Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

All of this is for the greater good.

Chapter 28 Harry's Troubles

After arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry Potter experienced a freedom he had never known before.

No one cares what time he goes to bed, nor does anyone restrict what he eats or doesn't eat.

He can stroll around Diagon Alley every day, as long as he makes sure he's back at the bar before midnight.

Harry was absolutely ecstatic.

He could never have imagined such a life before.

Before he was 11 years old, he slept in the Dursleys' closet, keeping company with geckos and mice.

If his cousin Dali hadn't moved to a new room later, he wouldn't even have had a bed of his own in that house.

Now, Harry is finally free, albeit temporarily.

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, Harry tried out all the new gadgets he had never tried before.

He bought a huge pile of candy and snacks, and while eating ice cream at Florin's Ice Cream Shop, he did his holiday homework. He also saw the latest flying broomsticks and fire arrows.

Aside from the fact that he rarely saw Eric, Harry had nothing to complain about.

As the only person in the bar who struck up a conversation with Harry, Eric naturally became Harry's friend.

She was also the only person he could talk to here.

The day after Fudge left, Harry saw the article in the newspaper that Eric and Fudge had mentioned about Black.

Then, Black's situation shook almost the entire wizarding world.

The labels of vicious killer, traitor, and Death Eater instantly formed the image of Black in Harry's mind.

Upon seeing Black's picture in the newspaper, with his disheveled face and yellow teeth, Harry felt an almost instinctive sense of disgust.

He now understood why Diagon Alley had become much quieter than it had been at this time last year.

The panic caused by Blake's escape was far greater than imagined.

Nowadays, Aurors always patrol Diagon Alley, guarding the fixed entrances and exits.

Additional guards have been added at the entrance of Gringotts to ensure everyone's identity is correct.

Several shops that Harry had been wanting to visit were closed as a result. It is said that these closed shops were more or less connected to the Black family.

This made Harry even more eager to find an opportunity to talk to Eric.

From Old Tom, Harry learns that Eric also lives in the Leaky Cauldron and is a Hogwarts student like him, though he hasn't enrolled yet.

Most importantly, Eric was also an orphan, just like Harry.

The shared identity made Harry feel an inexplicable fondness for Eric.

Harry couldn't detect any of the arrogance in Eric that he had felt in people like Malfoy.

Although they only exchanged a few words, Eric remained extremely polite and composed throughout. It was clear from his demeanor that Eric knew far more about the wizarding world than Harry did.

Especially regarding Blake.

Eric must know the inside story about Blake's escape, the kind of story that can't be published in the newspapers.

Unfortunately, Harry never saw Eric at the Leaky Cauldron again after that day.

Harry was shy, and since it was his first time traveling alone, he didn't dare to ask old Tom Eric which room he was staying in.

So Harry's plan to "bump into" the other person backfired. Several more days passed, and Harry still couldn't "bump into" the other person as he had hoped.

This made him suspect that Eric was no longer in the bar, so he stubbornly went to ask Old Tom, only to receive a perfunctory answer.

Annoyed by Harry's persistent nagging, old Tom finally revealed Eric's room number. Harry ran to knock on Eric's door, but received no response.

This made Harry even more discouraged, and he became convinced that Eric was gone.

What Harry didn't know was that Eric was indeed still living in the Leaky Cauldron; old Tom hadn't lied to him. It was just that Eric and Harry's schedules were a bit different.

Sometimes, he would even stay out all night.

If the exposure of the Blake affair brought any benefit to Eric, it was that the annoying reporters who had been loitering outside the Leaky Cauldron were finally gone.

Compared to Blake, Eric's news value suddenly became insignificant, so the group of reporters turned to harassing anyone connected to the Blake family.

Eric's name was not among them, and he was able to swagger in and out of the Leaky Cauldron again.

He didn't bother old Tom with the school supplies anymore; he simply took the box Merkel had given him, slipped into Diagon Alley, and quickly took care of it.

Eric has been busy these days completing all sorts of check-in tasks, big and small, issued by the system.

