Chapter 2
After leaving the coffee shop, Aisen temporarily set aside his worries. Watching the vehicles whizzing by on the street, he suddenly felt that even the smog in the sky had become endearing. With the appearance of his System, although he still felt a bit lost about the future, he now had some confidence deep down.
It was understandable—who wouldn't feel this way after gaining a System? As he walked along the street, Aisen's gaze swept over the bookstores nearby, when a strange shop suddenly caught his attention.
"This is…" Looking at the black, somewhat dilapidated building in front of him, Aisen glanced back. "That's right, this is Charing Cross Road—there are lots of bookstores on this street," he muttered to himself, then looked up again.
Sure enough, between a bookstore and a record shop—where he had never noticed anything before—there was now a black, slightly rundown shop. Aisen was instantly stunned. He had passed this street many times before, even this morning on his way to work, and he didn't remember there being a shop like this. How had it suddenly appeared? Had he overlooked it all this time? That seemed too ridiculous!
Am I hallucinating? The thought flashed through Aisen's mind but was quickly dismissed. Then, when he saw the sign with slightly peeling letters, the words "Leaky Cauldron" appeared before his eyes.
Instantly, an unbelievable idea surged from the depths of his memory—this was the [Leaky Cauldron!!!]
For Aisen, this was a mind-blowing conclusion, yet it made perfect sense here.
At this point in time, the Harry Potter series hadn't been written yet, so no one could be cosplaying it on purpose. Before, Aisen had considered plagiarizing the Harry Potter books, but he had never imagined that magic would actually become real.
He carefully observed the place several times from front to back and confirmed he wasn't mistaken. A place he had always ignored now clearly had an extra shop. In his view, this was very likely a change he could only see because he now possessed mana.
After all, the Leaky Cauldron was said to be under concealment charms and Muggle-repelling spells—only wizards could see it.
However, to confirm his theory, Aisen walked straight into the neighboring bookstore.
"Young man, do you need to buy any books?" A man in a brown leather coat and parted jeans appeared before Aisen—he looked like the bookstore owner.
Aisen then chatted with him under the pretense of browsing. A few minutes later, he paid for a copy of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
"By the way, boss, do you know what that black shop next door sells?" As he was leaving, Aisen asked casually.
"Black shop? Next door is a record store! What black shop?" The man froze for a moment, then looked at Aisen with a strange expression.
"Oh, I must have seen wrong." Aisen acted as if he had just remembered something and quickly left. Standing back on the street, he unconsciously clenched his fists. Only one thought remained in his mind: "It really seems to be the Leaky Cauldron."
After pondering for a while, Aisen decided he had to go in and confirm. If it was the Leaky Cauldron, he also wanted to see if he could enter Diagon Alley.
Of course, realizing this was the Harry Potter world left Aisen a bit depressed.
He was already eighteen years old—too old to ever attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and learn magic. Thinking of this filled him with resentment: Why hadn't his System appeared at age eleven to awaken his mana?
But things were what they were. No matter what, he had to visit Diagon Alley, buy a wand of his own, and get some magic books.
At this moment, Aisen had already figured it out—his awakened mana was indeed for casting spells. Though if he remembered it right, there wasn't any existent of the word mana in this world, but if he could use magic with that mana, he didn't care about anything except self-studying magic after checking up his compatibility with magic.
'But is it really okay to just walk in like this?' Aisen looked down at his slightly formal clothes from work and had second thoughts. However, when he saw the 'Encyclopædia Britannica' he had just bought, a smile appeared on his face.
'Hmm.. why don't i do that—I can pretend to be a wizard researching Muggle life and society.
He stepped forward, pushed open the wooden door of the Leaky Cauldron, and walked inside. In an instant, it felt like he had entered another world—completely separated from the outside.
The interior was extremely dim, with a bar counter and several scattered tables, some hidden in shadows. Candles on a few tables provided faint light. Most eye-catching were the old men and women in robes—clearly wizards.
Yes, this was definitely the Leaky Cauldron! Seeing this scene, Aisen was certain.
Behind the bar was an old man who was almost completely bald and looked like a walnut. This must be Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron.
Some wizards ignored the sudden arrival of a young man, while others glanced at Aisen, as if scrutinizing him.
"Hello there, young man. What can I get you?" Seeing a black-haired youth in his twenties walk straight over, the bar owner greeted him and asked directly.
"Not a drink but a little help if you can, I was recently researching a very interesting spell, and my wand got damaged accidentally. So, you know, I need to go to Diagon Alley to buy a new one." By now, Aisen's mind had raced through countless ideas. He shrugged and gave the excuse he had prepared, trying hard not to show any flaws.
"Oh, that's very unfortunate." Perhaps Aisen acted normal enough, or perhaps the owner was simply too lazy to probe further—the man just nodded and motioned for Aisen to follow.
Passing through the bar, Aisen followed the owner to a small enclosed courtyard with walls on all sides. Aside from some weeds, there was only a trash bin.
"Three up from the trash bin… two across… then tap three times." As he watched the owner draw his wand and tap the bricks, Aisen silently repeated the sequence in his mind.
Then, the bricks on the wall began to move, forming a small hole in the center that quickly expanded. In the blink of an eye, a pathway appeared before Aisen. Yes—this was the famous Diagon Alley of the wizarding world.
"There you go, young man. I hope you'll be more careful next time you experiment with spells," the bar owner advised.
"Thank you. I certainly will," Aisen replied with a smile and a nod, then officially stepped into Diagon Alley. Looking back, the opening had turned back into a solid wall.
"Magic really is incredible!" Though Aisen's face showed little expression, he couldn't stop marveling inside. At a glance, the narrow street was filled with shoppers coming and going. Since it was currently the time for new students to enroll at Hogwarts, the whole street was bustling.
Owl shops, flying broom shops, stores selling all sorts of strange silver instruments, and more. Even though Aisen had some mental preparation, he still felt dazzled.
"This is the wizarding world. The wonderful wizarding life—here I come!" Aisen roared inwardly, and finally, an exaggerated grin appeared on his face.
But first things first—he needed to exchange some Galleons; otherwise, he couldn't buy anything. Following the flow of people, in just a few minutes, Aisen arrived at the foot of a white building that stood out strikingly among the surrounding shops. "Gringotts"
Obviously, for someone like Aisen, newly entering the wizarding world, the only place to exchange money was here. Passing through the bronze doors, Aisen saw the strange creatures—Gringotts goblins.
Then Aisen approached the second set of silver doors, engraved with warning verses. Entering, he arrived in a vast marble hall with long counters on both sides. Behind them, on high stools, sat over a hundred goblins, each busy with their own tasks.
"Hello, I'd like to exchange for 200 Galleons." Aisen walked straight to a counter and pulled out one thousand pounds. Thankfully he remembered this kind of small details as well, exchanging pounds for Galleons—this was the necessary process.
The goblin in front of him didn't say anything about Aisen's request. In truth, Aisen was still a bit puzzled—would Gringotts exchange Galleons for someone of unknown origin like him (dark wizard)? If they only did it for new young witches and wizards entering the world, he'd need a more plausible excuse.
For example, saying he had lived in Muggle society for years researching Muggles and now planned to delve deeper into magic. Fortunately, the goblin didn't ask questions.
So after exchanging pounds for 200 Galleons, Aisen left Gringotts as he was ready to go wild on the shopping spree..