Ron Weasley and the Philosopher's Stone

We gathered as usual for breakfast in the kitchen. Today we are going to Diagon Alley with the whole company. But our sister stays with Aunt Lucrezia. She agreed to play with her while we were busy. My father was reading a newspaper called the Daily Prophet. And he grumbled at Fudge, saying that he had again passed a law infringing on the rights of Muggleborns. As much as possible, and so they usually leave our world to live in an ordinary one. Especially when they've been living for a year or two on the frontier of the Magical World. My father grumbled that someone from the pureblood families had bribed the Minister of Magic again and he had passed a law infringing on the rights of Muggleborns who had not married purebloods. They say they don't want to take them anywhere except to the ministry as clerks and aurors, and as nurses at St. Mungo's. But farmers in the wizarding world don't care about their origins, they happily take Muggle-borns into their hands, as well as students from simpler schools. They take squibs in, too, even though it's customary for us to place them in foster homes in the ordinary world. Mom's cousin Squib has studied to be an accountant and is quietly working. Mom really doesn't want to talk about him. Like a beloved little brother, and here it is. And he himself is a little offended by his family, although he understands that he has no place in the magical world without magical abilities. I took out the letter and opened it again. I was so excited that even the fried eggs and sausages couldn't get into my mouth. And that didn't happen often. I've always wanted to eat. They even examined me at Mungo. They said that I have a fast metabolism. They say all poisons will come out faster. But healing potions also have a worse effect on me. That's why I need a healer in my team who can heal with magic. That's the letter. What's left in it on the Second sheet, I didn't even look at it yesterday for joy. Percy said there should be a list of textbooks. I unfolded the second piece of paper, with the accessories, and began to read. The envelope also contained a ticket for the train departing from platform nine and three quarters. "HogwartsSCHOOLOF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY" Form First-year students are required to: Three simple working robes (black). One simple pointed hat (black) for every day. One pair of protective gloves (made of dragon skin or a similar material). -So Charlie sent this to me as a gift a year ago. I put special charms on them so that they would stretch along with the growth of my arms. One winter coat (black, silver clasps).-Aunt Lucrezia gave me the cloak for my last birthday.All that remains is to adjust it to my figure. She still gave it to grow. He's about 5 centimeters too big for me. Mom said it would come up and it wouldn't be visible. Please do not forget that all clothes must have tags with the student's first and last name sewn on them. So Mom will sew the tags on herself. Although she teaches us how to fix clothes, sometimes it can't be repaired with spells. The magical background of the item may be disrupted. Books Each student is supposed to have the following books: "The cursive book of spells and chars" (first year). Miranda Gussockle "The History of Magic." Bathilda Bagshot "Theory of Magic". Adalbert Waffling “Transfiguration Handbook for Beginners”. Emerick Switch "A thousand magical plants and mushrooms". Philly-da Spora , "Magical decoctions and potions." Zhig Myshyakoff "Fantastic Beasts: Habitats". Newt Scamander - Attention The course is introductory in nature and is studied independently. "Dark Forces: a self-defense manual."Quentin Trimble And you'll have to buy almost everything from a junk dealer. Most of the books are designed for 5 years before the advanced course of the subject. But then you have to buy books for TRITON, but they change every five to six years. But the rest of the program is set by the Ministry of Magic and books are changed only when a new teacher is not satisfied with something. Bill told me that Professor Snape, who came to school after Slughorn left, changed all the educational literature on potions to a more serious one. «You are also supposed to have: 1 magic wand-Well, I already have one. I came up and it's okay. Even though I want a new one. 1 boiler (tin, standard size No. 2),- Mom says it would be better to keep brewing potions in normal cauldrons, but almost all student potions are discarded. But upperclassmen change cauldrons, because tin ones interact with potions. 