Diagon Alley

Hagrid counted the bricks beside the trash can.

"Remember, Harry, Tierra, if you ever want to enter Diagon Alley in the future, take out your wands and count three bricks up—then two across—" he muttered. "All right, step back, Harry, and Tie... um, Tierra, when did you get so far back?"

Hagrid tapped the wall lightly three times with the tip of his umbrella.

The brick he had tapped trembled and began to move. A small hole appeared in the middle, growing larger and larger until a broad archway wide enough for Hagrid to pass through stood before them, leading to a winding cobblestone street that disappeared from sight.

"Welcome," Hagrid said. "Welcome to Diagon Alley."

With that, Hagrid walked through the archway. After Tierra and Harry followed him through, the wall behind them became solid again.

Harry stared in amazement at the wall's magical transformation, while Tierra stood there blankly.

Although he had seen it countless times in films, books, dreams, and his imagination in his previous life, when he truly stood in Diagon Alley, the magical sight still utterly captivated him.

Dazzling sunlight shone upon a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Above them hung a brass sign: Brass Cauldrons—Copper Cauldrons—Tin Cauldrons—Silver Cauldrons, All Sizes—Self-Stirring—Collapsible.

A plump woman stood outside a potion shop, shaking her head angrily. "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce. They're mad... they're absolutely mad. Merlin's Beard, those bastards at this potion shop must have been driven crazy by their own brews."

A low, gentle hooting drifted from a dim shop. The sign above its door read: Eeylops Owl Emporium—Tawny Owls, Screech Owls, Barn Owls, Brown Owls, Snowy Owls.

Several boys about Harry and Tierra's age had their noses pressed against a shop window displaying Flying Broomsticks. "Look," Harry heard one boy say, "that's the new Nimbus 2000—the fastest—"

At another corner of the street stood a shop selling robes. Its sign showed a gleaming golden pair of scissors cutting through a piece of shimmering pink cloth, upon which golden letters read—Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Some shops sold telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before.

Other windows displayed baskets filled with bat spleens and eel eyes, piles of spellbooks, quills, rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...

"Come on, boys. You'll have plenty of time to look around later. We need to hurry today; you've got quite a lot to buy." Hagrid proudly patted Harry and Tierra on the shoulders.

"But, Hagrid, I... I don't have any money." The moment Harry heard they needed to buy things, he remembered that he had no money and snapped out of the wonderful scene in embarrassment. "Uncle Vernon said he wouldn't spend a single penny on my schooling."

"Ha ha ha, Harry, you don't really think your parents left you nothing, do you?" Hagrid said with a laugh.

"But you said they didn't even have a house..."

"Wizards don't keep their money at home. We have a special bank." Hagrid cut Harry off. "That's our first stop—Gringotts. We need to withdraw the money Harry's parents left him, as well as the student loan Gringotts offers struggling students."

"A student loan?" Tierra had never expected this to involve him.

"Yes. The goblins at Gringotts may be greedy, but fortunately, they haven't completely lost their minds. They know the responsibilities they have as part of wizarding society." The moment Hagrid mentioned goblins, his tone turned sharply sarcastic. It seemed the half-giant deeply disliked those money-loving goblins at Gringotts.

"Students approved by Hogwarts can receive a student loan from Gringotts worth one hundred Galleons a year if they can't afford tuition. There's no interest, but students who accept their help must repay the loan within five years or work for them for five years."

After thinking for a moment, Hagrid added, "They also offer Muggle-born children a service for exchanging Muggle money for Galleons. I think five units of Muggle money can be exchanged for one Galleon, up to a hundred Galleons. Tierra, if you have any Muggle money, I suggest exchanging some for extra Galleons later. Madam Nancy's Licorice Wands on the Hogwarts Express are very good. You ought to buy some and try them."

Suddenly, Hagrid stopped outside a strangely designed candy shop and stared at the Dragon Sausages by the entrance like a child.

"Oh, Merlin's Beard," Hagrid said excitedly. "Wonderful! They haven't sold out of Dragon Sausages yet. Harry, Tierra, you have to try them."

Hagrid eagerly squeezed into the candy shop. When he returned, he held three sausages and a bag of pitch-black candies.

As Hagrid handed the sausages to Harry and Tierra, they seemed to see the black candies wriggling constantly inside their transparent plastic bag.

"Oh, these." Seeing that Harry seemed frightened stiff, Hagrid cheerfully explained, "They're Lemon Cockroach Clusters, Headmaster Dumbledore's favorite treat. He only eats Lemon Cockroach Clusters from this shop. Every time he comes to Diagon Alley, he asks me to bring back a bag for him. Don't be fooled by how much they look like cockroaches—they're actually made entirely from lemon juice, honey syrup, and licorice. Want some? I'm sure Headmaster Dumbledore won't mind if one or two of his snacks go missing."

Harry hurriedly shook his head.

Tierra had wanted to refuse as well, but in the end, he made the opposite choice from Harry.

"One, thank you." Tierra took the black Cockroach Cluster from between Hagrid's thick fingers, carefully peeled away the wrapper, and put the pale yellow candy, which resembled a baby cockroach, into his mouth.

Tierra could clearly feel that the Cockroach Cluster, which had been lively just moments ago, immediately quieted the instant it touched his tongue. It melted into a faintly tangy sweetness and flowed down into his stomach with his saliva.

"It's delicious." Tierra smiled.

Even though Tierra said so, Harry still had no intention of trying one. He quietly ate his Dragon Sausage while looking over Diagon Alley's dazzling array of goods as if he wished he had eight eyes.

"We're here," Hagrid said.

They arrived before a tall, snow-white building that rose above all the surrounding shops.

The building had a gleaming bronze door, beside which stood a figure dressed in a scarlet uniform trimmed with gold.

"That is..."