Diagon Alley South District
Time flew by and it was August 11th, just 7 days away from the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.
Skylar took out a Scrying Mirror from his Suitcase Space. The Scrying Mirror was a mirror that released illusion magic and also involved some profound spatial magic, allowing people to transcend spatial limitations and peek into distant scenes.
Because the Scrying Mirror is a powerful surveillance tool with the potential for abuse, it is strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic. Skylar bought this Scrying Mirror last month at Borgin and Burkes along with the Vanishing Cabinet, for a full one hundred Galleon.
Skylar wasn't Nobita from Doraemon; he had a legitimate purpose for buying the Scrying Mirror. He had Dobby run errands for him, setting the Scrying Mirror's view to Little Hangleton, Riddle House.
The old mansion is still called "Riddle House" by the townspeople of Little Hangleton, even though the Riddle family hasn't lived there for many years. The house sits on a hillside, offering views of the entire town. Several windows are sealed off, the roof tiles are broken, and ivy has spread wildly all over the house.
Riddle House, once a beautiful mansion and the most spacious and imposing building for miles around, is now damp, desolate, and uninhabited year-round.
The current owner of the mansion is a wealthy man who bought the building to offset taxes. He has not put any effort into maintaining the house, except for continuing to employ the gardeners who were originally employed by Riddle House.
In the courtyard of the dilapidated mansion stood a small wooden cabin. Living inside was Frank Bryce, the gardener of Riddle House.
Through the Scrying Mirror, Skylar could clearly see Bryce, now lame in one leg, dawdling as he worked in the flowerbed, the weeds creeping up on him uncontrollably. He also saw several mischievous boys riding bicycles, trampling over the lawn Bryce had painstakingly leveled. They were throwing stones at the windows of Riddle House as old Bryce limped across the garden, waving his cane and shouting at them in a hoarse voice.
If Skylar remembers correctly, in a few days, to be precise, on August 16th, this coming Saturday, old Bryce's days of suffering will come to an end.
Today, Skylar is going to Diagon Alley; he has arranged to meet the girls there.
He had already informed his parents that he would be spending the rest of his summer vacation at a friend's house, and then going directly to Devon with them to watch the Quidditch World Cup.
After learning that their so-called friend was the daughter of the Greengrass Family, the parents were delighted. Lucius, with a serious expression, gave Skylar a few words of advice to be careful and also mentioned that he and Draco would be there, and they might even run into each other at the arena.
Skylar understood Lucius's hint—he knew that many quiet Pure-blood families would be restless during this Quidditch World Cup and planned to cause trouble under the banner of the Death Eaters. A month ago, he had noticed that his father was in close contact with many Pure-blood families, as if they were plotting something.
After stepping out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, Skylar refreshed himself, tidied his hair, said goodbye to the bar owner, Old Tom, and left.
Diagon Alley is the largest commercial district in the Britain wizarding world, with its entrance at the Leaky Cauldron located on Charing Cross Road in London. The entire commercial district is divided into three parts.
The first section is the "North Zone," starting from the Leaky Cauldron at address 1 and heading south until you reach Gringotts Bank. A side path will appear diagonally opposite Gringotts Bank, leading to a place called "Knockturn Alley," which is part of the second section of the commercial area. If you choose not to turn and continue straight ahead, you will arrive at the third section of the commercial area, the "South Zone."
Diagon Alley truly lives up to its reputation as one of the most prosperous wizarding commercial streets in all of Europe. Even though Skylar has been reborn in this world for 14 years, he has never been able to explore the entire street.
Excluding Knockturn Alley, the North and South sections of Diagon Alley alone have nearly three hundred shops. Of course, Skylar never counted the total number of shops; he wasn't that bored. He only knew that Madam Propernal's Cosmetic Potion Shop was number 275, and that it was far from the last shop in Diagon Alley.
As far as Skylar knew, the only place in all of Europe that could rival Diagon Alley in terms of vibrancy was the Secret Wizard Alley in Montmartre, Paris, France.
The Diagon Alley North District is mainly comprised of shops catering to young children and students, such as pet shops, joke shops, bookstores, and stationery stores. This is why the main characters in the original novels usually linger in the North Side, making it easy for readers of the previous life to form the impression that there are only about a dozen shops in Diagon Alley.
The commercial activities in the South District are much more exciting, targeting middle-class and above adult consumers. Harry, Ron, and their gang of poor boys probably never set foot here before the end of the original story.
Skylar arrived at the fork in the road in front of Gringotts and saw Daphne, Astoria, and Meredith waiting there.
The girls were clearly dressed up carefully. Daphne was mature and beautiful, Astoria was pure and lovely, and Meredith was noble and elegant. When they saw Skylar, they all smiled with joy and walked towards Skylar.
Since they had come all the way to Diagon Alley, the group wasn't in a hurry to go to the Greengrass Manor. Instead, Skylar led them towards the south side of Diagon Alley.
After passing a "Magical Shrinking Cottage," the group went inside, unable to resist Astoria's insistence.
A spell was cast at the entrance of the Magical Shrinking Cottage, shrinking anyone who entered to the size of a mouse, giving it a feeling reminiscent of the Muggle classic "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" that I read in a past life.