1 set of glass or crystal vials, 1 telescope, 1 copper scale. We remind you that if you do not take a rat with you, then students can take an owl, a cat or a toad with them. WE REMIND PARENTS THAT FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR OWN BROOMS!!!" Oh, I'll have to leave my old comet at home. And the broom brothers at school won't let them practice Quidditch almost every day. “Mom, are we going to buy all this stuff?” “No dear. You'll have to borrow books from a junk dealer. You already have a wand. Bill said it suited you. We'll take the clothes from the brothers. I made you a raincoat. All that remains is to buy a telescope, a normal cauldron, don't you want to brew your own potions? I nodded, stuffing sausages and egg into my mouth. - scales and ingredients. I think the standard set will be enough for you for the first year.” “Mom, we're running out of volatile powder.” Percy said. “We'll buy it at the same time.” Dad sat with us for a while longer and went to work in his department at the ministry. Mom grumbled that he even worked overtime on weekends. Everything is trying to nail the purebloods. They say they mock Muggles, but they don't make sure that their enchanted things don't end up at Muggle auctions. *** After lunch, we moved the fireplace into a leaky cauldron. It was a tiny, nondescript bar, enchanted by Muggle attention. All kinds of drunks were sitting in the hall. And the smoke was hanging from the ceiling. And the real patrons of the inn had lunch and dinner in a separate room. There was also a fireplace. I looked out the window at the street. People passing by didn't look at the bar. Their gazes drifted from the large bookstore to the CD store, and they didn't seem to notice the bar between the two stores at all.  Yes, CDs. We even had an enchanted record player. Dad brought some Muggle song CDs once, but Mom didn't like it. She prefers to listen to the magic radio with songs by Celistina Warlock. But the Muggle-born neighbor, a farmer named Dylan, tore off this record player from his father for almost fifteen galleons. For me, the bar was very dark and shabby. Although the inner hall looks better than the hall with drunks. Several elderly women were sitting in a corner and drinking wine from small glasses, one of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to an old bald bartender who looked like a frowning walnut. Tom's a real «handsome» guy. They say he's about three hundred years old. We went to the backyard of the leaky cauldron. As far as I know, the bar is located in ordinary London. And behind it is one of the passageways to the magical part of London. It's a different world, of course, but since the passage is next to London, it's used to being considered a magical part of the city. Muggleborns generally don't think about it at all. They think we live in a Muggle world and have just built a relationship for ourselves. And they are very surprised when they get to the frontier of the magical world. And then, as they encounter magical predators and the remnants of the golems of a magical civilization that collapsed in the last millennium, they flee back to the Muggle world to live. And what. They will magically create documents for themselves and go to college to get an education. Although their parents grumble that they've wasted so much time on magical nonsense. We stopped in front of the trash cans. Meanwhile, Mom started counting the bricks in the wall above the trash can, starting from the worn brick. Apparently especially for me. I've never been to Diagon Alley before. I was left to play chess with Aunt Muriel. Oh, she should have talked less about the traditions and etiquette of the magical world. They say I'm an eighth-generation pureblood magician and I should know this even though I won't become an heir. I was often left with her. Aunt Lucretia is taking Ginny, and Muriel is taking me. «Three up... Two to the side," Mom muttered."Remember that, Ron?" She touched the wall three times with her wand. The brick she touched trembled, then twitched, and a small hole appeared in the middle of it, which quickly began to grow. A second later, there was an archway in front of us, large enough. Beyond the archway was a winding cobblestone street. The trash cans were missing. «Yes, Mother. Can I try it?» I waited until the passage was closed and there was a wall behind the tanks again. Mom stepped aside and I pulled out the wand. Then he tapped on an inconspicuous brick. Inconspicuous to Muggles. I could feel a faint current of magic. Of course, I don't forget which brick counts. So three up and two to the left. Okay, if I forget, I'll ask my mom later. She often goes to diagon alley. He carries the same potions and berries for sale, and the farmers have their own shops in one of the branches of the alley.It's called meat alley. «Welcome to Diagon Alley," Mom said. We stepped through the archway and found ourselves in a magical world. The air here is even different from that of Muggles. «Baby Ronnie is going shopping today.» I looked at the badge