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Chapter 70: Diagon Alley in the New Year
Chapter 70: Diagon Alley in the New Year
It was the last Wednesday of the holiday, and the Granger family drove Liam and their daughter to Diagon Alley for shopping. Liam's mother had to work, and his father claimed he had a brilliant idea for a new book, so he let Liam down and went off to write.
Since arriving in this world, Liam noticed that while the broad historical trajectory was similar to his original world, many small details were different. For example, many famous literary works from his original world were either adapted by other authors or never appeared at all.
However, Liam couldn't remember the exact contents of the books he had read, nor did he have the time to plagiarize them. During family chats, Liam mentioned some works that had never appeared in this world, sharing them as ideas with his father, Mr. Lambert.
Perhaps inspired by these ideas and the existence of magic in this world, Mr. Lambert decided to change his writing style and pen a grand magical epic. So, he sequestered himself to write and entrusted Liam to the Granger family, asking them to take him shopping.
In Liam's view, Hermione's parents were quintessential intellectuals, refined and gentle. Mr. Granger, in particular, was a fan of Liam's father, which made for many shared topics during the car ride.
Upon arriving at Diagon Alley, Liam and Hermione decided to head to Gringotts to exchange money. As they stepped onto the white marble stairs of Gringotts, they saw Hagrid leading Harry towards them.
"Hey, Harry, over here." Harry looked up and saw Liam and Hermione standing on the white steps of Gringotts.
Liam waved and walked down the stairs with Hermione to greet Harry.
"Did you go camping or something? You look so dirty. Hagrid... Oh, it's great to see you two again. Are you going to Gringotts, Harry?"
"I'm heading there after I find the Weasley family", Harry replied.
"You won't have to look for long", Hagrid chuckled.
Soon, the Weasley family appeared. The twins and Ron expressed their admiration for Harry's adventure in Knockturn Alley.
While Mr. and Mrs. Weasley chatted with Harry, Liam handed a small bag to Fred.
"What are you doing, Liam?" Ron asked, noticing their exchange.
"You know I went to Iceland during the summer. Your brothers asked me to bring them some local specialties", Liam explained.
As they all climbed the steps to Gringotts, Harry told Liam about his encounter with the Malfoy family at the Dark Magic store. Mr. Weasley, who was following behind, felt he should gather evidence of the Malfoys' involvement in Dark Magic. This led to an argument with Mrs. Weasley, who advised him to prioritize safety.
Mr. Weasley's attention was soon diverted, and he greeted the Granger family in the hall. It was clear that Mr. Weasley was a very friendly and enthusiastic person towards Muggles, though the Grangers seemed a bit overwhelmed by his warmth.
After a brief farewell, the Weasley family and Harry went to their vaults to withdraw money, while Liam and Hermione stayed in the hall to exchange currency.
"This year, everyone's allowance is 250 Galleons, as the cost of Hogwarts textbooks has increased again", the goblin told them, sounding a bit impatient, as he had likely repeated this many times that morning.
Once Harry and the others emerged, they all agreed to meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour, and then everyone was free to explore the alley.
Liam strolled down the cobblestone street, browsing the myriad goods on display, while enjoying a large Wall-nut cream ice cream. They saw the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan buying a large amount of fireworks. Hermione then dragged them to purchase parchment and ink.
Liam, as usual, wanted to visit the Second-hand Shop to see if there were any useful old books. After seeing Liam's 1893 edition of Common Potion Recipes, Hermione had become eager to try her luck at treasure hunting.
Unfortunately, Harry and Ron weren't interested, so they split off to browse the Quidditch specialty store.
"Knowledge is so useful, but why do they find that barbaric sport of flying around on brooms more interesting?" Hermione said, puzzled.
"You have to understand, they have a family legacy in that sport. Besides, only a small portion of people find pleasure in reading books", Liam said as he pushed open the shop door, turning to Hermione.
Inside, they found Percy Weasley engrossed in a very dry book: How to Gain Power as a Prefect. Liam noticed that the page he was reading detailed the careers Prefects pursued after leaving school.
Seeing Liam's curious gaze, Percy felt a bit embarrassed and closed the book to greet Liam. In fact, Percy and Liam, along with Hermione, had a good relationship, especially when they worked on group assignments, where Percy provided a lot of help.
"This book is so simplistic", Liam said with a hint of disdain. But then he thought, the magical world wasn't that big, so there wasn't a need for overly sophisticated political strategies.
"I think the book is quite good. Why do you think it's simplistic?" Percy asked curiously. From his expression, it was clear he thought Liam, at his age, simply didn't understand and was just talking nonsense.
"I recommend you read Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government from China. It was written over a thousand years ago by a prime minister for the emperor. The examples in it are far more sophisticated than those in this book. I remember someone translated it into English."
Percy was indeed very interested. He even asked Liam to write the book's title in Chinese and said he might visit Chinatown to look for it.
After sending off an excited Percy, Liam and Hermione began searching through the pile of old books. Most of the books had been defaced by their previous owners, and one even smelled awful, possibly having been soaked in some potion.
Perhaps beginners' luck was on their side, as Hermione eventually found a useful book: a Ravenclaw student's Charms Class Notes. She believed some of the knowledge in it was very valuable.
At the checkout, Hermione said to Liam, "I always thought these second-hand books were only for people with financial issues, that they had no other advantages besides being cheap. Thanks to you, I now realize they contain valuable knowledge passed down by previous owners."
Liam smiled. Sometimes, hidden treasures could be found in second-hand goods. This was a lesson he learned from buying second-hand items on Xianyu in his previous life. For Hermione, who came from a well-off family and never needed to buy second-hand items for financial reasons, it was a very novel concept. Especially when she found a gem among a pile of junk, the joy of the discovery was something she had never experienced before.
After paying, they stepped out, and Liam checked his pocket watch to see that the agreed time was approaching. They hurried to Flourish and Blotts.
(End of Chapter)
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