"Hello, Professor!" Looking at Snape's rather unpleasant expression, Herman instantly began behaving himself.
He knew perfectly well that while Snape would hardly kill him, he might well cast a few minor hexes on him as punishment.
In fact, Snape was in a fairly good mood at the moment. After all, Hallie had successfully been released on bail. Although Hallie had no idea how much he had done behind the scenes, none of that mattered to Snape, who had always given silently and selflessly.
Precisely because of this, Snape did not treat Herman too badly when he looked at him, and even showed a little patience.
"You know what you need to buy, I presume? Dumbledore should have given you your acceptance letter."
"Yes, he did." Herman hurriedly pulled his acceptance letter from his pocket. It listed in detail everything a new student needed to prepare.
After confirming that Herman knew what he needed to buy, Snape walked straight toward the fireplace and said, "Stay close."
Herman hurried after him, thinking that at least this time he would not have to experience that dizzying Apparition again, though traveling by Floo Powder did not seem particularly pleasant either.
Snape really was in a good mood. By the time Herman reached the fireplace, he had already announced their destination, then kicked Herman straight inside.
How could the sensation of traveling by Floo Powder be described? It was slightly better than being thrown into a tumble washer, and a little like riding a roller coaster, except that instead of a seat belt, something like a rubber band was strapped around you, making you swing back and forth. It was practically bungee jumping on the move.
Using Floo Powder for the first time, Herman ultimately failed to escape his fate and got a whole mouthful of soot.
This time, however, Herman recovered quickly. Shaking his still slightly dizzy head, he eagerly surveyed the shop before him, wondering which shop in Diagon Alley this might be.
Herman had never read the original books and had only watched a few of the films. He had also come across some related content while scrolling through Douyin, and because of that, he did not know most of the specific plot details very well.
So he had absolutely no idea that saying "Diagon Alley" before scattering the Floo Powder would take him to a public fireplace on the street in Diagon Alley. He had assumed he would arrive directly in the fireplace of some shop there.
But now, looking at the atmosphere around him, Herman felt that something was off. Aside from the absurd business of Hallie becoming a girl, had the wizarding world changed too?
Thin strands of sunlight struggled through gaps in the curtains, making the drifting dust particularly conspicuous.
All sorts of bizarre objects were displayed on the table in front of him. They fit people's stereotypes of witches perfectly-and specifically the sort of fairy-tale witches who lived in forests, had faces covered in pustules, and ate children.
A shriveled human hand held a candle. Beside it lay a deck of playing cards encrusted with black bloodstains, a wildly rolling orb that looked suspiciously like a human eye, and all sorts of bones that, judging by their sizes and shapes, were very likely human.
If this place became a haunted house, there would be no need to hire any extra NPCs. These exhibits alone would scare people half to death!
"I knew Snape was up to no good. Where on earth has he brought me?" Herman muttered, not daring to touch any of the objects carelessly.
His powerful perception told him that magic clung to all these objects, and that they seemed full of "malice" toward him, eager to leave him with an unforgettable impression.
Just then, another bang came from behind him. Snape had arrived.
"Professor, where are we?" Herman asked.
Before Snape could answer, however, a noise came from nearby, and a gaunt, stooped man walked over.
The moment he spotted Snape, he squeezed a withered smile onto his face and said ingratiatingly, "Master Snape, your presence truly honors my humble shop! What have you come to purchase today, Master? Or do you have any creations to sell?"
Naturally, Snape would not admit that he had come this way simply because too many people used the Floo Network on the Diagon Alley side and this route was quieter. He merely offered a casual excuse. "I will be experimenting with a new potion formula soon and need some special ingredients."
With that, he handed Borgin a list.
Borgin glanced at the list, his face covered in an ingratiating smile. "The dragon blood is easy enough, but getting it as fresh as you require will indeed be somewhat difficult. Still, I can contact some dragon keepers. The unicorn horn powder, however, will be rather trickier. As you know, hunting unicorns is forbidden."
Snape clearly understood that this was Borgin's way of bargaining and said bluntly, "I don't care where it comes from. I'm asking whether you have it."
"I do, but as I recall, Hogwarts should have unicorn horn powder in stock." Borgin was a little worried that this was a sting operation.
"I want it fresh, and Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest is not under my jurisdiction," Snape said coldly, a trace of impatience in his voice.
"Understood, understood. Rest assured, there will be fresh stock very soon. I have some friends abroad who have unicorns where they are too. It's just the price..." Borgin rubbed his hands together sleazily.
"Money is not a problem." As Snape said this, he was already leading Herman toward the door.
Herman had also remembered where this was: a famous attraction that appeared several times in the original books. Although he was full of curiosity about the various strange goods on display, he did not dare stay here alone, so he jogged after Snape.
Outside Borgin and Burkes, the street of Knockturn Alley came into view. Compared with the bustling, crowded Diagon Alley, this place was so deserted that it was rather unnerving. Passersby covered themselves thoroughly, afraid of being recognized. The occasional people who made no attempt to conceal themselves clearly looked like bad news. If anyone saw them in the Muggle world, they would probably call the police immediately-or perhaps a psychiatric hospital, suspecting they were lunatics who had escaped from there.
Snape did not stop once along the way, leading Herman straight to Diagon Alley. Watching the people coming and going with joy on their faces, Herman finally felt as though he had returned to the normal "world of the living." It seemed that the wizarding world was still broadly normal, and only the matter of Harry becoming Hallie was somewhat absurd.
At this point, Snape said, "Right, this is Diagon Alley! You can read, I presume? Go buy your things yourself."
Seeing that Snape was about to leave after saying this, Herman hurriedly asked, "Professor, I don't have any money from here. Those things called Galleons."
"Your professor will not lend you money either." Snape immediately cut off Herman's hopes of borrowing money, thinking that he would have to save his money carefully from now on.
"No, Headmaster Dumbledore told me that orphans like me can receive funding from the Ministry of Magic," Herman hurriedly explained.
"That... let me think." There was indeed such an arrangement, and McGonagall had specifically told Snape about it. However, at the time, Snape had been entirely preoccupied with Hallie's situation, and Dumbledore had said he would handle recruiting students from the orphanage, so Snape had not made an effort to remember it.
Still, as a Potions Master, his memory was quite good, and he recalled it as he spoke.
"Just take your acceptance letter to Gringotts to collect it. The school has already registered you, so you can collect it directly." This time, Snape walked away without looking back, leaving Herman no opportunity to ask any more questions.
"All right, good thing I'm a transmigrator. If an actual eleven-year-old were dumped in this unfamiliar place, they might get abducted and sold." After finishing his grumbling, Herman began exploring Diagon Alley with enthusiasm.
He had never had the chance to visit Diagon Alley at Universal Studios in his previous life. He had never expected that this time he would actually get to explore the real thing. Just thinking about it made him a little excited.
There was Flourish and Blotts, filled with all kinds of books, robe shops selling various beautiful clothes, joke shops packed with novel magical items, and noisy, slightly smelly pet shops. Of course, the must-see attractions, Ollivander's Wand Shop and Gringotts Wizarding Bank, were here too.