Tris was intimately familiar with Diagon Alley.
With five older brothers coming year after year, it would be a miracle if he wasn’t.
However, coming often didn’t mean they bought much.
Molly and Arthur Weasley doted on Ginny, their precious daughter, but as for the sons—well, staying alive was good enough.
When Percy and the older boys bought school supplies, Ginny could occasionally get a trinket or two.
As for him and Ron, they were purely there to feast their eyes.
*Finally, it’s our turn to spend!*
At this moment, Ron looked like a unleashed Husky darting about wildly.
“A Nimbus 2000! That’s a Nimbus 2000!”
Instantly, Ron—who loved Quidditch dearly despite his favorite team never winning—spotted the gorgeous broomstick displayed in the broom shop window.
“That design really is sleek,” Charlie remarked, glancing at the broom with a faint glint in his eyes.
He was a fan of Quidditch as well, though he was doing a bit better than Ron.
At least his preferred team was always a strong contender for the championship, unlike the Chudley Cannons, who participated mostly for the sake of taking part.
“Alright, stop staring. Let me get the books first!” Tris looked at Ron and the twins with utter disdain as they stood glued to the spot by the broomstick.
There were two people in the Weasley family who held only mediocre interest in Quidditch: one was Molly, and the other was Tris.
Molly at least possessed a mild interest in the sport itself, just not the intense passion shared by the rest of the family.
Tris, on the other hand, had zero interest in Quidditch.
Twelve people riding wooden sticks without worrying about squishing their manhood, risking having their brains battered out by iron balls, all to chase a wooden ball in midair with burning obsession…
He couldn’t understand it, nor could he respect it.
Since he was indifferent to Quidditch, he naturally felt nothing toward broomsticks either.
By comparison, Tris much preferred flying carpets.
Too bad the idiotic Ministry of Magic had banned them.
Mindless bureaucrats.
“He’s right, stop staring. Let me get our shopping done first,” Molly chimed in.
“Though, let’s head over to get the owl first.”
“Mum, I need a new owl. You promised me,” Percy reminded her.
“Yes, I know,” Molly nodded, then turned her eyes to Tris.
Tris continued to pretend he didn’t see.
At Eeylops Owl Emporium, the Weasley family ended up purchasing two owls.
Tris paid for them in the end.
There was no helping it; the moment Molly stepped into the shop, she clapped a hand on his shoulder and announced to the shopkeeper that her son had earned royalties from his writing and wanted to contribute something to the household today.
Under the shopkeeper’s admiring gaze, Tris simply couldn’t bring himself to say no.
Besides, Percy had helped Tris quite a bit over the years.
Buying something for him was fine.
Since the new owl could serve as a pet, Percy’s former pet became surplus.
Molly suggested that either Ron or Tris ‘inherit’ the rat, while the other could be bought a toad.
Ron hated toads, so he chose the rat.
Tris hated rats—especially since this particular rat was a transformed human—but he didn’t care for toads either, so he stated he didn’t want a pet at all.
Pets were optional for Hogwarts students, not a mandatory requirement.
Tris couldn’t be bothered to care for a pet, so he opted out directly.
This had an added benefit: he could share the rat with Ron when necessary.
As for this rat that was secretly a wizard, Tris had been making calculations for a long time.
He planned to find an opportunity to expose it as soon as term started.
Altering the plot line was never a concern for Tris.
His only worries were keeping himself from being exposed and ensuring his family’s safety.
Exposing the truth at home might carry risks.
At Hogwarts, however, there was nothing to fear.
Hagrid had that famous saying: Hogwarts was the safest place in the world.
Tris decided to take him at his word.
After leaving the owl shop, they headed to Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions.
With their financial situation improving, the Weasleys could now afford to outfit their children with brand-new school robes!
Again, the Weasleys were never stingy by nature; they simply genuinely lacked money most of the time.
Now that they had funds, Molly showed no intention of skimping.
Upon hearing they were going to buy new clothes, Ron upgraded from an unleashed Husky to an unleashed Beagle, hopping and shouting with excitement.
Tris couldn’t be bothered with getting fitted for clothes.
His main interest in Diagon Alley was Flourish and Blotts, and now that he was here, he didn’t want to leave.
“Ron, go get measured for me. Our builds are pretty much identical. I’ll stay here and read.”
Tris and Ron didn’t share the same face, but their body frames were very similar.
Ron could easily stand in for his measurements.
“Well…” Molly hesitated.
She knew her youngest son loved reading, so it wasn’t surprising he couldn’t tear himself away from a bookstore.
Still, leaving him alone here made her a bit uneasy.
“I’ll stay here too,” Percy volunteered.
“I’ve already bought all my stuff.”
Ron and Tris were new students, so they got new robes.
He didn’t enjoy such lavish treatment—even though he had become a Prefect this year.
Being able to get a new owl was already more than enough.
“Alright then,” Molly nodded.
Her third and youngest sons got along well—both were fond of reading.
