Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

Xavier was delighted with the gifts from his friends.

Perhaps due to his physical condition, he sometimes felt like a real eleven-year-old child.

That's true, after all—he is Lu Ze, and also Ethan Xavier.

"Ethan, are you ready? We're leaving soon!"

Beth's voice came from outside; her family was planning to go to Diagon Alley today.

During Xavier's absence, Beth and Darren also tried to find the Leaky Cauldron, but as Muggles, they could never find it.

"Alright, alright, that's enough!"

Xavier hurriedly piled the gifts on the bed, got up, and went out.

In the living room, Darren and Beth had already changed into their wizard robes.

Darren's was dark gray with slightly long sleeves; Beth wore a burgundy robe with a gold belt around her waist.

Xavier couldn't help but laugh.

"Is Mom pretty?"

Beth twirled around, the hem of her robe sweeping across the floor.

"It looks good," Xavier complimented.

"It looks a bit like a Christmas tree."

Beth playfully slapped him.

Darren watched from the side, a smile playing on his lips, but his eyes held a complex expression.

Based on their conversations over this period, he knew that the wizarding world might not be as safe as he imagined, and that his son Ethan was still just a child...

The group took the subway to Charing Cross Road.

"Ethan, at your magic school, do your plates automatically refill during meals?"

"Pretty much, the house-elves will take care of everything."

"House-elves? You mean—like the elves in fairy tales?"

"A little uglier than in fairy tales," Xavier thought for a moment about the image of the kitchen elf, but answered honestly, "but with a kind heart."

Darren, flipping through his newspaper, was listening intently: "How is Professor Snape treating you?"

In a previous letter, Xavier had complained to his parents that he didn't really like Professor Snape.

"...It's alright," Xavier said.

"He looks at everyone like that, it's not just me."

This is the truth.

Snape's attitude towards Hufflepuff was neither good nor bad; it was basically at the level of "I can't be bothered with you".

Harry and his friends were quite envious of the Hufflepuff students, because Gryffindor students were sprayed with venom by the giant bat in almost every class.

-

Leaky Cauldron is still the same as always.

The light was dim, and the air was filled with the smell of sherry and old wood.

Several old witches sat in the corner of the room, drinking sherry from small cups. One of them was smoking a long pipe, and smoke rings slowly rose to the ceiling.

A man wearing a top hat is chatting with the bar owner, who is almost bald and looks like a shriveled walnut.

Xavier vaguely remembered that it looked like this when he came here before enrolling last time.

It seems that no matter how many years pass, this place will remain the same.

The bar owner, Tom, looked up, saw the Xavier family, and grinned: "Oh? Happy holidays, little wizard!"

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Tom." Xavier nodded politely.

Tom glanced at Darren and Beth, then winked at them. "Nice wizard robes, sir and madam."

He could tell they were a Muggle family, since traditional wizarding families would usually travel to Diagon Alley via the Floo Network.

Darren smiled slightly, while Beth readily said thank you.

The family walked through the bar and onto the empty courtyard at the back.

Surrounded by high walls, with a hazy gray sky overhead, old wooden barrels and rusted iron pipes piled up in the corners.

Xavier took out his wand: count three bricks up from the dumpster, then two bricks horizontally—he found the brick and tapped it three times with his wand.

The brick wall began to shake, and a small hole appeared in the middle. The hole then slowly expanded, forming a wide archway.

The bricks and stones on the edge were still turning and wriggling, as if something alive was stretching its body.

At the other end, the entire view of Diagon Alley is revealed.

Beth gasped, just like last time. Darren remained calm, but his grip on the newspaper betrayed him.

Without Floo Powder and Floo Net, they can only take this secret route.

Xavier didn't care; he thought knocking down the brick wall was much cleaner than drilling into the fireplace.

-

Diagon Alley was as lively as ever, perhaps because of Christmas.

The shop windows on both sides were filled with all sorts of magical items: flying brooms floated by themselves in the windows, cauldrons were piled up on the shelves, and mannequins in the robe shop would wave to passersby.

Beth looked around, pointing to the window of a pet store.

"Ethan! Look at that!" Inside, a snow-white owl was preening its feathers with its claws.

"Should we buy another owl? We can send you letters regularly," Beth complained, glancing at Xavier. "You don't write letters often enough."

"We only need Bobo!"

Xavier quickly intervened.

"How about we buy some more pets? But forget about the toads—" Beth looked hesitant, then suddenly seemed to remember something.

"But I saw some baby mice last time, we could buy them and keep them as pet hamsters!"

Xavier thought for a moment and decisively rejected the rat's suggestion.

As for the owl—seeing Beth's expectant look, he nodded nonetheless.

"Then let's keep the owl," he said.

"The white one!" Beth had already made her decision.

Darren silently took out his money.

Xavier realized that the owl was one of the reasons his parents had come.

-

At Lady Malkin's gown boutique, Xavier took his new measurements.

The school uniform I bought last time is already a bit short. Eleven-year-old boys grow fast, and with his daily exercise, he's even taller than before.

The short, plump Mrs. Malkin wore a pale purple robe, and the measuring tape beside her moved as she spoke.

"You've grown taller again, Mr. Xavier," she said as she measured him.

"You're the fastest growing Hufflepuff I've ever seen."

Xavier wasn't sure if this was a compliment.

Beth discussed fabrics and colors with Mrs. Malkin and finally decided to buy three sets of everyday school robes and a hooded travel cloak.

Darren stood in the corner, staring at the price list, his expression gradually freezing—"It feels like the prices are even higher than last time!"

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mrs. Malkin said with a smile, "raising a wizard child costs more than raising a dragon."

Darren's expression froze even more.

-

Florin's Ice Cream Parlor was the place Beth insisted on going to.

"We've come all this way, we should at least eat something," she said.

The three people sat outside the store, each ordering a chocolate ice cream with raspberry sauce.

Beth ate slowly, watching the wizards passing by on the street as she ate.

"That person's hat is so strange," she whispered.

"That's a dragon skin hat; it's said to be waterproof," Xavier explained.

"Where is that person's cane?"

"That's actually a wand. Some people like to hide their wands inside their canes."

Beth clicked her tongue in amazement.

Darren also asked a question: "What's that person holding? A broom?"

"Flying brooms." Xavier nodded. "Some people use them to get around, but most wizards use Floo Powder or Apparition."

What is Apparition?

"It's teleportation."

Darren paused for a few seconds and then exclaimed, "Magic is so convenient."

Just as they were about to leave, the shop owner, Mr. Florin Fusco, generously gave them a free box of ice cream.

In the evening, the family returned to their home in London.

Beth placed her newly bought owl, Snowball, on the shelf in the living room and even put a soft cushion on it.

However, Bobo, standing to the side, didn't seem to welcome it very much.