I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 2 Choosing a wand is like pursuing a girl.

Just as Louis was about to retract the system panel, he happened to see through the semi-transparent screen the silver-gray cat gracefully leap across the window and onto his desk.

"Wow, you're amazing." Louis casually pinched the cat's left front paw as if shaking hands. "You're the real big shot."

Only when he got closer did he notice the patterned markings on the cat's face, resembling glasses. Louis felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn't quite put his finger on why.

He casually cupped the cat's head in his hands, seemingly finding it not round enough, and kept rubbing it. The tabby cat was completely shocked; her pupils dilated to their maximum, her mouth slightly agape, utterly bewildered. She never dreamed that this young gentleman would dare to rub a cat of unknown origin.

Keep turning until you hear a sound, and the achievement frame will appear before your eyes.

Meow meow, meow, be good! (Glorious deeds)

Achievement Summary: Interact with Professor McGonagall in her cat form.

Achievement Reward: Transfiguration Talent +1

"Ah..." Louis was dumbfounded. How could he manage to charm the professor just by casually petting a cat?

He swore to the lamp that he absolutely did not intend to harm Professor McGonagall; it was simply because he loved cats so much.

Taking advantage of Louis's momentary daze, Professor McGonagall also came to her senses, leaped away from Louis's clutches, and stood upright in his dazed gaze, quickly transforming into a cat-faced old... middle-aged catgirl.

Professor McGonagall wasn't wearing a hat; her black hair was neatly pinned up at the back of her head. She wore a pair of very old-fashioned square-framed glasses, and as expected of the dean, her eyes held a hint of sternness.

"Madam, I...uh..." Louis was a little unsure of what to say.

"I understand your surprise, Mr. Mountbatten." Professor McGonagall composed herself and continued, pursing her thin lips, "I hope you won't be offended by my trespassing. I am Minerva McGonagall, the Vice-Headmistress of Hogwarts and the Professor of Transfiguration."

"Uh, not at all." Louis extended his small hand. "I am Louis Mountbatten. It's an honor to meet you, Professor McGonagall."

As a gentleman among gentlemen, Louis's manners were impeccable. Coupled with his irresistibly adorable charm, Professor McGonagall's initial slight displeasure vanished instantly.

Who would argue with a cute, adorable little boy?

A gentleman, of noble birth, and handsome, Professor McGonagall simply couldn't think of a reason to dislike him.

He's way better than that arrogant little dragon from the Malfoys, and Professor McGonagall wouldn't mind chatting and laughing with the little guy.

"I think you've probably received our letter by now," Professor McGonagall said, referring to the letter that had just arrived. "Mr. Mountbatten, you're a natural-born wizard, you know that?"

"I just found out too," Louis said with a polite smile, pulling up a stool for Professor McGonagall.

"Thank you." Professor McGonagall sat down and continued, "Hogwarts will send school staff to some Muggle families to guide them in purchasing school supplies in Diagon Alley."

She paused, then continued, "Given your current unique situation, I will guide you into the world of magic."

"Professor, what's a Muggle?" Louis asked with an adorable expression, his acting skills comparable to an Oscar-winning actor.

"Poor child." Professor McGonagall stroked Louis's head tenderly and explained to him, "Muggle is what we call ordinary people who don't know magic."

"Then...Professor, could you tell me a story about the magical world?"

"I'm afraid that won't work, child." Professor McGonagall patted his head; to be honest, the soft texture of his hair felt really nice.

"There's not enough time. If you agree to go to Hogwarts, I still need to take you to Diagon Alley to buy things."

"I have no objection, Professor," Louis said with a smile. "If we're leaving soon, please allow me to have the butler prepare the car."

"No need, child, please give me your hand."

Louise did as she was told and stretched out her little hand. After a dizzying moment, Louise found herself in a noisy and dirty bar.

The nausea and motion sickness she had expected did not occur. Louis was still wondering if there was an error in the book when Professor McGonagall's praise rang in her ears.

"Your physique is excellent, Mr. Mountbatten. Generally speaking, young wizards your age would suffer for a while after being teleported by Apparition."

"Thank you, Professor." Louise gracefully looked up and nodded to Professor McGonagall.

"This child..." Professor McGonagall thought to herself, unconsciously smoothing Louis's soft hair again.

After greeting the bartender, Professor McGonagall led Lewis to a wall. She took out her wand and pointed to the dumpster as if it were a blackboard, saying, "Mr. Mountbatten, remember this dumpster. Count three on top of it, then two horizontally—like this."

She gestured and tapped the brick where the wand was resting three times: "Tap it three times, and something will change."

As Professor McGonagall finished speaking, the bricks began to shake and retreat one by one, forming a small hole. The hole grew larger and larger, and soon a bright passage appeared in front of them.

Sunlight streamed in through the open passageway, illuminating the previously dimly lit bar.

"Cool," Louis exclaimed sincerely.

Diagon Alley was chaotic, somewhat like the vegetable market in his previous life. The walkway was narrow, with various stalls set up by wizards on both sides. Some wizards would walk around, stop and start, picking and choosing from the stalls and asking all sorts of questions. Louis's DNA was instantly triggered.

"Moonlight Grass, fresh moonlight grass, top-quality moonlight grass, three gallons per plant!"

"Phoenix Tears! Top-grade Phoenix Tears! Abundant in magic, the best choice for high-level potions, on clearance sale for 68 Galleons!"

"Lapis lazuli, cat's eye, magic potions—we sell everything to give you richer, more powerful magic! Come and take a look!"

Louis's primary goal was to exchange for some Galleons.

However... the awkward thing is that he left in a hurry without taking any money with him, only the checkbook in his pocket.