The group passed through a mouse hole in the room and arrived at a flower garden. They crossed a small waterway on a leaf, climbed up a dandelion flower along a branch, and then rode the dandelion on the wind across a large meadow. Finally, they arrived at an inconspicuous tree hole. As they passed through the tree hole, they returned to their original size and happily left the shrunken house.
The next stop is the Illusion House, which is actually a form of entertainment that plagiarizes the Muggle movie theater concept. Illusion magic, as the name suggests, is magic that uses a crystal ball or skull to present the images in the caster's mind. The original intention of this magic was to allow Divination who could see the future to share the results of their Divination with their clients through the images in their minds.
Later, some clever wizards who had some knowledge of the Muggle world saw a business opportunity in it. They hired screenwriters to transform the stories into dynamic visuals using illusion magic, which became very popular. Popular works such as "Wizards vs Aliens", "Let Spells Fly", and "How to Train Your Dragon" were born one after another.
Skylar walked to the ticket counter, where a sweet-looking, smiling young lady sat. When she saw Skylar pull out the Gringotts Limited Edition Entertainment VIP Card from his pocket, her smile became even more adorable.
There are only 500 of these pure black Black Gold VIP cards in the entire Britain, and according to Skylar, he is the only underage cardholder in the Britain. Using this card at upscale restaurants or entertainment venues not only entitles cardholders to a 20% discount, but also a complimentary upgrade to VIP seating. In addition to the wider, softer, and more comfortable seats, there is also a service to have food and drinks delivered to your seat.
Skylar bought four tickets; today they were going to see the newly released romantic film, "About Time."
The series tells the story of Tim 21-year-old man who has unlocked the secrets of time magic. He discovers the method to travel back in time and tries it out, returning to summer. There, he attempts to change his relationship with his crush, only to find that no matter how much time he travels, he can't make someone who doesn't love him fall in love with him. Later, he meets another girl and falls in love with her, triggering a series of butterfly effects that cause a series of disasters in the future. Finally, he exhausts all his magic to clean up the traces of his time travel, but in doing so, he loses his relationship. The girl he never knew eventually remarries...
As the film ended, the melancholic end credits song played, waking Skylar from his sleep. He opened his eyes to find the three girls with red, swollen eyes, having used up an entire pack of "Perfect Brand Tissues. Astoria was even crying uncontrollably, still sobbing softly on and off.
Skylar was a little embarrassed. He used a spell to clean the girls' faces, then gave each of them a happy gummy, just as the lyrics said, to keep them happy every day! Honestly, I told you, wouldn't it have been better to watch "Doctor Strange vs. the Animagus Black Panther Uagadou"? Girls just love to suffer...
After having lunch at a fine restaurant, Skylar took out his specially made watch and checked the time. (Author's note: Long-time readers may need to reread Chapter 9 of Volume 1 to learn about the specially made watch.)
There are still many unexplored places in the Diagon Alley South District, such as the "Wonderful Flying House" which simulates the weightless environment of space, the "Magical Plant Aromatherapy SPA" suitable for women, and the "Pretty Girl Dream Massage Club" suitable for men... Skylar has one more place to visit, but all these places will have to wait for next time. (The last one, with his girlfriend around, he wouldn't dare to go even if he wanted to.)
It's not that the wizarding world lacks entertainment, nor that I'm short of money, it's just that I don't have enough time! Skylar couldn't help but sigh.
Who says wizards lack entertainment? If anyone says that, Skylar would tell them that their imagination must be limited by poverty!
Skylar led the three girls to their last destination for the day.
This is an inconspicuous little shop, and surprisingly, there is no signboard. There is only a pair of crossed silver spears painted next to the door.
At the entrance stood a voluptuous young witch dressed in a leopard-print bodysuit. Upon seeing the group enter, she gripped her wand tightly, her eyes filled with intense wariness as she looked at Skylar.
Skylar quickly pulled out the identity badge given to him by the International Confederation of Wizards from his pocket and handed it over.
The witch remained wary, gripping her wand tightly as she examined the nameplate. After checking it several times to make sure there were no problems, she returned the nameplate to Skylar, a smile spreading across her face. "So you're the Malfoy who's been making waves lately? Seeing is believing! You're so young!"
"Thank you for your kind words, miss. I've just been lucky, receiving help from many important figures along the way. I'm here today to bring my friends to try out the Silver Spear's trial and improve their combat skills," Skylar explained his purpose.
The witch scanned the four of them with a scrutinizing gaze. "Oh, alright, please follow me."
The witch led the four through the reception room and into the inner hall. At the far end of the inner hall were five doors; the outermost doors on the left and right were open, while the three doors in the middle were closed. These three wooden doors were old, with mottled marks, showing signs of age and exuding an antique atmosphere.
The witch explained, "The three doors in the middle require the warrant of one of the Four Silver Spear Archwizards to open; they represent hellish difficulty. The door on the left represents easy, and the door on the right represents medium. Which door do you wish to challenge?"
"It's medium-sized, I guess. Can the four of us go in together?" If we couldn't go in together, Skylar wasn't going to let Astoria take the risk.
"Sure." She then took out a key, opened the wooden door on the right, and gestured for them to come in.