Uncle Vernon's small car drove into a once-bustling commercial street in an old district of London. Decades ago, this place was densely packed with pedestrians, far more prosperous than it is today.
However, even now, there were still quite a few pedestrians here.
Hagrid, with his massive bulk, walked at the very front, easily squeezing through the crowd to open up a wide path.
"This is it."
When they reached an empty spot of wall next to a bookshop, Hagrid stopped. "This is the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron."
"The entrance... to a pub?"
Vernon and Dudley looked blankly at the empty wall; they couldn't see anything at all.
"Only wizards can see the door here, so if yeh want to go in, yeh need someone to lead the way. Follow me now, just hold on to Harley and Lynn's hands, and you'll be able to get in."
But in Lynn and Harley's eyes, there was a very old wooden door on this empty wall. Above the door hung a crooked sign that read The Leaky Cauldron.
As Hagrid pushed open the main door, the group filed in behind him. The Muggle pedestrians on the street completely failed to notice the disappearance of such a conspicuous group.
The moment they entered the pub, Aunt Petunia let out a sound of disgust. "Eugh~"
She was a woman who loved cleanliness, and the face the Leaky Cauldron presented to them at this moment was tattered and filthy. It was unknown how many years it had been since the floor was cleaned; stepping on it felt strangely soft. That wasn't a carpet, but rather a disgusting substance similar to a fungal mat formed by layers of grime being squeezed and trampled.
Hagrid's massive figure was quite striking. When he entered the Leaky Cauldron, quite a few people raised their glasses to him. The landlord, Tom, who was wiping dirty glasses with a dirty rag behind the bar counter, also spoke up to greet Hagrid.
"The usual, Hagrid?"
"No, I'm on Hogwarts business today. Taking these two kids to Diagon Alley to buy things."
"That's a rare sight."
Tom cast his somewhat cloudy gaze toward Harley and Lynn, who were standing behind Hagrid with the Dursleys. He even took a couple of extra looks at Lynn, not paying much attention to the pretty little girl beside him. Unfortunately, he failed to see a lightning-shaped scar on Lynn's forehead, so he withdrew his gaze.
"First years, eh? My niece is going to Hogwarts for her first year this year too. Maybe they can get to know each other then. Her name is Hannah Abbott; she's an innocent and lovely girl."
"I'll catch up with yeh later. It's nearly noon, we've got to get moving."
Hagrid nodded with a smile and led them deep into the Leaky Cauldron.
Ahead was a small courtyard enclosed by red brick walls, where several trash cans were stacked. This was the end of the Leaky Cauldron's hallway.
"This here is the entrance to Diagon Alley. You two watch closely: count three bricks up, then two across, and finally tap it three times gently with a wand—"
Hagrid pulled a lovely pink umbrella out of his massive pocket and tapped the brick three times with the tip. Under their curious and astonished gazes, the brick wall ahead rumbled and gave way, revealing a wide archway. Behind the red brick arch lay a winding cobblestone street that led off into the unknown distance.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley!"
After walking out of the passageway, Hagrid pointed at the lively stream of people ahead and spoke to them, a smile appearing on his face hidden behind his thick beard.
This wizarding commercial street, retaining a heavy medieval architectural style, was filled with the sounds of peddling and bargaining. Strange and dazzling items tugged at their gazes, making them want to stop and look.
Hagrid didn't rush them; he just watched cheerfully from the side. Before he went to pick up Harley, he had been worried that the Dursleys treated Harley poorly. But looking at it now, the Dursleys treated Harley much better than their own son. This was something that made him happy.
Halfway down the road, Hagrid paid out of his own pocket to buy them a few cones at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. This magical food, which could make a person float a few inches with just one bite, was something they had never seen before. Even Lynn, who possessed a 4-Dimensional Pocket filled with junk, was very interested. Magic was equally novel to him. If he hadn't suddenly learned one day that there was a place called Privet Drive, he would have always thought this was just parallel-world London in the 1990s.
Wizards hid very well in the Muggle world, and their numbers were small—so small that in his few years of wandering, he hadn't seen a single suspicious figure.
"Come on, over here. I need to take Harley and Lynn to Gringotts. By the way, don't easily trust goblins; these little fellas are quite cunning."
