Chapter 440: Procurement I

Everyone on the train was quite cheerful, even the Gryffindor students who had lost the House Cup were in good spirits as the summer vacation approached—after all, they never expected to win the Cup in the first place. Bai Lang got along well with those classmates, not only the Slytherin ones but also a Hufflepuff student. Of course, later Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan showed up, and they shared the remaining Chocolate Frogs.

"Hey, Bai. You're heading to Diagon Alley to shop?" Zhabini said casually. Bai Lang had told him that after getting off he planned to go to Diagon Alley first. "Well, I want to buy a suitcase with a non‑trace expansion spell, the larger the interior space the better," Bai Lang replied. "Oh, that's not cheap. But the truly good stuff… you can't find it in Knockturn Alley, hahahaha," Zhabini joked.

Indeed, such items are officially under strict Ministry of Magic control, and there aren't many wizards capable of casting high‑level non‑trace expansion spells, let alone the means to make them almost permanent, which would require a lot of privately owned, illegal materials. Although dark wizards and Knockturn Alley certainly have plenty of contraband, there isn't much market for producing and reselling such things….

Suitcases and tents are bulky; if the Ministry of Magic catches a buyer purchasing illegal products, they're in trouble, so why not make small, high‑profit, hard‑to‑detect black‑magic goods instead of these large contraband items?

Zhabini also gave Bai Lang a detailed rundown of the shops in Diagon Alley that sell such products; the only real issue was money. Bai Lang said he had the cash, so his subordinates didn't need to chip in—his subordinates breathed a sigh of relief. Of course Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan weren't his subordinates, and they had no money to lend Bai Lang either.

What Bai Lang really wanted to buy was just a briefcase that could hold a huge area—something with almost a park‑sized interior, even with day‑night and weather changes—a massive space that is virtually impossible to purchase openly… unless you come from a family with some traditional background, don't even dream about it.

When the train arrived, the young wizards hurriedly gathered their things, their trunks placed on carts, while their families waited on the platform. An old security guard at the platform exit controlled the flow, letting only two or three people out at a time to avoid attracting Muggle attention… "I just think wizards seem to have an innate inconspicuousness; most ordinary people simply ignore, don't hear, or quickly forget them," Bai Lang has always believed, and he doesn't like the term "Muggle".

Unlike before, Bai Lang first said goodbye to his friends and returned home, where being unable to use magic didn't affect him much—he was basically on the half‑way road of wandless casting. His wand, "Skullcrusher," provides far less magical assistance than other young wizards' wands; it mainly channels his own power, serving merely as a weapon for beating supernatural creatures.

With magical power, the wand seemed indestructible; although a bit lighter, it felt just right for Bai Lang—he imagines the slightly flexible wood weighing thirty to fifty pounds, with a brass tip of about twenty pounds, so that when he swings it, he's confident he could even smash a dragon's skull.

After stowing his belongings, he called Anderson, the lawyer, to check in—Anderson wants to find someone to look after Bai Lang over the summer; by law a child his age must have a daily guardian. Attending a summer camp or something would be fine, though.

Bai Lang wasn't interested in that. After dealing with his lawyer, he hopped on his bicycle and headed out to Diagon Alley to shop—he didn't want to lug a huge bag back to school, and in theory the eagle‑owl Bubo could even live inside it. But that seemed unlikely; Bai Lang thought Dio might end up eating Bubo?

The Leaky Cauldron was still the same dead‑alive place, a bunch of drunken wizards idling away. Bai Lang slipped through the back yard into Diagon Alley and immediately went to sell venom—he guessed, and Zhabini had told him, that in Knockturn Alley such venom fetches a higher price, but at his current level, Bai Lang thought it was still pretty risky.

The witch inside the potion shop gave him a strange look—a child selling such expensive reagent? Bai Lang feared that this money‑making route would be cut off for a while… Fortunately, the shop still bought his venom, and this time he earned 1,100 gold Galleons.

Bai Lang left quickly, pocketing the money and heading straight to a shop that sells magical items. "How about this?" he asked while browsing; one side was filled with tents, the other with stacked suitcases. The tents had all sorts of odd lanterns hanging in front, emitting a warm glow, and the outside of the tents was decked with all kinds of garish decorations. Some mysterious flying gadgets buzzed around the tents.

The shop, too, had been enchanted; from the storefront it couldn't possibly be that large, yet even if the interior were half a sports field in size, it was still a chaotic jumble of stacked items. Bai Lang was looking at a series of suitcases as he spoke to a middle‑aged male wizard clerk.

"Good day, sir. Looking for a suitcase? What kind of suitcase do you want? We have all models and interior sizes, and even offer custom orders," the male wizard said politely. "I want interior space… well, at least a set of rooms with matching furniture, and also a fairly large garden…" Bai Lang replied. The clerk glanced at him and led Bai Lang to a particular briefcase.

"I think this will meet your needs," he said. "You can take a look inside." It was a brown‑yellow messenger bag made of cowhide, a rather dated style, with a flap fastened by a leather strap and clasp. The clerk untied the strap, opened the bag, and revealed a downward staircase that could accommodate a person.

Inside was a cozy two‑story villa, complete with a triangular attic storage room on the roof and a basement below. The second floor housed bedrooms, a bathroom, a study, and a hall; the first floor contained a kitchen, a storage room, a large living room, and another bathroom. Pushing open the front door revealed a small garden fenced with wooden railings, and beyond the garden lay sky and a vast open space the size of a football field, dotted with trees and shrubs.

Bai Lang was quite pleased; after climbing out and inspecting the entrance, the clerk said knowingly, "The entrance can expand, contract, and even move; at its largest it can let a giant walk in." Bai Lang nodded. "So, how much does it cost?" The clerk produced a price list: "Nine hundred and eighty Galleons, sir."

Bai Lang promptly paid, but the clerk handed him a form and a pen. "I'm sorry, sir, but under Ministry of Magic regulations we must register every item with an expansion spell. May I have your full name?" Bai Lang gave a sideways smile yet answered honestly, and at the clerk's request he tapped the lower part of the parchment with his own wand. The clerk, of course, glanced curiously at his wand.