Harry Potter: I started checking in from Diagon Alley

[Actually, it's just an ordinary leather suitcase blessed with a seamless stretching spell; nothing special—yeah, right.]

On the surface, this suitcase appears to be enchanted with a seamless stretching spell, capable of holding roughly ten times the amount of personal belongings found in a regular travel suitcase. However, a powerful detection spell reveals a small room inside the suitcase equipped with a semi-eternal life-sustaining spell system.

[Of course, this assumes the presence of powerful detection magic; however, the suitcase will determine what constitutes "powerful."]

Whether you're going on a picnic or need to carry prohibited items, this suitcase will be your best helper.

[Friendly reminder: The first user of the small room inside the suitcase was the suitcase's creator. So, if you plan to explore inside, make sure you can return safely.]

Unexpectedly, this suitcase contained a secret; it turned out to be a special magical item.

Having obtained the information he wanted, Eric deactivated his mental field and began to slowly savor the sensations he had experienced after the orb of light entered the suitcase.

This seemingly unremarkable suitcase hides a surprisingly large space.

One part is a storage space extended by the Seamless Stretch Spell, and the other part is a small, mysterious room.

The room was completely empty, and according to the conclusions drawn from mental detection, ordinary detection magic could not detect this extra room at all.

This reminded Eric of Newt Scamander, the author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," who also had a leather case to store his favorite magical creatures.

However, Newt's suitcase was much larger than the one Eric had now received.

Chapter 12 The Secret Passage of the Leaky Cauldron

Eric calmly took the suitcase and lifted it up with a light touch. Even though it was filled with more than a dozen books, he could hardly feel its weight.

Judging from Merkel's expression, he had no idea that there was something more to the suitcase than met the eye, and simply gave it to Eric as an ordinary suitcase.

Having gotten what he wanted, Eric saw no need to linger any longer.

As Merkel took the initiative to approach Eric, the frightened wizards around them realized that Eric, who had caused the disturbance, was not harmful at all.

There was no dark wizard attacking Diagon Alley here, nor was it a malicious incident; it was simply a young wizard who "accidentally" used a powerful spell.

Even so, this is still big news in Diagon Alley today.

Seeing that more and more people had gathered around, including several reporters with cameras who were constantly snapping photos of them, Eric knew he had to leave.

If we don't leave now, we really won't be able to leave.

After thanking Merkel and exchanging contact information, old Tom and Eric exchanged a few words, then rushed out of the crowd and disappeared into a nearby alley.

The reporters, of course, were not going to let them go, excitedly shouting and chasing after Eric and old Tom in a chaotic frenzy.

All that remains are astonished gazes and a bizarre legend about a mysterious boy who nearly blew up the entire Diagon Alley.

……

Half a day later.

A loud noise suddenly came from the storage room of the Leaky Cauldron bar.

On the floor of the storage room, a wooden plank was lifted, revealing a dark hole inside, which in turn kicked up a cloud of dust.

"Fluorescence."

A wand emerged from the hole first, and with the illumination spell, it finally brought a little light to the storage room, which was also devoid of sunlight.

"Damn, this place hasn't been used in ages."

Looking around, old Tom complained, brushing the dust off his head as he led Eric out of the room.

"Does your bar never get cleaned?"

Eric followed closely behind, frowning as he looked at the storage room, and casually remarked.

"Be content, the other secret passage is even dirtier, and the exit there leads to the toilet."

How many secret passages are there inside the Leaky Cauldron?

"Hehe, I don't know either."

Eric smiled and didn't press the matter further.

The fact that there were secret passages connecting the Leaky Cauldron to the surrounding area was not too surprising to him.

As a stronghold connecting the wizarding world and Muggle society, Old Tom wouldn't have been able to hold onto his position as owner of the Leaky Cauldron without some real skill.

He never underestimated Old Tom. The old man may be old, but he was very experienced and had connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

If it weren't for Old Tom's knowledge of Diagon Alley, they probably wouldn't have been able to shake off that group of reporters who loved to watch the drama unfold.

Eric followed old Tom out of the storeroom and into the familiar bar lobby.

After they left, the place regained its liveliness, with wizards sitting in twos and threes.

"follow me."

Old Tom said something to Eric and led him upstairs.

As he passed by, old Tom greeted the guests familiarly, as if nothing had happened.

Rumors spread quickly, and Eric realized that quite a few people recognized Old Tom as one of the people who had been standing in front of Flourish and Blotts earlier.

Eric, who was standing next to him, perfectly matched the description of the perpetrator.

