Chapter 5: Shopping

"So, you got that cedar wood wand."

After meeting up at Madam Malkin's Robes Shop, Chris immediately recognized the wand in Kyle's hand.

Because of the unusual combination, Chris had a deep impression of it. And it was because of this wand that he met Diana for the first time.

He couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental as he looked at Kyle. But quickly, his expression changed. He seemed to think of something and patted Kyle's shoulder solemnly.

"My dear, I have to regretfully tell you some bad news. With this wand, you probably won't be able to get into Gryffindor."

"Can't get into Gryffindor?" Kyle twitched his lips. He understood what his father meant.

Ollivander had said that wizards with cedar wood wands possessed keen insight and were naturally calm. And Gryffindors... well, let's just say they might not need to be calm.

Kyle hadn't expected to be excluded from a house before he even started school. It was a disheartening piece of news.

"What are you two laughing about?" Just then, Diana walked over, curious.

She had gone to buy a cauldron for Kyle, and on her way back she also went to Flourish & Blotts, and bought some quills and parchment, so she hadn't heard the conversation between father and son.

"Nothing, just Dad saying I won't be able to get into Gryffindor with this wand," Kyle explained, showing Diana his new wand.

Diana recognized the cedar wood wand and combined with Kyle's words, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Unfortunately, dear, I think your father is right."

Neither Chris nor Diana had any specific thoughts about which house Kyle should be in. In their opinion, as long as he was at Hogwarts, the house didn't matter.

Kyle felt the same way.

...

Just like choosing a wand, making robes was a long process. Even with Madam Malkin's expertise, it took twenty minutes.

And that was just the time it took to measure. The finished product would take longer. Because Kyle was taller than most kids his age, the shop didn't have anything suitable in stock. He had to custom-order it, which would take about two hours.

Kyle thought about it and decided to leave his address and have the owl deliver it.

It was already five o'clock in the afternoon. It would be seven o'clock in two hours. It would be too late. Delivery was more convenient.

The next stop after Madam Malkin's Robes Shop was Flourish & Blotts.

This was quick. In less than five minutes, Kyle had found all the necessary books. He also bought two extra books for leisure reading.

First, he needed Newt's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Newly Revised Edition)".

Even though he already had nineteen copies at home, that didn't stop him from supporting Newt. He could consider it to help with sales.

Besides, this new revised edition was a good value for money. It had thirty more pages and seven new magical creatures. High cost-performance ratio, no regrets.

As for the second book, it was something Kyle kicked out of a corner by accident when he was paying.

"Ordinary Spells and Their Counters"

As its name suggests, it contained common spells like the Lumos Charm, the Levitation Charm, and the Cleaning Charm.

But it had a lot of them, covering all aspects. It was like a spell version of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," and it wasn't expensive, only a Galleon.

Kyle looked at it for a moment and decided to take it. Although it wasn't very useful, it was a good way to kill time.

Actually, besides these two books, Kyle wanted to read many more, about Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, and he could fill a whole sheet of parchment with them. But he didn't buy them.

It wasn't because he was broke. Chris and Diana's income was quite decent. Although they weren't as rich as pure-blood families, they could afford a few books. The main reason was that he was going to Hogwarts soon.

He was guarding one of the largest and oldest libraries in the magical world. Why buy books? Unless they were necessary textbooks for class, or he liked them, he could just borrow them when he wanted to read them.

He didn't know what others thought, but Kyle didn't want to be a sucker. His Galleons weren't blowing in the wind.

...

After leaving Flourish & Blotts, Kyle had almost finished buying the things on his list, or rather, he had finished buying them.

The only thing left was the pet, he didn't need one.

Chris had rescued many injured owls over the years, so their family had a high reputation among these messengers. Therefore, Kyle also benefited a lot.

Every time he showed up at the window with a letter or package, a whole bunch of owls would rush over, vying to deliver it for him. Among them were many from Hogwarts.

When he needed one, he could just hire one with some snacks. It was convenient.

See, another Galleon saved.

Originally, Kyle wanted to use the money he saved to buy a broomstick. Nothing too fancy, a Firebolt 1500, or a Comet Two Sixty would be fine.

Compared to the new models displayed in the windows, these older models had a very high cost-performance ratio. They were not much different in terms of quality, but the price was less than one-third of the new models and very affordable.

For example, the Firebolt 1500, which was popular a couple of years ago, was originally 300 Galleons, but now you can take one home for only eighty. The pocket money he had saved over the years was almost enough.

The Comet Two Sixty was more expensive, about one hundred Galleons, but it was still affordable, he just needed Chris to help out.

But as soon as he brought up this idea, Diana vetoed it. The reason was simple: Hogwarts didn't allow first-year students to bring broomsticks, so it was useless to buy one. There was one at home, which was enough.

To this, Chris could only shrug at Kyle helplessly and say he couldn't help either. But he kindly took Kyle to the window of the Quality Quidditch Supplies, let him enjoy the sight of all the broomsticks, and then headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.

...

The Weasleys had gone back ahead of them when Kyle was buying robes.

Mrs. Weasley needed to go back and prepare a big dinner. For a family with six kids, it wasn't a small project. Even with the help of magic, it would take an hour or more.

It was a pity that Kyle didn't get to see the twins embarrass themselves. He was very disappointed, second only to not being able to buy a broomstick.

...…