When Hagrid led them to a striking building made of white marble, he pointed at the main doors and spoke to them.
The Dursleys nodded. In their eyes, things like goblins... certainly didn't look like good folks. They were born with treacherous faces.
The luxurious interior decoration of Gringotts stood in sharp contrast to Diagon Alley outside. When they reached the counter, Hagrid turned to Lynn and asked, "Do yeh want to open an account vault or something?"
"Maybe?" Lynn shrugged. His attitude was ambivalent. "I just don't know how much money it requires."
"Ah~ Honored sir."
The goblin behind the counter looked up, an upward smile appearing on his face as he realized there was profit to be made. "Gringotts Wizarding Bank is one of the safest places in the wizarding world. Here, your assets will receive top-tier security services. If you wish to apply for a vault, we have a full seven options available depending on the security level."
"What about the cheapest one?" Lynn glanced at the goblin. He had some savings, but even if he converted it all into gold, it wouldn't amount to much.
"The cheapest vault. Buying out the usage rights requires only thirty Galleons," the goblin said with a beaming smile, ready to exercise his eloquence.
"Oh, no money. Forget it."
Lynn waved his hand decisively, causing the goblin's face to darken a few shades.
"I want to exchange for Galleons. Is the current rate 5 pounds to 1 Galleon?"
"Yes, sir," the goblin's voice turned a few degrees colder. "If you are a Hogwarts student, there is an exchange limit of one hundred Galleons per year."
"What about over one hundred Galleons?"
"We support unlimited exchange of gold for Galleons."
In the magical world, gold remained a hard currency. In alchemy, gold possessed irreplaceable material value.
"Alright, then exchange one hundred Galleons for now."
Lynn pulled out a large handful of crumpled banknotes, amounting to over a thousand pounds. This was roughly most of his net worth. Although he had telekinesis and teleportation that could allow him to get money quickly, there weren't many places for him to spend money, so he rarely went out to get it. Being out and about, he had the Universal Tent and the Gourmet Tablecloth, so he didn't need to spend money on accommodation or food.
After quickly counting out five hundred pounds, Lynn stuffed the remaining notes back into his backpack.
"Do you require a wallet that comes with an Undetectable Extension Charm to widen the space, as well as weight-reduction and anti-theft effects?"
As he brought up the tray filled with Galleons, the goblin didn't forget to try and fish some gold from Lynn's hands.
"No need."
Reaching out to pull the tray over, Lynn swept the one hundred glittering gold coins into his own backpack. "They're already safe enough now."
This kind of stingy client was the type goblins hated the most. The goblin, sulking slightly, sat back down with a thud. Staring with dead fish eyes, he turned his head to look at Harley beside him and asked drily, "What business do you have?"
"I want to go to my vault to withdraw some money."
Harley took out her golden key. Just then, the goblin behind the counter nearly popped his eyes out. They wouldn't mistake the wizarding family represented by these golden keys. Although the Potter family wasn't among the Sacred Twenty-Eight, they were a wealthy wizarding family with a long history of inheritance. To this day, their shampoo patent was still generating a steady stream of money for them.
"But isn't Harry Potter a boy?"
The goblin, whose mouth gaped wide enough to fit a fist, was dumbfounded. But fortunately, goblins didn't care particularly much about wizard affairs. Anyway, as long as the key was correct, that was fine. Maybe this fellow wasn't Harry Potter, but some other bloodline of the Potter family out in the world.
This was none of the goblin's business. Goblins accepted no liability for property losses caused by lost keys.
"There's one more thing."
When the goblin handed the key back to Harley, Hagrid pulled a letter out of his pocket: "It's about the You-Know-What in vault 713."
The goblin turned serious at this. After taking the letter and opening it to check, he nodded and shouted to the side, "Griphook."
"He will take you to these two underground vaults."
As his voice fell, the goblin named Griphook walked over briskly. He led them into a side passage and into a narrow stone corridor. Following the downward slope of the corridor, a railway track leading straight into the deep underground appeared before them. Griphook whistled, and a railway cart came rushing over violently.
