Throughout the journey, Severus kept his usual expressionless face, though Wenxiu Lord, holding Severus's hand, could clearly feel a thin layer of nervous sweat coating his palm.
Inside the car, silence stretched on. The driver kept glancing at the two teenagers in the rearview mirror, feeling the atmosphere inside the vehicle was somewhat subtly awkward.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, and noticing that Severus beside him was tense as a board, Wenxiu Lord rolled his eyes, shifted closer to Severus, and nudged the other boy's shoulder with his own.
"Oh come on, Severus, don't look so grim. Even though this is my first time going there too, my sense of direction is exceptionally strong. There's no way we'll get lost!" With that, he patted his chest with utmost confidence and tossed his head proudly.
Severus let out a speechless, cold snort and gave no reply.
In the rearview mirror, the driver watched the silver-haired boy speak, after which the dark-haired boy's expression noticeably improved.
The atmosphere eased slightly. Seeking a topic to liven things up, the driver asked, "I noticed you two just came out of the train station and are heading for Charing Cross Road. Are you boys going somewhere fun?"
Hearing this, Wenxiu Lord quickly switched on his social smile and met the driver's gaze in the rearview mirror.
"That's right, we're going to meet some friends, and our parents have already arranged it. You look awfully young, sir. How many years have you been in this line of work?"
Severus, who had been staring out the window, turned his head to glance at the driver in the rearview mirror and twitched his lips speechlessly. He added another item to his mental list of Wenxiu Lord's capabilities: not only was he deeply knowledgeable in charms and potions, but his talent for telling boldfaced lies with a straight face was also extraordinary.
The driver reflected in the mirror had a face covered in wrinkles, a receding hairline, and a deeply creased smile that made him look remarkably like a withered chrysanthemum.
"I've been doing this for over thirty years. I'm fifty-eight this year—doesn't look like it, does it? My missus always says I don't look my age."
Wenxiu Lord hadn't expected the driver to be so utterly lacking in self-awareness. Noticing the teasing gaze beside him, Wenxiu Lord covertly curled his lip and spitefully dug his fingernails hard into Severus's palm. He exchanged a few brief pleasantries with the driver and quickly changed the subject.
All the way there, Severus listened to Wenxiu Lord and the driver chatting back and forth. With Wenxiu Lord constantly distracting him, Severus's tension eased significantly, and before long, the car reached its destination.
The two boys got out at the intersection, and just as Severus reached to pay the fare, the driver cheerfully waived the tip.
Once Severus finished paying, Wenxiu Lord eagerly grabbed him and headed straight for a pub with a remarkably striking architectural style.
Along the way, he didn't forget to give Severus a quick briefing.
"See that out-of-place, narrow pub? We can get to Diagon Alley through the alley behind it."
"Many buildings in the Wizarding World are also built in the Muggle world, but they're cast with Muggle-Repelling Charms and Notice-Me-Not Charms. Usually, only wizards can see them, which effectively prevents Muggles from accidentally wandering in."
Severus seized on the key word in that statement. "Usually?"
Wenxiu Lord nodded. "That's right. The magical world doesn't just have wizards; it also has Squibs. Just like Muggles, they can't cast magic, but they still harbor magic within them, so charms like the Muggle-Repelling Charm don't work on them. However, they generally live in the magical world from birth—very few Squibs ever choose to contact Muggle society."
Looking up at the sign hanging over the pub—{The Leaky Cauldron}—Wenxiu Lord lowered his gaze and pushed the door open. "Let's go, we've arrived."
Pushing the door open and stepping inside, they found the place noisy and chaotic. Many wizards were sitting together, drinking and talking, paying little attention to the sound of the door opening since wizards who couldn't Apparate frequently used this place as a passage to Diagon Alley.
However, no one expected two young teenagers to walk in. Since it wasn't the season for new students to buy supplies, the sight of two unaccompanied boys made this normally indifferent crowd cast a few curious extra glances.
Several men cast lewd, lingering gazes at Wenxiu Lord, though the pub's rules kept them from approaching. Even so, Wenxiu Lord's exquisite appearance stirred up restless desires within them.
Standing behind the counter, the pub landlord shot those crude men a warning glare. While his establishment always welcomed all sorts of rough company, if anything happened to these two young wizards at The Leaky Cauldron, nobody would dare send their children here for the start of term anymore, ruining his livelihood.
