Chapter 6: First Entry into Diagon Alley
Chapter 6: First Entry into Diagon Alley
"Are you alright?"
Professor Mcgonagall asked with some concern.
Jerry smiled and waved his hand.
"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy. Where are we?"
He knew that the advanced magic Professor Mcgonagall had just used, which only adult wizards could learn, was Apparition, and its variant, Side-Along Apparition.
In simpler terms, Apparition is instantaneous travel. As long as you've been to a place before, you can recall it in your mind and Apparate there. It's one of the ways wizards travel.
However, learning to Apparate is no easy task. Many adult wizards struggle to perform it perfectly, and a misstep could result in being torn apart by the spatial forces.
The distance one can Apparate also depends on the wizard's magical power and their proficiency with the spell. Some wizards can only Apparate a few hundred meters, while others can travel from one city to another.
Clearly, Professor Mcgonagall belonged to the latter group. However, she had not only Apparated but also used Side-Along Apparition to bring Jerry with her.
Jerry had assumed Professor Mcgonagall would bring him directly to Diagon Alley, but it seemed they had appeared on a Muggle street instead.
"Charing Cross Road. This is the entrance from the Muggle street to Diagon Alley. Remember the name and location of this street, because the next time you come to Diagon Alley, you'll need to find your way here on your own!"
It seemed that in Professor Mcgonagall's eyes, Jerry was a child who knew nothing about the wizarding world, so she wanted to guide him through the entire process of a typical wizard entering Diagon Alley, so he could do it independently in the future.
"Look at that pub over there. It's the entrance to Diagon Alley!"
Following Professor Mcgonagall's pointing finger, Jerry's gaze passed over a luxurious cinema, a bustling burger joint, and finally settled between a large bookstore and a record store.
It was a very dirty, narrow pub with an old wooden door and a cracked sign hanging above it, which read "Leaky Cauldron" in crooked letters.
Despite its location between a clean and tidy bookstore and a record store, the pub stood out starkly. However, all the passersby seemed to ignore it as if they couldn't see it at all.
Jerry knew that ordinary Muggles indeed couldn't see this small pub because it was under a Muggle-Repelling Charm, a spell that made Muggles without Wizard Bloodline unable to notice or approach it.
"Jingle!"
As the wooden door creaked open, Professor Mcgonagall pulled Jerry into the Leaky Cauldron.
The interior of the pub was quite dim, and there weren't many patrons. A quick scan revealed about seven or eight wizards in robes, drinking and chatting.
When the doorbell rang, all the wizards in the pub turned to look.
Upon seeing Professor Mcgonagall, they all nodded politely.
As the Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor at Hogwarts, Professor Mcgonagall was well-known throughout the magical community. Moreover, many current wizards could be considered her former students.
Jerry remembered that in the movie "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", Newt's flashback showed Professor Mcgonagall as a teacher at Hogwarts even back then.
This meant that Professor Mcgonagall had been teaching at Hogwarts for at least fifty years, and the number of students she had taught was countless.
"Oh, it's Professor Mcgonagall! Would you like something to drink?"
A nearly bald old wizard, who looked like a shrunken walnut, smiled and greeted Professor Mcgonagall from behind the counter.
"No, thank you, Tom. I'm here to take the new students to Diagon Alley!"
Professor Mcgonagall waved her hand to decline.
Since her husband, Alphonsus, died unexpectedly from a venomous tentacle bite, she rarely left Hogwarts except for the annual pre-term home visits, and she certainly didn't linger outside.
"That guy must be pretty old too!"
As Jerry followed Professor Mcgonagall through the pub to the back yard, he glanced at the pub owner, Tom, and thought to himself. He remembered from the movies that this man had already been the owner of the Leaky Cauldron when Voldemort entered school, and they shared the same name, Tom.
In the back yard of the Leaky Cauldron, beside the green brick wall near the trash bins:
Professor Mcgonagall tapped the wall three times with her wand and explained to Jerry:
"Watch closely. Count three bricks up from the trash bins, then two to the left. Tap those bricks three times with your wand, and the entrance to Diagon Alley will appear!"
As Professor Mcgonagall withdrew her wand, the brick she had tapped began to tremble. The entire wall, as if triggered by some mechanism, started to reassemble itself rapidly.
Soon, a small hole appeared in the middle of the brick wall, and it quickly grew larger.
Before long, a wide archway large enough for four or five people to pass through at once opened up, leading to a winding, seemingly endless cobblestone street.
This was Diagon Alley, the wizarding shopping haven of London!
Following Professor Mcgonagall through the archway and into Diagon Alley, Jerry couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The scenes from the movies had come to life. Even though he had been mentally prepared, he still widened his eyes at the magical sight before him.
Unlike the ordinary people outside, who wore light summer clothes and carried fashionable bags, most of the people on this street were dressed in various colored wizard robes, holding wands.
Of course, there were also various wizard pets, and a few house-elves and goblins.
"Copper, brass, pewter, silver cauldrons, all sizes, automatic stirring, foldable, extendable, come and take a look!"
"Gray, screech, tawny, brown, and snowy owls, all kinds of owls available!"
"Latest Nimbus 2000, the fastest broom, you deserve it!"
"Dragon liver, bat spleen, eel eyes, spell books, quills, parchment, potion bottles, moon globes, all at great prices!"
The fronts of the shops lining the street were adorned with various advertising signs and filled with many excited young wizards.
"Did you bring your letter?"
When they reached a shop called Potage's Cauldron Shop, Professor Mcgonagall bent down to ask Jerry, who was already wide-eyed from the sights.
"Right here!"
Jerry pulled the parchment envelope he had received the day before from his pocket and waved it at Professor Mcgonagall.
Professor Mcgonagall nodded:
"Good. Take out the list of required items, and I'll help you purchase everything!"
Jerry took the second page of the letter from the envelope and unfolded it to read:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Required Supplies:
1. Uniform:
2. Textbooks:
3. Other Equipment:
4. Pet Information:
Please note that first-year students are not permitted to bring their own brooms.
(End of Chapter)
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