A Tip

117 Charing Cross Road, Westminster, London, United Kingdom.

Professor McGonagall and Damon stopped outside a small, grimy pub.

A moldy sign hung from its battered wooden door. The lettering had faded until it was almost impossible to read.

"We're here, my boy. This is The Leaky Cauldron I told you about, a place on the boundary between Muggles and wizards."

Damon whistled. The people hurrying past showed an extraordinary disregard for the pub, and his eyes lit up with interest.

They stepped inside to the soft jingle of a bell, and the quiet around Damon gave way to a lively clamor.

In the dark, dirty pub, several old women sat in a corner sipping sherry from small glasses. One smoked a long pipe, while rough, hearty laughter rang out here and there.

Damon took it all in with relish. He felt as though he had wandered into a scene at a vast amusement park, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

But when the patrons spotted Professor McGonagall, many fell quiet as mice before a cat. A good number of them had once been her students.

The pub owner recognized Professor McGonagall's distinctive green robes and greeted her respectfully:

"Hello, Professor McGonagall. Another new student?"

Professor McGonagall nodded and offered a polite reply, then led Damon past the bar into a small, walled courtyard.

Apart from a dustbin and a few weeds, there was nothing there.

"Three bricks up, then two across." Professor McGonagall drew her wand and tapped a brick in the wall three times.

The brick she had tapped shuddered violently. Bricks shifted rapidly around the center of the wall, and before long, a broad archway opened before them. Beyond it stretched a winding cobbled street with no end in sight.

"Damon, remember this place. It's your only way into Diagon Alley."

Professor McGonagall led Damon, whose eyes had widened slightly, through the archway. As soon as they entered Diagon Alley, the passage behind them became a solid wall again.

Damon glanced at the nearest shop. It appeared to sell cauldrons, and he found himself reading the notice outside.

Potage's Cauldron Shop—copper, brass, pewter, and silver cauldrons. All sizes available. Self-stirring and collapsible models.

Professor McGonagall took Damon to their first stop: Gringotts.

The snow-white building towered over the surrounding shops. Beside its gleaming bronze doors stood a figure in a scarlet-and-gold uniform.

As they entered, the goblin bowed to them.

Beyond lay a second set of doors, made of silver. Engraved on them were these words:

Enter, stranger, but beware

Of what awaits the greedy there.

Those who take but do not earn

Must face the harshest punishment in turn.

So if from vaults beneath our floor

You seek to take what is not yours,

Thief, you have been warned: take care.

Not treasure, but disaster waits you there.

Damon was ushered into a lofty marble hall. Around a hundred goblins sat on high stools behind a long counter. Some weighed coins on brass scales; others examined gems through eyepieces and scribbled entries into enormous ledgers.

The hall was spacious and splendid, its walls hung with magical decorations that shimmered gold.

At the long counter, a goblin perched on a high stool and adjusted the spectacles resting on its pointed ears as it looked at Damon.

"Good afternoon. I'd like to exchange some money for Galleons."

As a former piano prodigy, Damon had no shortage of money.

He approached the counter and studied the goblin with curiosity. Its appearance was certainly distinctive.

Damon took out a stack of twenty-pound notes and asked to exchange them for two hundred Galleons.

"Banknotes?" The goblin frowned. "We can exchange them for Galleons, but at a lower rate. At our current rate, these notes will get you exactly two hundred Galleons."

"That's fine."

Damon nodded without a care, but the goblin's attitude did not improve in the slightest. It wore its disdain openly, muttering about banknotes, gold, and gemstones.

Damon knew goblins loved jewelry and gold. He would have received a much better rate for those, but he was still a child in this body. Exchanging them would be neither suitable nor necessary.

So I'll get a little less. What does it matter?

He watched the goblin's almost comically predictable greed with a smile, unconcerned by his loss.

Given the peculiar currency system of Harry Potter's world, two hundred Galleons would cover his everyday needs for several years.

Beside him, Professor McGonagall parted her lips, seemingly about to speak up for her student. But Damon had already taken one of the two hundred Galleons and flicked it across the counter with his thumb.

"That's a tip for you."

"Oh!" The goblin snatched up the Galleon, and a warm smile spread across its face. "I don't like your flippant manner, but I do appreciate that gesture."

"You're a generous young wizard. If you need anything, come to me anytime."

"You're welcome. Consider it a reward." Damon winked at it. "For our first meeting."

As for the goblin's promise, he was not foolish enough to believe it.

Professor McGonagall stared, taken aback. The gesture struck her as rather casual. After a moment's hesitation, she asked:

"A tip? Is that what Muggles call some sort of custom?"

"Yes, Professor. A tip is usually a way of thanking someone for their service or performance. It's a common courtesy in the Muggle world."

"A courtesy? It seems Muggle customs really are different from the rules of our Magical World."

Professor McGonagall's voice settled back into its usual calm. She decided not to pursue the subject, though she could not help giving Damon another look.

The wizarding world had always harbored strong prejudice and resistance toward Muggle society. Most wizards considered it beneath them to learn about or engage with it, and even scholars devoted to Muggle Studies knew only so much.

Yet according to those scholars, as Muggle civilization continued to advance, perhaps one day wizards and Muggles would live beneath the same sky.

Damon had been born to Muggles and possessed an extraordinary gift for magic. Could he someday become a bridge between the two worlds?

No. It's far too early to think about that.

Professor McGonagall shook her head, tucked the fleeting "absurd thought" away, and continued:

"Come along. To keep things light, I'll take you to buy your uniform and an owl first. Then we'll get your school supplies."

Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions

As soon as Damon entered, a soft, delicate fragrance filled his nose, and he relaxed without thinking.

He was greeted by a short, plump witch in purple robes—Madam Malkin.

"Hogwarts School uniform, dear?"

When Damon nodded, her smile grew warmer. She had him stand on a footstool, slipped a robe over him, and pinned it to fit his height as she praised him:

"What a handsome young wizard. I do like those sapphire-blue eyes of yours."

"You're taller than most young wizards, just like that other boy. But he doesn't have eyes as lovely as yours."

"Thank you."

While she worked, Madam Malkin brought over a row of elegant robes and recommended one:

"You really should try this set. The deep blue and gold embroidery would suit you perfectly. Wear it to a ball, and you'd be the center of attention!"

"Thank you. Just wrap it up for me."

"Oh, what a decisive young wizard! I'd better be quick myself, then."

Madam Malkin worked even faster. Before long, she announced:

"All done, dear."

Damon nodded, collected his school uniform and the ornate deep-blue robe, and left the shop.

He then went to Eeylops Owl Emporium and bought an owl as a pet. It was a pure-white snowy owl, the same kind Harry Potter had, but even whiter than his, without a single fleck of another color. Damon named it Chachabarton.

With those two purchases made, all that remained were his wand and school supplies.

Required supplies:

Uniform

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat for day wear (black)

One pair of protective gloves (Dragon Hide or similar material)

One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note: all student clothing must carry name tags.

Textbooks

All students should have the following books:

"Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)" by Miranda Goshawk

"A History of Magic" by Bathilda Bagshot

"Magical Theory" by Adalbert Waffling

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