Noticing those men's stares, Severus frowned deeply and stepped closer to Wenxiu Lord, partially blocking him with his own body to cut off those unpleasant gazes.
Wenxiu Lord also sensed those disgusting stares. Seeing Severus's action, he offered him a gentle smile, slid his wand out of his sleeve, and gripped it in his palm.
He ignored those revolting looks. After all, those people wouldn't dare pull anything here, and if anyone was truly blind enough to try, they only had themselves to blame for his ruthlessness—after all, the complete collection of curses he mastered included the three Unforgivable Curses.
He hadn't planned on lingering here anyway; as it was his first time visiting the starting point of Harry Potter's journey into the wizarding world, he simply wanted to take a look.
Now that he had seen it, he led Severus straight past the crowd and into the small alley in the back.
"If we tap the bricks in the correct sequence, we can get to Diagon Alley from here." Recalling Hagrid's movements from the movie, Wenxiu Lord took out his wand and tapped the wall bricks in order a few times.
Severus memorized every single one of his movements, then watched as the wall he had tapped instantly dissolved into individual blocks of stone that rippled and receded, finally sinking into the walls on either side to reveal a narrow passage.
They stepped out onto a winding, cobblestone-paved street, and the bustling prosperity of Diagon Alley burst into view.
It was Wenxiu Lord's first time here as well, and both boys were utterly stunned. Diagon Alley looked significantly larger and far more prosperous than it appeared in the films.
Rows of classical, distinctively styled buildings stood tightly packed together, stretching out of sight. Although it was already afternoon, the shops and streets were still packed with a massive crowd.
These people all wore various styles of wizard robes, and some had animals following beside them or cradled in their arms—some of which Severus couldn't even name.
Surrounded by so many people, Severus took the initiative to take hold of Wenxiu Lord's hand for the very first time, having no doubt that the moment he let go, the two of them would inevitably get lost.
"Let's go to Gringotts first. I need to withdraw some Galleons." Wenxiu Lord raised his hand and pointed toward a striking, snow-white building standing at the corner of the alley.
Severus nodded, "Alright," and the two of them walked toward Gringotts.
Squeezing through the crowd and arriving at Gringotts, Severus noticed two creatures standing by the doors wearing scarlet-and-gold uniforms; they had shrewd, cunning expressions, long limbs, and strange appearances.
Noticing that Severus's gaze remained fixed on those two creatures, and remembering how Harry and his friends were cheated by the goblins in the original story, Wenxiu Lord leaned in close to Severus's ear and whispered, "They're goblins. They run Gringotts, but they're extremely greedy and cunning. It's best not to have any dealings with them beyond depositing, withdrawing, and exchanging money."
Severus nodded, taking the advice to heart, and stopped staring at the two goblins.
Passing through two sets of doors, a goblin stepped forward, bowed, and led them into a tall marble hall.
Three sides of the hall were lined with countless small alcoves, in each of which sat a goblin. Some were weighing coins on brass scales, others were inspecting gemstones through loupes while hastily recording entries into large ledger books.
Countless doors branched off from the hall, leading to various destinations, and many goblins were guiding people in and out of these doors.
The two boys walked up to one of the goblins, who was busy weighing gemstones.
Wenxiu Lord spoke up, "We need to visit the Lorde Family vault."
The goblin behind the alcove paused its work and peered at Wenxiu Lord through its lenses, seemingly assessing his identity and worth.
"I shall require your vault key, sir."
Reaching into his clothes pocket, Wenxiu Lord retrieved the Gringotts vault key from his system inventory and handed it over.
The goblin took the key, inspected it carefully, returned it to Wenxiu Lord, and nodded to the two boys.
"Very well. Follow me, and I shall take you down to the underground vaults."
Following the goblin through a small door, the two boys entered a narrow, gloomy tunnel. Below them lay a set of tracks and a cart resembling those used for hauling cargo in a mine.
They climbed into the cart, and Wenxiu Lord instructed Severus to hold tightly onto the handrails beside him.
Though confused, Severus obediently grasped the handles on either side.
The goblin blew a whistle, and the wheels scraped against the tracks, gradually accelerating as they plunged deep underground.