great-warnovel Chapter 84 Shopping
Chapter 84 Shopping
Chapter 84 Shopping (Available for Purchase)
The tragedy caused some chaos, but it did not affect the constant flow of traders in New Diagon Alley.
When the Potters arrived with their children, Lily handed over custody to Mr. James.
"You take the kids shopping first. I need to talk to those families about the final payment and the next order. We'll meet at the ice cream shop at the end." The strong woman Lily naturally came to Malfoy Castle with work in mind. Regarding the potion business, both James and the Cliffside Council entrusted Lily with all the management.
The layout of the new Diagon Alley is modeled after the old streets of London. It is also a long street with a slight slope that slopes downhill, with the majestic Gringotts at the highest point. This is said to be different from the original Diagon Alley. This is almost the most exquisite trading district in Malfoy Castle. The shops that can be opened here are all the best of the best. Of course, the prices are also prohibitive.
However, the Potter family is not short of money. Even without counting the Galleons earned by Mrs. Lily's potions, the Potter family's shampoo business alone...
That's enough for them to spend freely here.
On the bustling streets, wizards mingled with Muggles and elves, though the latter two mostly served as servants.
Following their masters, the wizards of Malfoy Castle held a dominant position, even though the number of Muggles outnumbered them several times over.
However, they could only exist as vassals of wizards. Even though they were not slaves in name, their work was no different from that of elves.
Along the way, Hermione saw pottery shops, bookstores, clothing stores, and a wand shop called "Olivendine," which was said to be a tribute to the former Ollivanders wand shop. However, their craftsmanship was all show and no substance. The wands were exquisitely carved and offered services such as setting gems and changing handles, but the quality of their wands was worrying. Not only could they not fit everyone, but under heavy use, the wand core could even come out or explode.
Only nobles appreciate these exquisitely designed decorative wands. While their bone wands are powerful, they are indeed somewhat of an eyesore. On certain ceremonial occasions, they would wear these impractical but ornate "decorative wands," and would even compete with each other to see whose wand was more custom-made and more creative. It is said that when the Malfoy family was raided, Lucius's thirteen decorative wands were snatched up by various families.
Hermione also saw the flying broom shop, but four menacing wizards stood guard at the entrance, watching anyone who turned their gaze toward the window as if they wanted to snatch the brooms.
In the wizarding world, free flight is a rather difficult skill. Most wizards can only rely on brooms and flying carpets to travel through the air. Apparition is fast, but it can only take you to places you have been before, and it is very dangerous. The farther the distance, the more difficult it becomes. If you are not careful, you may split into two. Flying with magic is even more difficult. It is a combat skill for powerful wizards and its popularity is even lower than that of Apparition.
Nowadays, flying brooms are more military-grade than civilian-grade. The scarcity of materials has led major powers to prioritize supplying brooms to their own wizard armies. Even the Core Ring 2000 that can be seen in shops now is a watered-down version converted from military to civilian use. It still has many features that facilitate combat. After all, in this world, when you're flying in the wild on a flying broom, battles are almost inevitable.
Therefore, flying brooms are undoubtedly "must-have items for wizards." Even for wealthy families, acquiring a broom is something to celebrate with cannon salutes. Thinking about it this way, the 30 brooms that Malfoy Castle compensated Hogwarts with were also a considerable expense. However, they would have to continue this expense for a long time, enough to make all families feel the pinch.
Harry and his two friends lingered outside the broom shop window for a long time, but they knew it was unrealistic to pester their father to buy them brooms. They could only admire them from afar. They weren't the only ones there; many other children were also gathered around. The guards wouldn't chase the children away, but the adults had to stay far away from the window.
Hermione had little interest in brooms. Her gravity magic continued to improve, and no matter how high a broom flew, she could grab it and beat it down. She would much rather go to Flourish and Blotts next door, but Mr. James had told her that books were valuables and could not be browsed in the store; they could only be opened after being purchased. Hermione thought this was pure fraud. Who knew if those gilded and silver-plated tomes were just full of nonsense?
She also saw the headquarters of the journal "Postwar Curses Research", but she wasn't sure if the old wizards she knew were there, so she didn't go in to say hello.
It is said that at the fork in the road in New Diagon Alley, you can turn into the neighboring New Knockdown Alley. This street, which originally belonged to the gray industry, was also copied by the nobles. Looking at the pointed roof, Hermione can see the towering sign of "Bogin Burke's Magic Shop". However, most of the shops in Knockdown Alley are members-only, only serving elegant, civilized, wealthy and powerful wizarding families. Transactions inside are also completely closed and have anti-detection spells, so no one knows what customers buy or sell inside.
The Soul Bell that now belongs to Hermione is probably something Lucius got from there. I wonder how much he paid the Burkes for it. This family, which specializes in dark magic items, has now successfully gone ashore and become a middleman for nobles to sell stolen goods or exchange items.
As for the shady dealings of the lower-level wizards, sorry, the Burke family no longer cares about such paltry sums. Those underhanded businesses are no longer worthy of entering the new Knockturn Alley.
Mr. James took the children shopping, buying Harry a new telescope and Ron and Neville shorthand quills—the truth is, that depends on the maker's mental state; if the maker is a hypocritical narcissist…
Or if it's a gossipy woman who likes to embellish, then this pen will add a lot of meaningless words or distort the truth when recording. Therefore, it's important to carefully select the right pen for children to take notes.
Hermione received a wand care kit. Mr. James had originally wanted to buy her a hat with customizable decorations, but Hermione, seeing the outrageous price tag, refused and instead pointed to the inexpensive care kit, saying this was perfect.
Her wand is long and thick, and needs to be well maintained.
Finally, Mr. James took his four children to Lady Malkin's Robes Shop and ordered several new outfits for each of them. Although the school would provide them, parents who could afford it always preferred to prepare better clothes for their children.
Mr. James, of course, didn't forget to buy his wife a new outfit; his will to survive was very strong.
During this time, Ron blushed and whispered his thanks. There were too many children in their family, and his clothes were all hand-me-downs from his brothers. Like Hermione, it was the first time he had worn these brand-new, fragrant robes.
Finally, they sat in the ice cream shop, enjoying delicious ice cream, waiting for Mrs. Lily to return.
Hermione opened the candy box given to her by Dumbledore and buried various colored Beans in the cream. Everyone dug them out to eat, creating a thrilling and exciting experience, as no one knew if the next one would taste like earwax.
Just then, a commotion suddenly arose in the distance. Looking through the window of the ice cream shop, at the end of the street in the city, at the entrance of the city gate, a huge cheer seemed to erupt, and a group of people were crowding there, shouting something.
Hermione and the others craned their necks but still couldn't see clearly. Fortunately, Harry had his new telescope, which he immediately extended to look at the crowd in the distance.