Albert, are you sure we haven't come to the wrong place?" Herb was checking the map in his hand, but he couldn't find the pub Professor McGonagall had mentioned.
"We need to find the bookstore first; next to the bookstore is a record store." Albert pointed to the large bookstore ahead, with a record store next to it.
"Is this it? But I…"
"...can't see the pub's location?" Albert finished his sentence for him.
If he hadn't specifically looked, he wouldn't have noticed the small pub next to the large bookstore.
People hurrying by didn't even glance at it, and that, of course, included his father, Herb.
"I've already seen the pub. Do you remember what Ms. McGonagall said?"
"Muggles can't find the pub?" Herb muttered, "I hate that word, Muggle."
Herb held his son's hand, being pulled forward by Albert, and a few seconds later, he saw the legendary Leaky Cauldron.
It was a dirty, cramped pub.
"I hate it here, it's too dirty."
"Me too, let's go in!"
Putting away the disgusted expressions on their faces, the father and son pushed open the door and entered the pub, one after the other.
Dirty, messy, dark.
This was their assessment of the pub. Inside, there were some men and women who looked rather eccentric, mostly elderly, wearing ridiculous top hats, which made them look very comical.
If this group walked outside on the street, they would definitely attract countless stares. But here, they seemed more out of place, like a dazzling flame in the darkness.
Herb immediately calmed down and walked towards the counter, looking at the bald Old Tom and tentatively asking, "Mr. Tom?"
"A young Wizard from a Muggle family?" Tom looked Albert over, then lifted his head and smiled at Herb. "You want to know how to get to Diagon Alley?"
"Yes, Mr. Tom, Professor McGonagall said you could take us to Diagon Alley." Albert also scrutinized the old man in front of him, managing a polite smile on his face.
"Of course, please follow me." Tom came out from behind the bar and motioned for the two to follow him.
The three of them arrived at the pub's backyard, where there was only a brick wall, a rubbish bin, and a few empty beer barrels.
"This rubbish bin will always be here. You need to count three bricks up from it, then two bricks across, and that's the brick." Tom pointed to the spot he had just tapped with his hand, then pulled out his wand and tapped the brick three times. Turning to Albert, he said, "Once you have your own wand, you can open the entrance to Diagon Alley yourself. Remember, you need to tap it three times with your wand."
The brick Old Tom had tapped began to tremble, and the brick wall moved in a very peculiar way. A small hole appeared in the middle, and the opening grew larger and larger, forming an archway wide enough for them to pass through in just a few seconds.
A cobblestone street stretched forward from beneath their feet, with shops on both sides, and many Wizards coming and going, along with street vendors calling out their wares.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley." Tom smiled at the two of them.
"Mr. Tom, how do we get back later?" Herb asked.
"Once you've finished your shopping, you can open the door by following what I just did." Tom patiently answered Herb's question, not forgetting to remind him, "Oh, you'd best go to Gringotts first to exchange Galleons with the Goblins. Muggle money cannot be used here. Walk straight ahead from here, and that white building is Gringotts Wizarding Bank."
"Thank you for your advice, Mr. Tom."
"Have a pleasant time." Tom smiled and waved at the two of them, then turned and went back into the pub. He liked his job.
After Tom left, the entrance vanished, turning back into a wall.
"Let's go, time to exchange money." Herb took a deep breath.
"This place feels very different." Albert looked around at the shops and said to Herb with a smile, "It gives me a feeling like time has regressed a century."
"To be honest, I'm starting to doubt the correctness of sending you to Hogwarts. Perhaps Daisy's insistence was right." Herb sighed lightly. Although the Wizarding World was magical, it always gave him the illusion of being out of touch with the times.
"Dad, it's not like I have to live in the Wizarding World." Albert couldn't help but roll his eyes and reminded him, "My main reason for studying at Hogwarts is to master this incredible magic."
"Oh, you're right." Herb's mood improved then, and the two of them walked through the crowd towards Gringotts.
As Tom had said, it was a white building, and next to the bronze doors stood a short figure—a Goblin.
"They're really unique." Herb's expression was a bit stiff; this was his first time seeing other humanoid creatures besides humans.
Albert didn't mind, observing the Goblin's appearance: short, pointy beard, long, slender fingers and toes, and a dark face—a creature with no aesthetic appeal whatsoever.
As they entered, Albert noticed the Goblin bowing to them.
There was a second door, silver, with inscriptions on both panels. Herb approached and examined it carefully, reading aloud: "Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits greed, for those who take without earning will face the severest punishment…"
"I really don't understand how diligent Wizards must be at robbing banks to need warning signs carved on the door?" Herb muttered after reading it.
Albert almost laughed when he heard that, quickly clearing his throat and asking, "How much money are you planning to exchange?"
"This?" Herb thought for a moment and whispered, "A thousand pounds. If it's not enough, we can always exchange more later."
A thousand pounds, which was equivalent to most people's monthly salary.
Albert estimated it to be about two hundred Galleons. He nodded and said, "I think that should be enough."
Upon entering, two Goblins bowed to them and led them into a tall, marble hall. Herb then stated that he needed to exchange some Galleons.
The Goblin then led them to a counter on the right and handed Herb a parchment. The parchment showed the exchange rate between pounds and Galleons, as well as the monetary system of the Wizarding World.
1 Galleon equals 4.95 pounds.
1 Galleon equals 17 sickles, and 1 sickle equals 29 knuts.
Herb handed the parchment to his son and asked, "How many pounds for 200 Galleons?"
"990 pounds."
"Please exchange 200 Galleons for me." Herb took out 990 pounds from his wallet and had the Goblinexchange it for Galleons.
"Alright, please wait." The Goblin took the pounds and began to count them.
"Excuse me, Mr. Goblin, can any amount of pounds be exchanged for Galleons here?" Albert curiously asked the question he had from his previous life.
"Theoretically, yes, but we don't accept too much Muggle currency." The Goblin rang a bell, summoned another Goblin, and gave a command. That Goblinbrought a bag of gold coins and handed it to Herb, then led them aside to verify the quantity of Galleons.
"I didn't expect them to be gold coins." Herb fiddled with the Galleons at his fingertips, unable to help but exclaim.
After counting the Galleons and confirming they were correct, the two left Gringotts with their Galleons.
Walking down the sunny street, the gold coins in their pockets jingled pleasantly, as if urging them to spend them quickly.