Most of these tasks were unexpected for Eric; the system seemed to be planning to let Eric travel around the magical world during this time.

First, you have to check in at Knockturn Alley within three days and spend a full night there. Then, you have to check in at Hogsmeade Village. Even more outrageous, you have to check in at a hill ten kilometers west of Godric's Hollow.

In comparison, this task seems more like a punishment.

To complete his final task, Eric, who had no means of transportation, had no choice but to walk ten kilometers, enjoying the scenery along the way as a way to relax.

Fortunately, the rewards for these tasks are quite good, all of which directly grant spell proficiency.

This also brought Eric a lot of benefits.

Old Tom also allowed Eric to use the shop's FlooNet for travel, which saved Eric a lot of time.

Using Floo Net to traverse the fireplace is certainly not a pleasant experience, but it's better than failing the mission.

Although it's not free.

Old Tom included the cost of Floo Powder directly in Eric's student loan, along with the rent.

Fortunately, Eric didn't spend a single gallon on those seemingly expensive textbooks, which saved him a lot of money from his student loans.

These Galleons naturally became Eric's pocket money.

Since Fudge left, Eric has been running around right under Old Tom's nose. Old Tom has seen it all, but he's never bothered with it; his job is just to keep an eye on Harry.

For some reason, a tacit understanding developed between Eric and Old Tom, but it was clear that Old Tom wasn't particularly concerned about Eric's safety.

That afternoon, Eric, who had returned to the Leaky Cauldron after several days, sat at a table in the lobby, staring intently at his current system taskbar:

[This is an untimed mission. Please go to Hogwarts to check in.]

[Reward: Soul Barrier.]

There is also a personal panel:

Eric Clapton—

Magic Power: Top-tier (Progress to the next level: a long way off, almost as far as the host's current chance of becoming Minister of Magic).

Mental strength: Top level.

Mastering Spells (arranged from highest to lowest proficiency) —

Spells: 11 spells including the Guardian Charm (Intermediate), Disarming Charm (Intermediate), Levitation Charm (Intermediate)...

Curses: Four types of spells including the Repelling Spell (Beginner) and the Obstacle Spell (Beginner)...

Poisonous curses/curses: None available.

Skill--

Muggle Research: The Ultimate.

Charmsology: Beginner.

History of Magic: Beginner.

……

Among them, the intermediate proficiency level of the Repel Charm, Obstacle Charm, and Disarm Charm is a reward from the system quest.

That's right, it's the sign-in task that made Eric walk ten kilometers.

The rest of the spells were the result of Eric's practice during this period.

The acacia wand is now becoming more and more comfortable in Eric's hand, and it no longer poses much of a hindrance when casting these basic spells.

Just as Eric was lost in thought, a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Eric! I've finally found you!"

Eric's thoughts were abruptly interrupted as he exited the system, but he showed no dissatisfaction.

After closing his personal panel, Eric turned around and saw Harry rushing towards him, covered in sweat, waving and greeting him from afar.

The two had only met once, but judging from how familiar Harry seemed, others would probably assume they were good friends.

Upon seeing Eric, Harry finally felt much relieved.

Chapter 29 Not Enough

Harry knew almost nothing about this "classmate" who lived in the Leaky Cauldron, just like him.

Eric was shrouded in layers of mist, making it impossible for Harry to see him clearly.

That's why he wanted to find Eric and get to the bottom of things himself.

"Harry, what's up? What did the minister talk to you about after I left that day?"

Eric, with a gentle smile on his face, asked first.

His question warmed Harry's heart.

This is the first time since he ran away from home and came to Diagon Alley that someone has cared about his feelings.

No one knows how much he has suffered these past few days; he can only process it all on his own.

He was starving and cold, and ended up alone on a random Knight Bus, wandering into the Leaky Cauldron.

Now, Eric's mention of it brought back the impulse Harry had when he ran out of the house.

Feelings of grievance, confusion, and anger mingled together, leaving Harry with a complex mix of emotions.

Harry forced a smile and said, "It's all right now, Eric."