The whistling cold wind blew against their faces. The winding and twisting tracks crisscrossed through this underground maze. After about two or three minutes, the cart braked suddenly, and Hagrid's face turned a slightly iron-green hue.
"Maybe you need a peppermint, Hagrid?"
Lynn pulled a handful of plastic-wrapped peppermints from his pocket. "Suck on a few, they're quite effective."
"That's greatly appreciated."
Hagrid nodded gratefully. He pinched a few, peeled off the wrappers, and stuffed them into his mouth. The cooling sensation allowed his brows to uncrumple slightly.
Beside them, Griphook took the key from Harley and unlocked the door. As a thick plume of green smoke rose, the locked door opened. When the torchlight illuminated the vault, the sound of Harley sucking in a breath of cold air was clearly audible in the quiet underground vault.
"This is all yours," said Hagrid with a smile, feeling much better.
Piles of gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts reflected a dazzling metallic light. On one side, there were also crate after crate of silver bars and gold bars. Deeper in, one could see decorations hanging on the walls—ceremonial swords and shields inlaid with large gemstones, so many that one couldn't even examine them carefully in time.
"Maybe I really do need a wallet?" Harley turned her head to look at Lynn. "But for now, can I borrow your bag to hold a bit?"
Hagrid helped Harley grab a large handful of money and stuffed it into the leather pouch he had brought. "This is enough for yeh to buy things in Diagon Alley."
The heavy money bag was placed into Lynn's backpack. It was a fortune of nearly a thousand Galleons at the very least, yet compared to the entire vault, it didn't even amount to a drop in the bucket.
"How does it feel to become a rich little lady?"
On the cart ride to vault 713, Lynn glanced at Harley and asked with a smile.
"Now I have money to buy gifts for Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley!" Harley said happily. "Of course, there's one for you too, Lynn!"
Harley's pretty eyes blinked a few times; her joyous smiling face gave the illusion that she was sparkling against the pitch-black background.
"Tsk~"
Lynn raised an eyebrow slightly. "With the way you are now, I'm afraid very few boys will be able to handle you."
The smile on Harley's face faded. She pursed her lips and turned her head away.
Vault 713 was somewhat of a disappointment to Harley. She had originally thought this mysterious vault would contain some treasure that would shock her. However, Hagrid just hurriedly picked up a small package wrapped in brown paper and left. Although she was somewhat curious about the item in her heart, Harley was looking forward more to the happy itinerary of 'buy, buy, buy' in Diagon Alley later.
After returning to the hall and reuniting with the Dursleys, the truly happy journey through Diagon Alley began. The things of the wizarding world held a massive attraction for all of them. To make carrying their purchases easier, Harley spent a sum of gold to buy a waist pouch.
Although casting an Undetectable Extension Charm wasn't particularly difficult, keeping the spell effective and stable over a long period required strict standards for the material of the bag and the manufacturing process.
Those crudely made expanded bags could explode all their contents out instantly once they failed; an unprepared wizard might even be killed as a result. Although the Ministry of Magic didn't prohibit—and couldn't prohibit—the manufacture of space-extension containers, most wizards chose to buy protected and guaranteed expanded props from legitimate shops to avoid such accidents.
After accompanying Harley for a while and buying all the books, Lynn proposed wandering around by himself. Harley was somewhat mesmerized by the flying broomsticks in Quality Quidditch Supplies, so they agreed to meet back at the Leaky Cauldron at four o'clock in the afternoon to go home.
Compared to Harley, who had endless curiosity about the magical world, Lynn's mindset was much more steady. His own Universal Pocket was magical enough, giving him psychological preparation for these kinds of things in advance.
However, there was still one thing in the magical world that attracted him the most.
Ollivanders Wand Shop was located in the middle-to-rear section of Diagon Alley. The street around here wasn't as lively or bustling as the front; most shops sold second-hand books and used goods.
When Lynn stood before this old shop where the gold paint on the sign was peeling off, a sense of anticipation welled up in his heart.
The items in the 4-Dimensional Pocket were external objects after all, and tools like the Superpower Training Box that could allow one to master power were few in number. But magic was different; this was something that would become one's own as long as one learned it.
With a trace of excitement, Lynn pushed open the door to Ollivanders.
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