The day after the year-end banquet...
Finally, the closet was empty, the bookshelf was empty, and all their luggage was packed into the suitcase.
The house-elves carried all their luggage onto the train.
Summer notices were sent to every student, warning them that they were prohibited from using magic during the holidays.
Hagrid took them on a carriage pulled by the Thestrals and took them to Hogsmeade Railway Station.
This time on the way home, he could not stay in the same compartment with Astoria; several Hufflepuff students, including Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones and Zacharias Smith, pulled him into their compartment.
"That's great. We finally broke the embarrassing record... Jon, it's all thanks to you!" Susan said with a grateful look on her face.
"We can't be satisfied with such a small achievement!" Zacharias patted Jon on the shoulder with a mature look and said, "We have to work harder next year and at least get the second place in the College Cup!"
...
...
They were sitting on the Hogwarts Express, chatting and laughing all the way!
I watched the farmland outside the window grow greener and tidier; the train passed through one town after another, getting closer and closer to London.
Jon took off his wizard robes and changed into the short shirt and jeans he was more accustomed to wearing.
Finally, the train stopped at Platform 9 at King's Cross Station.
It took them quite some time to get through the platform.
There was a shriveled old wizard guarding the ticket gate of Platform 9, allowing only two or three students to pass at a time.
This way, there won't be a large number of people emerging from a solid wall at the same time, attracting the attention of nearby Muggles.
Walking out of Platform 9, Jon saw Lady Greengrass in front of him, holding one of her daughters by the hand; Astoria kept looking back secretly until she saw Jon, and she smiled.
Whispering goodbye to Jon secretly, she was taken away by her mother.
Soon afterwards, Jon found Eric and Judy, his parents, on the platform.
Judy rushed over enthusiastically, hugged her son in her arms and kissed his forehead.
Eric stood upright on the side and asked with a smile, "How's your study going, Jon?"
"Not bad!" Jon poked his head out from his mother's arms, "At least one of the top students in my age group..."
"Don't be so modest, you must be at the top!" Eric patted him on the back: "Don't I know you? Since you were a child, when have you ever dropped to second place? Let's go home?"
"No, wait... let's go to Charing Cross Road and Diagon Alley first!" Jon said hurriedly.
"Okay, let's go..."
They soon arrived at the station's parking lot and got into Eric's classic Jaguar XJ6 sedan.
…
Half an hour later, Eric's car arrived at Charing Cross Road in Westminster, West End of London.
Eric was familiar with the place and it didn't take him long to find the shabby bar located between a large bookstore and a record store.
"The Leaky Cauldron, a very famous place!" he introduced it proudly to his wife.
Judy also looked at this very inconspicuous bar with some surprise.
Jon finally asked his parents to stay in Charing Cross Road and did not let them follow him into Diagon Alley; after all, there were many wizards of all kinds in Diagon Alley, not to mention that Knockturn Alley next door was even more of a mixed bag.
It would be bad if Eric and Judy, two ordinary people, were targeted by dark wizards who discriminated against Muggles.
After all, I am a serious student of Hogwarts, and no one would dare to cast a spell on me in the street in broad daylight.
Walking into the Leaky Cauldron alone, Tom, the owner who had almost lost all his teeth, smiled and nodded to him.
Jon smiled back at him and walked around the bar of the Leaky Cauldron to a small walled patio.
He pulled out his wand and tapped lightly on the wall; Diagon Alley appeared in front of him and Jon walked in calmly.
First, he felt the few silver Sickles in his pocket, and then went straight to Gringotts.
After passing through the shining bronze gate, he was greeted by a strange goblin.
The goblin bowed humbly: "Hello, sir...Excuse me, do you need my help?"
"Of course!" Jon lowered his head. "I'm Jon Hart, a second-year student at Hogwarts. I need to exchange 500 pounds into gold galleons now!"
"It's only June 15th..." The goblin raised his head, rolled his eyes, and said slowly, "Mr. Hart, generally speaking... Muggle-born wizards will not come to Gringotts to exchange their gold Galleons until August."
Jon frowned and said coldly, "I think the annual exchange of 100 gold galleons should be the agreement between Gringotts and Hogwarts!"
"Of course, yes, Mr. Hart... Don't be angry!" The goblin showed an ugly smile on his face: "After all, it is always a bit troublesome to withdraw money in advance, isn't it..."
Its voice suddenly lowered, almost close to Jon's ear: "Of course, if you can provide a small handling fee, then everything will be a lot simpler?"
"How much do you want?" Jon asked calmly.
"It only takes five Galleons... and the subsequent procedures will be much simpler... Mr. Hart, what do you think?" The fairy's voice sounded quite alluring.
Just a hundred Galleons, and this goblin wanted to take five percent interest... Jon suppressed his anger and glanced at the nameplate on the goblin's chest.
Seeing the name of "Griphook", a sneer appeared on his face: "Okay, I promise you!"
An envelope containing ten 50-pound notes was thrown into Griphook's hand. Griphook skillfully took out a bag of gold coins, took out five of them and put them in his pocket.
"It's a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Hart!" The same ugly smile appeared on his face again.
"Well, thank you..." Jon left Gringotts without looking back.
…
Diagon Alley in June is not as busy as it is at the end of July.
In addition, it was getting dark, and there were not many wizards on the streets.
Jon filled his pockets with gold coins and looked around calmly; while no one was around, he sneaked into a small alley.
