Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world

Chapter 5 Diagon Alley

But the next day, Ron cheered up again.

He did not sleep in as usual. He finished washing up before dawn and curled up on the sofa in the living room with Banban in his arms, which scared Molly who got up later.

"Merlin's socks, Ron, what are you doing hiding here?"

Ron hesitantly tried to get around it until the twins, who had gotten up early to clean the garden, came out and told their mother the truth.

"Ron is sucking up to Vaughn!"

"Yes, we overheard yesterday that Vaughn said he would give him an early Christmas present this year and give him a new wand."

"Yes, George, the retelling is very accurate. It seems that our silly brother is not so stupid. He knows to treat the gold master with respect."

"But he's still not sincere enough Fred, he can't even tell Mum!"

"Yes, George, silly brother's useless pride."

The twins kept talking and laughing, which made Ron so angry that he ran out of the house.

Vaughan was awakened by their cheers.

When he woke up, the sunlight had already climbed over the White Stoat Mountain, casting streaks of light through the window. Ginny was still sleeping soundly in his arms.

Last night, she came to him with a storybook, and Vaughn read fairy tales to her for at least an hour before he coaxed her to sleep.

This is also one of the reasons why the two siblings are closest. Bill and Charlie left home early to work, Percy never had the patience for anything other than studying, and Fred and George were as lively as monkeys all day long.

Only Ron and Vaughn were willing to tell Ginny stories. Of course, Ron only told stories that interested him, so Ginny had long ignored him!

Vaughan got up, dressed, and opened the window to see old Errol flapping his aged wings and hopping among the weeds and bushes in the garden, driving out the goblins, which were only a foot tall, brown, with huge heads and thin limbs, and looked like potatoes with legs.

Each of the twins rode a flying broom, flying back and forth in the sky, catching the goblins that Errol had driven out, shaking and spinning them, and throwing them far into the wilderness.

All that remained in the air were screams that were getting farther and farther away, and the twins' happy laughter.

"These two guys, it seems like they can find fun in everything they do!"

Vaughn laughed and shook his head, then went back to the bed and picked up Ginny.

The little girl was startled awake, rubbed her eyes sleepily, and yawned, "Vaughn?"

"I'm going to Diagon Alley, Ginny, you need to go back to your room and sleep."

"Oh..." Ginny buried her head in his shoulder and said drowsily, "I want... a chocolate frog..."

"Okay, I'll bring it to you when I get back!"

When they were carrying Ginny downstairs, they met their mother who was about to come up and call them.

"Oh - look at these two little cuties, my darlings." Molly's broad figure could hold her children together. She wiped her eyes and said, "Mom is so happy that you brothers and sisters love each other so much. Vaughn, you are always so sensible and take care of Ginny. You even bought Ron a new wand... In fact, I think his old one is enough!"

Downstairs, Ron heard the noise and ran over, his fingers clenched tightly in fear.

He almost strangled Banban to death. He was very afraid of his bad-tempered brother and went back on his mother's words.

Fortunately, Vaughn only glanced at him: "It's okay, Mom, it's just 7 Galleons. Besides, using a wand that doesn't belong to him might affect his studies!" 7...7 Galleons, and that's all?

Ron felt like someone had stuffed a bucket of lemon juice into him, and he felt sour from the inside out.

Knowing that her son was very rich, Molly didn't say anything more. Vaughn and Ron were both her sons, and she loved them both. Although for educational reasons, she didn't want Ron to spend Vaughn's money, she would not object if Vaughn was willing to give a gift to her brother.

She already felt guilty that her youngest son could only use his brothers' old things, and Vaughn was right, using a wand that didn't belong to him would indeed have an impact, so she didn't stop him.

Molly carried Ginny back to her room.

After washing up, Vaughn had breakfast with Ron. Seeing that it was getting late, Molly took a flower pot filled with grayish-white, shiny powder from the fireplace and said to Vaughn and Ron:

"Vaughn, you've used Floo powder before, so you know what to do. But Ron, you haven't. You'll need to pay attention to your brother's demonstration. Be sure to pronounce the words clearly and forcefully. Diagon Alley! Diagon Alley! Got it?"

"I know, Mom!" Ron was very excited, and the tips of his ears turned red.

Molly handed the flowerpot to Vaughn, who curled his lips. He had never liked this thing because it would dirty his clothes and hair.

But he hasn't learned the Apparition yet, so he can only use this method.

Vaughan grabbed a handful of Floo powder, crawled into the fireplace, and slammed the powder down at his feet, yelling, "Diagon Alley!"

Bang.

Green flames rose up before his eyes, and Vaughn felt as if he had entered a washing machine. His whole body was stretched into a long strip and spun rapidly around a point, surrounded by the same distorted and bizarre scenes.

After a few seconds, he staggered to a stop, shook his head to drive away the remaining dizziness, and looked around while patting off the cigarette ash on his body in disgust.

This is a closed alley. Several fireplaces are neatly embedded in the dark brick walls. Green flames flicker one after another, and wizards and witches emerge one after another. Some of them are bringing their children. They probably received the notice from Hogwarts and brought their children to buy books and supplies.

Vaughn didn't observe any further and waited there for a while. A green flame ignited behind him. The next moment, Ron rolled out covered in dust and fell at Vaughn's feet.

"Ron, such a big gift?"

Vaughn pulled him up with a laugh.

Ron's eyes were dazed and he couldn't hear what he was saying at all. It wasn't until Molly arrived, brushed off the cigarette ash on him, and pulled the two brothers out of the closed alley and into the bustling Diagon Alley that Ron finally woke up.

It was a long street that seemed to have no end. It was several meters wide and the cobblestone road was crowded with men and women wearing pointed wizard hats.

There are various shops on both sides of the street. They all have square windows separated by pieces of glass. The sunlight shines down from above the alley, making the windows and the goods inside dazzling.

The door of the shop closest to the alley opened, and a pair of wizards and witches led a boy out. The boy was chewing with his mouth, and his hair kept changing color as he chewed.

Ron stared at it – he saw the sign for the shop, The Hopping and Joking Wizardry Joke Shop, Fred and George's favourite shop, the one they had repeated in his ear countless times.

It is the place he visits most often in his dreams!

In a daze, he heard Vaughn say to him: "Ron, welcome to Diagon Alley!"

At the same time, someone behind me was saying:

"Welcome to Diagon Alley!"

(End of this chapter)