on my brother's shirt. We dressed up for a hike in diagon alley. That's how Fred usually wears a T-shirt. «Fred, shut up.» I hissed. We all trooped through the archway, and I looked back and saw how it immediately turned back into a blank wall. The sun was shining brightly, reflecting in the boilers displayed in front of the store closest to us. "Boilers. All sizes. Copper, bronze, tin, silver, gold, inert metals. Self-stirring and collapsible"There was a sign hanging above us. “So, we'll buy a boiler on the way back, after all, ours is already leaking. And not made of tin or copper, but normal," said Mom. “But first we'll go to the bank for the money. Bill recently transferred part of his salary. What would Charlie and I do without him?…» A soft hooting could be heard from the gloomy-looking store. "Sov Shopping Center Owls". Common, barn, long-eared and polar owls." A few boys about my age pressed their noses against another display case, looking at the brooms displayed in it. I wish I had my own owl, I'm so jealous of Percy.… No, I understand that this is an artfully made golem. She even eats like a real one, but it's more like a reified spirit. We even made special cookies for them. Dried pieces of meat and berries, although it is better not to feed them for a long time. Owls must fly to hunt. Otherwise, the spirit will wither away and may even leave the master, to whom they are attached as familiars. Hermes got attached to Percy and now flies to hunt mice in the fields. «Look," I heard the boys talking at the window, "the new Nimbus 2000 model, the fastest.» The broom is really cool. But unfortunately, we definitely can't afford it. Maybe Grandpa will fork out for Percy, but he hardly flies on broomsticks. Why does he need a racing version of a broom? I wish I had at least two hundredths of a comet.… I like flying, but you can't fly on brooms for long. The ass gets tired. There were shops here that sold robes, telescopes, and strange silver instruments like I'd never seen before. Even though I helped my mom make potions with Ginny. I cut the ingredients more and sometimes stirred them. If the potion wasn't complicated. The storefronts all over the street were filled with barrels of bat spleens and eel eyes, swaying pyramids of spell books, bird feathers and scrolls of parchment, bottles of magic potions and globes of the moon... "Gringotts," my mom announced when we finally stopped. We were in front of a snow-white building towering over small shops. The building seemed to overwhelm with its majestic beauty. And there was a goblin in a scarlet and gold uniform standing by the highly polished bronze doors. He was two heads shorter than me. He had a dark green, intelligent face, a pointed beard, and, as I noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as we walked inside. Now we were standing in front of a second set of doors, this time silver. The lines were engraved on them: "Come in, stranger, but don't forget That greed has a sinful essence, Someone who doesn't like to work, but likes to take, pays dearly - and you need to know that. If you came here to get someone else, you'll never leave here." Two goblins greeted us with bows as we passed through the silver doors and found ourselves in a huge marble hall. A hundred more goblins sat on high chairs behind a long counter, making notes in large ledgers, weighing coins on copper scales, and examining precious stones with magnifying glasses. There were more doors leading out of the hall than I could count, as other goblins let people in and out through them. Mom and my brothers came to the counter. «Good morning," Mom said to the free goblin. «We're here to get some money from the Weasley safe.» «Do you have a key to it, ma'am?» Molly took out a small bronze key and put it on the counter. The goblin studied him. «Everything seems to be in order.» “Scoffer!” Scoffer was also a goblin. We followed him to one of the doors. The scoffer opened the door for us. We were standing in a narrow stone corridor lit by burning torches. The road sloped steeply down, and there were thin rails on the floor. The scoffer whistled, and a large cart clanked up to us. We climbed inside - we managed it with difficulty, although there were expansion charms on the cart, there were still a lot of us, and let's go. At first, we raced through a maze of winding corridors. I tried to remember the way: left, right, left, left, straight at the fork, right again, left again, straight - but soon I gave up this useless task. The rattling cart seemed to know the way by itself, because the Scoffer did not control it, even though he kept his hand on the lever. Maybe he has mental control like Dad's car? Although there is only mental height control done. Turn the steering wheel from left to right. I rode it with my brothers while Mom