At dawn, a remarkably tall man accompanied by a slight boy strolled through the streets of North Cledon.
The man, towering over eight feet in height and in his middle years, contrasted sharply with the boy beside him. The child, thin and sporting taped-together black-framed glasses, had hair so unkempt it resembled a tangle of weeds atop his head, obscuring his forehead.
Their distinctive appearance on the street captured the curiosity of onlookers, with a few harboring concerns that the child could have been abducted, especially considering the towering man's formidable presence.
Yet, intervention or calls to authorities were absent. In North Cledon, where gang-related incidents weren't unusual, this overt display still stood out as an anomaly.
The towering figure and the boy were, in fact, Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, and Harry Potter, a newcomer to the magical school.
Soon, they arrived at a shack in the western woods of North Cledon. Hagrid cleared his throat, preparing to knock, but the door suddenly opened.
Immediately upon seeing the towering figure at the door, Mike identified him as Hagrid from Harry Potter without a moment's hesitation.
Before Mike had the chance to utter a word, Hagrid, halting his initial motion to knock, coughed to dispel the awkward silence.
"Are you Mike Tully, by any chance? Uh... let's see." Midway through, Hagrid seemed to lose track and fetched a piece of paper from the deep recesses of his coat pocket to consult.
"Left by parents at age 2… Ran away from the orphanage at 5… Wandered London ever since. Uh, my apologies!"
Upon realizing he had inadvertently read the details out loud, Hagrid's embarrassment intensified, and he hastily stuffed the paper back into his pocket.
"Er, to put it simply, I am the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, here to take you and Harry to Diagon Alley."
Mike remained composed despite Hagrid's directness, offering a warm smile in return.
"No worries, Mr. Hagrid. I appreciate you making the trip."
With that, understanding that Mike grasped the situation, Hagrid led Mike and Harry towards London.
Throughout the journey, Harry was noticeably anxious, staying silent without starting any conversation.
Harry had imagined that Hagrid would whisk him away to the magical realm through some enchanting method. However, Hagrid's first action was to collect another Hogwarts first-year named Mike, followed by an unexpected subway ride into central London.
Meeting Mike stirred a deep sense of camaraderie in Harry. He had once believed himself to be the unluckiest soul alive, a notion that changed upon encountering Mike.
In light of what Mike had endured, Harry's own troubles paled in comparison.
While Harry momentarily entertained a bit of schadenfreude, he quickly quelled these thoughts, feeling a surge of remorse instead. At his core, Harry remained a soul of pure innocence.
Conversely, Mike was quite the conversationalist during their trip, eagerly chatting with both Hagrid and Harry at every opportunity.
Their dialogue helped to ease Hagrid's initial discomfort, and though Harry contributed only intermittently, his nerves seemingly held him back.
Eventually, Hagrid guided them to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
Renowned as the threshold bridging the magical and non-magical realms of Britain, the Leaky Cauldron was clearly a well-known establishment.
But for such a well-known place, it was quite dark and dirty. A few old women sat in a corner, sipping sherry from tiny glasses, one of them puffing on a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was chatting with a nearly bald bartender.
Their entrance immediately drew everyone's attention.
The bartender, Tom, was about to greet Hagrid when he noticed the two behind him. After a closer look, he excitedly shook Harry's hand.
"My goodness! You're Harry Potter, aren't you? I'm so honored!"
Following Tom's exclamation, the entire bar erupted in excitement, with everyone trying to get close to Harry, hoping to shake hands with the famous Harry Potter.
Mike noticed a figure dressed like an Indian fakir among them, stuttering as he spoke. Clearly, he was this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts - Quirrell.
Hagrid appeared rather self-satisfied, almost as though he were the focus of everyone's warm welcome. Nonetheless, he dutifully cleared the gathering and proceeded to escort the pair to a brick wall situated behind the Leaky Cauldron.
"Count three up... then two across..." he murmured softly. "Alright, stand back, lads."
With the tip of his umbrella, he tapped the wall three times.
The brick Hagrid tapped trembled and shifted, revealing a small opening that expanded into a broad archway, amply spacious for Hagrid to walk through. This gateway opened onto a serpentine street laid with cobblestones, extending beyond view.
Mike observed the wonders of Diagon Alley with sheer exhilaration. He was finally witnessing the magic world firsthand!
Both Mike and Harry found themselves wishing for extra eyes, their gazes darting around in an attempt to absorb every single facet of their surroundings.
Seeing the two of them looking like country bumpkins in the city, Hagrid laughed heartily.
"First, we'll stop by Gringotts to get some money out, then off we go for a good look around, Harry," Hagrid reassured, casting a glance at Mike beside Harry. "And Mike, no need to fret. Hogwarts has got all your school gear sorted. We'll collect it from Gringotts."
Mike offered a grateful smile and nodded, perceiving the distinct way Hagrid addressed him compared to Harry.
As they shared a light-hearted moment, they approached an imposing white edifice, distinguished by its gleaming bronze doors. A goblin, clad in a regal uniform of crimson and gold, welcomed them with a bow.
Harry's curiosity was unmistakable, his gaze fixed on the goblin without break.
Hagrid whispered something to Harry, his voice so low that not even Mike, who was standing nearby, could overhear.
Soon, they stood before a silver door, its surface etched with a caution to potential thieves about the grave repercussions of avarice and larceny at Gringotts.
Mike found the bank's cautionary words to be of little concern, his past life as a bank robber rendering such warnings trivial. To his mind, such admonitions were only likely to sway those as guileless as Hagrid and Harry.
Passing through the doors, they entered a hall where about a hundred goblins were busy at their desks, weighing coins, inspecting gems, and scribbling in large ledgers. Numerous doors led to different parts of the bank, with goblins guiding people in and out.
After a brief exchange with a counter goblin, Hagrid instructed Mike, "Hand over your Hogwarts acceptance letter to him, Mike. He'll sort out your supplies. Harry and I have a vault to visit."
Mike acknowledged with a nod, observing as they departed with a goblin in tow.
Turning to the goblin, Mike greeted, "Hello, sir," and presented his acceptance letter.
The goblin, without speaking, inspected the letter through a magnifying glass and then retrieved a large box from behind him.
Upon opening the box, Mike discovered it packed with the school supplies mentioned in his letter, each item bearing the marks of previous use. The cauldron, in particular, caught his attention with its uneven, worn bottom and dark stains.
The lingering unpleasant odor led Mike to wonder if its last user had concocted something rather dubious.
Having inspected the contents, Mike then shifted his focus to a goblin who was meticulously examining the quality of various gems.
"Is it possible to convert pounds into Galleons here?"
"Indeed, at a rate of 5 pounds per Galleon, with a maximum of 100 Galleons allowed."
The goblin, raising an eyebrow in mild astonishment, glanced at Mike, who didn't seem the type to make such an exchange.
"Let's keep this between us," Mike suggested, handing over a pouch brimming with various pound notes.
With remarkable quickness, the goblin counted the currency, earning Mike's admiration for his efficiency.
Shortly thereafter, the goblin presented Mike with a pouch of Galleons.
"It's our procedure to inform the school about any Hogwarts student's conversion of Muggle currency into Galleons."
The goblin's hands opened wide on the counter, mimicking a gesture of powerlessness, yet the smirk on his face told a different story.
"What a greedy creature," Mike muttered, slipping 5 Galleons discreetly into the goblin's hand on the counter. "Also, tell that big fellow who just went in that I'll be wandering around and meet up at the Leaky Cauldron later."
With the bribe accepted, the goblin bobbed his head enthusiastically.
"Rest assured, sir. It's as if this exchange never happened."