A Shopping Trip

Madam Malkin froze.

In her decades of running the shop, she had served countless witches and wizards from families like the Blacks, Malfoys, and Weasleys, but never had a first-year student walked in and made such a "tactical" request. Nor had she ever seen a young wizard carrying a weapon into Diagon Alley.

She couldn't help sizing up the young wizard, who looked refined and gentle, his features handsome and delicate. "How interesting! In all these years, you're the first new student to ask for something like this. Are you planning to start a Duelling Club at school, young sir? Or have you already foreseen that you'll be chased by a Troll?"

"It's just a precaution," Yulian replied seriously, his gaze clear and resolute. "My father always says, 'Elegance never goes out of style, but it comes from being prepared, not from good luck.'"

Altair, standing beside him, immediately straightened up, his face brimming with pride that said, That's my boy. Even though he didn't seem to have ever said anything like that.

He cleared his throat, stepped forward, and patted Yulian on the shoulder before turning to Madam Malkin with a hearty air.

"Madam, I think Yulian's idea is a good one! When I'm doing business, I like to dress smartly too. A suit should be fitted, the cuffs should roll up, and the pockets should be deep enough for business cards, contracts, and a spare fountain pen! Madam Malkin, make them for him! Money—Galleons, I mean—is no problem!"

Madam Malkin was amused by the father and son. A craftswoman's professional gleam lit up her eyes. "In that case, I'll make an exception. But nothing too outrageous, since Professor McGonagall will still have to approve."

She turned toward the back room, muttering to herself. "Excellent, a big commission. I remember we still have a few bolts of specially treated 'swiftcloth' in the storeroom, light and hard-wearing... And a protective 'mica-silk' lining..."

After all, with magic to help, many everyday tasks went quickly.

Half an hour later, Yulian had not only received three standard robes, black enough to swallow the light, and a winter cloak, but also two extra "tactical" school uniforms, designed by Madam Malkin herself and blending Muggle tailoring with magical fabrics.

The new outfit's trouser legs tapered slightly, and the cuffs had hidden elastic straps sewn inside. The cloak lining was indeed made of protective material. It felt cool to the touch, like morning dew.

Best of all, three hidden pockets had been sewn into the inside of the robes. One of them had even been enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm, so it could hold a great many things!

"Are you satisfied?" Madam Malkin asked proudly.

"Very satisfied!" Yulian thanked her sincerely. "You're a true high-fashion master of the Wizarding World!"

"If your classmates like your clothes, you can send them here to have some made too."

Just then, Clara came over wearing a colorful wizarding robe, accompanied by Professor McGonagall. The payment had been settled, and Clara was so pleased with her new clothes that she kept them on.

Madam Malkin cheerfully walked them all to the door herself. Then she smiled at Professor McGonagall. "Oh, Minerva, your robes will be ready for pickup next week. And take these gloves for now—they're a little extra, on the house."

Their next stop was Flourish and Blotts.

As they pushed open the heavy revolving wooden door, a strong smell of ink and parchment washed over them.

The shop was bustling with people and books. Row upon row of towering bookshelves were packed with volumes. Some books squirmed restlessly, and a few were even arguing and advertising themselves.

"Potent Potions, half price!"

"Don't listen to it! Advanced Potion-Making is the way to go!"

"You're all wrong! A true Potions Master only reads One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi!"

A young shop assistant spotted Professor McGonagall and hurried over through the crowd. "Hello, Professor McGonagall. Bringing another new student to buy textbooks?"

"Hello, Maxime." Professor McGonagall smiled and nodded. "How's the job here going? Have you settled in since graduating?"

"Very well, and I still have you to thank for recommending me. Come along, junior. Follow me. The first-year textbooks are over here."

Yulian felt right at home in the bookshop. He quickly found the first-year textbook list and began shopping with precision.

As he picked out his textbooks, he also kept browsing for books that caught his interest, such as Practical Household Magic and A Compendium of Battle.

Of course, he ruled out Hogwarts, A History, since Hermione would definitely buy that.

His parents, both Muggles, were completely lost in this ocean of magical knowledge too.

Altair picked up a copy of Advanced Potion-Making and leafed through it with great interest, muttering, "Huh, this recipe looks a bit like the fermentation process we use for brewing... 'Add moonstone powder to the cauldron and stir clockwise seven times'... Well, isn't that just controlling the yeast activity?"

Clara, meanwhile, was captivated by a singing fairy-tale book. The little fairy inside was singing "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" in a high soprano. She watched, entranced, and nearly forgot she was there to accompany her son while he bought books.

Professor McGonagall didn't rush them. Instead, she nodded slightly. A family that loved reading would surely have a child who loved learning. She hoped Yulian would come to Gryffindor.

Besides the textbooks, they also visited a shop that specialized in cauldrons. With Professor McGonagall's guidance, Yulian soon picked out a standard-sized pewter cauldron and its accessories.

But when he saw a cauldron in the corner, engraved with ancient runes and said to regulate its own heat, his eyes lit up again. It was an Ancient Egyptian Mithril Cauldron.

But when he asked the price, even Altair couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. After hesitating for a long while, Yulian was dissuaded by Professor McGonagall, who said a fine cauldron would be wasted on a young wizard like him.

In the end, Yulian contentedly carried off the ordinary cauldron, already planning to modify it himself once he had learned alchemy.

A wand was always the most important thing. It was a must-buy.

For one thing, he could keep using his illegal French willow wand as a spare. Besides, buying a wand was a rite of passage for every young wizard, and a highly meaningful one at that. Yulian didn't want to miss out.

Ollivander's Wand Shop was relatively quiet, nothing like the bustling shops elsewhere in Diagon Alley. It was as if time had dozed off there and forgotten to sweep up the dust.

Yulian entered the famous wand shop alone. Professor McGonagall had said it was best for a young wizard to handle this task on his own, so she took Yulian's parents to sit down in a dessert shop on the corner.

Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley was said to have opened around the seventeenth century, but the sign above the door read, "Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." That was the "Classical Period," when the Greek city-states vied for supremacy and Sparta and Thebes clashed fiercely for dominance.

Yulian's imagination ran wild. Could it be that the reason the three hundred Spartans had been able to resist the hundred thousand-strong Persian army was that wizards had helped them?