Louis turned to Professor McGonagall and said dryly, "Professor, it seems we left in too much of a hurry. I only had a checkbook with me."

"Oh, it's alright. Gringotts has a wide range of services, and Muggle checks can be cashed for Galleons."

Professor McGonagall said this, and took his hand, leading him toward Gringotts.

According to Louis's observation, Gringotts should be the cleanest building in this alley.

As Louis passed through the bronze gate, his gaze involuntarily fell upon the long-limbed dwarfs—he had never seen such intelligent beings before, at least not in person.

"They're goblins, Gringotts staff," Professor McGonagall explained to Louis in a low voice.

She was quite satisfied, and Louis's gaze only showed slight surprise before he looked away, unlike other Muggle children who rudely stared at her.

The fairy guarding the gate bowed to the two of them, and then a second gate appeared before them. Unlike the first gate, it was silver and engraved with some words.

Louis didn't bother to look closely and simply followed Professor McGonagall inside.

Two fairies—presumably the lobby manager—bowed to them and led them to a marble hall.

The goblins were doing all sorts of things: weighing gems and gold, escorting people in and out, signing documents, and so on. Professor McGonagall found an empty window, went over and asked, "Hello, we need to deposit some items into Albus Dumbledore's gold vault."

"Do you have his key, ma'am?"

"Yes, I brought it." Professor McGonagall produced a bronze key from somewhere and handed the fairy something wrapped in a black bag.

The fairy took it, glanced at it briefly, and nodded, saying, "No problem, leave it to us."

"Sir, what is the exchange rate between the British pound and the Gallo?"

Louis asked the fairy a question.

"1:5, but the limit for each student from the Muggle world is only one thousand per year, sir."

Do you accept checks?

"OK."

Louis quickly pulled out his checkbook, wrote a check for one thousand pounds, tore it off, held it between his fingers, and laughed, "I want two hundred Galleons in return."

After getting Galon, the first thing I did was buy a wand.

As the saying goes, a wand is a wizard's second life. Just for that proverb, shouldn't you be the first to buy a wand?

Professor McGonagall knew the Diagon Alley by heart, and she led Louise through the maze of streets with ease until they found the wand shop, which looked as weathered as ever.

A wand sits forlornly on a faded purple cushion in the shop window. The gold lettering on the door has peeled off, and it reads: "Olivendine, making fine wands since 382 BC".

The shop was small, with nothing but a long bench and thousands of long, narrow boxes containing wands stacked almost to the ceiling. Louis managed to squeeze in and saw Ollivander dozing off at the counter.

"Hello, hello?" Louis greeted him politely.

"Huh?" Ollivander pulled his head out of his arms, the red mark on his face clearly visible. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, and finally managed to make out the person's appearance.

"Professor McGonagall? Oh, hello, you must be here with a Muggle freshman to buy a wand, right?"

"Yes." Professor McGonagall patted Louis's nice little head, gesturing for him to move forward.

"May I tell you your name, child?" Ollivander then explained, "I'm sorry, wizards who buy wands from me need to be registered with the Ministry of Magic."

"My name is Louis Mountbatten, sir," Louis introduced himself politely.

"Ah... Mr. Mountbatten." A look of reminiscence flashed in Ollivander's eyes: "May I ask if David Mountbatten is your...?"

"He is my father, sir," Louis replied politely.

“Oh, right.” Ollivander chuckled. “You resemble your mother more—ah, Eastern names are really hard to pronounce, I still prefer to call her Emma… I remember her, she was a very kind Eastern alchemist.”

"Sorry, I'm getting old, I tend to reminisce about the past." Ollivander looked at the somewhat dejected Louis and suddenly realized, "Mr. Mountbatten, may I ask which arm you usually use?"

"Left hand, sir." Louis raised his arm, ready for Ollivander to take the measurement.

Ollivander took out a measuring tape and tossed it into the air. The tape slowly approached Louis and began measuring him, from his arm to his forearm, from his height to his head circumference, making one wonder if his shop sold wands or clothes.

"Please be patient, Mr. Mountbatten. The wands I sell here are all unique, so the process is naturally a bit more complicated."

Ollivander noticed the confusion in Louis's eyes and patiently explained, "Only accurate physical data can be used to select the most suitable wand for you... Alright, you can come over now."

The measuring tape slowly returned to Ollivander's hand, and Louis followed the tape to the counter. Ollivander had already pulled out a wand from behind him: "To fit your body data, I have some backup options that I hope will meet your expectations... Here, try this one, beech, nine and three-quarters inches, unicorn hair core."

Louis took the wand, and its tip instantly flashed with brilliant light, the entire wand vibrating rapidly. Louis wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that this wand… was somewhat pleasant?

"Ha, this is truly the first time I've seen a young wizard whose first wand fits so perfectly." Ollivander seemed to have discovered a new continent. "Mr. Louis, it seems this wand is very suitable for you. I knew it! The complicated measurement method, although laborious, was precisely to help you quickly find a wand that suits you... Just like pursuing a girl, you don't think every girl will fall for you, do you? Now, try infusing a little magic into the wand, just a little bit."

Louise did as he was told and channeled a little magic into his wand.

Who knew that it would have been better not to type it in, because as soon as the wand was entered, a golden, hemispherical radiance of magic rapidly expanded and swept across the entire store.

"Clatter, clatter..." The boxes containing wands opened one after another, and the wands crowded around Louis, each trying to get as close to him as possible, as if they wanted him to try them out.

"Is this what you meant by complicated?" Louis looked through the gaps between the wands at Ollivander, who looked utterly bewildered and as if he'd seen a ghost. "I think everyone likes me quite a bit?"

(End of this chapter)