Chapter 4 : Diagon Alley

In general, Maca had never been particularly interested in the Weasleys, finding their lively scenes not to his liking. However, Ron, a member of the future trio, intrigued him. Though he couldn't recall many details, Maca's curiosity about Ron prompted a visit to the Weasley home.

On the same day, Maca and Luna had lunch at the Weasley's home, spent an afternoon in the Burrow, and then returned to Lovegood's house. It's worth noting that he had made an appointment with Mrs. Weasley, and they planned to go to Diagon Alley at the end of next month to buy the necessities required for admission. Ron had also received Hogwarts' admission notice.

Maca spent a considerable amount of time at Lovegood's house, engaging in daily conversations with Luna. While their discussions sometimes veered off topic, most of the time, they flowed quickly. However, the happy days always seemed short, and soon it was time to bid farewell to Mrs. Weasley. That morning, Maca said his goodbyes to Luna's father and her, then carried his suitcase back into the fireplace at Lovegood's.

Having lived in Luna's house for almost a month, Maca felt it was almost time to say goodbye. Of course, before leaving, Maca helped Mr. Lovegood repair a damaged fence, leaving a good impression behind. As they finally separated, Luna showed a bit of reluctance for the first time. Maca wondered, was this a good start? To be honest, he still held a favorable opinion of this sometimes clever, sometimes offbeat girl, though he had not reached the level of liking her.

When Maca arrived at Diagon Alley, Luna and her father were staring blankly at the empty fireplace. This time someone finally noticed Maca's vision when using flying powder—they were taken aback. The high-pitched green tongue of fire flew past them and almost licked Mr. Lovegood's robe. If he had stood closer, he would probably have ended up in Diagon Alley with Maca.

Maca and Mrs. Weasley's appointment was at the Partridge Crucible Shop, behind the Broken Cauldron bar. According to Ron, Maca didn't have to buy anything because he was going to use second-hand goods that Charlie had used. "Except for a new crucible because Charlie's mouth leaked," Ron, who said that at the time, seemed reluctant. "I would rather leak a 'Standard Spell, Elementary,' which is more expensive, and it won't look so stupid."

When Maca stood looking at the crucible shop door, he found that he was probably earlier. "In any case, let's go to the Gringotts first!" Maca looked around and decided to follow the original plan.

Gringotts is the only bank in the magic world, and its branches are operated by Goblins all over the world. The Goblins provide services related to saving money and renting vaults, and of course, there are also corners such as currency exchange.

Hanging at the door of a few Goblins, Maca walked into the marble hall of the Goblins. As soon as he entered, he was calmed down by the busy but orderly scene inside. About a hundred or so goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long row of counters, some weighing coins with copper balances, some checking gems with eyepieces, and registering them on the large ledger. There were countless doors in the hall leading to different places, and many fairies guided customers in and out of these doorways.

This kind of scene was rare, and Maca stood by the door and watched for a while. Then he walked over to the counter with the "Muggle Currency Exchange Office" nameplate. "Time is money, my friend," Maca said, looking at a young Goblin on the high stool. He couldn't help but quote a famous saying, then asked, "What is the exchange rate for the pound?"

"Oh, yes," said the Goblin at the counter. His eyes flickered sharply as if he had heard something reasonable. He examined Maca carefully before answering, "Today's pound exchange rate is 5:1; distinguished guest, do you need to exchange? The handling fee is 15 percent."

Maca quickly took most of his money out of the suitcase and deposited it in the Gringotts after completing the redemption procedures, leaving only 100 gold gallons for him. "I'm glad to serve you, and I wish you a lot of money!" In the end, the goblin happily approached him with a sharp voice. As soon as Maca came to the gate, he faintly heard a familiar cry behind him. "Time is money, my friend!"

"It's moving," Maca grinned and left, cheerful with every step. "Well, where should I go next? Or just go around first?" While Maca was contemplating his next move, his gaze was drawn by another fork opposite Gringotts.

