Harry Potter: Red Weasley The Strange Red Wizard

We continued touring the city for quite a while. São Paulo was not only huge, but also bustling, and after some time, the journey began to feel a bit monotonous. Tiago, with a sheepish smile, apologized for it:

"I know, it's a bit tedious… but those are the rules."

He wasn't allowed to transport us directly via Apparition. Unless you knew how to do it yourself —and had permission to do it in that specific area— we were required to use more traditional means, like any Muggle stuck in traffic. So, we had to endure the ride.

After a long walk and an even longer car ride, we finally reached our destination. At first glance, it looked like an old museum. And that's not just a figure of speech — it was a museum, a building from another century that stood out starkly among the modern structures around it. Its architecture seemed to want to transport us several centuries back in time.

"Here we are. About to step into the Brazilian wizarding world," Tiago announced, hopping out of the Kombi with a touch of excitement.

We looked at the museum again, and couldn't help but compare the situation to the Leaky Cauldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley. While they served similar purposes, this felt… different.

Knowing what my true purpose was on this trip, I couldn't help but quicken my pace toward the main door. I walked ahead, closely followed by Hannah, who clung to me out of equal parts nerves and excitement. Neville followed just behind, as if afraid to get lost if he strayed too far. He had remained silent for almost the entire trip, as if he didn't feel entitled to speak. Considering some of the things I'd heard his grandmother say, I understood why.

We moved forward in a triangle formation, heading straight for the museum entrance—until Tiago's laughter stopped us.

"Not that way, guys!" he said with amusement. We had been about to walk into an exhibit on the Jesuits instead of doing our magical shopping.

He pointed us in the right direction, guiding us along the side of the building. There were several smaller doors — staff entrances or emergency exits — many of them discreetly hidden by well-maintained tall bushes, clearly placed with more magical than aesthetic intent.

This time, to avoid any further confusion, we followed him directly. He led us to a small side door, where he casually greeted the security guard, who barely looked at us before returning to his reading. Everything seemed perfectly rehearsed.

The inside of the building still looked like a museum… until Tiago guided us to a specific corner. In front of us stood a large wall with a stone-carved arch. He smiled at us and, without stopping, walked right through it—as if it were nothing. Just like Platform 9¾ at King's Cross.

Along with Professor Kettleburn, we followed without hesitation. And on the other side, everything changed.

We found ourselves on a long street, incredibly long, stretching so far we couldn't see its end. On both sides were small buildings — shops and businesses — with people constantly coming and going. Several perpendicular streets connected to this main road, forming a true urban maze.

It all seemed to be underground, but very, very high above us, a ceiling extended with a few windows through which the sky could be seen. And though it made no sense for such a closed space with such small windows to be so well-lit… well, that's magic.

"Welcome to the Passage of the Arches," Tiago said with an exaggerated bow, as if introducing a performance.

We stepped in cautiously, walking closer together so as not to get lost in the crowd. We observed the shops along the way. They didn't look very large from the outside — some even seemed like makeshift stalls — but once you stepped inside, many revealed spacious, enchanted interiors. It was the same principle as Diagon Alley, but with its own local flavor. Familiar, yes, but also exotic and unexpected.

We reached a small circular plaza, with an obelisk at its center. A monument, likely commemorative, though we didn't stop to read the plaque. It wasn't the time for sightseeing. We still had tasks to complete before heading to Castelobruxo, which was still quite a distance away, hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest.

We paused for a moment in the square so Tiago could give us some key instructions before starting our shopping. This place was called the Passage of the Arches precisely because it was marked by two large arches: one at the beginning and one at the end of the main street, located on opposite ends of the museum that served as the hidden entrance.

The Passage was made up of a web of streets fulls of shops, broken up by squares like this one, in addition to the main artery. Tiago explained that besides the street stretching from arch to arch — the most important one, lined with prestigious shops from end to end — there was a large perpendicular street crossing it in the middle, dividing the place like a cross. Beyond that structure, the remaining streets were arranged concentrically, like rings that decreased in importance as they moved outward.

"The closer you are to the center, the more expensive, exclusive, or influential the shops are," he explained. "And the farther out you go, well… things get cheaper, but also more questionable."

Although there wasn't an official equivalent to Knockturn Alley, he warned us that the outer rings — especially the second-to-last one — could have shops of dubious reputation. The outermost ring was patrolled by Sentinels (the local equivalent of Aurors), so it was relatively safe. But it was still best not to push our luck.

It was then that Tiago, looking slightly uncomfortable, asked us a question he tried to disguise with a casual tone, though it was clear he didn't enjoy asking it: our financial situation.

Depending on our answer, he planned to guide us to different areas of the Passage, tailoring the shopping route to each person's budget. At that moment, he also handed us the official Castelobruxo school supplies list for the year.

Fortunately for him, there was no need for any embarrassment: none of us were exactly short on money.

Neville was the direct heir of the Longbottoms, which made him a young aristocrat with considerable wealth, even if he didn't like to flaunt it. Hannah came from a respected family, with enough means. And in my case… well, money was the least of my concerns. Not only did I have a large fortune, but if for some reason I needed more, I could create gold without much effort.

"Don't worry about that," I said with a smile. "We can afford it. Just take us to the best places you know."

My companions nodded, trusting my leadership. Tiago relaxed immediately. It was clear he knew the Passage like the back of his hand and was delighted to show us his favorite spots without worrying about our budget.

