บท 8: Chapter 8: Revisiting Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley is a wonderful place.
A month after his first visit, Andrew finally managed to scrape together enough money for the round trip to London and the expenses he'd need for Diagon Alley.
As a consequence, his study of textbooks and his experiments with magic hadn't progressed as quickly as he had imagined, but it was a necessary trade-off.
As he got off at King's Cross Station, he even found himself glancing at the signpost. According to Professor McGonagall, he'd be taking the train to Hogwarts from Platform 9¾. But at this moment, he wasn't interested in testing whether that platform actually opened by running his head into it.
Train turned into the Tube, and by around midday, he successfully arrived at the entrance to Diagon Alley—the Leaky Cauldron.
"This is truly a fantastic place," he muttered to himself as he looked at the tavern's entrance. He then took off his backpack, pulled out a cloak, and threw it over himself. He also fished out a cup of ice, tucking it into his cloak.
Last time, with Professor McGonagall leading him, he hadn't had much choice. But this time, he was not about to walk around in a set of clothes that made him stand out in a wizarding area. He suspected most wizards wandering the streets knew a spell to keep their robes cool, but he hadn't found anything like that in his first-year textbooks.
Due to the special nature of his previous visit, he hadn't yet learned how wizards normally greeted each other, but that wasn't much of a problem. Many people were visiting Diagon Alley before the Hogwarts term started, so he just needed to keep his hood up to blend in.
Everything went smoothly, except for the stifling heat.
So, after leaving the Leaky Cauldron, he quickly took off his hood, gave up on the silly disguise, and bought a large ice cream before heading straight for the second-hand bookstore.
After a brief negotiation with the owner, Andrew obtained the right to browse any book outside the "premium" second-hand section for one Sickle an hour—and he could even bring in his half-eaten ice cream.
That was about all he could get. Discrimination based on age was something only time could erase. At his age, most adults would only talk to him seriously if they weren't face-to-face.
"This is why I chose writing as my first income stream..."
Andrew quickly finished his ice cream, put on a mask, and then began flipping through the old books.
Unlike last time, when he picked mostly school textbooks, this time he focused on entertainment books.
Entertainment was a human instinct, whether Muggle or wizard.
In plain language, everyone liked a good time, although the methods of seeking entertainment differed.
He wasn't arrogant enough to think he could change how wizards entertained themselves, but if he could figure out what they liked, he was confident he could deliver content the magical world would enjoy.
However, investigating in a second-hand bookstore had a drawback—the owner wouldn't stock anything too time-sensitive, nor could he collect second-hand books aimed strictly at adult wizards. Still, the rest would do.
Fairy tales and bedtime stories were great materials. Twisting well-known childhood tales into "ruin your childhood" versions was a classic move for hidden gems, as long as they didn't deviate too much from the original—readers would enjoy them immensely.
"Focus, Andrew... you came here knowing that as your grasp of grammar improves, you'll write books with a broader appeal."
He reminded himself to take on a different persona for this, and resumed flipping through biographies.
Any biography that was bought, sold, and resold at a second-hand bookstore had to have been quite popular. Rewriting it into an adventure story series seemed like a solid choice.
Then he could add a little fantastical twist, exaggerate the magical effects, and as long as he avoided portraying the characters in a negative light, it would be well-received.
After getting a general idea of popular magazine series, familiarizing himself with commonly read wizard fairy tales, and reviewing biographies of famous wizards, Andrew felt he had a decent understanding. He picked out the books that caught his eye and realized he hadn't even gone to Gringotts to exchange money.
After paying for the books he'd browsed, he asked the shopkeeper to hold onto his selected books and quickly dashed to Gringotts to exchange his money for Galleons (it helped that he picked a good day, as Gringotts wasn't too busy).
"You know, a lot of the storybooks are also available in the Hogwarts library," the shopkeeper remarked, noticing Andrew's hurried coming and going. His main profit came from second-hand textbooks, as he managed to buy many cheaply during the end of each year at Hogwarts, after O.W.L.s or graduations.
"That's exactly why I want these, sir," Andrew replied, nodding. "Can I look for some of the most popular second-hand books in your premium section?"
"Nope, I don't have any of those." The shopkeeper spread his hands. "Gilderoy Lockhart's books are all the rage, and his second-hand books are hard to come by. They're highly sought after—lots of people have them reserved."
"Lockhart?"
"Of course, the most famous adventurer. His stories are so vividly told."
The shopkeeper praised him—he himself harbored an adventurous spirit, though making a living by buying second-hand textbooks from Hogwarts had kept his dreams grounded.
'Alright, looks like I'll need to get the Lockhart collection too... thankfully, my budget isn't too tight.' Andrew thought, as he packed up his selected classics. "Also, I need an owl—an ordinary, common owl."
About ten minutes later, he arrived at the famous Eeylops Owl Emporium.
Another ten minutes later, he walked out, carrying a grass owl. According to his reading, this type of owl was the most common in the entire magical world—even the owls used at Hogwarts were mostly grass owls.
"Still," he looked at his owl, "I can't shake the feeling the clerk tricked me. You are quite uniquely... ugly... oh, no, stop!"
The owl's beak had already made contact with his finger. It was just a gentle peck, but the look in its eyes carried a serious warning. Clearly, if Andrew pushed it any further, it was prepared to take a real bite.
This made Andrew realize that the clerk's description of the owl being "very smart" wasn't just a sales pitch.
"So, the invisibility-reducing charm on your cage is real too?" Andrew studied the owl carefully. "Alright, since you held back, I'll give you a nice name—but not now. We need to get back first."
The owl gave a slight nod, surprising Andrew once again, even though he thought he had already grown used to the magical world.
"The right books, the right audience, and now a fitting owl..."
Andrew nodded in satisfaction. This outing had gone perfectly. His next step was to find a reasonably priced inn for the night and head back to the orphanage from London the next day.
"Hey, I've got an idea," Andrew said, turning to his new owl companion. "How about the Leaky Cauldron? We might as well gather some intel on the wizarding world."
"Hoot."
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