"Is this Diagon Alley? Honestly... it doesn't look like much."
Cho Chang: "???"
As soon as Ye Feng said this, Cho Chang's head instantly filled with question marks. After all, this could practically be considered the busiest and most prosperous trading hub in the entire wizarding world. While it might not quite compare to the most bustling streets of the Muggle world, it was still lively and flourishing—far beyond anything the yet-to-be-developed domestic wizarding world could offer.
Ye Feng had no idea about the questions running through Cho Chang's mind, but that was genuinely what he thought. Diagon Alley really didn't look like much to him; compared to another world before he came here, even relatively backward towns back home weren't much worse than this.
Of course, comparing a wizarding world whose economic development level was probably still stuck in the nineteenth century to a fully developed twenty-first-century homeland was indeed a bit unfair. Aside from the magical goods being sold, the rest of Diagon Alley really wasn't anything special.
That realization made Ye Feng's eyes suddenly light up because he spotted numerous items carrying fluctuations of special energy. These, no doubt, were products of the wizarding world. Ye Feng's expression allowed Cho Chang, still full of question marks, to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Let's go. I'll take you to Gringotts to exchange some Galleons first, and then we'll go buy your school supplies."
Eager as he was to rush forward and buy up all those items imbued with magic—especially certain herbs and materials—he unfortunately didn't have a single Galleon in his pockets. So he had no choice but to obediently follow Cho Chang as she led the way forward. As they walked, Cho Chang very naturally bent down slightly, took Ye Feng's hand again, and pulled him along.
Ye Feng: ?(????ω????)?
After Ye Feng and Cho Chang left, another adult wizard brought a young wizard who was about to start school into that small courtyard.
Once he led the young wizard into the courtyard, the adult wizard turned around, drew his wand, and said with a serious expression, "Young wizards aren't allowed to use Floo powder freely yet, so if you want to enter Diagon Alley, you have to use these special entrances. The secret to opening this gateway is right on the wall behind me."
"Remember, the notch on this wall is the marker. Count up three blocks from the left of this notch, and then to the right..."
[?_??]
"The notch... wait, where's the notch?"
!!!∑(?Д?ノ)ノ
"The notch is gone!!!"
The loud exclamation echoed through the entire Leaky Cauldron. When the wizards drawn by the commotion rushed to the small courtyard and saw the wall intact, without a single missing brick corner, they all fell into a simultaneous silence.
"Could it be... that we came to the wrong place?"
After a long silence, a wizard suddenly proposed a highly probable possibility. And so, a crowd of wizards left the small courtyard to search for the "real entrance." Ten minutes later, however, they discovered that they had all wandered right back to the original small courtyard.
"Tell me, is there a possibility—just a possibility mind you—that this really is the entrance from the Leaky Cauldron to Diagon Alley, except someone filled in the notch on this wall?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Even if someone patched it up, the person who repaired it wouldn't remember where to start counting from."
"Do you think someone might have cast a Confundus Charm on this wall?"
At that suggestion, a large group of wizards instantly brightened. Eagerly, they drew their wands, each ready to try. In their eyes, someone was clearly issuing a challenge to them, so no matter what, they were going to break this illusion today!
Before long, a chorus of chanting echoed through the small courtyard, and flashes of spellcasting lit up the Leaky Cauldron one after another. Yet, no matter how hard they tried or what spells they threw at it, the wall remained completely unchanged. Their initial overflowing confidence and refusal to admit defeat slowly faded into self-doubt, and finally, into a deep questioning of their entire existence.
Meanwhile, Ye Feng and Cho Chang had already arrived inside Gringotts.
"We'd like to exchange some Galleons."Hearing Cho Chang's words, the goblin sitting behind a desk nearly as tall as them cast a cold glance in their direction, then said in a thoroughly impatient tone, "Hand over the Muggle currency you wish to exchange. Remember, each young wizard is limited to exchanging no more than one thousand Galleons per visit."
Cho Chang had perhaps visited Gringotts more than once, so she did not pay much mind to the goblin's attitude, but Ye Feng was somewhat displeased by the goblin's haughty demeanor.
As is well known, the goblins in the world of Harry Potter are an extremely avaricious race, which makes them deeply desirous of certain highly valuable items. For the sake of acquiring such treasures, they are even willing to lower their "proud" heads and humbly plead with you to sell them or pawn them to Gringotts.
Of course, once they obtained what they wanted, they would immediately revert to their former attitude.
Ye Feng remembered how a ruthless character in a certain novel had exploited their greed-driven nature, taking advantage of a giant's collapse to mortgage Hogwarts and directly sweep through Gringotts in one fell swoop, transforming overnight from Gringotts' largest borrower into its ultimate creditor.
Therefore, just as Cho Chang handed over that small stack of pounds, Ye Feng pulled out a low-grade spirit stone and tossed it about casually, pretending not to care.
"Wait!"
Barely two seconds later, before Cho Chang's exchanged Galleons had even been brought out, the goblin who had just been sitting behind the counter with such an arrogant posture instantly widened his eyes, his entire body leaning halfway out over the counter.
Seeing this goblin's reaction, Ye Feng suddenly slipped the spirit stone back into his pocket with one hand, then looked up at the goblin—whose upper body was now leaning well past the counter—and said with a look of annoyance, "Why are you so slow? Haven't the Galleons been brought out yet? I still need to go buy a full set of books for school, not to mention all the other school equipment!"
Hearing this, the goblin—who had moments before worn an entirely indifferent expression—instantly plastered on what he imagined to be a brilliant smile and said with extraordinary fawning, "The Galleons for you two young wizards are already prepared. Please take your Galleons, but I have a request to make.""Could you... please take out that gem you just showed me and let me look at it again? Just a glance."
Seeing that the goblin had taken the bait, and only after Cho Chang had put away the exchanged Galleons, Ye Feng reluctantly pulled the low-grade spirit stone from his pocket.
The moment Ye Feng brought out the low-grade spirit stone, the goblin's eyes widened into perfect circles, practically bulging out of their sockets, while its wrinkled hands instinctively lunged toward the stone resting in Ye Feng's palm.
Ye Feng had originally intended to play hard-to-get and string the goblin along, but then he remembered he was supposed to be an eleven-year-old "child," so he held back and let the goblin take the stone right out of his hand.
After taking the stone, an expression of ecstatic joy washed over the goblin's face, though it quickly reined it in. Claiming the value was impossible to determine, the goblin carried it away to be authenticated by the other goblins.
A dozen minutes later, the goblin reappeared before them with a composed expression, still holding the stone, and made an offer: Gringotts was willing to buy this "gem" for one hundred Galleons.
Even knowing how shady these goblins were, Ye Feng hadn't expected them to be this ruthless. The offer almost made him laugh in sheer exasperation. Beside him, Cho Chang stared in astonishment, her soft, delicate red lips parted slightly—she truly never imagined this "gem" could be worth so much.
Yet, despite being quite pleased with the price, Cho Chang quickly regained her composure. She didn't let Ye Feng sell the "gem" right away, advising him to keep it for now and wait until they could discuss it with her parents and his parents before making a decision.
Ye Feng knew this was the most sensible course of action for someone their age, but he had no such need, as this item wasn't particularly precious to him. Shaking his head, he held up a single finger toward the goblin.
"Ten thousand Galleons. Not a single coin less, or we walk out right this second, and we will never sell to Gringotts again."