Then, he took out a small bottle of polyjuice potion that he had prepared long ago from his pocket, closed his eyes, and drank it in one gulp.
A few minutes later, a thin wizard appeared on the street of Diagon Alley.
He was covered in a black robe and cloak, even covering his face, leaving only a large hooked nose visible.
Soon, he arrived at the destination of this trip, the "Zig's Potion Material Shop".
He took off his hood and strode in.
Then, the thin wizard revealed his sallow face and glanced around the shop with his cold and unfathomable eyes.
Christian Sieg, the owner of this shop, is a young man who looks to be in his early twenties and has a pale face.
"Professor Snape?" He was overjoyed and came over quickly: "What a rare guest... I was just reading your article on the improvement of wolfsbane potion published in the monthly magazine "Extraordinary Potion"..."
"Really?" Severus Snape nodded coldly, took the magazine from Sieg's hand, glanced at it casually, and threw it on the counter beside him.
"How can I help you?" asked the young shop owner, Ziggy, enthusiastically.
...
...
"I need to buy some potion materials, privately!" Snape responded: "Don't spread the word..."
"Of course, we attach great importance to the privacy of customers like you!" Zieg nodded repeatedly: "What do you need?"
Severus Snape, the Hogwarts Potions teacher, is also a master of potions... There is no doubt that he is an important "financial sponsor" for any herbal medicine store.
It was very important to have a good relationship with him. Zigg knew this very well.
Severus Snape had already pulled a list from his pocket and read:
"Fifteen ounces of Bicorn powder."
"Two fecal stones."
"Ten ounces of dragon's liver."
…
The young shop owner quickly waved his wand and put the herbs into the shopping box according to Snape's instructions.
Snape calmly sat on a chair beside him: "I hope you don't sell inferior goods as good ones; believe me, I will definitely find out!"
"Of course, Professor Snape!" Sieg smiled and said, "The things I give you are definitely of the best quality."
A variety of medicinal herbs almost filled the suitcase... The young shop owner handed it to Snape with a smile.
"How much?"
"Originally it was ninety Galleons... but since it's you, I'll give you a 20% discount, no, a 30% discount... a 30% discount, Professor Snape... just give me sixty-three Galleons!" Sieg said with a flattering look on his face.
"Really?" Snape looked slightly surprised.
"Okay... I almost forgot, give me a pound of Mothra rat juice and the skin of an African boomslang!" he quickly added.
"Okay, wait a moment..."
Another bottle and a bag were stuffed into the previous suitcase.
"A total of 100 Galleons... I'll give you a 30% discount, so 70 Galleons will be enough!"
Snape took a coin bag from his pocket, counted out seventy Galleons, and handed them to Sieg little by little.
Afterwards, he strode out of the shop with a smile on his face, carrying a suitcase full of potion ingredients.
The young shop owner even shouted from the back: "Professor Snape, welcome back next time!"
…
After leaving the potion shop, Professor Severus Snape went to Flourish and Blotts bookstore again.
There, he picked up several books on potions.
Next he entered a dingy shop and bought a new crucible and some silver spoons.
Finally, he spent five Galleons on a backpack with a lot of space inside and stuffed it into the suitcase.
Carrying his bag full of stuff, he returned to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Oh my God!" The bar owner was startled. He ran over quickly and said, "This is Professor Snape. It's an honor!"
"Good afternoon!" Snape had to put the suitcase on the ground and shook hands with him.
"My naughty granddaughter is now studying at Hogwarts and is your student..." As he spoke, Old Tom couldn't help but touch his almost bald head.
"Yes, she's not bad..." Snape was vague, and asked with a strange look on his face: "Can I use the restroom here?"
"Of course, it's on the second floor, in the compartment on the left. Do you need me to take you there?"
"Thank you, but that's okay..." Snape trotted up to the second floor of the Leaky Cauldron.
…
Jon Hart, carrying a backpack, carefully walked out of the bathroom of the Leaky Cauldron.
Just as I was about to go down the stairs, I bumped head-on into a little girl who was going upstairs.
"I'm so sorry..." Jon apologized repeatedly.
"Jon?" the little girl with two golden braids asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"
"Good afternoon... Hannah..." Jon stammered, "I may be lost..."
"Lost?" Hannah looked at him suspiciously: "It's already dark now, not afternoon anymore."
"Um...good evening then..."
Fortunately, Hannah didn't dwell too much on this: "By the way, the Leaky Cauldron is owned by my grandfather. Do you want to go down and meet him?"
"Mr. Tom... I think I've met him..." Jon smiled awkwardly: "Next time, Hannah... My parents are still waiting for me outside... I need to get back to Southampton before midnight... Sorry!"
Before Hannah Abbott could react, Jon was gone.
Hannah shook her head in confusion and went back downstairs to the bar.
Tom Abbott, owner of the Leaky Cauldron, is waving his wand and mixing a cocktail.
"Hannah..." He grinned and said, "Your teacher, Professor Snape, came to us just now. He should be upstairs now. Have you seen him?"
"Professor Snape!!!"
Hannah was so frightened that she couldn't help but take two steps back.
"I...I didn't see him..."
"He just praised you!" Old Tom raised his head, glanced upstairs, and said to himself, "Hey, why hasn't Professor Snape come down yet... Maybe he Apparated away... I was going to buy him a drink!"