Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

Afterwards, John's family discussed that they would go to Diagon Alley together to buy the necessary items when the parents had a break from work.

According to the contents of the letter, the wizarding world has a unique currency: Galleons, Sickles, and Nats.

In simpler terms, they are gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins.

Because their shape is that of a coin.

One Galleon is roughly equivalent to five pounds in Muggle society, so its purchasing power is quite strong.

A family as well-off as his could prepare enough pounds to exchange for Galleons at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley, so that they could buy what they needed in Diagon Alley.

If you are a young wizard from an ordinary family, you can apply for a student loan in Gringotts using your acceptance letter.

Of course, this is unnecessary for John.

In the past few days, John has been reading the Hogwarts history book and has learned a lot about Hogwarts.

Hogwarts is located in the Scottish Highlands, where Muggles cannot enter through normal means, and cannot even discover it.

This school was founded in the 10th century by four founders, and thus it was divided into four different colleges, each corresponding to one of the four animals on the school emblem.

The lion, symbolizing courage and strength, is associated with Gryffindor.

Hufflepuff, a badger symbolizing loyalty and resilience.

The eagle, a symbol of wisdom and vision, is associated with Ravenclaw.

The snake, symbolizing shrewdness and ambition, is Slytherin.

The first thing every new student does upon arriving at Hogwarts is to be assigned to a corresponding house.

It's so hard to guess! Someone as courageous, intelligent, shrewd, and loyal as me, which college will I be assigned to?

The book also describes a lot about Hogwarts Castle.

To be honest, he didn't understand a large part of it because he didn't recognize the words used. They were probably wizarding terms or spell names.

He was particularly interested in the architectural structure known as the spiral staircase, which he said was constantly changing and had 142 different patterns, which he found fascinating.

After that, John immersed himself in the pleasure of reading the book every day.

Until February 8th.

Today is the day when parents don't have to go to work and go to Diagon Alley with John.

Because of many unknown factors and concerns about not having enough time, the family left home very early.

Charing Cross Road is located in the heart of London, a bustling area every day. The fact that the Leaky Cauldron, a pub, has never been discovered in such a place proves that wizards' Muggle banishment magic is quite effective.

After arriving at their destination, John's family walked for a while, with the Merricks looking around but unable to find the Leaky Cauldron.

John noticed a shop across the street with a sign, but the sign itself was completely blank.

As John slowly approached, a magical scene unfolded: the blank signboard automatically revealed a crucible pattern, inside which appeared the words "Break the Cauldron."

"Found it, that's the Leaky Cauldron."

John pointed to the Leaky Cauldron across the street and said to his parents.

However, when the Merricks looked in the direction John was pointing, they only saw a bookstore and a record store, not the Leaky Cauldron.

When his parents still couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron, John led them directly to the pub's entrance. Only after pushing open the door did they realize they had been daydreaming and hadn't noticed the pub at all.

I didn't find the appearance of this bar at all out of place; it felt quite magical.

The Leaky Cauldron was dimly lit, but John was still able to see the interior of the bar thanks to the rising sun.

There was only one bar counter in the bar, next to which hung a small blackboard listing the prices of the drinks. In the center of the bar were some vintage wooden tables and chairs, and the gray walls around the bar were covered with all sorts of paintings he had never seen before.

At the far end of the bar is a huge fireplace, big enough for three or four people to go in at the same time.

Next to the fireplace is a wooden staircase leading to the second floor.

By this time, quite a few people had entered the bar. Some were dressed no differently from ordinary Muggles, while others wore robes similar to those worn by Professor Snape, or pointed wizard hats.

Just as John and his family were looking around, a hunchbacked, bald man walked towards them.

"Oh, welcome. You must be a new student at Hogwarts this year. My name is Tom, and I'm the owner of the Leaky Cauldron."

The boss, Tom, approached John with a smile and greeted him warmly.

"Hello, boss. Yes, I'm a new student at Hogwarts this year. My name is John Merrick. The Hogwarts professors said that if I want to go to Diagon Alley, I should just come to the Leaky Cauldron to find you."

John had originally intended to go to the bar to ask who the owner was, but unexpectedly, the owner of Leaky Cauldron noticed them first and took the initiative to come over and talk to them.

"Oh, of course. School starts soon, and a lot of young wizards from Muggle families like yours are coming to the Leaky Cauldron."

The boss, Tom, immediately saw the purpose of these three unfamiliar faces, which is why he took the initiative to come up and talk to them.

"Follow me, the entrance to Diagon Alley is in the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron."

The boss, Tom, turned to the side and stretched his hand out towards the backyard, gesturing for the group to come this way, before leading the way.

As John walked through the bar, he suddenly noticed a wanted poster on one of the bar's supporting pillars.

Because the portraits of the people in the wanted posters actually moved, like GIFs, I became curious and took a few more glances.

The more he looked, the more familiar he seemed. Wasn't this the escaped convict he'd seen on TV a while back? Celias Black.

How come this person is wanted in the wizarding world?

Tom, the boss who was walking in front, noticed that John had stopped behind him. He turned around and saw John looking at the wanted poster with a surprised expression.

"Cirias Black, haha, I advise you not to be too curious about him. He hates Muggles the most. He was arrested by the Ministry of Magic for blowing up a street and killing 13 Muggles."

"He is still the only criminal in history to have escaped from Azkaban. In order to catch him, the Ministry of Magic has issued an arrest warrant for him to the Muggle community. You should have seen it in the newspaper or on TV."

Seeing John's curiosity about the person on the wanted poster, Tom introduced him to John in a sinister tone, his chilling smile sending a shiver down one's spine.

I'd read about Azkaban before; it's a prison specifically for wizard prisoners. They say that if you violate the Wizarding Secrets Act, you could be imprisoned there.

He had initially thought it was some small prison, but now it seems to have quite a reputation.

"But you don't need to worry too much. Hogwarts is the safest place in all of Britain. There will be no danger in studying there."

Seeing the Merricks looking extremely frightened and worried, old Tom chuckled and continued.

Hearing this, the Merricks were relieved.

"Come on, the entrance to Diagon Alley is right here."

After clearing up their doubts, the owner, Tom, led them to the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron. It was a small courtyard with a red brick wall in front of it, and a trash can in the lower left corner of the wall.

Old Tom walked to the dumpster and pulled a magic wand from his pocket.

"Watch the little wizard closely. Count three bricks up from the trash can." The boss pointed at the red bricks with his wand and moved them up three times, one at a time.

"Count two more bricks horizontally, and tap them three times with your wand."

Since the bricks above the trash can are already on the far left of the wall, counting two bricks horizontally is actually counting two bricks to the right.

After the boss tapped the brick three times with his wand, a magical scene unfolded.

The red brick wall in front of them suddenly began to shake, and then the bricks began to rotate and contract, slowly splitting open a small archway for people to pass through.

A bustling street came into view of John's family.

Welcome to Diagon Alley.