Picking up her teacup, Professor McGonagall took a sip of black tea. "You two, do you have any other questions about magic and wizards?"
Leo and his aunt looked at each other, and both shook their heads. Both had readily accepted the existence of magic.
Leo, as a transmigrator, needn't be mentioned... he had known from the moment he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter. As for Penelope, after witnessing Professor McGonagall transform from a cat into a human, the anomalies in Leo's room, and Professor McGonagall's means of restoring everything, she was convinced of magic's existence.
While his aunt chatted with Professor McGonagall, Leo examined his current status panel:
[Light Magic: S]
[Dark Magic: SS+]
[Defence Arts: S+]
[Transfiguration: SSS]
[Potions: A]
[Alchemy: A+]
[Magical Power: SS] (Locked)
Leo's gaze moved to the bottom, looking at the "Locked" status next to Magical Power, and began communicating with the system:
"Why is only the magical power talent still locked?"
[With the host's current physical strength, it is insufficient to support such an increase in magical power. Please first find a suitable item to channel and release the magical power.]
A suitable item? Release magical power? If he needed to search in this magical world... Leo suddenly thought of something. It was something every wizard would encounter, something that would definitely be most compatible with oneself, and could channel magical power.
"System, a wand... the wands of this world, do they meet the requirements?"
[The wand must be highly compatible with the host, and the material strength of the wand must also be considered.]
Hearing the system's response, Leo relaxed slightly. Diagon Alley had a wand shop called Ollivanders, which stored countless wands inside. Surely he could find one suitable for himself?
"Professor McGonagall, when shall we go purchase the required magical items? Also, regarding the Transfiguration you mentioned earlier, I'm very interested. Could I learn about it in advance?"
Leo enquired sincerely. He knew that Professor McGonagall before him was a master in the field of Transfiguration, responsible for teaching Transfiguration courses at Hogwarts, making her the best person to ask about Transfiguration knowledge.
Leo had to perfectly master Transfiguration within a year to repay the "Loki's Faceless" loan. But right now he didn't even know the basic concepts of Transfiguration, so he needed to hurry even more.
Hearing Leo's questions, Professor McGonagall's lips curved into a smile. Her earlier vivid descriptions of the wonder and uniqueness of Transfiguration hadn't been in vain. This child had indeed become interested, and he was even requesting to learn in advance. What a child who loved learning!
Setting down her teacup, Professor McGonagall said unhurriedly: "I'm very glad you're interested in Transfiguration. It just so happens that I teach Transfiguration courses at Hogwarts. Let's go to Diagon Alley now to purchase items. You can buy everything you need there."
All three stood up simultaneously. Penelope gave an instruction, and a servant waiting outside immediately came in and handed Leo a briefcase. During their earlier conversation, Professor McGonagall had reminded Leo to prepare some Muggle currency to exchange for Galleons used in the wizarding world.
McGonagall placed her hand on Leo's shoulder and softly reminded: "This might be a bit uncomfortable, but it will be over very quickly. Apparition."
From Lady Penelope's perspective, the two of them disappeared like water swirling down a drain, spinning and vanishing suddenly.
After a brief blur of light and shadow, Leo and Professor McGonagall appeared in a small alley. Glancing sideways at Leo and finding his complexion normal, Professor McGonagall was slightly surprised.
"People usually feel dizzy or even nauseous when trying Apparition for the first time. You adapted very quickly."
Leo rubbed his temples, his dark green eyes slightly narrowed. This should be a physical change brought by "Loki's Faceless". I encountered Professor McGonagall's visit right after the fusion ended and haven't had time to explore my new state yet.
Hmm, why do I keep having this urge to turn that passerby into a baboon? It can't be a side manifestation of Transfiguration talent, can it? Could "Loki's Faceless" have also influenced my personality a bit? I remember Loki also had the title of God of Mischief...
Not knowing what Leo was thinking, McGonagall assumed he was adapting to the aftereffects of Apparition, so she waited patiently for him to recover.
