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Chapter 87: Diagon Alley Shopping Spree
Chapter 87: Diagon Alley Shopping Spree (Six Updates)
Fifteen minutes later,
Jerry had just pushed Hermione's oversized suitcase into the corner of the compartment when the Hogwarts Express began to pull away slowly.
Since some students, especially the older ones, had chosen to stay at school to prepare for exams, the number of young wizards on the Hogwarts Express was far fewer than when they had arrived at the beginning of the term.
Jerry and Hermione's compartment contained only the two of them.
After stowing their luggage, they almost simultaneously pulled out spellbooks from their bags.
Then, they sat together, reading and discussing the contents.
Outside the window, the mountains and forests began to give way to snow-covered fields and Muggle villages as the train progressed.
By midday, the train finally arrived at King's Cross Station in London.
Through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, the young wizards, having changed back into Muggle clothes, disappeared into the crowd with their parents, having passed through the spatial magic corridor.
At the entrance to King's Cross Station, the Granger family, having received Hermione's notification letter via the school owl, had already arrived in their car.
"Jerry, remember to call me!"
As the car started, Hermione leaned out the window and waved, shouting to Jerry, who was standing there.
"Sure, I will!"
Watching the car disappear down the street, Jerry pulled a bottle from his pocket and carefully placed the few strands of Hermione's hair he had secretly collected on the train inside.
"Once I make the Polyjuice Potion, no one will doubt me anymore!"
Pulling his nearly empty suitcase, Jerry headed straight for the subway entrance.
There was no way he was going back to the orphanage. What was the point? With the Trace now monitoring him, returning to the orphanage would be a waste of time, as he wouldn't be able to do anything there.
After spending three months in the Mini World and frequently using the "Mind Enhancer" function, his Little Red Stars were running low.
So, he planned to spend the two-week Christmas break in Diagon Alley.
First, he needed to go shopping in Diagon Alley. While the Hogwarts library had a vast collection, many of the more dangerous or adult wizard spellbooks were kept in the Restricted Section.
But the bookstores in Diagon Alley had no such restrictions. As long as you had gold Galleons, you could buy whatever you wanted.
Second, with the Trace on his body and no way to remove it, Diagon Alley was the only place where he could freely use magic during the holidays.
Jerry had done some research on the Trace before the break. According to some of the older Slytherin students, the Ministry of Magic couldn't precisely detect whether someone was using magic; they could only detect whether magic was being used in the vicinity.
If you were in an area populated by wizards, using magic wouldn't raise any alarms, as the Ministry couldn't determine who was casting the spells.
For example, they could use magic at home because their parents were wizards. As long as the parents didn't report it, the Ministry would assume it was the parents' magic.
Thus, the Trace was much more restrictive for young wizards from Muggle families than for those from wizard families.
Since young wizards from Muggle families typically had no wizards living nearby, any use of magic would immediately be detected by the Ministry.
This was why, when Dobby used magic at Harry's aunt's house, the Ministry assumed it was Harry who had broken the rules.
Harry was the only wizard in the neighborhood, so the Ministry naturally concluded that he was the one who had used magic.
Riding the subway to Charing Cross Road, Jerry quickly found the Leaky Cauldron, where Professor Mcgonagall had taken him before.
After paying fourteen gold galleons, he was led by the innkeeper Tom to a unique, old-fashioned room on the second floor.
He would be spending the next two weeks in this room.
After settling his luggage, Jerry didn't immediately head to Diagon Alley. Instead, he went downstairs and ordered a hearty lunch.
Only after finishing his lunch did he begin to explore Diagon Alley thoroughly.
Last time, with Professor Mcgonagall, he hadn't had the chance to visit many places. This time, he was determined to visit every shop except Knockturn Alley.
Given its high level of danger, he wasn't ready to take the risk of visiting Knockturn Alley yet.
"Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, powdered bicorn horn, powdered unicorn horn, and shredded boomslang skin."
Jerry recalled the Polyjuice Potion recipe he had memorized from Potent Potions and headed to the apothecary in Diagon Alley.
Brewing Polyjuice Potion takes about a month, and to prevent any accidents, Jerry planned to make several batches.
Polyjuice Potion is a very complex and uncommon potion, requiring a wide variety of expensive ingredients. As a result, few people know about it, and even fewer use it.
Even with Professor Quirrell's herb garden in Jerrybox, saving him a significant amount of ingredients, he still spent over two hundred gold galleons buying the remaining materials.
Jerry estimated that a single batch of Polyjuice Potion would cost at least one hundred gold galleons if he had to buy all the ingredients.
This is roughly equivalent to a month's salary for a typical Ministry of Magic official.
Under normal circumstances, no wizard would spend a month's salary on these expensive ingredients to brew a potion that only lasts a few hours.
Therefore, in the wizarding world, Polyjuice Potion is a relatively rare potion.
After purchasing the potion ingredients, he headed straight to Flourish and Blotts, the largest bookstore in Diagon Alley.
"Sir, what books do you need?"
Seeing Jerry enter, a clerk immediately ran up to him with a warm greeting.
Without hesitation, Jerry placed a bag of gold galleons on the table:
"I need The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 2), The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 3), The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 4), The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 5), The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6), The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 7), Intermediate Transfiguration Guide, and Advanced Transfiguration Guide."
In one breath, Jerry listed all the spellbooks and potions-related textbooks from first to seventh grade that he knew.
Now that he had the money, why stick to a step-by-step approach? He might as well buy everything at once and study at his own pace.
While self-study might not be as effective as attending classes, he had some foundation and the "Brain Booster" function, which would still help.
For example, even if he couldn't fully harness the power of advanced spells, successfully casting them could save his life in emergencies.
Moreover, he planned to buy any other books that the library didn't have and store them in the villa in Jerrybox, to read them slowly when he returned to the Main World.
Knowledge is power, especially in the wizarding world.
These spellbooks were true treasures, but unfortunately, his gold galleons might not be enough.
(End of Chapter)
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