Diagon Alley Sightings

"Don't rush, Kero—the timing just isn't right yet. There'll be a chance sooner or later."

Adam took missing the chance to condense The Love in stride. He already had a rough idea of what that feeling was like, and besides, even if he condensed The Love now, he still wouldn't qualify to use The Nothing.

"Then let's try..."

"Adam, aren't you asleep yet?"

Madam Li's voice sounded from outside the door.

Luckily, Madam Li always respected the children's privacy and didn't just push the door open...

Well, actually, would it matter if she did? It wasn't like Adam planned to hide things from his family—he just hadn't figured out how to explain yet.

"Oh, Mom, I'm going to sleep now."

Adam glanced at the time. It really was about time to sleep. He could try out the Clow Cards later, after getting back from Diagon Alley.

He'd been so curious about magic at first—why was his heart so calm now? Was it too much surprise?

Lying in bed, Adam thought about what to buy in Diagon Alley tomorrow, how to use the Clow Cards he'd just gotten, about Kero and Suppi...

"Ha~"

"Sigh~"

Whether it was an illusion or not, just before drifting off, Adam seemed to hear a woman's slightly teasing laugh and a man's helpless sigh.

The next morning, Adam had already forgotten the hallucination from the night before. He woke up at his usual biological clock and went downstairs.

"Good morning, dear~"

"Good morning, Grandfather~ Good morning, Grandmother~"

Sitting down at the table, Adam greeted the other family members.

"Just eat a little something—there should be plenty of good food in Diagon Alley."

As Emma set bacon, fried eggs, and mashed potatoes in front of Adam, Old Reed said.

"...Since Diagon Alley is a gathering place for British wizards, I'm not holding out much hope."

Adam picked up the runny-yolked fried egg with his chopsticks and said darkly.

The fact that Adam's father was British but ran a French restaurant that was doing quite well already said enough.

To put it in Madam Li's words: The food those British people invented lets you truly taste the resentment of the ingredients as they died with their eyes wide open.

"Wizards aren't the same as Muggles—Diagon Alley has lots of good food! Like... uh... like..."

Old Reed opened his mouth to argue, but all that came to mind were snacks like Fizzing Whizbees and licorice wands. His memory of actual meals was a blank.

In the kitchen, Emma silently added a small pat of butter and a few slices of toast to the pan.

After eating his fill, full of anticipation, Adam followed Old Reed and Emma through the Leaky Cauldron into Diagon Alley.

Using his wand to open the path to Diagon Alley, Old Reed said with a smile:

"Welcome to the world of magic, child."

Actually, I already experienced the world of magic last night... but that's not the point.

The point is, neither the novels nor the movies ever mentioned that this trash can was actually in use!

Adam, who had a bit of a cleanliness streak, looked a little sour, but still cooperated and put on a delighted smile.

Once he truly entered Diagon Alley, Adam's mood went up and down.

At first, he was genuinely delighted by the magical sights appearing here and there. But maybe his expectations were too high. As he got used to it, disappointment set in at the overwhelming shabbiness.

The real Diagon Alley wasn't as polished as Universal Studios or the movies made it look. The not-so-wide streets were crowded with wizards coming and going, making it feel cramped. Everywhere you looked, there were stains and trash in corners that hadn't been cleaned in years...

"Except for a few shops that clearly put effort into their storefronts, and the luxurious Gringotts, most places look like they're stuck in the last century. I'm half expecting a bucket of sewage to get dumped from above at any moment."

Back home, Adam complained to Mr. Reed and Madam Li like this.

"...Do they bathe?"

Madam Li swallowed the speech she'd prepared and asked a rather pointed question instead.

Adam's expression made the question even more awkward.

"Does that person not bathe?"

After another source of stench passed by, Adam tugged at Old Reed's sleeve and whispered a similar rhetorical question.

"Well... you have to understand, some older wizards are traditional. They think bathing affects their magic... but most people do keep clean."

Old Reed, who had been excitedly introducing things to his grandson, noticed that Adam didn't seem as thrilled as expected, so he hurried him along:

"First, we're definitely getting you a wand—that's your real first step into the magical world!"

At that, Adam's heartbeat quickened a little—he already had the Wand of Darkness. Would that affect the wand selection?

"Oh, welcome—"

Since it was still the back-to-school season, Ollivander was dutifully waiting behind the counter. He looked up and saw Adam with Old Reed behind him—Emma had gone to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Ollivander's Wand Shop was too small, packed with thousands of wand boxes, barely room for that many people.

"Twelve inches, dogwood, unicorn tail hair."

Ollivander seemed to possess the supernatural ability to remember every wand he had ever crafted. He looked at Old Reed with a sigh of emotion:

"Mr. Reed, how long has it been since we last met?"

"Nearly fifty years since our last meeting, Mr. Ollivander."

Old Reed was also a bit moved, then patted Adam on the shoulder:

"Help my grandson find a wand that suits him. The wands you make are always the best."

"I wouldn't dare claim they're the best, but I guarantee they will be the most suitable."

A confident smile spread across Ollivander's face as he looked at Adam:

"So, Young Mr. Reed, which hand is your dominant one?"

"The right, sir."

Adam hesitated, unsure which wand would end up in his dominant hand, so he asked as Ollivander brought out his measuring tape:

"Can I use a wand with my other hand?"

"Oh, both your hands are dominant? Very well."

Ollivander nodded and continued measuring Adam's dimensions with his tape.

The length of his fingers, the width of his palm, the length of his arms... even the diameter of his nostrils and the circumference of his head. After a series of seemingly meaningless measurements, Ollivander handed Adam a wand to try.

Adam gave it a casual flick, and a sudden gale nearly blew the roof off.

"No! Not this one!"

Ollivander snatched the wand back, drew his own, and waved it to restore the shop's contents, then hurriedly produced another wand:

"Try this one!"

Adam swung the wand with a smaller motion this time, but the commotion it caused was no smaller—a violent explosion sent wand boxes flying in all directions!

"Shield Charm!"

A towering stack of wand boxes toppled, clattering down toward them. Thanks to Old Reed's Shield Charm, the three of them narrowly escaped disaster.

Adam glanced around, relieved that the explosion seemed to be all noise—not a single wand was broken, and even the boxes were intact. Otherwise, he might have had to pay for damages.

"Ah, such immense power, beyond my expectations. Let me think..."

Ollivander retrieved the wand again and began rummaging directly through the fallen pile of boxes—

"Try this one!"

"Boom—"

"No! Try this one!"

"Crackle—"

"Still not right!"

Ollivander snatched the wand back once more, ran a hand through his not-particularly-thick hair, and plunged headfirst into the heap of wand boxes.