After all, Old Tom is a household name in Diagon Alley.

"They recognized you, and me too."

Eric said to old Tom with a smile.

“I know, but this is my territory. They’d better not be stupid if they don’t want to be kicked out,” old Tom replied nonchalantly.

Sure enough, one or two wizards kept their eyes fixed on Old Tom and Eric as they passed by, looking quite interested, but in the end they did not get up to try to stop them.

Old Tom didn't say anything, and Eric, of course, had no problem with it either; the two of them ignored it.

Eric considered the consequences when making his choice, and things have turned out alright for him.

Eric knew that starting tomorrow, his name would inevitably come into the view of some people.

Old Tom quickly led Eric to a small room on the second floor of the bar.

Compared to the mess and filth of the lobby and storage room, this room can be described as clean and tidy.

Although the furniture and layout were simple and the room was not large, at least there were no sticky, creaky wooden floors or thick cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.

“You said you were an orphan, right?” Old Tom turned to Eric and said, “You can stay here for the next few days if you want.”

Eric looked around the room and smiled, "With pleasure."

This readily agreed answer surprised old Tom for a moment, then he asked, "You're willing?"

Eric put down his suitcase, took the initiative to find a chair and sat down, saying, "Do I look like I have a home to return to?"

"I originally thought you wouldn't accept it."

“I think you have a lot of misunderstandings about me, old Tom,” Eric laughed, his voice sounding clear and calm. “Under normal circumstances, I always prefer to resolve issues through conversation, and I don’t like to make enemies. But you obviously can’t make a flying monster book obey with words, right? So I chose that method out of necessity, but overall, I think I’m a pretty easy person to get along with.”

Upon hearing this, old Tom almost lost his composure, his old face contorting slightly.

Possessing such powerful magical talent, he doesn't bother to hide it at all, yet claims to be an easy person to get along with.

Eric, in his view, was somewhat ill, mentally.

Mysterious, direct, confident, and resolute—that's the most direct impression Eric gave to old Tom.

Old Tom couldn't help but shudder as he looked at the gentle smile on Eric's face. Eric possessed a terrifying aura that was extremely disproportionate to his age.

He swallowed hard, not uttering his feelings aloud. He had a vague sense that Eric didn't care what he thought at all.

"In short, to make it easier for me or the Ministry of Magic to find you, you can stay here until school starts," Old Tom said. "You haven't bought everything you need yet, I'll take you there in a few days, but for now you need to lay low. I can guarantee that no reporters will bother you while you're here, unless, of course, you really want to be famous."

“Thank you, but I don’t need it. I’m very happy with this arrangement,” Eric replied with a smile.

Old Tom stared at Eric and said, "I don't care how you know about the Book of Spells and everything about the magical world, but if you want to leave, you'd better tell me beforehand."

"The magical world has been quite unsettled lately."

Eric smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Well then, that's all for today, Mr. Clapton." Seeing that Eric had no objections, old Tom turned and walked towards the door. "If you have any questions, I'm at the counter downstairs, but it's best not to bother me unless it's absolutely necessary. The reason I've lived this long is because I'm not very curious."

“Oh, there’s one more thing,” Eric suddenly said as he reached the door.

"what?"

Just call me Eric.

Old Tom turned around and saw Eric's almost unchanging gentle smile, which made it impossible for anyone to feel hostility towards him.

Old Tom took a deep breath, nodded, said nothing, and turned to walk out of the room.

Chapter 13 Ollivander

The next day, old Tom was woken up by Eric.

Old Tom, still half-asleep, looked at Eric and asked, "What?"

"I need a magic wand."

"Didn't I tell you? You'll have to wait a few days. At least I need to make sure the Ministry of Magic won't come after you because of this."

Old Tom knew, of course, that he couldn't keep Eric under control.

Based on these two bursts of magic, he knew that a genius like Eric was incomparable to an ordinary wizard like himself.

Old Tom also graduated from Hogwarts.

But when he was in first grade, let alone materializing magic, he couldn't even successfully use his first spell until three months after he got his wand.

Eric doesn't even need a wand to knock down all the monster books flying around.

Old Tom wanted to keep Eric around simply as a precaution.

If Eric is allowed to roam freely, who knows what he might do next.

The thought of possibly dealing with bureaucrats from the Ministry of Magic made old Tom even more upset.

Seeing old Tom's wrinkled face, Eric laughed and said, "If they wanted to find you, they would have come to your door long ago. Waiting a few more days won't change anything."

"Old Tom, I need a magic wand right now."