Diagon Alley

The studious Harry could not help asking:

"Hagrid, you're obviously so tall. Why does it seem like none of them can see you?"

Hagrid carefully stroked Harry's hair with his rough, large hand.

"It's a Confundus Charm, Harry. You can learn it in your fifth year, but this spell is too difficult for you right now."

Harry nodded thoughtfully.

He quickly thought of the many uses for such a spell and decided to learn it as soon as possible.

As for Hagrid's warning about its difficulty, Harry completely dismissed it. He was the future Supreme Mage—there was no magic in this world that could stump him!

The two soon arrived at Charing Cross Road in Westminster, London. On one side of the street stood a grimy sign bearing the words "Leaky Cauldron."

The sign was so filthy and cluttered that grease had obscured some of its letters.

Harry frowned, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

This bar was far too unhygienic. Kamar-Taj was spotless—did wizards not have magic for cleaning?

Once inside the Leaky Cauldron, the dirty, disorderly surroundings made Harry even more uncomfortable. He curiously looked around. The bar seemed to be stuck in the Middle Ages, without a single modern item.

This discovery caused Harry's expression to change slightly. He suddenly realized that the Wizarding World might differ greatly from what he had imagined.

What was wrong with the wizards in this world? Why had they not adopted modern items? The Supreme Mage had always advocated constant progress and the continued introduction of mortals' Technological Creations.

Kamar-Taj had even become one of the first users when WiFi had just emerged.

Could it be that the wizards of this world believed magic could solve every problem?

No!

Stagnation could only lead to destruction. Protecting Earth required the use of every available force, and technology was naturally one of them.

Speaking of which, Mr. Tony Stark, who had been kidnapped not long ago, was a renowned figure in the field of technology.

Hagrid seemed to be quite popular. When the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron saw him, they all greeted him.

However, what happened next was beyond Harry's expectations. After Hagrid introduced him, the patrons of the Leaky Cauldron surrounded him as though they had found a treasure, curiously examining him and greeting him one by one.

Harry remembered Hagrid telling him on the way that he had once saved the Wizarding World and was the Savior foretold in prophecy.

Harry was not surprised by this at all. It was perfectly normal for an outstanding mage like him to become the Savior. The Supreme Mage had long told him that he was destined for greatness!

But after seeing the attitudes of so many wizards, Harry finally realized just how extraordinary the title of Savior was to the wizards of this world.

He had even seen an elderly Witch of around sixty faint from excitement upon seeing him.

At that moment, another wizard shook Harry's hand.

He looked rather strange. His head was wrapped in a turban, making him look like an Indian.

But there were plenty of strange people among wizards, so Harry did not pay much attention at first.

Yet the moment Harry shook his hand, his pupils abruptly contracted. A chilling killing intent appeared in his young eyes.

The wizard before him was still introducing himself.

"Pot—Pot—Potter, it's nice to m—meet you. I'm Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts."

Rather than respond as warmly as he had before, Harry considered whether he should immediately draw the Sword of Vishanti and behead the wizard before him.

Even if he could only mobilize thirty percent of his magic power, with Magic Power Reinforcement strengthening his body, he could absolutely behead this physically frail professor with ease at such close range.

The reason for this was that he had sensed an evil soul at the back of Professor Quirrell's head.

The aura of that soul felt very familiar to him. The mages who had betrayed Earth and pledged themselves to Dimensional Demons possessed the same kind of evil souls.

They had committed endless slaughter, and their souls had long since become utterly filthy—currency most favored by demons.

However, Harry quickly suppressed the killing intent in his heart.

He had only just arrived in the Wizarding World and was still unfamiliar with everything. Perhaps there was some hidden reason behind this.

After all, no matter how chaotic the Wizarding World was, it could not possibly allow a dark wizard to serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Harry decided to investigate in secret. If he confirmed that Quirrell was evil, he would eliminate him without hesitation!

Thus, Harry put on a bright smile. His attitude toward Quirrell seemed no different from his attitude toward anyone else.

"Hello, Professor Quirrell. It's nice to meet you."

After Harry finally shook off those fans, he and Hagrid came to a wall behind the Leaky Cauldron.

Hagrid lowered his head and explained to Harry.

"Harry, watch closely. Count three up, then two across. All right, it's about to open!"

The wall quickly moved apart to either side. First, a small gap appeared, then it continued widening until it became a passage wide enough for even Hagrid to walk through easily.

The two walked forward, and a broad street appeared before them. The road was bustling with people, a scene that perfectly matched the descriptions of wizards in biographies and novels.

Hagrid winked at Harry.

"Well, Harry? This is Diagon Alley. Do you like it? Welcome to the Wizarding World!"

Hagrid had expected Harry to jump with excitement, but Harry showed no excitement at all. Instead, he looked somewhat disappointed.

Hagrid was quite surprised and asked worriedly:

"What's wrong, Harry? Are you feeling unwell? Let me think... maybe you need a bottle of Peppermint Potion."

Harry shook his head, declining Hagrid's kindness. He looked disappointedly at Diagon Alley ahead, known as the center of Britain's Wizarding World.

"Hagrid, there's something I don't understand..."

Hagrid looked into Harry's beautiful green eyes and gestured for him to continue.

"Why is the Wizarding World so backward? Muggle technology is already advanced enough, so why hasn't the Wizarding World adopted even the slightest bit of technology?

"And why is Diagon Alley so crowded and rundown? Has it never been developed or rebuilt?"

Hagrid clearly had not expected Harry to ask such a question. This big brute naturally could not come up with any proper answer and could only scratch his head.

"It's always been this way. Looks like you'll have to find that answer yourself.

"Come on, Harry. First, we need to go to Gringotts and withdraw the inheritance your parents left for you. Only then can we buy you the other things you need."

Harry shook his head and followed after him.

By now, he no longer had much expectation for the Wizarding World of this world.

Whatever the reason, any force that did not understand reform and progress would eventually be eliminated. Even the mythical Asgard was no exception, let alone the wizards of this world.

Harry silently made up his mind. Once he had figured out the rules of the Wizarding World, if he had the ability, he would definitely change it!