wasn't looking. Icy air blew over me, and my eyes stung, but I kept them wide open. At some point, it seemed to me that I noticed a flash of fire at the end of the corridor, and I quickly turned around to see if it was a dragon, but I was too late - the cart abruptly went down. She was currently passing by an underground lake, with stone columns growing on the ceiling and walls. Finally, we arrived at the place. The scoffer unlocked the door. A cloud of green smoke erupted from inside, and when it cleared, I sighed in frustration. There was a pile of silver coins inside. A few gold pieces. A few more knuts. The mother began to collect the coins in her bag. Oh, I hope we have enough for second-hand stuff. Even though Bill and Charlie are sending a portion of our salaries to help us, there's still not enough money for such a horde of schoolchildren. Unfortunately, some things need to be bought new. And they're expensive. I'll need to get a new wand in two or three years. *** Another frantic cart race, and we were already standing outside the bank, squinting in the sunlight. “Come on, kids, let's go to Malkin's first to get Percy's robes.” “Mom, why does Percy have new robes?” I was surprised. After all, they always bought used things for everyone. Only Bill didn't go to the new ones until the end of school. “Because he's the prefect, Roni.” I grimaced. It's not enough for me to learn from this nerd at home, but he will also build us at school. Percy, if you let him go, he won't shut up. He's always grumbling about future OWLs. They say he has so many subjects and everything needs to be passed perfectly. Therefore, you need to shut up and sit quietly in your room. Madame Malkin turned out to be a squat, smiling sorceress dressed in mauve robes. “Are we going to study at Hogwarts?” She asked before we could explain the purpose of our visit to her. “You've come to the right place.” “We only need robes for the older boy.” Her mother intervened in her monologue. “Well, as you wish. Will you wait here or outside?” The smiling woman pointed to the rows of chairs against the wall of the studio. «Here.» «Look at the selection of ready-to-wear goods over there.» Madame Malkin placed Percy next to the mirror. Centimeters immediately spun around him. After that, she began to adjust the robes for him. After waiting for her to finish and paying for the purchase, we went outside. We went into a shop to buy parchment and quills. They didn't go into the bookstore. They bought me a student boiler made of inert metal. Normal potions are not brewed in tin. But it's the most important thing for children to go to school. I need a cauldron to brew my own potions. As a future adventurer magician, I must be able to assemble and use a first-aid kit. It's still pretty dangerous in the magical world. Then we bought worn scales at a junk shop, and we also bought a folding copper telescope with good lenses. And a stack of textbooks. Yes, they looked ugly and were old, but what can you do. Then we visited a pharmacy, where everything was so magical that I didn't even notice the terrible smell - it smelled of rotten eggs and rotten zucchini. Barrels of some kind of slime stood on the floor, glass jars with dried plants, crushed roots and colorful powders lined the walls, and bundles of feathers, fangs and curved claws hung from the ceiling. While Mom was talking to the pharmacist-we needed to buy all sorts of ingredients for making magic potions-I was studying silver unicorn horns worth twenty-one galleons each and beetle shells, shiny and red (six knuts per ladle). The pharmacist will send the ingredients for classes to the school. Plus, I was given a standard set of ingredients for personal purposes. The brothers Fred and George used their pocket money to buy themselves an extended potion kit. I'm going to study at the guild and continue to mine ingredients and explore the magical world. It looks like you'll have to assemble a small team to do this. Or use golems? No, we need people anyway. I need a healer, and I should invite a couple more rangers. I think it will be possible to assemble a small group while still studying at the guild. After all, there are quite often tasks to extract ingredients in a magical forest or search for artifacts in destroyed cities. «Well, that's it, you can walk down the alley and go home.» *** It was already afternoon, and the sun was sinking lower, when we walked back through Diagon Alley, then through the wall and entered the Leaky Cauldron, which no longer had a single customer. After moving home, we went to our rooms. I put my purchases in the suitcase. I also leafed through my textbooks. I should at least read them before the school year. Ron, Percy, go to dinner. - Mom called us downstairs. «Yes, Mom,» I shouted and rushed downstairs for a festive dinner.