"Sorry, Professor, I was a bit distracted."
"It's alright." Professor McGonagall shook her head and led Leo toward a shabby-looking pub.
The Leaky Cauldron. Passing through the noisy patrons, the two walked toward the back of the pub, coming to a dead end surrounded by walls on three sides. Only a lone garbage bin stood on the ground.
Professor McGonagall took out her wand, pointing at a slightly recessed brick. "Remember, count three bricks up from the garbage bin's position, two across, and then..."
As she spoke, Professor McGonagall tapped the brick twice with her wand. A miraculous scene appeared. Starting from that brick, the surrounding bricks began to sink, protrude, flip and shift, finally transforming into a stone archway.
Through this archway was a bustling street with people coming and going. Various shops lined the street, selling an incredible variety of goods.
Leo turned his head to look at the bubbling potion cauldrons, owls occasionally flapping their wings, and clothes in shop windows that automatically waved their sleeves, greeting passersby...
Even though he was mentally prepared, when actually stepping into the magical world, Leo couldn't help but feel surprised and excited.
Seeing Leo's reaction, Professor McGonagall smiled: "Let's go exchange for Galleons first. You can slowly browse these shops later."
McGonagall led Leo to Gringotts to exchange Muggle currency for Galleons. Leo suddenly thought of something and asked Professor McGonagall:
"Professor, that garbage bin earlier... was it enchanted with magic to prevent it from being moved?"
What if some troublemaker or drunk moved the garbage bin? How would people find that specific brick later? Would they have to try them one by one?
Professor McGonagall's lips curved slightly. "You observed very carefully. That garbage bin not only cannot be moved, but it's also immune to Transfiguration and other magical influences. Indeed, there have been mischievous young wizards or drunks who tried to move or destroy that garbage bin, but they all failed."
As they talked, they arrived in front of Gringotts. Leo examined Gringotts' grand decoration, feeling that this style was completely out of place with the other shops in Diagon Alley. As befitting the wizarding world's only bank, it exuded an aura of money from top to bottom.
Numerous goblins moved about inside Gringotts. They had pointed ears, short statures, were clever, but greedy. To think that these goblins controlled the flow of funds in the magical world, Leo couldn't help but grumble internally. Wizards actually entrusted their wealth to goblins for management. Those of different races surely have different hearts... weren't they afraid of having their economic lifeline controlled?
Oh right, goblins weren't allowed to carry wands, so they were already suppressed by human wizards in terms of strength. Indeed, having hard fists was the hard truth.
Soon a goblin approached to serve Leo and Professor McGonagall.
"Are you new students needing to exchange Galleons?" he asked in a high, thin voice.
He explained the currency exchange rates: "1 Galleon equals 5 pounds. Within wizarding currency, 1 Galleon equals 17 Sickles, and 1 Sickle equals 29 Knuts."
Leo mentally calculated that meant 493 Knuts to a Galleon. Having lived in Britain for over ten years, he was already accustomed to the country's peculiar relationship with non-decimal currency systems.
"Using pounds to exchange for Galleons, the annual limit is 100 Galleons. Of course, if using gold for exchange, there's no limit."
Gold was hard currency in both the Muggle and magical worlds.
After finishing his explanation, the goblin looked at Leo with eyes full of expectation and a flash of greed. Having worked at Gringotts for decades, he had seen countless customers and could distinguish the wealthy from the poor at a glance.
This handsome human youth before him clearly came from a prosperous family. The aura of money couldn't be hidden!
Leo couldn't be bothered with more words and directly handed the briefcase to the goblin. He just wanted to quickly buy a wand and purchase more books on magical knowledge.
The weighty briefcase pleased the goblin, who skilfully opened it with practised hands. His eyes practically bulged as he saw the contents.
The briefcase was packed with neatly stacked gold bars, each gleaming with mesmerising lustre. It truly was a golden treasure!