"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger."
The little girl extended her hand toward Loren.
"Hello, I'm Loren Morgan."
Loren shook her hand twice, feeling that this kind of formal etiquette seemed a bit hypocritical for two kids.
"Are you also a selected freshman?"
Hermione's eyes sparkled with curiosity. She had been so excited about all things magical that she barely slept the night before.
Loren's thoughts were scattered, but Hermione eagerly wanted to ask more questions.
"Let's talk later. Right now, we're going to the Leaky Cauldron," Professor McGonagall interrupted, taking both children's hands in her left while waving her wand with her right.
"Apparate!"
Snap!
Loren felt the second time was much easier than the first—the squeezing sensation was shorter, probably because he had gotten used to it, or because the distance was shorter.
The lively little girl beside him suddenly burst into tears.
Before Professor McGonagall could comfort her, a series of excited questions came out:
"Is that some kind of magic?"
"Is the spell Apparition?"
"Will we learn it someday?"
After firing off three questions in a row, Hermione took a deep breath and calmed down, gazing up at McGonagall with bright eyes.
Professor McGonagall and Loren exchanged a silent glance.
Loren, curious, asked if he should join the queue now, showing genuine interest in the magical world.
McGonagall paused briefly, then said, "You'll learn about Apparition after you enter Hogwarts. For now, I'll show you how to get to Diagon Alley from the Muggle world. Next school year, you'll come by yourself."
Loren and Hermione looked around. In front of them stood a dingy, run-down little bar, its blackened walls stained and grimy.
Passersby seemed completely oblivious to the place.
McGonagall led them inside. The bar was darker and filthier, and the patrons wore eccentric clothing—top hats, and coats with tails that dragged on the floor.
Hermione's jeans and plaid jacket stood out and caught disapproving stares. Loren, dressed in tailored yet slightly old-fashioned clothes, blended in better.
Hermione frowned uncomfortably but stayed silent.
As they passed the bar counter, the owner gave McGonagall a nod. She simply pursed her lips and said nothing.
They stepped into a small, grimy courtyard surrounded by walls. Trash bins overflowed with weeds growing between the cracks.
"Count three bricks up on the trash can—then two bricks horizontally. Tap the wall three times with your wand, and then…" McGonagall demonstrated with a flick.
The bricks trembled, and a small hole appeared, widening until it became an archway leading into a new, magical world.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley."
Her voice was filled with pride. Even after repeating this demonstration every year, McGonagall never grew impatient. Revealing the magical world to a young wizard was a joyful task.
Walking through the archway, a rumbling sound came from behind them.
Hermione and Loren glanced back just in time to see the archway close, turning back into an ordinary brick wall.
Along the bustling street, they passed all sorts of strange shops selling owls, cauldrons, and oddly shaped brooms—but they didn't stop.
"Professor McGonagall, why do wizards use owls to send letters?"
"Why do cauldrons have to be made of different materials and shapes?"
"Why can brooms fly? Do they have engines? What powers them?"
Hermione's nervous excitement spilled out in a steady stream of questions.
When children face unfamiliar places, curiosity and nervousness mingle. Hermione's questions were both a way to explore and to calm her nerves.
At first, McGonagall patiently answered each one. But as Hermione's questions kept coming faster and faster, McGonagall smiled and said, "Some answers you'll find once you start school. Others you'll have to discover for yourself."
Hermione paused and turned her attention to Loren.
"Loren, why aren't you asking anything? Aren't you curious?"
Loren smiled at her brightly lit face.
"Hermione, I live on a ranch and have two talking kittens. One is very cute, and the other… not so much."
"Oh! Is that a wizard's pet, too? I thought you were a Muggle like me," Hermione replied quickly, remembering that 'Muggle' was the wizarding term for ordinary people.
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Loren's mention of talking cats. She hadn't seen any when she visited Loren's home before.
"The not-so-cute one always asks 'why,' so it got given away," Loren said seriously, trying to hold back laughter.
McGonagall caught the glint of mischief in his eyes and knew he was joking.
"Why? Because it's not cute? Do you have any other cats you could give me? Even if they aren't as pretty?" Hermione was still fascinated by the idea of talking kittens, and added, "Even if they can't talk."
Loren burst out laughing. "Cute cats don't always ask why!"
McGonagall chuckled, and Hermione blinked, freezing for a moment before laughing too.
"You're teasing me!" Hermione said, lightly patting Loren's shoulder.
"Just joking!" Loren replied, still laughing.
As they passed by Flourish and Blotts, Hermione's eyes gleamed with excitement. She wanted to rush inside and look for answers in books, but McGonagall kept moving.
"The wizarding currency is different from the Muggle world's. First, we need to visit Gringotts and exchange some money," McGonagall explained.
After a brief tour of the shops around them, they finally arrived at their destination.
A pristine white building towered above the surrounding shops, its bronze door gleaming in the sunlight.
In front stood goblins in scarlet and gold uniforms. They were short—about half an adult's height, a head shorter than Loren—but with long arms and legs.
Inside, the goblins bowed politely as they entered.
A silver door awaited them, engraved with a warning:
Come in, stranger, but beware the consequences of greed.
If you seek treasure without labor, be warned:
You will face the severest punishment.
Take only what is yours, lest you bring back bad karma.
Inside, a marble hall stretched out, lined with counters where hundreds of goblin clerks conducted their business. Some weighed coins with copper scales; others examined precious gems.
Countless doors led to different vaults, and goblins efficiently guided visitors through them.
With McGonagall's help, Loren and Hermione exchanged their Muggle pounds for wizarding currency. The goblin explained, and McGonagall supplemented, teaching them basic financial information.
Muggle money could be exchanged for wizard currency—mainly gold Galleons—especially for Muggle-born students like them.
Every transaction was recorded, and large sums raised questions. However, exchanging Galleons back to Muggle currency was mostly unrestricted, as many wizards lived among Muggles and needed it.
Wizards had other ways to obtain Muggle money but often violated the Statute of Secrecy doing so.
Loren noted that the wizard currency system was surprisingly simple. Although the exchange of Muggle money for Galleons was carefully tracked, pure gold trades went unregulated.
This loophole meant Loren could, theoretically, disrupt the wizarding economy by manipulating currency flows.
But the system's crudity also made it vulnerable to enforcement by the goblins, who held absolute authority over production and issuance.
Without formal financial instruments or labor contracts, attempts to attack the market would be futile or quickly neutralized by the goblins.
Loren also found the exchange rates baffling: 1 Galleon equaled 17 Sickles, and 1 Sickle equaled 29 Knuts.
"Decimal systems are the best," Loren muttered.