Half a month passed quickly since that day, and soon it was the last day of July.
Looking at the mess in his home, William deeply missed Kyle at this moment.
It was a pity; he had called to ask, and Kyle said it would be another half month before he could return.
During these two weeks, William studied so diligently that he forgot to eat and sleep, not even noticing that the system had gone on a trip.
However, with such hard work, the rewards were naturally bountiful.
When it came to charms, he seemed to be a true genius; he could learn every spell after only a few failed attempts.
Of course, he only thought this to himself, as he knew he was only learning the most basic charms.
After practicing like this for half a month, he had become quite proficient with the few charms in his textbook.
Therefore, he shifted his focus to Potions.
To practice Potions, he needed to go to Diagon Alley for various ingredients, as he didn’t have any on hand to practice with.
After washing up and getting dressed, looking at the handsome person in the mirror, William couldn’t help but exclaim, “As expected of the Potter family’s shampoo; the effect is truly something one falls in love with after just one use.”
He decided that this time when he went to Diagon Alley to restock, he could hoard a bit more of the Potter family’s shampoo.
Afterwards, after packing his things, William went out.
There was no other way; since Kyle wasn’t there, he had to take a ride himself.
As for what vehicle to take?
Ha, he was a Young wizard now, so naturally, he had to take the Knight Bus.
Although this mode of transport didn’t look very safe, it was fast.
Thinking this, William arrived at a deserted roadside and raised his wand.
Five seconds later, just as William was wondering if he needed to shout a spell, a triple-decker, bright purple bus appeared in front of him as if it had flashed into existence.
Immediately after, a delayed “bang” sound rang out.
Seeing the door open, William didn’t hesitate and immediately boarded the bus, where he saw the conductor, Stan Shunpike, a big boy of about eighteen years old, wearing a purple uniform, with a pair of large, flapping ears and a few small pimples on his face.
“Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded Witch or Wizard.
Just stick out your wand and step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go.
I’m the conductor, Stan Shunpike.”
After finishing, Stan Shunpike stuffed the slip of paper back into his bag, and his tone became less robotic as he said, “Sit down quickly, Young wizard.
And tell me, where are you going?”
“Oh, thanks.
I’m going to the Leaky Cauldron.”
William said, quickly sitting down while gripping the things beside him tightly.
“Our Young wizard is going to the Leaky Cauldron.” Stan Shunpike shouted to the driver, then turned back to William and said, “The fare is 11 sickles.
But if you pay fourteen, you can get chocolate, and if you pay fifteen, you can get a hot water bottle and a toothbrush…”
As he spoke, Stan Shunpike suddenly fell silent for a moment, then said, “Forget it, never mind.
A Young wizard from the Muggle World should save their sickles for snacks.”
William really wanted to retort that he had money, but he only thought about it; after all, he wasn’t burning money, and he wouldn’t use those things anyway.
He took out 11 sickles and handed them over, then heard the driver up front shout.
“Hold on to your things, we’re taking off.”
The next second, a strong force pushed William deep into the back of his seat.
By the time he adjusted, he found that the scenery he could see was flying backward at high speed.
To be honest, at this moment, he felt like he was traveling through time.
However, very quickly, the feeling of space travel was added to the existing feeling of time travel.
The Knight Bus charged straight toward the alley between two buildings that was only two people wide.
The next second, William clearly experienced the sensation described by Apparition: eyes being pushed back into the brain, and the body feeling as if it were being compressed into a pipe.
This feeling wasn’t painful, just physically uncomfortable.
But before William could adapt, the bus had already driven out of the alley.
However, having experienced the feeling of going through the alley, no matter how difficult the driver’s maneuvers were afterward, they couldn’t shake William’s emotions.
Soon, the vehicle stopped, and the dilapidated appearance of the Leaky Cauldron appeared in his line of sight again.
“The Leaky Cauldron,” Stan Shunpike said, looking at William.
Honestly, before transmigrating, he had always heard how deadly the Knight Bus was, but he didn’t feel it was that serious; it was just a very interesting experience.
The point was, the speed was truly fast.
He checked the pocket watch in his hand; less than half an hour had passed.
If it had been a normal mode of transport, he would probably still be slowly making his way on the road.
Pushing open the door to the Leaky Cauldron, William’s expression changed instantly.
The moment he touched the doorknob just now, he immediately felt as if he had touched years of grime.
He looked at his hand; it was still clean, but he felt as if it were covered in bacteria.
“What a pity, I don’t know the Scourgify Charm at this moment.”
Thinking this, William took out a wet wipe from his portable space bag (the bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm cast on it) and wiped his hand.
After entering, the situation before him made William freeze.
At this moment, a group of adult Wizards in the bar were surrounding a Young wizard to shake his hand, and everyone was incredibly happy, like a fan meeting, completely unlike the gloomy appearance it had when he first came.
Just as William was wondering who the Young wizard was, the lightning scar on the other’s forehead and the tall Giant who had rescued him gave him the answer.
“Time to go, there’s still a lot to buy.
Let’s go, Harry.” The tall Giant Hagrid shouted loudly.
Relying on his tall stature, Harry was successfully rescued, and then they headed straight for the courtyard leading to Diagon Alley.
Seeing this, William followed.
He had originally planned to go after some time, but the gazes of the other Wizards made him feel uneasy, especially since Quirrell, whose head was wrapped up, had also glanced at him twice, making him even more flustered.
Although he knew the other party had no intention of probing him, that didn’t stop him from being nervous.
“Bad luck, bad luck, it’s just too much bad luck; I actually forgot that Harry Potter was also coming to Diagon Alley on this day.”
Thinking this, William quickened his pace.