Diagon Alley's shops were crowded, but they looked significantly narrower, with odd-shaped buildings blocking most of the light, creating a slightly spooky atmosphere. Maca froze in place, then walked over. The three shops were all closed, their doors shut tightly with thick flannel curtains. The names of the shops on the door openings were unclear, and they had been deserted for some years.

After a few more steps, a small shop called "Magical Menagerie" opened its doors. There seemed to be a lot of strange creatures inside the cage, reminiscent of an item on the shopping list: students can bring an owl, a cat, or a toad. Maybe it's good to go in and see; anyway, he came too early today and still has a lot of time.

"Welcome, young guests." At the very end of the shop, an old witch wearing a broad-brimmed pointed hat whispered in a kind of hoarse voice, "Please take a look." Maca glanced over there, then looked at the creatures in the cages on both sides. He just looked; most of the creatures inside he didn't know, but this did not hinder his curiosity.

Suddenly, he saw a black owl, which looked very large, at least two times larger than the breed in the "Eeylop's Owl Emporium" that was passing by. "What kind of owl is this?" Maca turned her head and asked the old witch inside.

"Small-eared Owl, originating in Sumatra, is good at hunting and alerting and is good at predicting the coming of earthquakes and tsunamis." The old witch said vaguely; her cracked lips opened and closed, and the missing ones. A mouthful of yellow teeth was visible.

Maca looked at the owl in the cage again, saw that she was looking at herself quietly, and asked, "How much?" The old witch grinned and grinned, a stiff smile that was creepy. "Twenty gallons."

Maca glanced at the old witch without changing her expression. "Come on, ma'am, I'm not Hogwarts' hairy kids." The old witch looked Maca up and down hesitantly, then raised her back, which had been bowing slightly, and her voice became a little louder: "Okay, sir, fifteen gold gallons."

Maca didn't even look at her this time; he turned around and walked out, as fast as he was fleeing from some filth. "Wait, wait, sir, ten, no... eight, at least eight!" The old witch shouted suddenly when she saw this.

Maca turned his head and did not slash. He estimated that although there must be a lot of profit at this price, it was almost the same, and he would no longer be able to buy it if he tried to bargain. "Deal." Maca took out eight gold gallons and placed them on the counter, then lifted the cage and walked out of the shop. "Wait! The price of the cage is another." The old witch chased to the door, only to find that Maca had disappeared from the crowd on the street.

At this time, she was surprised to find that she was standing at the door. This old witch is two meters high! "Abominable! What an abominable little dwarf, just like the vampires in the United States!" The old witch scolded and went back.

Of course, Maca didn't run too far; he just walked two steps, and then he went into a shop called "Melloki Museum." "Welcome to the Melloki Museum of Treasures; there is everything here; you can choose slowly!" A little man shorter than Maca suddenly popped out of the back of a shelf; his sharp voice was better than the Goblins of the Gringotts. It's half a note higher.

"I'm just looking," Maca said casually and pulled out one from the big basket beside the shelf—oh no, half a wand. Half of the wand is scarred, and there are several deep scratches on the wand. Even the leaky, dirty core can be seen at the fracture. "This is a rarity." Maca looked at the half-stick in his hand with a strange expression.

But the short wizard seemed to think it was a treasure. He waved his hands and exclaimed excitedly, "Oh yes! The magic wand used by Grindelwald in his school years, purple shirt, dragon heart cord, ten four and three-quarter inches... Marka sighed and threw the other half of the wand back into the basket. After a while, Maca picked up a few baubles on the shelf and watched while the dwarf was dancing around him, ripping out a series of stories that sounded fake enough, seemingly counting on Maca's attention.

When Maca put down his hand and left, he suddenly caught the corner of his eyes, and there was a faint blue light in the gap of the shelf! Maca immediately looked away, pretending to squat to look at other goods, but he had a thought in his mind.