Chapter 448 Meeting with Allies
Chapter 448 Meeting with Allies
August 8, Montmartre, Paris, France.
On a staircase that few people go, a platinum-haired boy suddenly appears. This is a magical staircase that covers two completely different worlds, wizards and Muggles. Normally, this staircase is nothing special. Only when a wizard steps on it will the staircase sense the magic fluctuations of the wizard and reveal its secrets.
In the center of the stairs, a statue of the goddess Pythia sits gracefully on a pedestal, stroking a roll of stone parchment in her hand, as if she is whispering some mysterious prophecy.
As Xielin approached the statue, Pisia slowly raised her head, and her stone eyes seemed to reveal a glimmer of spiritual light. Then, her legs, which had been still, gently moved away from the bottom, revealing a deep obsidian passage. Xielin stepped into it without hesitation, and the statue behind him immediately returned to its original state, hiding this secret entrance again.
After passing through the short magical passage, a warm and slightly sweet air hit him. Xie Lin stepped lightly onto the cobblestone street, and where he saw was the most prosperous commercial center of the French wizarding world - Place Cachée.
Unlike the ancient and dilapidated Diagon Alley, this place is full of French style and exquisiteness. The buildings on both sides of the street are tall and elegant, and the carved window sills and gold-inlaid signs exude an aristocratic atmosphere under the dim magic lights.
The air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked butter croissants from the bakery, intertwined with the unique aroma of spicy herbs from the potion shop. Wizards walking on the street were well-dressed and whispered in French, occasionally stopping in front of a boutique wand shop or magic perfume shop to admire the luxurious goods in the window.
Xie Ling walked leisurely, his eyes sweeping across the shops on both sides of the street, and the familiar noise of French and magic spells rang in his ears.
Schelling remembered that he had come here with his family when he was a child. At that time, he was still in a carefree stage. Narcissa also bought him and his brother a lot of French candies and alchemical toys. It was a journey full of warm memories.
More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the scenery here remains the same. Although some shops have been replaced or renovated, the overall layout is still clearly recognizable and you can vaguely see its past appearance.
This place was just as lively as Diagon Alley. Sherin walked leisurely on the cobblestone street. The morning sun shone through the magic lanterns suspended in the air, casting mottled light and shadows, shrouding the entire commercial street in a warm golden glow.
The Secret Witch Trail is formed by the intersection of two magic streets. After walking down the stairs at the entrance, you will see a colorful wand shop at the corner - "Aicozo Magic Stick". The shop itself is triangular in shape, with a blue and gold exterior wall with a strong French exquisite style. The purple door is engraved with golden ancient runes, which exudes a bit of mystery.
Schelling, who was well versed in the history and culture of the European wizarding world, knew that this wand shop was founded by Cosme Iacozzo in 1614 and had a history of more than three hundred years. Although it was not as old as the Ollivander family, it was also one of the three largest wand manufacturers in Europe.
Rows of wands are neatly displayed in the window. Unlike the simple display at Ollivanders, each wand here is placed in a unique triangular colorful box, like a piece of exquisite work of art.
The golden wall lamp casts a warm light, illuminating the cobblestone road in front of the door, and also adds a touch of mystery to this historic wand shop. Sherin noticed that an old wizard in a crimson robe was standing at the door, carefully taking a new wand and trying to feel its resonance with a focused look. On the rotating display shelf in the store, more triangular wand boxes were slowly turning, as if waiting for their future owners.
Going further ahead, there are several gorgeously decorated clothing stores.
The wizarding culture in France is somewhat similar to that of its Muggle community, both of which are very fashion-conscious. More than half of the top ten fashion brands in the global wizarding world are from France. "House of Capenol" is one of the most prestigious wizarding fashion brands on the secret wizard trail. Its window displays a robe with flowing starlight, as if the night sky is woven into the fabric, which makes people stop and admire it. The wizard robes and cloaks it sells are mainly noble and elegant in material and cut. It is said that this is also the designated uniform store of Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Next to it is a clothing store that focuses on young wizard fashion, with brightly colored cloaks decorated with light feathers and silk scarves with patterns that change according to mood. A young witch is trying on a hat embroidered with silver vines, and she twirls gently in the mirror with a satisfied smile on her face.
