As night fell, the kerosene lamps along Diagon Alley flickered to life one by one, casting light over the quiet street.
Wizards didn't have much of a nightlife, and most shops closed by evening. Even the Leaky Cauldron, more inn and restaurant than pub, had only a few people lingering over drinks.
Leonard shut his copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, rubbed his aching eyes, and sighed.
Damn kerosene lamps—the light was dim and unsteady. The old room wasn't much better: a creaking bed, musty wooden walls, and strange decorations hanging on them.
For the same money, he could've gotten a far better room elsewhere. But thanks to Grandfather Londo's inexplicable pride, Leonard was stuck spending the next two months at the Leaky Cauldron.
With a trace of frustration, he picked up a branch he'd found outside and tossed it.
"Rawr!"
A ridiculous cry rang out as a strangely colored cabbage leapt from nowhere, snapping the branch cleanly in its jaws.
Unsurprisingly, with a crack, the twig broke into three pieces. The cabbage then bounded over to Leonard, still holding the splintered stick, hopping like a puppy eager for praise.
"Nicely done." Leonard patted the Chomping Cabbage, earning an even livelier reaction.
He was training it to bite wands. Once a wand broke, even a wizard skilled at wandless magic would be thrown off for a few seconds.
"But I've only got one plant…" Leonard squeezed the Chomping Cabbage and sighed.
It packed a decent bite, but it was fragile. He suspected a simple, low-level Charm could blow it apart.
And without a wand of his own, he couldn't freely enter Diagon Alley. It wasn't like he could knock on some wizard's door in the middle of the night and say, Excuse me, could you open the way for me? I'd like to pop into Knockturn Alley.
"The quest just says to use existing plants, not only existing plants. Once I've got a wand, I can teach myself a few spells to back it up."
The idea felt sound.
"I'll start practicing the gestures and incantations now. Once Mr. Ollivander finishes my wand, I can try slipping into Knockturn Alley."
With the plan settled, Leonard wasted no time.
He hopped off his chair, hurried out, and knocked on the door to Londo's room next door.
It was nearly a full minute before Londo slowly opened it.
"What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked sourly.
Leonard knew the old man too well. The bitterness of his childhood had carved the joy from his face—he never looked anything but grim.
"I came for the spellbook," Leonard said plainly. "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1. And my owl."
Londo glared, his expression growing darker. But Leonard met his eyes without flinching, face unreadable.
In the end, it was Londo who looked away first. "What do you need them for now?"
"To study ahead," Leonard said seriously. "I think it's necessary. I don't want to fall behind the kids from pure-blood families. If you really need it, you can keep the Magical Theory book. And the owl can stay with you too."
He bargained with Londo as if coaxing a stubborn child.
Londo's expression softened slightly. After a moment, he fetched the book and handed it over.
"Study well," he said gruffly, before shutting the door.
Leonard pursed his lips, returned to his room with the book, and immediately flipped to the table of contents.
The first chapter described how to guide one's magic and release it as a forceful burst of raw energy.
A basic spell—something anyone could do. It required little more than a simple gesture, no incantation needed.
If magic was like a skill, then this was the basic attack.
For underage wizards like Leonard, their reserves of magic were pitifully small. What little could be cast wouldn't do much—at best, about the force of a grown man's punch.
The deeper Leonard read, the more disappointed he felt.
This was Grade 1 for a reason. There were hardly any powerful spells inside—just things like the Wand-Lighting Charm and the Levitation Charm.
How was he supposed to deal with Dark wizards in Knockturn Alley with this?
"But anything more complicated, I probably couldn't learn anyway," he muttered to himself.
He flipped to the Wand-Lighting Charm, deciding to start there.
If curses were out of reach, then he'd learn support spells.
In darkness, a sudden flash—even without attack power—could blind an opponent long enough.
Enough time for the Chomping Cabbage to strike.