Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 11 Diagon Alley

Hagrid counted the bricks on the wall next to the trash can.

“Remember, Harry, Tyrell, if you ever want to enter Diagon Alley, take your wands and count three up—then two down—” he muttered. “Alright, back up, Harry, and Tyrell… um, Tyrell, when did you get so far back?”

Hagrid tapped the wall three times with the tip of his umbrella.

The brick he had struck began to shake and move, creating a small hole in the middle. The hole grew larger and larger until, in no time, a wide archway appeared before them, large enough for Hagrid to pass through, leading to a winding, seemingly endless cobblestone street.

“Welcome,” Hagrid said. “Welcome to Diagon Alley.”

After Hagrid finished speaking, he walked along the archway. Tyella and Harry followed Hagrid through the archway, and the wall behind them returned to its original solid state.

Harry was amazed by the magical transformation of the walls, while Tyella stood there dumbfounded.

Although he had seen it countless times in movies, books, dreams, and imaginations in his past life, when he was actually in Diagon Alley, he was still completely captivated by the magical scene.

The dazzling sunlight shone on a stack of pots outside the nearest shop. Above the pots hung a sign: large pots made of copper, brass, tin-plated silver, in various sizes, with automatic stirring and folding mechanisms.

A fat woman stood outside the pharmacy, shaking her head angrily, and said, "Dragon liver, seventeen sieverts an ounce! They're insane...they're absolutely insane! Merlin's Beard, those bastards at this pharmacy must have been driven mad by the potion they brewed!"

A low, soft whirring sound came from a dimly lit shop. The sign in front of the shop read: Ee-la Owl Shop - Graywood Owl, Horned Owl, Grass Owl, Brown Owl, Snow Owl.

Several boys, about Harry and Tyrell's age, were pressed their noses against the shop window displaying flying broomsticks. "Look," Harry heard one of the boys say, "that's the new Nimbus 2000—the fastest one—"

On the other side of the street, there was a shop selling robes. The shop sign featured a pair of golden scissors cutting a pink cloth that shimmered with metallic luster. The cloth was inscribed in gold letters: "Madame Malkin's Robes Shop."

Some shops sell telescopes and strange silverware that Harry has never seen before.

Other shop windows were filled with baskets of bat spleens and eel eyes, piled high with spellbooks, quill pens, rolls of parchment, medicine bottles, moon globes...

"Come on, boys, you'll have plenty of time to look around later. Let's hurry today, you have a lot to buy." Hagrid patted Harry and Tyella on the shoulder with a smug look.

“But Hagrid, I… I don’t have any money.” The moment Harry heard about buying something, he was reminded of his lack of money and was jolted awake from his wonderful daydream. “Uncle Vernon said he wouldn’t spend a penny on my schooling.”

"Hehehe, Harry, you don't actually think your parents really left you nothing, do you?" Hagrid said with a laugh.

"But you said they don't even have a house..."

“Wizards don’t keep their money at home. We have special banks.” Hagrid interrupted Harry. “This is our first stop—Gringotts. We need to get the money Harry’s parents left him, as well as the student loans Gringotts provides for students in need.”

“Student loans?” Tierra never imagined he was involved in this. “Yes, the goblins of Gringotts are greedy, but thankfully they haven’t lost their minds and know their responsibilities as members of wizarding society.” Hagrid’s tone turned sharp and sarcastic when he talked about goblins, as if the half-giant disliked the money-grubbing goblins of Gringotts.

"The loan, approved by Hogwarts and issued by Gringotts, provides students who cannot afford tuition with an annual loan of one hundred galleons. It is interest-free, but the students who receive their help are required to repay the loan within five years or work for them for five years."

Hagrid thought for a moment and then said, "In addition, they will also offer a service for Muggle-born children to exchange Muggle currency for Galleons. It seems that five Muggle currencies can be exchanged for one Galleon, with a maximum of one hundred Galleons. Tierra, if you have any Muggle currency, I suggest you exchange some extra Galleons later. On the Hogwarts Express, Mrs. Nancy's licorice sticks are quite good; you should buy some to try."

Suddenly, Hagrid stopped outside a strangely shaped candy store and stared at the dragon sausages at the entrance like a child.

“Oh, Merlin’s beard!” Hagrid exclaimed excitedly. “That’s fantastic! The dragon sausages here are still on the market. Harry, Tyella, you must try them.”

After saying that, Hagrid excitedly squeezed into the candy store and came back carrying three grilled sausages and a bag of dark candies.

When Hagrid handed the sausages to Harry and Tyella, they seemed to see the pile of black candies wriggling inside the clear plastic bag.

“Oh, this.” Hagrid, seeing Harry’s stunned expression, chuckled and explained, “These are lemon cockroach balls, Headmaster Dumbledore’s favorite dessert. He only loves the lemon cockroach balls from this shop, and every time he comes to Diagon Alley, he asks me to bring him a bag back. Don’t let their cockroach-like appearance fool you; they’re actually made entirely from lemon juice, honey syrup, and licorice. Would you like some? I think Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn’t mind losing a piece or two of his snacks.”

Harry quickly shook his head.

Tyrell initially wanted to refuse, but ultimately made the opposite decision to Harry.

"One, thank you." Tierra took the dark cockroach ball from Hagrid's thick fingers, carefully peeled off the outer wrapper, and put the pale yellow candy inside, which looked like a young cockroach, into her mouth.

Tierra could clearly feel the cockroach ball, which had been jumping around, immediately quiet down upon touching his tongue, turning into a slightly sour-sweet taste that flowed into his stomach along with his saliva.

“It’s delicious.” Tierra smiled.

Despite Tierra's suggestion, Harry still had no intention of trying it, and simply ate his dragon sausage quietly while staring at the dazzling array of goods in Diagon Alley as if he wanted to have eight eyes.

“We’ve arrived,” Hagrid said.

They arrived at a snow-white building that stood tall above the surrounding shops.

The building has a gleaming bronze door, and next to the door stands a figure dressed in a scarlet uniform with gold trim.

"That is……"

(End of this chapter)