Not far away is a unique wizard hat shop "Flan Soft Hat Shop". There are several floating and rotating hats standing at the door. One of the black top hats suddenly said to the passing customers: "Bonjour, mon ami! Try me!" The owner is a short but energetic old wizard who is patiently recommending hats suitable for different formal occasions to a customer.
This is the most popular wizard hat store in the world. Sherin remembered that Narcissa had bought several hats from here. The most famous hat was the "Tian Fu Yu Hat", which was attached with a magical bird feather that was cast with a levitation spell. In 1927, the Stone Winged Demon News reported an interesting story about this hat. Once, the hat got tired of being tried on by various customers and flew away from the store on its own. The owner learned his lesson and cast a spell every day to make the hat fall into a deep sleep, and only opened it when it was time to sell it.
At a glance, there were actually quite a few clothing stores on this street. Xie Ling even saw the Paris branch of the Fengya wizard clothing store, but as a grown man, he no longer had any interest in strolling around, so he turned into another street at the intersection.
An alluring sweet aroma gradually filled the air, and Sherin soon walked to the bakery and dessert shop area.
The doors and windows of "Odette Favre Bakery" exude the aroma of warm cream and freshly baked bread. The windows are filled with crispy baguettes, cream puffs with magic icing, and magic macarons that change color with temperature.
Next to it was the Ramel Magic Candy Shop, and Sherin couldn't help but stop at its door. He recalled when he came here with his family as a child, Narcissa couldn't stand Draco's crying and requests, and bought a lot of bread and candy for the two brothers. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in his heart, and a smile from the bottom of his heart unconsciously appeared on the corner of his mouth.
He couldn’t help but walk into the candy store—it was exactly the same as when he had been there before, with colorful and tempting candies hanging everywhere, such as elegantly shaped bonbons, chocolate frog legs, unicorn horn-shaped hard candies made in the Breton style, soft and rich cauldron cakes, classic pumpkin pie, and snail gummy candies with the texture of snail mucus.
On a whim, he bought a large bag of candy for at least 20 people, and stuffed it all into his bottomless pockets. In addition to giving him the opportunity to reminisce about his childhood, he could also give some as souvenirs to his close friends in the Sleeping Dragon Society. The owner, Ramel, had not seen such a generous customer for a long time. The miniature mountain of golden bezans (French wizard currency) made him smile from ear to ear.
Finally, Schelling reached the end of the street, which was also his destination - Cafe Abringer. This cafe is famous for its quiet and elegant atmosphere and exquisite coffee blending. There is a golden sign hanging at the door with a mermaid engraved on it. As a senior HP fan, you must know this place. In 1927, Yusuf Kama and Tina Goldstein drank tea and chatted here, talking about Credence Barebone's life experience.
Xie Lin pushed the door open and walked in. The pleasant sound of wind chimes echoed in the air. He walked straight to the VIP box, which was already full of his allies in France, including Fleur's father Adrien Delacour. Others present included Pierre Evreux, the potion master who worked in the Magic Garden, Mr. Bonacourt, the French representative of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Mr. Amorino, the editor-in-chief of the Stone Wing Magic Newspaper.
Although Sherin and the others had already been allies for a long time, they had actually been maintaining communication through secret letters sent by house-elves. Except for Mr. Delacour, the others were meeting Sherin for the first time, so normal social greetings were inevitable.
These shops are all government-run, but Renmin Press did not translate them. They were all translated into Chinese by the author himself:
Magic sticks of Acajor
Rammelle's Enchantée
Bonnetvolant Chapellerie
Cafe Abringer
(End of this chapter)
