Chapter 319: The Monster Book of Monsters
Compared to the ever-changing Muggle cities, the Wizarding World always seemed to evolve at a remarkably slow pace.
In recent years, aside from Aslan's Magic Workshop churning out new things and trends every year, the other shops in Diagon Alley had barely changed, almost as if they were NPCs that refreshed at fixed points.
Thus, Wade and Harry's routine was much like every previous time: getting new robes custom-made at the robe shop, restocking ingredients at the apothecary, and buying books at the bookstore.
In the bookstore's display window, a large iron cage held hundreds of copies of The Monster Book of Monsters. They savagely bit and fought each other inside, looking just like a swarm of claw-waving crabs.
—Books having a gang fight, who'd ever seen such a thing?
Shredded paper flew everywhere, and hoarse growls rose and fell, yet the Wizards seemed completely accustomed to it, walking past without so much as a glance.
But Wade and Harry, despite already having a copy gifted by Hagrid, still paused to watch.
Just then, a student with a booklist was buying books. The bookstore manager, wearing thick gloves and carrying a gnarled staff, was swatting at the books like he was chasing off a pack of scavenging dogs, roaring at the same time.
Taking advantage of the Monster Books shrinking back, the manager quickly grabbed the book closest to him.
As he pulled his hand back, a nearby book unexpectedly sprang up. Its pages opened to reveal sharp teeth, and it lunged to bite the manager's arm!
"Look out!"
Harry yelled, and his Wand instinctively twitched. A red light struck the Monster Book, sending it flying backward with a bang.
Harry himself was stunned, staring blankly at the flying book, then at his own Wand.
While he was still dazed, the manager quickly pulled back his hand, breathing a sigh of relief. Before he could even say thank you, he saw another Young Wizard pull out a Wand and wave it—
All the Monster Books instantly froze, then clattered to the floor. They were then bound one by one by ropes that appeared out of thin air, finally stacked into a neat pile.
The Monster Books still struggled and quivered, their covers flapping loudly, but they could no longer bite people or run wild.
The manager was stunned again. He looked at the crazy, finally quiet books, then at the two obviously young Wizards. His expression was blank, and he couldn't speak for a long while.
"Wade, Harry!"
The student who had been buying books emerged from the store. It turned out to be Rolf Scamander.
He said happily, "You're here to buy books too! I never expected to run into you here!"
"Hi, Rolf." Wade said, puzzled, "Are you here to buy The Monster Book of Monsters too?"
"Yeah," Rolf said. "I didn't expect that my family's bookshelf didn't have this book—actually, we used to have it, two copies, but then when they were fighting, they accidentally tumbled into the fireplace. Grandpa was very sad, so he didn't buy new ones."
"Oh, I see..."
Wade thought: ...Could Scamander be keeping these books as special magical creatures too?
"Here, your book."
At this moment, the manager also recovered, expertly bound the Monster Book he had finally managed to retrieve, and handed it to Rolf.
"Thanks."
Rolf paid and had other things to buy, so he waved goodbye, book in hand.
"Did you see that, Wade?"
Only then did Harry, suppressing his excitement, ask with a mix of surprise and doubt on his face, "I just... just like that... suddenly..."
"Congratulations," Wade said, his eyes curving into a smile. "Your first Nonverbal Spell."
Confirmed, Harry's face broke into a pure, joyful smile.
He turned to find Sirius and Lupin to share his joy, but only Sirius was beside him.
The slightly haggard man didn't pay much attention to them. His gaze, like a searchlight, scanned everyone who passed by, especially children with pet rats. Sirius's eyes were enough to make them cry.
Seeing this, Harry sighed softly, and his joy suddenly diminished.
He was once again acutely aware that although he was James Potter's son, the suffering Sirius felt was far deeper than his own.
Harry had never had it, so he wouldn't feel that heartbreaking pain.
"Um... are you two from Hogwarts too? Here to buy books?"
The manager observed them for a moment, then walked over and said gratefully, "Thank you for your help just now. What year are you in? Let me see your booklists."
Harry quickly handed him the booklist, saying, "Third year."
"Alright, just a moment."
The manager lowered his head to look at his booklist, quickly pulling out a few books from a nearby stack and bundling them.
"Wait, we already have The Monster Book of Monsters!" Harry said.
"Oh..." The manager seemed a bit regretful as he put the Monster Book back, then quickly finished bundling the rest.
Then he saw Wade's booklist, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're taking all the electives? That's quite impressive."
Wade nodded. "I thought it through before choosing."
"Well, I knew it..." The manager said enviously, "Not everyone can get a hundred-plus Monster Books to calm down all at once."
Wade smiled but said nothing.
In fact, Wade was quite surprised that a manager running a magical bookstore couldn't even achieve that level of control and had to rely on physical means to prevent being bitten.
It seemed not everyone managing a library was wise enough to draw sufficient nourishment from books.
Wade usually dealt with the cream of the crop among Wizards, but seeing this manager made Wade realize that many adult Wizards, after graduating, didn't gradually improve their magical abilities; instead, they regressed to a level even worse than current students.
For example, this manager had probably forgotten most spells and knowledge related to potions, herbology, astronomy, history, etc., during his monotonous daily work, retaining only those spells relevant to running a bookstore.
Any modest words Wade spoke in front of him would sound like mockery.
Before long, the manager had also organized Wade's textbooks and even gave him a 50% discount when it was time to pay.
The two came out with their books, but Lupin was still nowhere to be seen.
"Where did Remus go?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"He seemed to have seen an acquaintance; he'll be back in a bit," Sirius said.
...
"Remus, I think something's happened to Will."
The frail blonde girl said sorrowfully, "I can't reach him. I went to his house, but there was no trace... Aslan's Magic Workshop said he never showed up for work and has been fired... He's never like this. I know he must, must be..."
The girl choked back a sob, covering her face and weeping softly.
Lupin was speechless for a moment.
He knew there were too many reasons why a Werewolf might disappear from this world. Even reporting it to the Ministry of Magic wouldn't help much.
Many people felt that Werewolves didn't deserve to live at all.
"Claire, do you have any clues? About his disappearance," Lupin asked after a moment of silence, not holding out much hope.
But Claire said, "Yes, I do... Before he disappeared, he had just taken on a commission... I heard him say before that this kind of thing was dangerous. I kept telling him not to go, and I even said I could go instead... but he wouldn't agree..."
"What commission?" Lupin asked.
"I don't know... He never tells me anything..."
Claire said sadly, "But I think the person who gave him the commission must be connected to Hogwarts..."
"Hogwarts?" Lupin was startled and asked, "How do you know?"
"Not long ago, didn't Hogwarts kill a Basilisk? And they even allowed students to visit the shed skin..."
Claire wiped away her tears and said.
"That's right," Lupin said.
Claire continued, "My sense of smell is different from normal people. Even after several days, even after a bath, I can still smell that fishy scent of the Basilisk. And that day... I smelled that same scent on the person who came to find Will..."
I have something on tonight, so there's only one update.
Currently, two chapters are owed.
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