“I see.” With that answer, Hermione asked no further questions — pressing on would have been rude.
Their quiet exchange hadn’t disturbed the three adults’ conversation in the least.
Even so, Professor McGonagall had caught the children’s words while chatting with the Grangers, and upon hearing about Leon’s living situation, her expression had softened considerably.
The journey to Charing Cross Road passed without incident, though Mr.
Granger found himself rather puzzled when he pulled up at the address Professor McGonagall had given him.
He could see no pub sign whatsoever — only a bookshop and a record store standing side by side.
Professor McGonagall was unsurprised.
She stepped out of the car first, then placed her hands lightly on the Grangers’ sleeves.
The next moment, the couple stared in astonishment as the unremarkable alley between the two shops simply ceased to exist, replaced by the entrance to a pub of decidedly old-fashioned character.
Hermione and Leon needed no such assistance to make out the Leaky Cauldron in full, but both were well-behaved enough to follow quietly along with the adults.
Once inside, Mr.
Granger’s eyes went wide.
Nearly every patron in the pub was dressed in wizarding robes.
What fascinated him most, however, were not the people — it was the brooms sweeping the floors entirely on their own without anyone holding them, and the rags gliding swiftly across the tables and chairs.
Mrs.
Granger watched this with barely concealed envy, and couldn’t resist asking Professor McGonagall whether one could buy the same sort of self-cleaning tools.
“Certainly — though I wouldn’t particularly recommend it,” Professor McGonagall replied.
“Your neighborhood is a Muggle community.
If other Muggles were to see such things, it could cause Miss Granger no small amount of trouble.” “Muggles?” The word carried a faint sting that did not go unnoticed by the Grangers.
“It is simply what wizards call those without magical ability,” Professor McGonagall said, registering their reaction but offering no apology — only a brief explanation.
Hermione frowned without quite meaning to.
Leon, for his part, didn’t mind.
He had long since come to understand wizarding arrogance.
It was not something he could change.
Fortunately, the Grangers were not the sort to nurse grievances, and the mildly awkward subject was quickly left behind.
With Professor McGonagall leading the way, the group crossed the pub’s main room and emerged into a cramped back courtyard.
Before a stretch of brick wall, Professor McGonagall turned to Hermione and Leon and pointed to the rubbish bin leaning against it.
“You two need to remember how to get into Diagon Alley,” she said.
“I won’t always be able to bring you here myself.” She drew her wand.
“Count three bricks up from the bin, then two across, and tap the wall three times.
That opens the way.” True to her word, the moment she completed the sequence, the bricks beside the bin began to fold back in an orderly fashion, revealing a broad thoroughfare concealed behind them.
A street unlike any ordinary market unfolded before them — wizards and witches moving to and fro, shops hung with every manner of sign imaginable.
“We’ll need to stop at Gringotts first,” Professor McGonagall continued, already guiding the four of them down the avenue.
“Wizarding currency is different from Muggle money.
British pounds are not accepted here — we’ll need to exchange some for Galleons.” Everything around them held the other four utterly spellbound — Leon included, if he was honest.
There was no other word for it: this place was extraordinary.
Colorful wizarding goods and whimsical little contraptions lined every window, making it nearly impossible not to stop and stare.
Had they not had business to attend to, the group would surely have ground to a halt a dozen times over.
For Leon, the greatest draw by far were Slug & Jiggers Apothecary and the Magical Menagerie.
Both shops stocked potions ingredients, magical creature materials, and even live creatures themselves — irresistible temptations, because he genuinely wanted to know how much these wondrous magical organisms might benefit him.
Regrettably, the system’s restrictions meant he couldn’t simply spend his way to power; ingredients only yielded their effects if he cultivated or hunted them himself.
He tore his gaze away with some reluctance.
Still, he wasn’t discouraged.
He had already stepped one foot into the wizarding world.
There would be plenty of opportunities to acquire what he needed.
Because they hadn’t dawdled, and Diagon Alley wasn’t especially long, the group reached the entrance of Gringotts before long.
It was a grand white building.
The entrance featured both bronze doors and silver ones.
Passing through the bronze doors, they came upon two goblin sentries dressed in scarlet-and-gold uniforms.
At the sight of the newcomers, the two guards bowed slightly toward Professor McGonagall in welcome — but when their eyes moved to the Grangers, and to Hermione and Leon, their faces returned to flat indifference as they straightened up.
The Grangers didn’t take offense; they were too busy studying the pair of short, peculiar-looking goblins with curious eyes.
Hermione’s attention, meanwhile, had fixed itself on the inscription carved across the silver doors behind the guards.
Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed, For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware Of finding more than treasure there.
“Are there robbers among wizards too?” “Certainly, though they are very rare.
Gringotts is guarded by a dragon deep within its vaults, and the goblins have spent a very long time reinforcing the security of every chamber.
Under normal circumstances, the odds of anyone successfully stealing Galleons from Gringotts are effectively zero.” Professor McGonagall smiled as she explained this to Hermione, then turned to Leon.
“Have you brought enough pounds to exchange for Galleons?” “Of course,” Leon said with a nod.
“If either of you falls short, do let me know.
Hogwarts maintains a bursary specifically for young witches and wizards from Muggle families.
The amount one can apply for isn’t large, but it’s generally enough to cover all the required textbooks for one school year.
For other supplies, there are some donated second-hand items from former students that you’d be welcome to borrow.” Professor McGonagall added this for both their benefit — not Leon’s alone.
She had, however, rather underestimated the depth of Leon’s resources, as well as the Grangers’ income.
And so, when the group arrived at the Muggle currency exchange window Gringotts maintained for such purposes, their complaint was not that they hadn’t brought enough money — it was that there was apparently an upper limit on how many Galleons one could obtain for British pounds.