Diagon Alley

Professor McGonagall picked up her teacup and took a sip of black tea.

"Do either of you have any questions about magic and wizards?"

Lucien and his aunt looked at each other, then shook their heads one after the other.

Both of them had accepted the existence of magic without hesitation.

As a transmigrator, Lucien naturally needed no explanation; he had known from the moment he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter.

As for Penelope, after seeing Professor McGonagall turn from a cat into a human, the abnormalities in Lucien's room, and Professor McGonagall's method of restoring everything, she was convinced magic existed.

While his aunt and Professor McGonagall chatted, Lucien checked his current panel:

[White Magic: S]

[Dark Magic: SS+]

[Defense: S+]

[Transfiguration: SSS]

[Potions: A]

[Alchemy: A+]

[Magic Power: SS] (To be unlocked)

Lucien's gaze moved to the bottom, looking at the "To be unlocked" on the Magic Power line, and his consciousness began communicating with the system:

"Why is only my magic power talent still locked?"

[With the host's current physical strength, it is insufficient to support the growth of such magic power. Please first find a compatible item and use it to guide and release the magic power.]

A compatible item? Release magic power?

If he had to look for it in this magical world...

Lucien suddenly thought of something.

It was something every wizard came into contact with, something that was sure to be the most compatible with oneself, and something that could guide magic power.

"System, a wand—the wands in this world—do they meet the conditions?"

[The wand must be highly compatible with the host, and the strength of the wand's materials must also be taken into account.]

Hearing the system's answer, Lucien relaxed slightly.

There was a wand shop in Diagon Alley called Ollivanders. Who knew how many wands were stored inside? Surely he could find one that suited him?

"Professor McGonagall, may I ask when we'll be going to buy the magical items I need?"

"Also, I'm very interested in the Transfiguration you mentioned earlier. Would it be possible for me to study the relevant knowledge in advance?"

Lucien asked sincerely.

He knew that the elderly Professor McGonagall—catgirl edition—standing before him was a master in the field of Transfiguration, and that she was responsible for teaching Transfiguration at Hogwarts. She was exactly the best person to ask about Transfiguration.

Lucien had to perfectly master Transfiguration within a year in order to repay the "Loki's Faceless" loan.

But right now, he did not even know the basic concepts of Transfiguration, so he had to make the most of every moment.

Hearing Lucien's question, a smile appeared at the corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth.

It had not been in vain that she had just emphasized how marvelous and special Transfiguration was. Sure enough, the child had become interested.

And he even asked to study it in advance. What a child who loved learning.

Setting down her teacup, Professor McGonagall said unhurriedly:

"I'm very glad you're interested in Transfiguration. As it happens, the course I teach at Hogwarts is Transfiguration."

"We'll go to Diagon Alley now to purchase your things. You'll also be able to buy everything you need there."

The three of them stood up at the same time.

Penelope gave an instruction, and the servant standing outside the door hurried in and handed Lucien a suitcase.

During their earlier conversation, Professor McGonagall had reminded Lucien to prepare some Muggle currency to exchange for the Galleons used in the wizarding world.

McGonagall placed her hand on Lucien's shoulder and reminded him softly:

"This will be a little uncomfortable, but it will be over very quickly."

"Apparition."

From Madam Penelope's perspective, Lucien and Professor McGonagall were like water in a flush toilet, suddenly vanishing in a swirl.

After a brief blur of light and shadow, Lucien and Professor McGonagall appeared in a narrow alley.

Professor McGonagall turned her head to glance at Lucien. Seeing that his expression was normal, she felt slightly surprised.

"People who try Apparition for the first time usually get dizzy or even vomit. You adapted very quickly."

Lucien rubbed his temples, his dark green eyes narrowing slightly.

This should be the physical change brought by Loki's Faceless. I had only just finished merging with it when Professor McGonagall came to the door, so I haven't had time to explore my new state yet.

Ugh, why do I keep feeling this urge to turn that passerby into a baboon?

It couldn't be a side effect of his talent for Transfiguration, could it?

Could "Loki's Faceless" have affected his personality a little too? He remembered Loki was also known as the god of mischief...

