Chapter 3 The Knockturn Alley Incident (Patreon)

Overall, Maca was not very interested in the Weasley family, as mentioned before, he has never been fond of such lively scenes.

It's just that as a member of the future trio, Ron has too many stories involved with him. Although Maca couldn't remember many details, it didn't stop him from wanting to get to know Ron. In his view, this was a breakthrough point closest to him to befriend Harry, Hermione, and others.

Of course, they don't need to get too deep.

On that day, Maca and Luna had lunch at the Weasley's house, and then played at the Burrow for the whole afternoon, and then returned to the Lovegood house again.

It is worth mentioning that he has already made an appointment with Mrs. Weasley. They will go to Diagon Alley together at the end of the next month to buy those essential items for school-Ron has also received his Hogwarts admission letter.

The days at Lovegood house passed quickly, and Maca and Luna talked together every day, sometimes the topics of their conversation might be a bit random, but most of the time they got along well.

However, the happy days always seemed to be short-lived, time passed quickly, and soon it was the date he had agreed with Mrs. Weasley. On that morning, Maca said goodbye to Luna and her father, and then crossed the Lovegood house's fireplace again with his luggage.

He had lived at Luna's house for nearly a month, and even if he was shameless, Maca estimated that it was time to say goodbye. Of course, before leaving, Maca repaired the broken fence, which left a good impression on Mr. Lovegood.

At the last separation, Luna showed a somewhat reluctant expression for the first time. Maca wondered if this was considered a good start? To be honest, he had some good feelings for this girl who was sometimes clever and sometimes quirky, although it hadn't reached the level of liking yet.

"Bang!"

When Maca arrived at Diagon Alley, Luna and her father were staring blankly at the empty fireplace. Obviously, someone had finally realized the anomaly when Maca was using the Floo Powder-they were startled.

A high green flame shot by in front of their eyes, almost licking Mr. Lovegood's tattered robe. If he had stood a little closer, he might have gone to Diagon Alley with Maca.

...

Maca and Mrs. Weasley agreed to meet at Potage's Cauldron Shop, which is located behind The Leaky Cauldron. According to Ron, he didn't need to buy anything because he would use Charlie's second-hand items.

"Except for a new cauldron, because Charlie's leaks." Ron, who said this at the time, looked slightly reluctant, "I'd rather have A Standard Book of Spells leaking, that one is more expensive and doesn't make me look so stupid."

But when Maca stood at the door of the cauldron shop and looked inside, he realized that he might have come a little too early.

"Anyway, let's go to Gringotts first!" Maca looked around and decided to stick to the original plan.

Gringotts is the only bank in the wizarding world, operated by goblins with branches all over the world. The goblins provide services such as depositing money and renting vaults, of course, there are also currency exchange and other peripheral services.

Under the bowing gesture of several goblins at the door, Maca walked into Gringotts' marble hall. As soon as he entered, he was stunned by the busy yet orderly scene inside.

About a hundred goblins are sitting on high stools behind a row of long counters, some weighing coins with brass scales, some verifying gemstones with magnifying glasses, while chaotically recording everything in ledgers. There are countless doors in the hall, each leading to different places, and many goblins are guiding customers in and out of these doors.

To be honest, this kind of scene is not often seen. Maca stood by the door and watched for a while before walking towards the counter with the sign "Muggle Currency Exchange" nailed to it.

"Time is money, my friend," Maca involuntarily quoted a famous saying as he looked at the young goblin on the high stool, then asked, "What is the exchange rate for pounds?"

"Oh--yes, yes," The goblin in the counter's eyes lit up when he heard this, as if he had heard some profound truth. He examined Maca carefully before answering, "Today's pound exchange rate is 5.01, distinguished guest. Do you need to exchange? The handling fee is 1.5 points."

Maca quickly took out most of his money from his luggage and deposited it all into Gringotts after completing the exchange procedures, leaving only 100 Galleons on him for use.

"Thank you for your service, sir. I wish you all the best with your finances!" The goblin happily bid him farewell with a sharp voice.

As Maca walked towards the door, he vaguely heard a familiar shout behind him.

