Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

The Leaky Cauldron, established in the early 16th century, is one of the favorite gathering places for wizards and the entrance to Diagon Alley, the only wizarding street in the English magical world.

As Diana and Kyle pushed open the door, the originally noisy and bustling pub fell silent as if someone had pressed the pause button.

The silence was as profound as a senior year night study hall, with a pin drop audible.

This eerie atmosphere only subsided after Chris followed them in. However, it didn't return to its previous state, as if everyone was deliberately lowering their voices.

There was one exception, though.

Tom, the pub owner, walked over with a surprised look: "Oh, Diana, long time no see! Would you like a drink? It's on the house."

"Maybe next time, Tom."

Diana smiled, patted Kyle on the shoulder, and pointed at the Weasley family approaching them: "We still need to buy some things in Diagon Alley, and time might be tight."

"Oh, of course."

Tom suddenly realized, "Time flies, little Kyle is already eleven years old, so this is for Hogwarts supplies?"

"Yes." Diana nodded with a smile.

"Then it is a bit rushed, go ahead, you know the location."

Tom moved aside, yielding the path behind him, but then, he looked down at Kyle and said, "I have to remind you, little Kyle, if you move that trash can again, I'm going to write a complaint letter to Hogwarts.

Merlin's beard, do you know how anxious those freshmen were when they found out they couldn't enter Diagon Alley? You can't always add unnecessary work to a man with bad legs."

Being confronted with his past deeds, Kyle felt a little embarrassed.

This was not his first time in Diagon Alley.

But in all honesty, as a transmigrator, coming to Diagon Alley without moving the trash can, would he still be a transmigrator?

There's nothing wrong with that.

But he couldn't say that in front of his parents, so Kyle could only chuckle and say, "I'll do it next time."

Tom didn't mind this statement, but Diana raised her eyebrows thoughtfully and looked down at her son.

Her intuition told her that there was something wrong with that sentence.

But because the Weasley family had arrived, she didn't say anything.

"Oh, Kyle, dear."

Mrs. Molly Weasley gave Kyle a big hug enthusiastically and then pulled Diana aside to talk.

Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, naturally walked over to Chris and started chatting.

The two families had a good relationship. Molly and Diana were best friends who talked about everything, and Chris and Arthur were even closer friends. It was hard to say whether they became friends. They were neighbors or neighbors because they were friends.

After all, in the original book, there was no Chris family in Ottery St Catchpole, and there was no mention of Chris.

Was it the butterfly effect?

Kyle wasn't sure.

However, due to the relationship between their parents, Kyle and the Weasley children naturally became friends.

As soon as the adults left, two arms were placed on his shoulders, one on each side.

"Hey, Fred, look who's here."

"Isn't this Hogwarts' new student this year?"

George emphasized the word "new student" when he spoke.

"Hogwarts is a very dangerous place, especially for freshmen like you..."

"Of course, if you're willing to say something nice, maybe we'll give you some help."

Kyle ignored the two and greeted the other redheads next to him, "Long time no see, Percy, Ron, and Ginny."

They all smiled and nodded at him.

"Long time no see, Kyle." *3

The Weasley family originally had seven children, but Bill went to Egypt, and Charlie went somewhere a month ago and was not at home, so only five of them came today.

As they talked, they arrived at the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron, the entrance to Diagon Alley. Mr. Weasley, who was walking in the front, found the correct brick at a glance and tapped it with his wand.

Meanwhile, at the back of the line, the Weasley twins, who had not received a response, looked at each other and raised their eyebrows in tacit understanding. They planned to teach a certain impolite junior a small lesson.

For example, their newly invented Jumping Powder, just sprinkle a little on the hair, and you can experience an unprecedented sourness.

They had experimented on themselves, and the effect was excellent. Who has ever tried the feeling of not washing their hair for ten days?

It was simply indescribable.

If you were lucky, you might even trigger a hidden easter egg and experience the special treatment of middle-aged gentlemen in advance.

Just do it, the brothers took out the Jumping Powder and were about to start when Chris's voice suddenly came from the front.

"Hagrid? What are you doing in Diagon Alley!"

The voice was no longer calm but carried a hint of vigilance, which immediately caught the twins' attention.

There was nothing they could do about it. They had heard this kind of vigilant tone too many times, it was a conditioned reflex.

