After arriving in the alley behind the pub.
All he saw were walls steeped in age.
Looking down, he saw trash bins piled high with clutter.
Before a relatively clean, empty stretch of wall.
Iris stopped.
"Miss Dumbledore? Which way do we go next?"
Having been reborn for several years, Cypher's memories had become somewhat unclear. He only remembered that this place led to Diagon Alley.
But as for how to get there, the only exit here was the door they had come through.
Seeing that Iris had not moved for a long time, Cypher spoke up to ask.
However, the pensive Iris did not respond.
It was not until Cypher raised his voice and called her again.
"Ah!"
Iris seemed to suddenly realize that Cypher had been calling her.
Faced with Cypher's concerned gaze.
She stuck out her tongue and answered.
"Sorry, sorry. I was thinking about which brick it was."
"Old Tom moved the trash bins here, so I can't remember clearly."
Cypher looked at the trash bins by his feet and saw that they had indeed been moved recently.
After thinking for a moment, Cypher made a suggestion.
"Does this mechanism have a limit on failed attempts?"
Seeing that Iris did not quite understand, he added.
"I mean, it's fine if we try them one by one, right?"
Iris's eyes suddenly widened.
"I think... that could work!"
With that, she turned around and pulled out her wand.
She used its tip to point here and there at the wall.
At last, an inconspicuous brick resonated with Iris's wand and gave off a faint milky-white glow.
"Ahem. Next, you'll witness the wonderful Magical World. Don't blink!"
Iris spoke in a deliberately solemn tone.
But the delight in her crescent-shaped eyes could not be hidden.
"I just found the final brick."
Once she had fooled Cypher enough, Iris continued her demonstration.
"Start here, count three bricks up, then two bricks inward, and tap three times. Remember, you need to channel magic into your wand throughout the whole process."
After the silver-haired girl finished and raised her wand.
The wall visibly trembled as it began to change.
The girl turned half a circle to the side, her hair dancing like silk.
Finally, Iris came to a graceful stop.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley!"
Camille's crisp welcome was quickly drowned out by the rumbling scrape of countless stones.
The wall shuddered like a living thing, bricks shifting in and out without end.
It was probably the start-of-term season, yet not a speck of dust fell.
Before long, the sound stopped.
The writhing wall transformed into a broad archway, revealing a winding cobblestone road beyond it that stretched beyond sight.
"Wait, Miss Dumbledore."
Once again slow to react, Iris seemed a little unhappy and interrupted Cypher before he could continue.
"Cypher! We'll be classmates at Hogwarts soon. I call you Cypher, and you call me Iris. Calling me Miss Dumbledore all the time makes us seem too distant!"
"Uh, all right! Iris!"
He hesitated, but when Iris glared at him, Cypher promptly changed how he addressed her.
"Go on, what is it?"
Iris readied herself to answer. She had expected Cypher to ask how it worked.
Then she could properly explain Transfiguration, magical runes, alchemy, and so on.
And keep Cypher in suspense for a while.
However, the moment Cypher opened his mouth, Iris regretted letting him call her Iris.
"You brought the allowance for my school supplies, textbooks, and wand, right?"
The place fell silent enough to hear a pin drop...
"I brought it~ I brought it! When this young lady handles something, you can rest assured!"
Iris's outburst after her silence caught Cypher off guard, and he hurriedly apologized and tried to placate her.
"Hmph!"
In the end, Iris gave a light snort, showing that she had forgiven Cypher.
"Then let's go buy things in Diagon Alley, Cypher."
Hey, hey, holding a grudge like that wasn't appropriate, was it?
As he looked at the strange wares on display nearby on both sides and the bustling crowds.
The noise filled his ears.
Cypher stood there in a daze for quite a while.
Iris reached out, originally intending to mock Cypher for having his attention captured by something so minor.
But then she caught sight of Cypher's eyes from the side.
And instinctively stopped what she was doing.
She did not tease Cypher after all.
After waiting a moment, Iris saw movement return to Cypher's gaze.
Only then did she poke his arm with a slender finger.
"Don't just stand there! We still have lots of things to buy!"
With that, she walked ahead without looking back.
Looking at the silver silk bouncing before him, Cypher found that his anxiety about the unknown world and the pressure of the dark future had mostly faded away.
Adjusting his mindset, Cypher smiled more happily than he had at any time since being born into this world, filled with anticipation for the wonderful experiences ahead.
Heavens, you actually dared to let me come into contact with supernatural power!
Along the stone-paved street, Iris swayed along in front as she led the way.
As for Cypher, though he had lived two lives, his attention was still captured by the dazzling array of magical goods.
Several times, Iris had to stop and wait after walking too far ahead.
At last, Iris could not stand it any longer.
She reached out, grabbed Cypher's hand, and forcefully pulled him forward.
Although Cypher often held his younger sister's hand at the orphanage, being pulled along by Iris gave him an electric sensation.
Unfortunately, there were enough things around him to distract Cypher, leaving him no chance to savor the feeling.
Subconsciously allowing Iris to pull him along.
Cypher's eyes kept sweeping across both sides of the street.
Unlike the hurried pace of the outside Muggle world, the wizarding world still centered on leisure and amusement.
The shop windows and counters displayed all sorts of distinctly magical creations, such as moving wizard chess pieces and miniature Fire Dragons. Cypher was even lucky enough to see a little Fire Dragon spit a fist-sized fireball at him.
There were also stalls selling all kinds of strange materials, such as baskets of multicolored feathers, eyeballs with all kinds of irises, and odd leather goods flowing with brilliant fluorescent light.
Many shop signs also had uniquely shaped wind chimes hanging from them.
As the breeze passed through them, the wind chimes sang melodious ballads in an unknown language.
Even if Iris wasn't Dumbledore's adopted daughter, she probably didn't come from a poor background.
Cypher thought,
These tunes sound pleasant, but they're difficult to produce. Yet Iris can hum them so easily.
Cypher began to doubt again because Iris seemed insensitive to the name Dumbledore.
But Iris really was her name.
It was obvious that although Iris was dragging Cypher along like useless baggage, she was enjoying this walk very much.
After an unknown amount of time, Cypher's vision was once more filled by a wall, and his forward steps were blocked by a soft body.
Iris, whose fair cheeks were tinged with red, saw the lingering look on Cypher's face.
Apparently, he had not noticed that they had reached the end of Diagon Alley.
The words of reproach Iris had been about to say died in her throat.
"Cypher, what do you want to buy first?"
Never try to guess a girl's mind. Sometimes, she would deliberately provoke you in hopes of drawing your attention, while other times, she would suddenly greet you with a smile.
Having satisfied her own desire to stroll around, Iris smiled and asked Cypher what he planned to do next.
"Of course, buy a wand!"
Cypher answered without hesitation.
Though this was Diagon Alley's main street, the wand shop was clearly not here.
Otherwise, given how Cypher had taken in everything on both sides of the street, he would have stopped in front of the wand shop long ago.
Iris was not surprised by his answer.
After winding through several turns, Iris successfully led Cypher to their destination.
Before you continue