"Time is money, my friend!"

"Really touching," Maca grinned and left the place with a happy pace.

"Well, where to next? Maybe just wander around?" As Maca was considering where to go, his eyes were drawn to another fork in the road across from Gringotts.

Diagon Alley was already crowded enough, but that side looked even narrower, with even the light blocked by bizarre buildings, making it somewhat eerie.

Maca hesitated for a moment, then walked towards it.

The three shops at the intersection were all closed, the windows covered with heavy velvet curtains, and the store names on the doors barely discernible. Obviously, they had been deserted for some time.

A few more steps down the road, a small store named "Giant Spider" was wide open, with many strange creatures apparently kept in cages inside. This reminded him of an item on his shopping list - students may bring either an owl, a cat or a toad.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a look inside. After all, he had come too early today and had plenty of time.

"Welcome, young guest." In the farthest corner of the store, an old witch wearing a broad-brimmed pointed hat spoke in a gloomy, hoarse voice. "Please feel free to look around."

Maca glanced at it for a few moments, then looked at the creatures in the cages on both sides.

He was just looking around. He didn't recognize most of the creatures inside, but that didn't stop his curiosity.

Suddenly, he saw a black owl that looked much larger than the species in the "Owl Emporium" he had passed earlier.

"What kind of owl is this?" Maca turned to the old witch inside and asked.

"It's a long-eared owl, native to Sumatra, skilled in hunting and guarding, and good at predicting earthquakes and tsunamis," Old Witch said grimly, her withered and cracked lips opening and closing, revealing yellow teeth.

Maca looked at the owl in the cage again, and it was silently looking back at him. He couldn't help asking, "How much is it?"

Old Witch grinned, her stiff expression giving people goosebumps. "Twenty Galleons, sir."

Maca glanced at Old Witch without changing his expression. "Come on, lady, I'm not one of those Hogwarts kids."

Old Witch hesitated and looked Maca up and down before slightly straightening her always hunched back and speaking louder. "Alright, Sir, fifteen Galleons is the best price I can offer."

Maca didn't even look at her, he turned around and walked out quickly, as if he was escaping from something dirty.

"Wait, wait, sir, ten... no, eight, at least eight!" Old Witch suddenly shouted.

Maca turned back at her words and didn't strike again. He guessed that the price, although it certainly still had some profit, was almost there, and he probably couldn't bargain for a lower price.

"Deal." Maca took out eight gold galleons and placed them on the counter, then picked up the cage and walked out of the store.

"Wait! The price of the cage must be added separately!" Old Witch chased to the door, but found that Maca had already disappeared into the crowd on the street.

At this moment, she stood at the door, and it was surprising to find that this Old Witch was actually two meters tall!

"Damn it! What a damn dwarf, just like those vampires in America!" Unable to find a target, Old Witch could only curse and return.

Of course, Maca didn't run far. He just took a few quick steps and then slipped into a shop called the "Borgin and Burkes."

"Welcome to Borgin and Burkes, where we have everything, and you can choose at your own pace!" A smaller figure than Maca suddenly jumped out from behind a shelf with a sharp voice that was higher than a Gringotts goblin.

"I'm just taking a look."

Maca said casually and pulled out a... Oh no, half of a wand from a large basket next to the shelf. This half wand was scarred, with several deep scratches on the wand body, and even dirty wand core could be seen leaking out of the broken end.

"Is this a rare treasure?" Maca looked at the half stick in his hand and said with a strange expression.

But the short wizard seemed to think it was a treasure. He waved his hands excitedly and shouted, "Oh, yes! A wand used by a student at Hogwarts, made of purpleheart wood and a dragon heartstring, fourteen and three-quarters inches... I mean, it was."

Maca sighed and threw the half wand back into the basket.

Later, Maca picked up a few small things from the shelves to look at, while the short wizard danced around him, pulling out a series of stories that sounded false enough, as if hoping to catch Maca's attention.

Just as Maca was about to put down what he had in his hands and leave, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a faint blue light flashing through the crack in the shelf!

Maca immediately shifted his gaze away, pretending to squat down and check other goods, but in his heart, he had a plan.