The girl looked a bit sulky, pulling her parents forcefully towards the two of them. When they reached the Leaky Cauldron, she let go of their hands and pointed to the pub entrance.
"Look, it's right there! You still don't believe me."
After speaking, a triumphant expression appeared on her face. Actions speak louder than words; now it could be proven that she wasn't lying!
However, what the little girl didn't expect was that her parents exchanged glances and said helplessly, "Hermione, look closely, that's a bookstore."
"A bookstore?"
Hermione looked up. The bookstore was clearly next to the pub.
"No, I'm talking about the pub to the right of the bookstore," Hermione quickly corrected.
"To the right of the bookstore is a record store… Oh, wait, is that the Queen's Live Aid concert original recording?"
As he spoke, the man took two steps forward, wanting to confirm.
Howl also took a look, and it really was Queen's vinyl record.
Speaking, the two men walked to the record store's display window in unison. Howl suddenly thought of the phonograph Harry had repaired, and wondered if it could be used…
"Dad, it's right next to you, the Leaky Cauldron!" The little girl named Hermione walked up, pulling her dad's hand and pointing to the Leaky Cauldron's sign.
"Good girl, stop messing around." The man patted Hermione's fluffy head, "How about we go look in the bookstore?"
Hermione was extremely aggrieved now. It was clearly right in front of them, so why were her parents pretending not to see it? It made her seem like a little girl who liked to lie…
If it was a joke, it was going too far!
"She's telling the truth."
Suddenly, a somewhat childish voice sounded next to Hermione. A boy wearing loose clothes and a headscarf stood not far from her and said.
"Little friend? What did you say?" The man looked bewildered.
It was then that Howl shifted his gaze from the display cabinet to the couple next to him, and then surveyed the teary-eyed little girl beside them.
"That's right, your daughter isn't lying." Howl also nodded, then looked at Hermione and comforted her:
"Girl, you didn't see wrong. There is indeed a pub next to us, sandwiched between the bookstore and the record store."
"I told you there was one!!" Hermione happily jumped up, holding her dad's hand, her face beaming.
"Sir, please don't indulge my daughter's nonsense." The man frowned, a little displeased.
If it weren't for the fact that the person in front of him spoke and dressed quite extraordinarily, he would have already defined the other party as insane.
Howl waved his hand, looked at Hermione, and said, "The only way to solve this problem is for you to lead them inside."
Harry also stood to the side, looking at Hermione: "I'll take you in. Once you're inside, everything will be clear."
Harry had read so many books and had a certain understanding of the "Anti-Muggle Charms" on many facilities in the Wizarding World. He said, "This pub has been enchanted; ordinary people can't see it."
"Enchanted?" The man was a bit confused, but the next second, he felt himself being pulled forward again.
Hermione was angry, very angry. She absolutely had to drag her parents inside to let them see clearly that there really was a pub here.
Otherwise, no matter what she said, they wouldn't believe her.
As for the enchantment… sorry, she hadn't heard it at all. Right now, all she could think about was showing her parents that she wasn't lying.
As he spoke, Harry went ahead, pushing open the wooden bar door first, as if leading the way. The two adults were thus helplessly dragged towards the Leaky Cauldron.
However, what they didn't expect was that as they got closer and closer to the gap between the bookstore and the record store, the air there seemed to distort.
A dilapidated old storefront, like an animal rushing towards them, rapidly magnified and approached before their eyes.
Creak—
The surrounding sounds suddenly ceased. The two seemed to have broken through a thin film, and the next moment, various rustling sounds filled their ears.
When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves in a dark and dirty place. In the gloomy environment, the pub was crowded with shadowy figures. They were talking to each other, but it wasn't long before people noticed the newcomers, and the noise quieted down considerably.
"This is…" The man pulled his wife and child closer to him, looking warily at their surroundings.
"Don't be nervous, welcome to the Wizarding World." Howl's voice sounded from behind him. He patted the man's shoulder and said.
"Wizard?" The man looked at Howl, then at his daughter.
Hermione was also a bit frightened; this place really didn't seem like a good place.
Harry looked at Hermione and comforted her, "Don't worry, although it looks… a bit scary here, you just need to walk through. The entrance is in the back."
"Entrance?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"The entrance to Diagon Alley, a commercial street for Wizards," Harry explained. "You are a Wizard, just like me."
"Yes, I think your daughter is a Wizard, which is why she can see the Leaky Cauldron." Howl nodded.
The man's head felt a bit dizzy. Wizard… This was too fantastical, but now the truth was before him.
He tightly gripped his wife's hand to ease his tension.
Howl looked at Harry and said, "Kid, we've got to go." Then he walked towards the back door of the pub.
Upon reaching the back courtyard, Howl pulled out his wand and was counting the bricks when a voice sounded from behind him: "Sir, please wait."
Howl turned around and saw it was Hermione and her parents.
He was a bit surprised: "I thought you would choose to go back to Charing Cross Road, after all, the news just now shouldn't be easy to digest…"
The man walked over quickly, his expression a mix of emotions, as if he was trying to organize his words. He said, "It should have been like that, after all, this is too… Sorry, I don't know what to say.
But I still want to ask you some questions, about my child!"
With that, he walked over and extended his hand first, introducing himself: "My name is Chris Granger. This is my wife, Martha, and our daughter, Hermione Granger."
So it was because of his child that he wanted to learn more…
Howl quickly understood the man's thoughts and shook his hand: "My name is Mu En Jones, and he is Peter."
"Peter?" Harry pointed to himself: "I… uh, yes, I'm Peter."
Harry hadn't forgotten that his name had appeared in several books, so he also thought it was correct not to say his name in Diagon Alley.
It's just… Uncle Howl, are you sure that name wasn't just something you made up on the spot?
"Hello, I'm Hermione." Hermione also proactively shook Harry's hand, and then she noticed the small wooden stick in Howl's hand.
"Is that a wand in your hand?" she asked curiously.
Howl's wand lightly tapped the bricks twice, then he nodded: "Yes."
At the same time, as the wall bricks rotated, a cobblestone path appeared before them.
The bustling sounds of people, accompanied by the calls of owls and other animals, all appeared before everyone's eyes.
Harry eagerly introduced: "This is Diagon Alley!"