The Leaky Cauldron

Strictly speaking, the Old Wizard wasn't a Broke Person. His suitcase, expanded with an Undetectable Extension Charm, was packed with all kinds of books and potion ingredients, things money couldn't buy.

Like Hagrid standing before him, he seemed to have little need for money. To them, the greatest value of those materials lay in the materials themselves.

But Anton was different.

Without money, he didn't even have a place to stay. Carrying a suitcase like this while sleeping on the streets, he might wake up without his kidneys.

Besides, after eating noodles and Steamed Buns for the past two months, he was nearly sick of them.

He needed nutritious food, or he might not grow tall in the future.

Potion ingredients couldn't be eaten, and there was no way to exchange them for money. Diagon Alley wouldn't accept such ingredients, while Knockturn Alley might take them—but they might not pay him.

Snape was probably the only buyer Anton could find.

"I need to know where you got it." Snape's face was utterly expressionless.

There was a chance!

Anton hurried back, set down his suitcase, and placed the glass bottle on the table. "I killed it myself."

Snape looked unconvinced. "Moonlight Turtles are XXXX-class magical creatures. You?"

P.S.: According to the Ministry of Magic's regulations on dangerous creatures, a 4X rating meant that a capable wizard could handle it. For example, Dumbledore's Phoenix, Newt's Swooping Evil, and the Thestrals that pulled the carriages at Hogwarts.

Snape looked him over from head to toe and shook his head.

They said one shouldn't judge a person by appearance, but the growth of a wizard's magical power still followed scientific principles. For a child like Anton, it was simply impossible for him to possess the ability to hunt a Moonlight Turtle.

"I had a way," Anton replied. Seeing that Snape didn't believe him, he hesitated before moving closer and explaining in a low voice, "Although Moonlight Turtles live in freshwater lakes, they need to return to the ocean to lay their eggs. The hatchlings then swim back to the lakes along the rivers."

"As long as you adjust the Salinity to imitate seawater, it feels as though it has returned to its mother's embrace. It sleeps especially peacefully."

Anton wasn't lying. He really had cut that Turtle Brain out with his own hands.

The price was that, even though the Old Wizard had used magic to suppress the Moonlight Turtle, Anton had still been pierced through the chest by the spikes on its Turtle Shell.

The thickest spike was as thick as a bottled water bottle. It had entered through his chest and emerged from his back.

Even with the Old Wizard's miraculous Healing Potion, he had still spent eight days bedridden, nearly biting off his own tongue to kill himself every day from the lingering venom tormenting him.

Snape raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "Not a bad method."

"Five hundred Galleons!" Anton raised his little hand high, spreading his fingers wide as he thrust them in front of Snape. "For just five hundred Galleons, you can take it home!"

Snape's mouth twitched. He was tempted. The price was actually quite reasonable. Even though he had long possessed stable channels for potion supplies, Turtle Brain like this was something one could only stumble upon by chance.

But—

He didn't have that much money on him.

No normal person carried that many Galleons around. Setting aside the weight and bulk of five hundred metal coins, everyday expenses simply didn't require that much.

A jar of ordinary Dragon Liver cost only three Galleons, while an ordinary wand cost only seven. Even expensive magical books, such as the Advanced Potion-Making textbook, only cost nine Galleons.

A purchase of five hundred Galleons was generally used for extremely high-end magical items and ingredients, such as a suit of armor made by Goblins, or five pints of Acromantula Venom.

P.S.: Five pints were equivalent to 2.8 liters, about the size of a large cola bottle.

At the mention of Acromantula Venom, Snape couldn't help turning to glance at Hagrid.

Not long ago, the Forbidden Forest keeper had brought him a large bucket of Venom, excitedly declaring that the children of that Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest were all very healthy.

"I do, I do!" Hagrid's eyes lit up. He looked hopefully at Snape. "Professor, help me out."

Snape nodded, agreeing to what the two had just been arguing about.

"Ah-ha!" Hagrid was delighted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag, gold coins clinking within.

He stuffed it into Anton's arms. "There should be six or seven hundred Galleons in there?"

He shook his huge head and waved a big hand. "Anyway, it's enough!"

With that, he happily grabbed Snape. "Let's go quickly."

What a character~

Anton opened the filthy bag and peered inside. The glittering gold nearly blinded him.

He looked up. At that moment, where was Snape in his eyes? Hagrid was simply radiating golden light all over.

Seeing that the two were about to leave, he hurriedly called out to Hagrid in alarm.

"Hagrid, I know where there are cute, fluffy little animals. Maybe I can write to you?"

Hagrid was clearly delighted and nodded forcefully. "You must send me a letter!"

Then, unable to wait any longer, he dragged Snape away.

Anton happily slipped several Galleons into his pocket, tied the rest of the bag shut again, and stuffed it into his suitcase.

With this much money, he could go anywhere under heaven!

Haha!

But when he looked up, he found that many people in the tavern were staring fixedly at him.

"!!!"

It was over, it was over. Barbecue.

He had been targeted!

Some people had even risen directly from their seats.

Just then, a heavy knocking came from the bar counter. Shopkeeper Old Tom's wrinkled face looked rather fierce. "No one lays a hand on anyone in my tavern!"

After thinking it over, that person sat back down, though he continued staring intently at Anton.

Anton chuckled without fear and gently placed a Galleon on the bar. "Prepare a room and some food for me. I want meat."

He patted his stomach. "Please make it a double serving!"

Old Tom smiled as he picked up a lamp. "Room 11. Follow me."

They passed through a narrow, dark corridor. A beautiful wooden staircase led from the tavern to the rooms upstairs, and they arrived at a room with a Brass Plaque marked eleven on its door.

Shopkeeper Old Tom opened the room. Unlike the dim corridor, the room's window stood open, with sunlight pouring in and a gentle breeze blowing through.

Anton walked to the window and could even see the bustling ordinary streets of Charing Cross Road in London.

Cars drove by, girls carried shopping bags, and children chased one another.

For Muggles, a hotel so close to the street that one could constantly hear cars and smell exhaust fumes would be considered terribly low-class.

Yet Anton took a deep breath with an entranced expression.

This was a familiar scent.

In the two months since he had crossed over, he had followed the Old Wizard along the edges of cities, through all kinds of chaotic gathering places, deserted forests, and caves. He had nearly thought he had traveled back to medieval Europe.

His eyes narrowed slightly. Suddenly, he felt an urge to return to the Muggle World and live there. That didn't seem so bad either.

He had been an ordinary programmer in his previous life. Perhaps in this era, he could become a renowned master as well.

"This place is nice, isn't it? I'll go prepare your food." Old Tom interrupted his reverie, carrying the lamp as he left again.

Anton nodded and looked around the room.

There was a bed that looked quite comfortable, several gleaming oak furnishings, and a fire crackling in the fireplace.

There was also a fairly spacious washroom. When he entered, the mirror on the wall greeted him warmly. "You look filthy. Perhaps you need to wash up."

Anton looked at himself in the mirror. His bright red hair shimmered with a platinum sheen, giving him an inexplicably strange appearance. His thin little body looked like that of a ten-year-old child, and he wore an oversized, ill-fitting Wizard Robe.

He grinned at the mirror. "Tell me, when even mirrors can talk, if I don't go out and see such a wonderful world and instead run back to huddle in front of a computer writing code, wouldn't that be a waste of life?"

The mirror wriggled on the wall. "I'd like to travel around and see things too."