Not knowing what Lucien was thinking, McGonagall assumed he was recovering from the aftereffects of Apparition, so she waited patiently at the side for him to regain himself.

"Sorry, Professor. My mind wandered a little."

Lucien cut off his drifting thoughts.

"It's all right."

Professor McGonagall shook her head and led Lucien toward a shabby-looking pub.

The Leaky Cauldron.

Passing through the noisy drinkers, the two of them headed to the back of the pub and arrived at a dead end enclosed by three walls.

Only a single rubbish bin stood there all alone on the ground.

Professor McGonagall took out her wand and pointed at a slightly sunken brick.

"Remember, count three bricks up from the rubbish bin, then two across, and then..."

As she spoke, Professor McGonagall tapped that brick twice with her wand.

A magical scene appeared. Starting from that brick, the surrounding bricks caved in, bulged out, flipped, and shifted, finally becoming a stone archway.

Through the doorway before them was a bustling street.

All kinds of shops stood packed together, and the goods they sold were even more varied.

Lucien turned his head, looking at bubbling potion cauldrons, owls that flapped their wings from time to time, and clothes in display windows that waved their sleeves on their own as they greeted passersby...

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, when he truly set foot in the magical world, Lucien still could not help feeling pleasantly surprised and excited.

Seeing Lucien's reaction, Professor McGonagall smiled and said, "We'll exchange for Galleons first. After that, you can take your time browsing these shops."

McGonagall led Lucien to Gringotts to exchange Muggle currency for Galleons.

Lucien suddenly thought of something and asked Professor McGonagall, "Professor, was that rubbish bin from earlier enchanted so it can't be moved?"

If some busybody or drunken sot moved the rubbish bin somewhere else, how would the people who came after find that specific brick? Would they have to test them one by one?

The corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth lifted slightly.

"You observed very carefully. That rubbish bin not only cannot be moved, it also won't be affected by Transfiguration or other magic."

"There have indeed been mischievous young wizards, and drunkards, who tried to move or destroy that rubbish bin, but all of them failed."

As they spoke, they arrived in front of Gringotts.

Lucien took in Gringotts' imposing decor and felt that its style was completely out of place among the other shops in Diagon Alley.

As expected of the only bank in the wizarding world, it radiated the scent of money from top to bottom.

Large numbers of goblins moved about inside Gringotts.

Their ears were pointed and thin, their builds short; they were clever, but greedy.

Thinking that these goblins controlled the flow of funds in the magical world, Lucien could not help grumbling inwardly.

Wizards actually handed all their property over to goblins to manage. Those not of our kind are sure to be of a different mind—weren't they afraid of having their economic lifeline choked?

Oh, right. Goblins were not allowed to possess wands, so in terms of strength, human wizards had them beaten from the start.

Sure enough, a hard fist was the real truth.

Soon, a goblin came over to receive Lucien and the professor.

"May I ask if a newly enrolled young wizard needs to exchange for Galleons?"

In a shrill voice, the goblin introduced the currency exchange rules:

The exchange rate between pounds and Galleons was 5:1.

1 Galleon equaled 17 Sickles, which equaled 493 Knuts.

Lucien no longer had the energy to criticize this strange currency exchange rate. Having lived in Britain for over ten years, he could only get used to it.

"When exchanging pounds for Galleons, the yearly limit is 100 Galleons."

"Of course, if you use gold to exchange, there is no limit."

Gold was hard currency in both the Muggle world and the magical world.

After adding that explanation, the goblin looked at Lucien with eyes full of expectation, and a trace of greed flashed through them.

In the decades he had worked at Gringotts, he had seen far too many customers. With one glance, he could tell who was rich and who was poor.

And this handsome human youth before him clearly came from a rather impressive family. The scent of money could not be hidden!

Lucien did not bother saying more and directly handed the suitcase to the goblin.

Right now, he only wanted to buy a wand as quickly as possible, then purchase more books on magical knowledge.

The heavy weight of the suitcase delighted the goblin, who opened it with practiced ease.

Whoa!

As expected, a golden legend!