At night, George's consciousness returned to his Marvel body. It was another day of sweating through training, and nothing particularly special happened.
However, his intuition told him that the escape might be very soon.
This was because he noticed that the mutant children had a new comic book in their hands, titled Uncanny X-Men.
He still hadn't figured out the historical context of this universe.
This universe had the X-Men and X-Men-related comics, which suggested that mutants must have been quite famous at some point. So why was there still a Super Soldier program, and why was there still Captain America?
He would have to wait until he escaped this experimental base and then research the history to understand what was really going on.
In the world of Harry Potter, morning arrived.
As George retrieved the Daily Prophet from the mailbox at the shop's entrance, he found an additional letter.
"It's finally here."
On the light yellow envelope, written in emerald green ink, were the words: "Mr. George, Merton Potion Shop, Knockturn Alley."
Indeed, this was the re-sent acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Although he knew that if Scrimgeour and Tonks had said it, it would be true, his heart still couldn't settle when he actually held the acceptance letter.
That was Hogwarts, a real school of magic, and he would soon be able to go there to learn all sorts of wonderful magic.
Magic, who could refuse amazing magic?
"Then let's start the big shopping trip!"
After quickly finishing breakfast, George walked out of Merton Potion Shop with the list of books and equipment included in the envelope, full of high spirits.
However, his good mood was ruined as soon as he stepped outside by an eyesore.
"Well, well, if it isn't little Dora. I hear you've been re-accepted into Hogwarts. Are you off to buy your school supplies?"
A hunchbacked, oily-haired old wizard stood at the entrance of the shop opposite, greeting George with a sinister gaze.
"Good morning, Mr. Borgin. I'm just going to buy some magic books for school.
Also, my name is George now."
George felt disgusted inside, but on the surface, he replied very politely.
This old wizard's identity was not simple; he was arguably the most senior dark wizard in all of Knockturn Alley. His shop, Borgin and Burkes, was the largest magical shop in Knockturn Alley.
Its scope of business was very broad, selling and purchasing items with dark magic or other dangerous properties, and providing secret appraisal services for rare and ancient magical artifacts.
Voldemort, when he was young, had once been an apprentice at this unscrupulous antique shop, and it was through the complex connections of this antique shop that he found and created two Horcruxes.
Old Wizard Borgin was currently the person George was most worried about. If this guy decided not to make a move against him, then no other dark wizard in Knockturn Alley would likely covet his inherited potion shop.
"Such a good child. I saw that Auror lady seemed to have had lunch at your place yesterday?"
Borgin smiled, though his smile was rather unsettling.
George also smiled, but his smile was much brighter.
"Yes, Sister Tonks absolutely loved my cooking. She said she'd bring her colleagues and Uncle Scrimgeour next time to mooch a meal."
"That must be a lot of trouble for you."
Borgin narrowed his eyes slightly.
George shook his head, looking innocent:
"No trouble at all. I love to cook. How about next time they come, I make extra, and Mr. Borgin, you can also come and sample my cooking?"
"Uh... no, thank you."
Borgin's face stiffened, and then he turned and went back into his dark shop.
Only after Borgin left did George mutter to himself:
"Dare to scheme against me? Sooner or later, I'll take your shop and finish you off, old man."
Regaining his composure, he set off again into Diagon Alley.
Compared to the narrow and dark Knockturn Alley, Diagon Alley was much brighter, filled with normal wizards bringing their children to shop and various shopkeepers hawking their wares.
"Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce!"
"Cauldrons! Copper, brass, pewter, silver cauldrons, all sizes! Self-stirring and collapsible!"
"Tawny owls, screech owls, barn owls, brown owls, snowy owls! We have all the pets you want!"
"Nimbus 2001, the fastest broomstick, worth owning!"
Wandering through the bustling Diagon Alley, George didn't hesitate to spend money, buying mostly the best tools.
Though they say bad students have more tools, he still felt that good tools led to higher efficiency. Since he had the money, why be stingy?
"Full set of robes, cauldron, telescope, phials, scales, wand... just the books left, oh, and a pet."
Two hours later, George pushed a trolley full of various school supplies, tallying up the remaining items on his list.
In fact, buying other things didn't take much time. Even the wand was bought quickly; he tried a few, found the most suitable one, and bought it.
It was mainly the process of buying robes, which required measuring, that delayed him for some time.
"Eeylops Owl Emporium. Perfect, I'll buy an owl then."
Seeing the owl shop on the street, George thought for a moment, then pushed his trolley inside.
There were many pets available for young wizards, but he felt that the most useful was an owl, because wizarding owls were different from ordinary ones.
Wizarding magic owls, besides being smarter, also had built-in tracking magic. No matter where the recipient was, they could find them, unless the recipient used relevant shielding magic.
Besides delivering letters, they could also deliver various items, and their strength far exceeded that of normal owls; things weighing ten or twenty pounds were no problem.
He was a pragmatist. If he was going to buy a pet, he would naturally buy a useful one, otherwise, it was better not to. He didn't have the energy to raise a pet.
"Welcome to Eeylops Owl Emporium, sir. What kind of owl are you looking for?"
Seeing George enter, a shop assistant quickly came up to him.
"That one!"
He scanned the entire shop and quickly found the owl he favored.
Following George's finger, the shop assistant's eyes immediately showed surprise:
"Are you sure you want that one?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
George nodded affirmatively.
The shop assistant hesitated but still explained:
"I also need to remind you, that one costs ten times more than a normal owl, it's one hundred Galleons."
The owl George pointed to was not a normal-sized owl, but a large eagle owl that stood almost a meter tall.
Normally, only adult wizards with special hobbies or for research would spend money on such a large owl. He had never seen a young wizard buy one as a pet.
On one hand, it was too expensive, and on the other hand, even if parents had the money, they wouldn't feel safe; an owl that big was certainly not harmless.