Chapter 113: Picking Locks in Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley is the busiest commercial street in the British Wizarding World, where flagship stores of many top-tier magical brands are located. Additionally, publishers such as The Daily Prophet have also established their headquarters here.

Since every shop contains various goods needing protection, Allen believes that every store door here uses magical locks that cannot be opened by ordinary Unlocking Charms.

Diagon Alley could be said to be the place with the highest concentration of magical locks that Allen could find.

On the way to buy things, Allen kept pondering his plan, and he increasingly felt that this plan was feasible.

He only needed to cast an Unlocking Charm on each shop's door late at night when all was quiet, and then use the returned key model to Transfigure the key into existence.

After returning from shopping, Allen locked himself in his room again to refine this plan; he realized that today was August 7th, which meant that on August 10th he would receive the potion sent by Professor Snape to maintain his physical condition.

After drinking the potion, on the 11th he could Transfigure the eyes of a Thunderbird; only with the eyes of a Thunderbird would these actions of his hold any meaning.

Because he would definitely be at Hogwarts by September 10th, his only opportunity to act was the single day of August 11th, or more precisely, the early morning of August 11th, because only then would the shops' magical doors be locked.

Therefore, he needed to cast the Unlocking Charm on every single magical door lock in order to collect as many metal parameters as possible.

Then Allen thought of Harry's Invisibility Cloak; he immediately decided to write a letter to borrow Harry's Invisibility Cloak, for with the Invisibility Cloak his plan would be flawless, and the possibility of his exposure would be minimized.

The next day, Allen was awakened by a pecking sound at the window; upon looking, he saw it was Hedwig, so he quickly let Hedwig in. Hedwig was exhausted; she dropped a parcel for Allen and then stayed aside to rest, while Allen, disregarding the parcel, hurriedly prepared food and water for Hedwig.

Hedwig contentedly enjoyed the water and food, while Allen opened the parcel; sure enough, it was the Invisibility Cloak sent by Harry, who hadn't even asked what he needed the Invisibility Cloak for...

Allen couldn't help but praise in his heart, "Good brother!"

It was precisely the arrival of Harry's Invisibility Cloak that made Allen completely make up his mind to execute this plan.

On August 10th, Allen received Professor Snape's potion on schedule.

That day, as soon as he got off work, Allen told Mr. Ollivander that he was feeling unwell and needed to rest early.

After returning to his room, he immediately drank the potion, set his alarm clock, and holding his wand, fell asleep...

At 1:00 AM on August 11th, the alarm clock had just rung once when Allen silenced it, then immediately pulled out a basin of cold water he had prepared under the bed...

After washing his face with cold water, Allen felt much more alert, his sleepiness vanished; he cautiously walked to the door of Mr. Ollivander's bedroom across the hall, pressed his ear against the door, and heard only Mr. Ollivander's steady breathing...

Allen immediately felt much relieved; his eyes flashed with a golden light, for his eyes had successfully been Transfigured into those of a Thunderbird...

Allen carefully donned the Invisibility Cloak, quietly walked out of the shop door, and thus stepped onto the streets of Diagon Alley...

The moonlight and starry sky tonight were exceptionally beautiful; bright moonlight spilled over Diagon Alley, while myriad stars twinkled in the sky, and the Diagon Alley that was noisy during the day became quiet at this moment...

Allen couldn't help but lift his head to gaze at this beautiful scene; from within Diagon Alley, one could not see London's skyscrapers, and he hadn't expected to see such a beautiful starry sky in the center of London; this was also the first time he was viewing the starry sky through the eyes of a Thunderbird...

The vision of the Thunderbird's eyes was extremely good, so good that one could clearly see the pitted surface of the moon...

But Allen quickly pulled himself out of this scenic view, for he still remembered today's mission.

The late night in London during August was still rather sultry,

and under the Invisibility Cloak, Allen walked toward his first target—Potage's Cauldron Shop, located right next to the Leaky Cauldron, a shop selling cauldrons of various models and materials. Outside the shop was a glittering signboard that still flickered in the deep night...

