"Can we step outside of Hogwarts?" Gary suddenly asked.
"...Yes, like what?" Alfrina's eyes lit up.
"We can discuss anything in the Wizarding World, such as Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and so on."
The new idea proposed by Gary excited the other four; by stepping outside the big circle of Hogwarts, they discovered there were so many other pressing issues in this world.
During their discussion, they established a principle: not to delve into issues related to bloodline.
The Wizarding World was already seeing ripples of change, with Pure-bloods eager to reclaim their rightful power.
It would undoubtedly be suicidal for them, still so young, to get involved in such matters.
By the time the train arrived in London, Alfrina finally agreed to make the study of Quidditch rules their main topic for the next school year.
Alfrina, Kona, Lily, and Howard all came from Muggle families and, influenced by their national environment, had more or less watched Muggle football matches. Quidditch, also a widely popular sport, seemed to have extremely simplistic rules, which was one reason for their lack of interest.
The most unacceptable rule was the Golden Snitch: its 150-point value, coupled with its ability to force the end of the game, infinitely elevated the Seeker's status.
A Chaser only scored ten points per goal, which seemed too low compared to the Seeker's role on the field.
After returning home, Gary prepared to modify his wand; its current blood-red color was quite alarming.
Fortunately, wands were rarely used in the second-year final exams, so he managed by carefully operating it and avoiding people.
He planned to make a leather case for the wand to cover its color.
The problem was how to make the case protect the wand without affecting its magical output and spell casting.
The current situation was manageable, but if Gary were to cast a powerful spell, the magic overflowing from the wand tip could very likely burst the leather case.
Gary sat at his bedroom desk, propping his chin with his left hand, while his right-hand knuckles tapped rhythmically on the table.
The leather case had to be able to withstand a certain amount of magic, and its appearance had to be dark...
Dragonhide. This was the most suitable material Gary could think of, possessing sufficient magical resistance and toughness, and its color met the requirements. Aside from being expensive, it had no other drawbacks.
Without delay, Gary traced his wand on a piece of paper to calculate its surface area and then estimated the Galleons needed for the dragonhide.
...Just this small piece of dragonhide would cost 210 Galleons.
The dragonhide Gary needed was different from the dragonhide gloves worn to prevent herbs from corroding during school. The latter were woven from a small amount of dragonhide mixed with other materials, only providing corrosion and burn resistance, but not magical resistance.
Gary needed to wrap the entire wand in dragonhide. Dragons themselves reproduce extremely slowly, and in previous years, because the uses of dragon blood and dragonhide were discovered, many Wizards joined dragon-hunting teams. Now, dragons on the continent are becoming increasingly scarce, and the price of items from dragons has continued to rise.
Adding the money Gary earned from selling magic stabilizers before, plus his pocket money, he had about 170 Galleons, still a bit short.
He planned to ask his parents; their family situation had improved significantly, and they were not so financially strapped that they couldn't spare 40 Galleons.
"Dad, Mom..." Gary made his request when they were relaxing in front of the TV after work. At this time, his parents had just finished a day's work and were happy to rest, so children's reasonable requests were often met.
→
It was different in the morning. Parents would be thinking about the busy day ahead, dealing with annoying bosses, lazy subordinates, and competitive colleagues, which was very troublesome. Most office workers are not in a good mood in the morning.
If a mischievous child made a request at this time, parents would probably frown and tell you to study hard, then list the achievements of the neighbor's child, making you retreat without a fight.
"What's wrong?" Mr. Shafiq was happily watching TV, holding his wife.
"I want to borrow 40 Galleons," Gary said, feeling relieved after seeing his parents' expressions, "I want to buy some dragonhide for an experiment."
"Dragonhide?" Mrs. Shafiq asked, puzzled, "What kind of experiment?"
"...The experiment requires Bubotuber pus, Alfrina said so, but we don't know what kind of experiment it is." Gary used Alfrina as a shield.
Upon hearing Alfrina's name, Mrs. Shafiq stopped pressing. She knew that little girl was sharp-tongued and full of clever ideas.
"Alright, but this money will be deducted from your pocket money over eight months," Mr. Shafiq readily agreed.
Gary's usual pocket money was ten Galleons a month, and he could still manage by having five Galleons deducted each month.
After getting the money, Gary crawled under his bed and pulled out his suitcase. All the money he had saved was in the false bottom.
He counted out 210 gold coins and put them into a bag, a heavy bundle that made Gary feel much more at ease.
The next day, he used the family's Floo Network to travel to the Leaky Cauldron and entered Diagon Alley.
There weren't many people in Diagon Alley today; it wasn't yet time for back-to-school shopping. Gary walked all the way to the intersection with Knockturn Alley and entered Slug & Jiggers Apothecary.
Inside the shop, Gary looked around. There was a row of barrels filled with viscous substances on the floor. Against the walls were various jars of powders, herbs, and bundles of feathers, fangs, and claws hanging from the ceiling.
The entire apothecary had a very unpleasant smell, like a mixture of rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables.
Gary walked further in, holding his nose. A tall, thin, gray-haired man stood behind the counter.
"Hello, I'm here to buy dragonhide," Gary said, pinching his nose, his voice muffled.
"Follow me," the man said sparingly, just turning his head to signal Gary to follow him.
He walked out from behind the counter, leading the way. Gary followed behind and noticed that the tall, thin man was dressed very similarly to a Muggle, even wearing jeans.
"Here," he said. The two stopped in a corner of the shop, where more than a dozen wooden boxes of various sizes were laid out before them.
"How big do you need?" He opened the top box without looking back.
"Hmm... a foot long and four inches wide will do," Gary said.
The man was quick and efficient. He pulled out a piece of jet-black dragonhide from the box, returned to the counter, took out a strangely shaped knife, and gestured with it over the dragonhide.
The knife was oddly shaped, yet surprisingly effective in the man's hand, incredibly sharp, making dull sounds as it cut through the thick dragonhide.
"Done," Gary was still observing when the man had already cut the dragonhide and handed him the piece he needed. "Two hundred and ten Galleons," he said flatly, extending his palm.
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