"No, nothing."

After seeing Chris, Hagrid, the three-meter-tall, two-meter-wide half-giant, subconsciously shuddered, and his eyes drifted.

But then, as if he had thought of something, he instantly relaxed a lot and took out a small package from his pocket and said, "Harry Potter is coming to Hogwarts next year, as a welcome gift, I want to make him a birthday cake myself, so I came to buy some berry seeds."

"Really?"

Chris's tone did not relax much, and he looked at the small package vigilantly: "If I remember correctly, the ingredients in the Hogwarts canteen should be enough to make ten cakes, right?"

To be honest, Chris's tone was a bit aggressive. If someone who didn't know the situation saw this, they would think he was a villain.

But Kyle, the twins, and even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who had a good relationship with Hagrid, didn't react at all, not even their expressions changed, as if everything was supposed to be this way.

And indeed, it was.

As the Deputy Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Head of the Beast Division, Chris was all too familiar with Hagrid.

Let's just say, that if Chris had to choose the person he least wanted to see, it would be Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, the infamous half-giant.

Merlin's beard and the trouble he caused alone accounted for more than one-tenth of Chris's annual workload.

Especially the hybrid magical creatures he created, which made Chris go crazy.

By the way, what was it last time, right, the Runespoor, a two-tailed snake hybrid of a Jack Russell Terrier and a Runespoor snake?

God knows where Hagrid got so many magical creatures, it couldn't be all from the Forbidden Forest, right? Chris didn't remember that there were Runespoors in the Forbidden Forest when he was in school.

As a traditional magizoologist, this kind of artificial hybridization was, in his opinion, simply heresy, an evil act that must be absolutely forbidden.

But unfortunately, this kind of thing was not illegal. He submitted several draft bills but never got any response. After Cornelius Fudge took office a while ago, he even went to the Minister's office for this, but he was delayed again and again by the other party's superb muddling skills, and finally, it came to nothing.

Obviously, in the eyes of their new Minister, this bill about magical creatures was of too little value. It was better to go to the Hogwarts Headmaster's office a few more times, at least this would make him feel more at ease and improve his image and personality in the eyes of the public.

Therefore, Chris couldn't do anything to Hagrid.

Moreover, those magical creatures he created were new lives after all, he couldn't just throw them away without doing anything.

Chris could only bite the bullet, observe, record, and classify.

Over time, Chris's resentment towards Hagrid had already exploded. The only reason he didn't directly attack him when they met was because there were children around.

Otherwise, he would have beaten Hagrid up no matter what, even if Dumbledore was next to him.

Don't be surprised, although he was the Deputy Head, Chris still often worked on the front line of dealing with magical creatures, so he had some strength.

He couldn't say for sure about pure-blood giants, but he was still confident about a half-blood giant, especially one without a wand.

Hagrid also knew that he was in the wrong and consciously opened the package, which indeed only contained a bunch of unknown seeds.

"In the name of Dumbledore, I only came to Diagon Alley this time to buy some seeds."

Hearing Hagrid say this, Chris's frown relaxed a lot, and he didn't continue to question him. After a few simple instructions, he let Hagrid leave.

With Hagrid's respect for Dumbledore, he couldn't lie about something like this.

However, Kyle turned his head thoughtfully and glanced at Hagrid's back as he left.

"Not this time", what about other times?

Kyle remembered that Fluffy, the three-headed dog that appeared in the first book, was bought by Hagrid from a Greek man in a bar. Whether this bar was the Hog's Head or the Leaky Cauldron was unknown.

Don't think that the Leaky Cauldron was very formal, there were many gray transactions, and it was the only place that provided accommodation, and it was the kind that didn't check ID cards, so many smugglers with not much goods and no criminal records would choose to stay here.

Fewer goods meant convenience, just stuff them into any box, and basically, no one would notice.

It was normal to go out for a meal and have a deal with a customer at the same time.

And the fact that Hogwarts had a gamekeeper who loved magical creatures was well known in the broker circle.

It wasn't difficult to inquire about his situation.

"Tsk, who said Hagrid was simple and honest, he's quite scheming."

Kyle estimated that his father probably didn't know about Fluffy yet, but he didn't plan to snitch.

After all, who could refuse a three-headed dog?