Something's a Little Off

Chapter 5: Something's Not Quite Right

The Leaky Cauldron on London's Charing Cross Road wasn't exactly a pleasant place. If the entrance to Diagon Alley wasn't located there, Charles felt he would never set foot in it his entire life.

The letter said to meet here at eleven. The old man and the young man arrived half an hour early, pretending not to see the pub, and chatted idly.

Jack asked Charles, "Do you want a pet?"

Charles replied, "An Imp."

Old Jack fell silent for a moment, then pulled him along and said, "Come on, we'll go to Azkaban. I'll book you a suite, and I'll have a Dementor prepare a sheep for you."

Charles's face immediately darkened, because the old man had found him in Wales.

"Ah! Charles!"

Just then, a few people walked over. The gap-toothed girl was the one greeting Charles. Behind her followed the Granger parents and Professor McGonagall.

Hermione rushed over and said happily to Charles, "I didn't expect you to be a witch too... and you're going to the same middle school as me!"

She remembered that day when Dumbledore spoke the name Charles Smith, and she and her parents were stunned.

Charles feigned surprise and said with a smile, "I didn't expect to be waiting for you either. We'll be classmates again."

At this point, he heard the old man speaking earnestly, "Hello, beautiful lady. I am Charles's grandfather, Jack Smith. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

Charles looked up, surprised to see the old man greeting Professor McGonagall like a gentleman from the last century. He hadn't been this enthusiastic when schmoozing with the Muggles before.

What in the world is going on?

Professor McGonagall seemed a bit flustered. Charles gently kicked the old man and then asked her, "Hello, excuse me, are you a professor at Hogwarts?"

With his interruption, Professor McGonagall calmly introduced herself, "Hello, Mr. Smith. Charles, I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as Head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration Professor."

"Oh, Transfiguration?" Jack feigned great surprise. "Is that turning one thing into another? If Charles misbehaves, you can turn him into a sheep and make him eat grass for every meal."

He thought he was being humorous, but it terrified the Granger parents, who were afraid they were sending off their daughter and bringing home a white sheep.

Professor McGonagall replied sternly, "Hogwarts no longer uses Transfiguration as a means of punishing students."

"Really?" Jack sounded disappointed. "What a shame."

Charles rolled his eyes listening from the side.

Now that everyone had met, Professor McGonagall led them towards The Leaky Cauldron. On the way, Jack and Mr. Granger arranged to take Charles to the dentist the next day.

The Leaky Cauldron was dark and dirty. Its decor and the guests' attire were so ancient that first-time visitors felt as if they had traveled back to the Middle Ages.

A pale-faced man sat at a table, his head wrapped in thick bandages, nervously nodding a greeting to Professor McGonagall.

The Granger family merely glanced at him dismissively. Charles and Jack stared a little longer, a smile of unknown meaning appearing on their faces.

The group passed through The Leaky Cauldron. Professor McGonagall tapped a brick on the wall three times with her wand. As the bricks moved on their own, a street appeared before them.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Professor McGonagall said to them.

Perhaps it was because the Smith family was accompanying them, but although the Granger family was a little nervous, they also appeared relatively composed, whispering about the cauldrons, owls, and flying brooms sold in the shops.

Charles looked around curiously, occasionally saying a few words to Hermione.

Jack walked alongside Professor McGonagall, asking her any questions he had.

"No, you can't!" Professor McGonagall shook her head, answering one of Jack's questions. "First-year students are not allowed to bring their own flying brooms to school."

Jack said emotionally, "Charles's birthday is in a few days. I'll never forget the night I picked him up from a trash can by the roadside. He was so small then, his breathing was almost nonexistent."

"This child barely survived. He hasn't left my side all these years. I treat him like my own grandson. Now that he's leaving me, I want to give him a gift."

"He's loved airplanes since he was little and wants to be a pilot when he grows up. I think he'll definitely like that flying broom."

"I have no intention of challenging school rules. How about you keep this broom for me during the year? You can give it to him when he's old enough to ride it."

Charles, listening from behind, felt a headache coming on.

Professor McGonagall thought for a moment after hearing him say this and replied, "Alright, this broom will be kept by the Head of his House during his first year."

At this point, they arrived in front of a snow-white building. Professor McGonagall said, "We've arrived at Gringotts."

Everyone couldn't help but look a few extra times at the goblin in a red and gold uniform standing by the bronze doors, and they started discussing it in low voices. Only Jack seemed to ignore it.

Professor McGonagall asked him strangely, "Have you seen goblins before?"

Jack replied, "After meeting you, I wouldn't be surprised even if I saw a fire-breathing dragon."

Professor McGonagall paused for a moment and said calmly, "I'm sorry."

After speaking, she went over and led the Granger family through the bronze doors.

Charles whispered to Jack, who was lagging behind, "Have some self-respect."

As a result, he was glared at by the old man.

With Professor McGonagall's help, the two families quickly exchanged Pounds for Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.

The old man directly pulled out several stacks of Pounds from his vest and put them on the table. As a result, Charles got quite tired carrying the gold coins.

After exchanging money, the first thing they naturally did was buy a wand.

Jack was determined to continue his act of being a Muggle, so he didn't bring his own wand. It didn't matter to him whether he had a wand or not.

Everyone walked into Ollivanders Wand Shop, and Ollivander immediately came out from behind the counter to greet customers.

Here, the two newcomers were choosing wands, while Jack was asking Professor McGonagall about various wand knowledge, looking like a diligent and inquisitive student.

This time, even the Granger parents noticed the situation and consciously moved aside.

Jack asked so earnestly that he had to end the topic only when Charles came over and told him that the wand had been bought.

"It's bought?" Jack was stunned. "What kind is it?"

Charles helplessly held up his new wand for him to see. He had just called out to him.

This wand's shaft was made of yew wood, with a phoenix feather core, and it was a little over 18 inches long, which translates to 460 millimeters.

Ollivander came over to explain Charles's wand to Jack. He always did this when students from Muggle families bought wands. "Your grandson's wand is the longest wand in over a hundred years. The last person to hold a wand of similar length... I dare not say his name, but he was a very powerful person. Yew wood wands are very rare, and few wizards use them. Their ideal owners are unusual, and it will grant the wielder the power to control life and death. The core of this wand is a phoenix feather. Phoenixes are very proud and do not easily submit to others. The origin of this wand's feather is extraordinary. It's not from Dumbledore's phoenix. It's said that a hundred years ago, a great figure asked my ancestor to make a wand with a phoenix feather core, the other wand with a particularly long length that was just mentioned. This feather was the payment."

"The owner chooses the wand, and the wand also chooses the owner. Their qualities are compatible. Your grandson will become a great wizard in the future!"

Jack's face broke into a brilliant smile upon hearing this. He even gave a few extra Galleons when paying.