While many of the most luxurious shops were in the central area, he warned us there were also hidden gems scattered throughout the outer rings—lesser-known establishments with exceptional products. He promised we wouldn't regret it.

But before shopping, there was a mandatory stop: the bank. Carrying large amounts of money—especially in such a crowded place—wasn't the best idea.

To my surprise, there was a Gringotts branch on this side of the world, though it was more symbolic than functional. It was small, rarely busy, and clearly subordinate to the more relevant local banks in Brazil.

Tiago took us to the bank he usually used. Inside, it was very different from what we were used to. Here, the main employees were wizards and witches, not goblins. Though we did see some short humanoid beings with features different from European goblins. I couldn't say exactly what they were, but they clearly played a similar role.

Tiago chatted with one of the employees with obvious familiarity. He seemed to know everyone. After a few formalities, they gave us a brief explanation of the local magical economy.

Here, they didn't use Galleons, Sickles, or Knuts. The system was different: the coins were the Áureo, the Árgen, and the Senda. And unlike the British system, the exchange rate made more sense:

"1 Áureo equals 7 Árgenes, and 1 Árgen equals 10 Sendas," the employee kindly explained.

I couldn't help but mentally applaud. Sure, there was still a prime number in the middle, but it was far more reasonable than the confusing European conversion. Finally, a monetary system that didn't seem designed to torture people.

We exchanged a considerable sum. A lot, really. It was Tiago's direct recommendation—he suggested we get it all done at once, since, as he said, we'd need it at school. He didn't want to go into details.

What neither our Brazilian guide nor the bank employees expected was the absurd amount we withdrew.

Neville, calm as ever, handed over his entire savings, plus a generous amount sent by his family. Hannah brought a more reasonable amount, but I multiplied it silently. And then came my part… I simply deposited a portion of my "fortune" like it was nothing. The jaws dropping around the room could've caught more than one bug.

Even Professor Kettleburn, who had taken out a small pouch of coins to make his own exchange, quietly put it back with some embarrassment. He seemed to want to avoid showing his "humility" next to what looked like three royal heirs.

The banker, stunned, had to ask for a superior's approval to handle such a massive operation. And Tiago made us open local bank accounts. He was visibly nervous: even though we were in a secure bank, moving that much money was like lighting a giant flare saying "Rob us!" He wasn't going to let us walk out of there carrying all that, not a chance.

Neither Neville nor Hannah fully grasped the risk. I, on the other hand, was too experienced to be intimidated by thieves.

We lost some time, but eventually managed to open our accounts and activate a magical payment system. From that moment on, in affiliated stores, we'd just need to sign and stamp the seal we'd been given—the bank would handle the rest. A surprisingly practical system. We still withdrew some cash for emergencies, but nothing that would draw attention.

We left the bank with Tiago sighing like he'd just aged ten years. He massaged his shoulder and looked at us with a mix of disbelief and resignation, as if thinking, "Why do I get stuck with these millionaire monsters?" And honestly, he had a point: his job was to protect us, and we clearly weren't making it easy.

Then the real mission began: school shopping.

As new students at Castelobruxo, we needed a lot of supplies—more than what we had brought from home. Some were standard, like cauldrons and dragon-hide gloves, but others were… very different. The list included reinforced boots, gas-mask-like masks, protective suits, and what could only be described as advanced gardening tools. It was clear this school had a much more practical and nature-focused approach. A lot of learning clearly took place outside the classroom.

We also had to buy books. Some were standard, used internationally, but others were exclusive to the local curriculum, impossible to find in Britain. That's when Neville and Hannah hit a serious obstacle: the language. They had practiced some Portuguese—just the basics—but not enough to deal with academic texts.

Luckily, many Castelobruxo books were enchanted to translate automatically, usually between Portuguese and Spanish. The problem was that very few had English translations, and many of the texts they needed were completely out of reach.

I watched them flip through pages with frustrated expressions, trying to guess what each word meant. To reassure them, I promised I'd take care of the translations, and that they could count on me: since I had begun planning my international expansion, I'd worked on mastering several languages precisely to avoid problems like this. English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese… even Old English from Morgana's time. If anyone was ready to act as a personal translator, it was me.

They both let out an obvious sigh of relief—at least one of the three of us knew what he was doing and could guide them in this new environment. Hannah, once again, thanked me for my brilliance; even if I was a bit odd at times, I was always reliable, and she truly appreciated that.

To solve the book issue, I sent a clone straight to the [Merchant], who kept his inventory updated thanks to the magical shops we had visited. There, I requested [custom products] and obtained the English translations of the books we needed. That experience made me realize a potential future business—something I could include when I opened the local branch of the "Adventurers' Guild" here.

(Author's Note: To avoid cluttering chapters with unnecessary linguistic clarifications, from this point forward, we will assume that most characters in this region communicate in Portuguese. Red, being fluent in the language, acts as a translator for Neville and Hannah, who understand only a few words. The language being spoken will not be constantly specified, except when relevant to the plot or dialogue.

In some instances, certain characters—such as important merchants, professors, or ministry employees—will speak directly in "broken English," facilitating communication without the need for intermediaries. However, for common interactions or with the local population, Portuguese will be the usual language.

This clarification is provided to avoid filling the text with parenthetical translations, as was previously done with French, given that this section of the story will be more extensive.)