Chapter - 5.2

"This... is... sick..." Nicole commented as she saw the wall slowly turn into a gateway.

'Sick? Why would she call it sick with that face?' Professor McGonagall thought but chose not to ask. She knew it was something she did not understand, and the last thing she wanted was to give Nicole another point to pull her leg.

"I am sure you have the list of all the items you need," Professor McGonagall asked, turning towards Alex.

"Yes, but before that, I need to exchange my money with Galleons," Alex said. Although he already knew about it, Professor McGonagall made them aware of some things during the ride that she thought they might need to know.

"Then I suggest we go to the bank first. We can exchange money there, and if you want, we can even have a vault open for you and your sister," Professor McGonagall suggested. The idea was unanimously approved by everyone.

But as they made their way towards the bank, Alex saw a sign stating currency exchange.

"Why don't we look there?" Alex said, pointing towards the shop.

"It's easier to exchange money here, but the exchange rates are higher than what the bank offers," Professor McGonagall said, "You will be on the losing end."

"I don't have much money anyway," Alex said and walked inside the shop.

And Professor McGonagall thought it would be impolite to follow him inside, so she decided to wait outside. Nicole, on the other hand, was not that concerned about what her brother did because, for her, her brother was always right.

When Alex walked inside, he found a group of people standing in line, and an old man was there, behind the counter, responsible for exchanging the money.

As he was last in line, Alex looked around and, on a plank hung behind the old man, found the current rate of exchange.

The current rate of exchange of muggle money in the bank was a Galleon for six pounds. But here in the shop, it was a Galleon for seven pounds. Alex would lose a lot, but he was okay with that for the time being. He was not very keen to leave many traces of him. Having his record at the school was already not in his plan.

It took a while, but Alex managed to exchange his money. To make it a round number, of the thirty thousand pounds he brought with him, Alex exchanged twenty-eight thousand pounds for four thousand Galleons. And from what little he knew about the living of the wizards, he was somewhat middle-class already. Satisfied with the outcome, Alex left the shop.

When Professor McGonagall saw Alex walk out of the shop, she asked, "Is it done?" and she received an affirmative nod from Alex.

"Since you have the money and the list with you. I am sure you two can manage on your own," Professor McGonagall straightened her back and said, "I have some official school business to take care of. So I will take my leave."

And like always, this did not go well with Nicole, "Isn't it also your job, your official job, to help us buy our stuff?" Nicole asked.

"Yes, it is," surprisingly, Professor McGonagall agreed with Nicole and smiled, "But young lady, my job is also to assess the students getting admission to our school."

"... And I can help you, it's nothing much for me. But being fourteen years old, it's about time you start taking responsibility for your life. My job as a teacher is to make sure that my students are ready to face the world by the time they graduate from school," Professor McGonagall said.

Nicole wanted to argue, but before she could stretch the matter further and waste time, Alex beat her to it, "Thank you, Professor." Then he eyed his sister to follow.

Reluctant, but under the glare of her brother, Nicole nodded, "Thank you, Professor McGonagall."

Pleased, Professor McGonagall nodded, "We will meet here two hours from now. I will check if you bought the right stuff, and I need to give you something else too." Saying this, Professor McGonagall walked away.

"Humph... Such irresponsible behaviour," Nicole commented but found her brother looking at her with a deadpan face, "Brother, let's try out the food. I am eager to see what kind of food the wizards eat," Nicole cleverly diverted the topic as she walked away from Alex to the nearby shop.

And with that, Alex and Nicole roamed the streets of the Diagon Alley, buying uniforms, books and everything else on the list. By the end of

After nearly an hour of shopping, the only thing left on their yet-to-buy list was a wand and the pets.

* * * * *

"Why is everything so shady with wizards?" Nicole asked his brother.

After asking around for the best wand shop, the brother and sister duo stood in front of yet another shabby-looking shop. The golden letters on the board above the door were peeling off, and one could barely make it out what was written.

Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 b.c.

A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. Nicole had her doubts looking at the spooky shop in front of them. And to be honest, Nicole was beginning to find the way wizards carried themselves quite creepy.

First the Leaky cauldron, then the wizards she passed by and then this shop. All of them sent chills down her spine a couple of times. Nicole was beginning to have second thoughts about going inside the shop, but Alex had already stepped into the shop.

Biting the bullet, Nicole followed behind her brother inside the shop. As soon as they entered, a tinkling sound resonated from somewhere deep inside the shop. The shop was worn-out and almost empty, except for a single spindly chair placed in the corner just below the window. And behind the counter, Nicole could see thousands of narrow boxes stacked one over the other. They were properly arranged but covered in dust.

"Good afternoon," suddenly a voice was heard as if someone had whispered into their ears. Taken by surprise, Nicole could not stop herself from letting out a shriek. She backed off only to stumble upon the chair and fall over it. Professor McGonagall would have enjoyed it if she were here.

Even Alex looked around to find the source of the voice.

Soon, an old man emerged from behind one of the shelves and came towards the counter.

"My apologies, miss... I had no intention of startling you," the old man leaned over the counter and apologised to Nicole in a deep and trembling voice.

"What do you mean you did not want to? Is this how you treat your customers? Sneaking up on them when they are not looking," Nicole expressed her disappointment, "You should give me a big fat discount on the wands. Only then we will be even," Nicole said to the old man while dusting her clothes.

"..."

* * * * *

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