"As long as you count three bricks up from the rubbish bin, then two across, and tap that spot lightly three times with your wand, the entrance to Diagon Alley will open… got it?"
"Got it. Thanks a lot—make it a chocolate, then."
To thank Stan Shunpike for voluntarily teaching him how to open the entrance to Diagon Alley, Avada added three Sickles to his fare and bought a chocolate for what was essentially a five-second journey. To avoid drawing the attention of Muggles, the Knight Bus only stopped in a small alley a few dozen meters away from the Leaky Cauldron, preventing anyone from seeing a person appear out of thin air on the main street.
The inside of the Leaky Cauldron was far more spacious than it looked from the outside, but that did nothing to change the fact that it was cramped, filthy, and chaotic. Patrons sat or stood all around the room—those holding tankards shouted loudly, while those clutching bottles and drinking straight from them were usually too drunk even to shout, swaying back and forth while muttering incoherently. The air was thick with the stench of alcohol and tobacco, making it feel as though you couldn't stay there without putting some kind of harsh liquid in your mouth.
The old man behind the bar, expertly mixing drinks while laughing and chatting loudly with customers, was presumably Old Tom, the current proprietor. Avada couldn't help wondering whether, now that Voldemort's real name had been publicly exposed by Dumbledore, some mysterious rumors about the innkeeper might start circulating within the Leaky Cauldron.
Holding his suitcase high, Avada turned sideways and struggled through the crowd. Only after escaping the suffocating mixture of alcohol and smoke did he finally make it into the pub's back courtyard.
"Merlin… I hope Hannah cleans this place up a bit once she takes over…"
Thinking of that quiet Hufflepuff junior, Avada found it hard to imagine her shouting across the room in a dozen dialects like Old Tom did.
Shaking his head, he took out his wand and followed the method Stan had given him, tapping the unfortunate brick three times. The wall immediately rattled and slid apart, revealing a wide, bustling street beyond.
"More than two years since I enrolled, and this is my first time entering Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron…"
Muttering to himself, Avada headed straight into Flourish and Blotts to buy his textbooks, glancing around to see if he might run into anyone he knew.
Unfortunately—no luck.
To avoid overcrowding, Hogwarts sent letters to each year group at staggered times, with several days between them. Third year was especially delayed, since elective choices directly affected future career paths, and most parents spent days discussing options with their children before making a decision.
Avada, on the other hand, had come to Diagon Alley the very day he received his letter. As a result, there were hardly any Hogwarts students on the street besides him.
"Probably for the best…" he thought. "At least no one will pester me about Voldemort."
The impact of sealing Voldemort turned out to be far smaller than Avada had expected. After all, Voldemort had already vanished for eleven years, and people had grown accustomed to a world without him—assuming he was either dead or too gravely injured to ever return.
So aside from Hogwarts students breaking out in cold sweat upon realizing they'd shared a year with Voldemort, and feeling especially grateful to Avada and the others involved, the event had less impact on magical society than Dumbledore's public declaration against blood purity. Even when Avada entered the Leaky Cauldron earlier, no one paid him any attention.
…
"Third years are using Lockhart's books too?"
After seeing Avada's book list, the owner of Flourish and Blotts widened his eyes in surprise. "Looks like this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is a die-hard Lockhart fan… but the Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection series has been used for ages. Replacing it for the entire year group all at once seems a bit reckless, doesn't it? What about the fifth-years who have exams?"
"Who knows," Avada replied casually, curling his lip. "If Professor Dumbledore hired him, he must have had his reasons…"
"That's debatable," the owner snorted. "Didn't You-Know-Who slip through the cracks just last year? He was so weak that a few students could beat him, yet he still fooled Dumbledore… seems like Dumbledore's getting old."
"Ah—wait a second, you look kind of familiar… oh! You're that—"
"Shh, shh!"Avada hurriedly gestured for him to lower his voice. "Quiet. I'm just here to buy some books."
After all, he still had to break into Gringotts later.
"Er—right."The owner coughed awkwardly, though the way he looked at Avada had clearly changed. He turned around and packed up all the books Avada needed for the new school year—over a dozen volumes once electives were included—filling most of his suitcase in one go.
Once he left Flourish and Blotts with the now-heavily-laden suitcase, Avada immediately ducked into an empty corner. He shoved the bulky suitcase into an Undetectable Extension Charm pocket, then cast both a Disillusionment Charm and a Bubble-Head Charm on himself to be safe. With a single Near Yet Far Spell, he slipped into the spatial interstice.
He mounted his broom with practiced ease, observing the magical structures around him in absolute darkness. After confirming that Gringotts had no goblin-exclusive magic capable of dragging him out of the spatial layer, he steered the broom downward, infiltrating the underground vaults.
"Merlin—did Gringotts hollow out the entire area beneath Diagon Alley?!"
Avada dove straight down at full speed. After flying for who knew how long, he finally spotted a massive concentration of life force.
The dragon.
There were more than twenty vaults surrounding it. Only one of them, however, contained a magical hollow. Unless a goblin was sleeping inside, that had to be Hufflepuff's Cup. Drawing closer and clearly seeing the familiar Horcrux magic, Avada finally relaxed.
"Everything inside besides the cup seems to be enchanted with the Gemino Curse and a burning charm. Charging in directly would get me buried alive under red-hot treasure. Good thing I brought a broom… hm?"
Just as he was about to exit the spatial interstice, Avada was shocked to find his mental energy blocked by an invisible force, unable to pierce space again.
"Anti-Apparition wards? No—far more complex than the ones at Hogwarts!"
"These signatures are… human, goblin, giant, house-elf, phoenix, Diricawl…"
"Dozens of different profiles! Almost every creature in the world capable of Apparition has their mental signature blocked! And these wards are layered together without causing any interference at all…"
"No wonder Gringotts is run by goblins with such deep foundations. The security here really is unmatched."
Avada couldn't help admiring the goblins' dedication to protecting their clients' assets. Then he pulled out the frequency-tuning lens he'd crafted last term.
"But it still won't stop me."
"As long as full-spectrum mental blocking or absolute spatial reinforcement hasn't been invented, no ward can truly stop me."
Previously, he'd configured the lens to mimic a house-elf's mental structure, since house-elves were easy to observe daily in Hogwarts' kitchens. But now, he could change it to something else entirely…
A Niffler, perhaps?
After a few adjustments, Avada appeared to the wards as a Niffler capable of Apparition—something they'd never been instructed to intercept. And just like that, he smoothly appeared inside the Lestrange family vault, retrieving the cup with the help of his broom.
"With that, the main objectives for this summer are complete. Once I control the diary next term, I can truly begin researching how to strip the soul fragment from Harry…"
"What should I do with the remaining time? Maybe start reading Nicolas Flamel's notes in advance?"
(End of Chapter)