By the time William arrived, Hagrid was just about to introduce the method of entering Diagon Alley to Harry, but upon hearing the noise, both of them looked over.
Stared at by the two, William had no choice but to politely greet them.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” Harry replied slightly shyly.
“Oh, hello.
You must be a new student at Hogwarts like Harry, right?
Why are you here by yourself?” Hagrid asked.
For a Young wizard, especially a polite Young wizard about to enter Hogwarts, it was hard for Hagrid not to be friendly.
“Yes, I am also a new student enrolling this year.
I was brought here before by Professor McGonagall, and this time I’m here because I need to buy some more things.” As William spoke, he took out his wand to prove it.
Hearing the answer and seeing the wand, Hagrid nodded and said, “I see.
You really are a studious Young wizard.”
William smiled upon hearing this and didn’t say much more.
Seeing this, Hagrid continued to tell Harry how to open the door to Diagon Alley.
Just like when Professor McGonagall led him, soon after the wand tapped the correct spot, the bricks shifted and quickly became an archway.
“Welcome back to the Wizarding World, Harry.”
Seeing Harry looking astonished, Hagrid grinned at him.
William looked at the two standing still in the doorway, his expression stiffening slightly.
Fortunately, the two quickly remembered William, who was blocked behind them, and hurriedly made way.
Before the two could apologize, William smiled and spoke first, saying, “It’s shocking, isn’t it?
You know, when another young Witch and I were brought here, the time we spent being shocked was much longer than yours.”
With one sentence, he eased the atmosphere and made Harry’s impression of William even better.
However, William wasn’t planning to continue accompanying the chosen one here; after greeting them, he prepared to go about his business.
But, not long after he walked away, Hagrid and Harry caught up.
The three of them had the same destination: all of them were going to Gringotts to withdraw things.
Thus, William had no choice but to helplessly continue on his way with them.
After all, having a peer who could listen, give answers, and get along well was truly rare for Harry.
Hagrid watched the two talk with a smile, occasionally giving answers to their questions, but mostly he became even more joyful seeing Harry smiling happily.
Soon, they arrived at Gringotts.
It was the same process as the time he had come before, only this time, the one speaking about it was Hagrid.
“Look at these words; if you wanted to rob this bank, you’d be mad.
The security here is second only to Hogwarts,” Hagrid said.
William gave Hagrid a strange look after hearing this.
Safest?
It would probably be robbed soon.
At this moment, the three arrived at the counter, and Hagrid said, “Morning, we want to withdraw some money from Mr.
Harry Potter’s vault.”
“Me too, I want to withdraw some money from my own vault,” William added immediately after.
“Do you have your keys?”
“We have them,” William and Hagrid replied in unison.
However, William quickly took out his key, while Hagrid dug and dug in his coat pockets, searching for a while before finally finding his key.
The Goblin took it, checked it carefully, and then replied, “No problem.”
At this moment, Hagrid leaned forward and whispered, “I also have a letter here from Professor Dumbledore, regarding ‘that thing’ in underground vault 713.”
But even though Hagrid was quiet, his voice still clearly reached William and Harry’s ears in the quiet, spacious hall.
At this moment, William couldn’t help but want to cover his forehead.
Be thankful that Hagrid replaced the Philosopher’s Stone with “that thing,” otherwise this action would have been an announcement to everyone.
At this time, the Goblin had already taken the letter, read it carefully, and then said, “Very well, I will have someone take you to these three underground vaults.
Griphook!”
After the words fell, another Goblin walked out and then took the three of them in a cart to the underground vaults.
The fast speed and the winding roads gave William the feeling of riding a roller coaster, though it was still quite a bit less intense than the Knight Bus.
However, if one glanced at Harry, who was so nervous his eyes were tightly shut, and Hagrid, who had gripped the handle until it was deformed, one could see how abnormal William’s thoughts were.
The first to arrive was William’s vault; he went to withdraw 500 Galleons and left.
Afterward, they arrived at Harry’s vault; the moment it opened, William felt his eyes were dazzled by the golden light inside.
With just this deposit, even if Harry didn’t work after graduation, it would probably be enough for him to live comfortably for a lifetime.
Unlike William, Harry, on Hagrid’s advice, only took 300 Galleons, as well as some sickles and knuts.
Finally, when they arrived at vault 713, which held the Philosopher’s Stone, Hagrid had become unsteady on his feet because of the speed.
Fortunately, there was only one thing in vault 713, which allowed Hagrid to take the item and then return to the cart with the support of the two.
“Can you slow down the speed?
I’m about to throw up.” Hagrid’s voice became somewhat weak.
“No, there is only one speed.
Sit tight now, we are going back,” Griphook replied.
Soon, after the cart raced wildly again, they finally returned to the surface.
“Oh, damn the speed, hateful Goblins…”
Hagrid muttered curses while being supported by William and Harry as they left Gringotts.
After leaving Gringotts, Harry looked at Hagrid, who still hadn’t recovered, and asked, “Hagrid, what are we going to do next?”
“Of course, we need to buy the things on the list.
William, could I trouble you to accompany Harry?
I want to go to the Leaky Cauldron for a pick-me-up drink; that Gringotts cart is too hateful,” Hagrid said.
Harry looked at William with anticipation upon hearing this; after all, it was easier for peers to get along.
To this, William didn’t refuse.
“Sure, Hagrid, go and rest; I’ll take Harry.”
Saying this, he let go of Hagrid, waved his hand, and then took Harry to buy things.
Watching their backs, Hagrid smiled and said, “What a friendly and reliable Young wizard.”
After the words fell, Hagrid wobbled off to the Leaky Cauldron, and on the way, he didn’t forget to curse the Goblins and their carts.