But none of this was Allen's focus; he carefully avoided the debris on the ground at the entrance, walked to the door of the Cauldron Shop, and looked at the tightly closed shop door...

The reason Allen chose to start with this shop was purely because it was the farthest from the wand shop, after all, even a rabbit does not eat the grass near its own burrow.

He extended the tip of his wand out from under the Invisibility Cloak; the Invisibility Cloak was very light, so it did not affect his wand movements...

"Alohomora!" Allen successfully cast the Unlocking Charm on the Cauldron Shop's door.

The spell struck the shop door, which indeed remained motionless as expected, while a key model appeared in Allen's mind; he quickly cast a Transfiguration Charm on a piece of debris on the ground, Transfiguring the debris into a bronze-colored key...

At the same time, through the eyes of the Thunderbird, Allen saw the ancient runes on the light curtain when the Transfiguration Charm was cast...

Allen had no time to verify his own thought; he carefully threw the Transfigured key into a flowerpot, waiting for the Transfiguration Charm to wear off, at which point the key would revert to the form of debris.

Then he hurried to the next shop—Flourish and Blotts.

The display windows of Flourish and Blotts were filled with Gilderoy Lockhart's autobiography, Me, Myself, and Magic, with a picture of Gilderoy Lockhart displaying a broad smile printed on the cover of every book...

Allen felt that every Gilderoy Lockhart on the covers was looking at him, which actually made him somewhat nervous; thus, his first casting of the Unlocking Charm failed, so he quickly concentrated and cast it again, then completed the entire process just like at the Cauldron Shop...

Then he continued to the next shop—Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

This one proceeded through the entire process very smoothly.

Continuing to the next shop—Eeylops Owl Emporium.

Allen skillfully cast the Unlocking Charm at the shop door, but unexpectedly, the lock on the door clicked open forcibly due to the Unlocking Charm, and then, under his stunned gaze, the shop door creaked open...

In the quiet night, this sound seemed particularly loud; the owls inside the shop were all awakened, or rather, the owls hadn't been sleeping at all, since they were nocturnal creatures; the owls began to hoot noisily, and the sound traveled far through Diagon Alley in the deep night...

Cold sweat broke out on Allen; he hadn't expected to encounter such a situation; was the owner of the Owl Emporium really that stingy?

What was the difference between not using a magical door lock and leaving it unlocked in the Wizarding World! Or perhaps the owner of the Owl Emporium had anticipated his anticipation; maybe the owls themselves were the best anti-theft measure.

Just as Allen was preparing to flee, his eyes suddenly burst forth with golden light, and the owls inside the shop, which had just begun to make noise, immediately became as quiet as chickens...

Allen let out a long sigh of relief, waited in a corner for a while, and only after confirming that no one had noticed the situation here did he hurriedly leave.

But he was not willing to end tonight's operation directly; after hesitating for a moment, he decided to continue to the next shop.

Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. Smooth!

The Daily Prophet Office. Smooth! The key was actually made of gold; how rich!

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Not smooth; this one didn't use a magical lock, though it seemed there was no real need for one.

Zonko's Joke Shop. Smooth!

Second-hand Shop. Smooth!

Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions. Smooth! The pink shop door and pink lighting gave Allen some rosy reveries...

Magical Menagerie (selling pets other than owls). Not smooth; Allen didn't dare try, fearing a situation like that at the Owl Emporium would occur.

Obscurus Books. Not smooth; no magical lock was used; how poor!

Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. Smooth!

Quality Quidditch Supplies. Smooth! How he wished this shop hadn't used a magical lock either!

Scribbulus Writing Implements. Smooth!

Second-hand Robes. Smooth!

The Witch Way Tours. Smooth! The promotional posters pasted outside still looked quite terrifying in the night.

When Allen thought it was about to end.

A towering white building entered Allen's sight; this structure remained magnificent even under the night sky, creating a stark contrast with the style of other shops, while its gleaming bronze gates displayed the institution's immense strength...

Allen knew this building better than anyone...

Gringotts!

(https: //)

Please remember the book's first-release domain:. Mobile reading URL: