?"
Ginny, concerned, reached out to support the boy's arm, sensing Harry's body as taut as a stone, cold and hard.
Simultaneously, Sirius quickly scanned the surroundings, slightly positioning himself to instinctively shield the two youngsters, resembling a vigilant hound, "Did you find something?" he muttered, caution glinting in his gray eyes.
Although Voldemort had just died, while 99% of the visible Death Eaters had perished in that "rain" of green, there's no guarantee others wouldn't act desperately—
Such situations had occurred more than once; post the first Wizard War, endless innocents had suffered at Death Eaters' hands.
Harry parted his lips, attempting to articulate the cold and chilling sensation, but observing the normality before him, the feeling retreated like an illusion, leaving only empty lingering trepidation—after a moment of silence, Harry shook his head vigorously, trying to calm his heartbeat.
"Nothing, nothing."
Harry's voice was somewhat hoarse; he gripped Ginny's hand tightly in an attempt to appear normal, "It's just... felt like someone was watching me, unrelated to dreaming about Voldemort, the scar didn't hurt—probably just my mind being too full and loud?"
Harry forced a smile, albeit somewhat strained.
Sirius suspiciously scrutinized Harry's face, scanning the surroundings again, yet indeed found no suspicious figure.
The man's furrowed brow didn't entirely relax, merely patting Harry's shoulder, "Stay alert, kid, a sixth sense can sometimes be more reliable than eyes." With that, he remembered what William had recently mentioned...
Voldemort turning into an eight-year-old kid... damn, Sirius would rather believe You-Know-Who was still alive.
Ginny gazed at Harry's eyes worriedly, whispering, "Perhaps we should head back early?"
"No need." Harry steadied himself but didn't release Ginny's hand, "It's all good now, let's find Ron and them."
Even though during the remaining time, Harry seemed somewhat distracted, occasionally watching the crowd behind with caution, that unease never returned; that brief bite-like thrill, became an underlying, fleeting yet discordant note within Diagon Alley's festive atmosphere, drowned in merry laughter.