The Leaky Cauldron: The Starting Point of a Magical Journey

Conscience...

It must exist within Wisen Wright.

Just like the birthday cake Old Barty Crouch bought, even Barty Crouch Jr. and the house-elf Winky, imprisoned in the underground fortress, received a slice.

Moreover, Wisen Wright personally delivered it.

It's just that Barty Crouch Jr. spent over a month in the underground fortress, painfully expressing his desire to return to the surface, even if it meant being subjected to the Killing Curse, at least that way he wouldn't feel the despair of solitary confinement every single day.

There was absolutely no one to talk to here.

In the underground fortress, the only one he could communicate with was the diligent house-elf Winky. It was worse than when he was in Azkaban, where there was at least a group of prisoners yelling at each other.

Barty Crouch Jr. had never hated his own lucidity so much!

"Let me out of here!"

Barty Crouch Jr. desperately clutched the iron door of the underground fortress, his face contorted in rage as he shouted, "I don't even care if... you use the Killing Curse on me... just let me out of here!"

"I'm sorry, this was your choice."

Wisen Wright politely refused him.

As expected, it was exactly as Wisen had predicted.

Most of the Death Eaters loyal to Voldemort were troublemakers; none of them could endure this kind of psychological loneliness!

Wisen Wright hadn't completely refused to offer help. He kindly reminded Barty Crouch Jr., "However, before you entered this underground fortress, I anticipated you might have these psychological issues. I recommend again that you read the self-help books on the bookshelf..."

"..."

This little guy is truly a devil!

Barty Crouch Jr. stared at Wisen Wright with utter fury. This little scoundrel had known all along that he would go stir-crazy in the underground fortress, yet he had still lured him into choosing to live there!

"You despicable little scoundrel..."

"Speak properly, no name-calling."

Wisen Wright's brow furrowed slightly. He forcefully pried Barty Crouch Jr.'s hands off the iron door, pushed him back into the underground fortress, and said softly, "You need to learn to be more optimistic. At least here, you can break any bad habits you've developed..."

With that, Wisen Wright ignored the even more enraged Barty Crouch Jr. and called over the house-elf Winky, earnestly instructing her, "Don't talk to Mr. Barty Crouch Jr. anymore. Just make sure he doesn't die in here..."

"But..."

The kind house-elf hesitated slightly.

"No buts."

Wisen Wright shook his head and whispered with a smile, "If you talk too much with him, you'll be wasting Mr. Barty Crouch's painstaking efforts for his son. You wouldn't want to see father and son become like enemies, would you?"

"...Yes, Lord Wright."

The kind house-elf finally nodded.

Wisen Wright glanced at the lavish lunch on the table in the underground fortress and continued softly, "You don't need to prepare such lavish lunches for him anymore. This is a spiritual asceticism we've prepared for him. A life of asceticism should naturally be a bit harder. A cup of water and a piece of bread each day should be enough..."

"Yes."

The kind house-elf understood the meaning of asceticism.

"You little devil..."

Although the grey-haired youth's voice still sounded very young as he said these words, it didn't stop Barty Crouch Jr., who was witnessing all this, from believing that these were the whispers of a demon!

This little bastard!

How could he say such things!

Why was he interfering with his life in the underground fortress? A piece of bread and a cup of water every day—even life in Azkaban wasn't this bad!

"Alright, only those who work diligently will be rewarded."

Wisen Wright ignored Barty Crouch Jr., subtly praised Winky, and then, under Barty Crouch Jr.'s furious and despairing gaze, slowly closed the door to the underground fortress.

"Stop!"

"You little devil!"

"You rotten little brat!"

"You little imp, you'll die a horrible death!"

"I'll cast the Crucio on you ten thousand times!"

Barty Crouch Jr. furiously pounded on the iron door of the underground fortress, heedless of the redness and swelling of his fists, hoping his curses would penetrate the iron.

Unfortunately...

Wisen Wright could no longer hear them.

However, this didn't stop Wisen Wright from guessing that Barty Crouch Jr. was definitely cursing, because Barty Crouch Jr.'s moral character was not high.

Wisen reached out and fiddled with his grey hair, shaking his head and clicking his tongue as he turned to leave, "Moral education needs improvement. I hope his attitude will be friendlier the next time we meet..."

Compared to his father, Barty Crouch Jr. still had a long way to go.

As a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, Old Barty had always maintained a serious and diligent attitude. No matter what predicament he found himself in, he would strive to remain calm and consider things very carefully.

This was precisely what Vincent Wright admired about old Barty Crouch.

Now that Vincent Wright had received his Hogwarts acceptance letter, old Barty Crouch naturally had to take him to the wizarding world's most bustling marketplace—

the legendary Diagon Alley.

Only there could one purchase all the items on the new student's supply list.

There were generally two ways to get to Diagon Alley. The first was through The Leaky Cauldron in downtown London, which contained a mechanism for entering Diagon Alley.

The second way was through the fireplaces of the Floo Network; one simply needed to grab a handful of Floo Powder and toss it into the fireplace to arrive directly.

Naturally.

Vincent Wright chose the more reliable method.

Vincent Wright explained to old Barty that he wanted to see the magical place that was The Leaky Cauldron, the starting point of ordinary people's journey into magic.

Besides that.

The Leaky Cauldron also had a relatively simple exploration quest.

[Exploration Quest: Enter Diagon Alley from behind The Leaky Cauldron (0/1), Reward: Spell to unlock, Not Completed]

Regarding entering Diagon Alley through The Leaky Cauldron, old Barty Crouch himself felt it made no difference, as all wizards held no ill will towards The Leaky Cauldron.

In fact.

Every young wizard's true entry point into the magical world was being led by their family through The Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley.

Moreover, The Leaky Cauldron had a history of nearly five hundred years, accompanying the growth of all wizards to this day, giving its existence a different kind of significance.

In the past, when The Leaky Cauldron had not yet used the Muggle Repelling Charm, it was nearly demolished by Muggles who wanted to build a road. As a result, all the wizards united and cast Obliviate on the Muggle designers to alter the road plans, thus allowing The Leaky Cauldron to survive to this day.

Downtown London.

Between a Muggle bookstore and a record shop, there was a small, old wooden door. Passersby, due to the Muggle Repelling Charm, were oblivious to the existence of this small wooden door.

These passersby would never know that if they accidentally stepped through this wooden door, they could access the magical world.

Seeking recommendation tickets, seeking collections! The contract should be signed next Monday.