This depends on the situation -
Old Tom warmly invited Harry and Ron to sit down.
After serving them two bottles of butterbeer and a whitetoothed sandwich, seeing that there were no customers needing his service, he sat down directly at their table, answering Harry's question.
"You know, most of the business in Diagon Alley is done in rented premises; these premises are owned by witches and wizards of real standing and reputation."
"The Ministry of Magic negotiates with the owners of these properties, giving them a choice -"
Harry ate his sandwich ravenously, mumbling incoherently.
"What - "
"In fact, it's no longer a secret - "
"Old Tom was excitedly saying, "
"The Ministry of Magic has a plan for this area, said to be headed by Mr. Brane. They intend to expand the Diagon Alley ruins into a magical city that can accommodate more witches and wizards!"
Ron's gaze briefly drifted from his newly purchased broom, curiously studying Tom.
"You mean, like a wizarding city and a muggle one?"
"That's classified, Mr. Wesley, I fear few know about it except for the high-ranking officials in the department -"
Tom licking his lips, looking a little regretful.
"But there's no doubt that the land in the new wizarding city will be more valuable than it is now, so the department negotiates with these witches and wizards who lost their land in Diagon Alley, promising them that they will get a free shop of the same area when the new city is built, of course, there is another option that can be chosen to replenish galleons according to the price of land before."
At the mere mention of the magical city, Harry felt an urge to visit it. He thought for a moment,
"I guess most people will choose a new storefront?"
"That's right - "
Old Tom nodded.
"But the Ministry seems to prefer that they choose galleons as compensation, they don't want all these valuable assets to be held by a few people."
Old Tom then told them about the Ministry's compensation plan for businesses that lease premises.
That makes it much simpler.
Before the battle of Diagon Alley, most of the shops had already moved their goods inside. What was left behind as losses would be compensated to them in gold by the Ministry of Magic.
After all, the Ministry seized a lot of wealth that had been accumulated by the pure-blood families for centuries through forced labor. Also, goblins invested heavily in it.
The current British Ministry of Magic is never short of gold.
In addition to direct monetary compensation, the Ministry also exempted businesses affected by the change in their premises from paying taxes from now until they received their new wizarding city commercial district shops. During this period, their businesses would be tax-free.
It was precisely these policies that persuaded these merchants to take risks and quickly resume their businesses.
"If I were you, Harry - "
"Old Tom went back to take care of his own things. Harry and Ron, who had just finished eating and drinking, chatted while holding a cup of butterbeer each. Ron regretfully said, "
"When the magnificent wizarding city is built, I'll take all the gold from my vaults to buy shopfronts here. I heard my dad say that the land in Diagon Alley is so valuable that he would have earned more galleons working for the Ministry of Magic than enough to buy a single shopfront here!"
That's indeed a good suggestion, even Harry, who had never much thought about making money, felt his heart stir.
However, after careful consideration, Harry shook his head,
"If Mr. Wesley can't afford it even after working for the Ministry for a lifetime, then my vaults may not be enough either, and - "
Harry pursed his lips, his thoughts drifting to Amelieus' face.
Sirius won't mind if I live at Grimmauld Place, but I can't stay there for the rest of my life, can I? I need to have my own place.
Ron was about to offer another suggestion; he always had a knack for coming up with ideas about making money, but at that moment, two people who pushed back the tent flap and walked in caused Ron to immediately shut up.
"Oh, Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Malfoy!"
Old Tom quickly ran over from the other side of the pub, showing a much more humble attitude towards Draco and Narcissa than he did to Harry and Ron, bowing.
"Is there anything I can do for you two?"
"Please prepare something for us, we're in a hurry."
Narcissa didn't even look at Old Tom, but just narrowed her eyes and examined every table in the bar, her tone cold as she said.
Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Malfoy --
Of course, the two well-dressed and refined wizards who walked into the bar, with an air of nobility, looked like they were a mother and son from the Malfoy family.
Many customers avoided the cold, distant gaze of Narcissa and buried their heads in their food.
Just as Harry had predicted.
Draco seemed to be deep in thought, his indifferent gaze falling to the ground, not noticing that they were staring at him. But when his mother noticed him, her gaze suddenly froze on his face, her delicate features furrowed in concern.
Draco suddenly felt his mother's hand on his shoulder tighten its grip, pulling him out of his thoughts. Confused, he turned around.
Then, he noticed as well: the emotionless Potter staring at him, and Potter's 'eternal lackey' by his side.
The two groups stared at each other, the atmosphere in the air gradually thickening.
Harry's eyes were cold, and the fire in his heart was creeping upwards.
Speaking of it, last year, he and Draco had been relatively peaceful.
Things like taunting or trying to trip each other up between the second and third grades were basically non-existent.
But Harry's glare at Draco and his mother was just like when they were at their most hostile, filled with hatred!
In the recent war, Kingsley had lost a leg, and Amelie Vanze, a witch who always spoke gently and politely, Dedalus Diggory, who couldn't help but get excited when he saw him, and the bodies covered in white shrouds he saw at St. Mungo's, along with the families of the aurors who were crying in despair.
All of this, Harry believed, should be laid at the feet of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
All those past conflicts between him and Draco now seemed insignificant in the face of these grand sacrifices.
Ron was also looking at Draco and his mother with hatred.
His father was lucky to have survived the war!
Harry had thought that Draco and his mother would respond to their open hostility at least a little.
After all, the Malfoy family had never been exactly benevolent.
What puzzled Harry was that as he looked at him, Draco unconsciously flinched and avoided his gaze, and his face had an abnormal paleness, like the way he had looked before the war began at Gringotts Bank --
And Draco's mother, who had been looking at everyone else in the bar with such arrogance, now looked at Harry with a mixture of caution and.
Harry could understand this.
During the final battle of Diagon Alley, Voldemort tried to kill himself, but his wand acted on its own and repelled Voldemort.
The newspaper did not publicize this event, but as Voldemort's loyalist, the Malfoys would have known. She probably thought she had some kind of extraordinary power.
In fact, up to now, Ron, Hermione, and the wizards of the Order of the Phoenix still believe that he easily repelled Voldemort entirely on his own, a feat that even Professor Brane had not accomplished that day!