With Percy around, she didn’t need to worry.
Tris felt a bit awkward.
With Percy hovering around, it wasn’t easy for him to pull off any shady moves.
However, he soon realized he didn’t need to worry about Percy.
The latter quickly found a bookshelf, pulled off a tome, and began reading intently.
Tris glanced at the title from afar—*The Prefect, Head Boy, and Minister for Magic: A Three-Step Life*.
Impressive!
As expected of you, Percy!
Seeing Percy so engrossed, Tris turned back to search for what he needed.
First, *Hogwarts: A History (Uncensored Chronicles)*—bought!
*Memoirs of Famous Dark Wizards*—bought!
*The Historical Evolution of European Dark Magic*—bought!
*The Origins of European Dark Magic and African Dark Arts*—bought!
Being rich was truly liberating!
He had already exchanged his previous fifteen-hundred-Galleon royalty draft at Gringotts, depositing the vast majority while keeping a small portion on his person.
Buying the owls had barely scratched that pocket change, leaving plenty in Tris’s pockets.
Buying a few books was no trouble at all.
However, these books were purely humanities, history, and biographies.
While helpful for understanding the world’s lore, they lacked the advanced spells he needed most.
Calling over a shop clerk, Tris paid for the books and instructed them to deliver the pile to Hogwarts after September first—buying so many books couldn’t be seen by his mother.
Then, lowering his voice, he asked,
“Hey, do you have any books on high-tier spells here?”
The clerk had been slouching lazily.
He earned a meager fixed wage with no commission on book sales, so he lacked any motivation.
Hearing Tris’s question, he pointed dispiritedly off to the side.
“Over there.”
Tris glanced at the designated shelf.
He had already browsed it earlier; it contained only basic spells, less useful than the old books and notes Bill had left behind.
“There’s nothing I want over there,” Tris said, shaking his head.
“I want something deeper, more advanced.”
The clerk yawned, looked at Tris again, and let out a sneer.
“You little squirt, do you even have a wand yet? Have you enrolled? Have you even mastered the Levitating Charm? And you’re asking for high-tier spells?”
Tris was left speechless.
This was his biggest issue right now: he was too young for anyone to take him seriously.
After a moment’s thought, Tris reached into his pocket and pulled out a fistful of Gold Galleons.
“Look, I just want a few books like that. As for where those books came from or who sold them to me, I don’t particularly care.”
“Hmm?” The clerk’s eyes lit up instantly, catching Tris’s drift.
No horse gets fat without night grass; no man gets rich without windfall wealth.
People in the wizarding world understood this principle just as well.
“What exactly are you looking for, young sir?” The clerk immediately brushed aside Tris’s age, offering a bright, eager smile.
“Advanced spellbooks. At least beyond the level of N.E.W.T. textbooks,” Tris replied.
“That…” The clerk’s expression grew somewhat conflicted.
“Books like that are rare. The market only carries ordinary spell textbooks; advanced spells and Dark Magic books are scarce. Those are usually passed down within old wizarding families.”
Tris smiled.
Since the other party had taken the bait, there was clearly a way.
The current hesitation was merely a haggling tactic.
“I believe you can figure something out.”
“Mm… hehe.” Sure enough, the clerk’s eyes darted around as he lowered his voice.
“The shop definitely doesn’t have higher-tier or Dark Magic spellbooks. However…”
He checked left and right to ensure no one was paying attention, dropping his voice even lower.
“There’s an alley right behind us. You might find what you’re looking for over there.”
“Knockturn Alley?” Tris knitted his brows.
He knew Knockturn Alley was adjacent to Diagon Alley.
In the films, Harry had accidentally strayed into it during his second year, luckily running into Hagrid.
However, that place was hardly suitable for an underage wizard like him to visit in person right now.
“Hey, you even know about that place, sir?” The clerk was somewhat surprised.
It was quite rare for an underage wizard to know about Knockturn Alley.
Still, it saved him the trouble of explaining.
“That’s right.
In Knockturn Alley, you might find what you need, young sir.
But that place might not be suitable for you to visit personally.
“It’s just that the price…”
Saying this much was enough.
The clerk wanted to act as a broker, which was precisely what Tris needed.
However, his current identity made it inconvenient.
“A place like that isn’t somewhere I intend to mess with,” Tris said, shaking his head with a look of feigned regret.
“If you don’t have them here, then forget it.”
With that, he turned back to the shelves to continue browsing.
Now that he had opened the clerk’s mouth, there would be plenty of opportunities later, just not right now.
The clerk felt a pang of disappointment, though he didn’t press further.
For an underage wizard to want nothing to do with Knockturn Alley was completely natural.
Doing the opposite would be strange.
His regret at missing out on extra cash lasted only a moment before he slouched off to slack off again.
Tris flipped through a book while pondering how to acquire the items he needed without exposing his identity.
Just then, Ron rushed in frantically from outside, bursting with excitement.
“Tris, Percy, hurry up and come with me!”