The Jump & Jape Magical Joke Shop was a store dedicated to selling prank items and novelty trinkets, not too different from Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade.
Wayne bought two of each product—one to play with, and one to study.
Even though he only bought two of each, the sheer number of items added up. The shop assistant was grinning ear to ear.
This must be some young heir from a pure-blood family on a shopping spree—spending dozens of Galleons on prank gear. The assistant would get a hefty commission just from that.
After the wild shopping spree, Wayne sat under the sunshade outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, enjoying an ice cream cone.
At the same time, notifications started appearing in his mind:
[Successfully blocked a wizard from entering Diagon Alley: +5 points]
[Successfully disrupted a wizard from entering Diagon Alley: +1 point]
[Successfully blocked a wizard from entering Diagon Alley: +5 points]
[...]
Wayne smiled.
The points weren't much individually, but they added up over time. In just a short while, he had already accumulated 80 points.
The system points could be used for a lottery draw—100 points per draw.
The draw rewards came in White, Blue, Purple, and Gold tiers, with a guaranteed Gold every 100 pulls.
In all the years he'd had the system, Wayne had only received one Gold-tier reward: 15% original shares of Microsoft, non-dilutable.
He wasn't sure if the pity counter still carried over.
He'd done around 130 draws by now—70 more and he'd be guaranteed another Gold.
"System, give me a confirmation."
[Ding! The card-drawing mechanic is unaffected by upgrades. Host will be guaranteed a Gold-tier reward within the next 64 draws.]
"Now that's more like it."
Wayne happily took the last bite of his ice cream.
Seeing that he now had 100 points, he casually did another draw.
He didn't expect a Purple-tier reward to drop.
The odds for Purple were only 10%—he was a little lucky this time.
[Congratulations, Host has received Talent: Magical Creature Affinity!]
Huh?
Wayne raised his eyebrows.
This looked... pretty good.
Magical creatures were a huge part of the wizarding world. If used properly, even the Dark Lord could be thrown off his game.
Wouldn't you agree, Hagrid?
After paying his bill, Wayne stood up and headed straight toward the Magical Menagerie on the south end of Diagon Alley, eager to try out his new talent.
Meanwhile, at the Leaky Cauldron...
"What the hell—who did this?!"
Old Tom stood in front of the brick wall, roaring at the sky. Behind him stood several angry wizards, all equally furious.
"This is absolutely outrageous!"
"Exactly! I've been searching forever and still can't find the right brick!"
"Don't even get me started. I found the spot, but I wasn't sure if it was the correct one. I didn't dare tap it—what if I picked the wrong one and summoned the Hit Wizards? I'd be fined!"
Faced with the newly rebuilt wall and the identical row of trash bins, the group of wizards ground their teeth in anger.
This was just evil.
Old Tom, his face flushed, began dragging away all the duplicate bins, leaving only the original one.
Looking at the wall again, his anger lessened a bit.
To be honest, the repaired wall did look a lot better than the worn-down mess it used to be.
He used his wand to turn the original brick red, and left the rest alone.
"Who could've done this?"
"Who else? It has to be those mischievous little brats."
"Did any of you see someone come in just now?"
The group of wizards began chattering, trying to figure out who the culprit was. Old Tom sank into thought.
The image of Wayne popped into his mind.
That little wizard had left not long ago before the trouble started, so logically, he was the most suspicious.
However, Tom quickly ruled him out himself.
The reason was simple.
Any student escorted by Professor McGonagall had to be from a Muggle family, someone who had never come into contact with magic before.
It had only been a few days—how could he possibly have learned such precise Reparo and Gemino spells?
Tom had checked those bins himself. The enchantments would last at least a month.
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Wayne looked well-behaved too—not the sort to be mischievous or cause trouble.
Suddenly, someone blurted out:
"I saw those Weasley twins earlier while I was having a drink!"
The room immediately fell silent… and then exploded with noise.
"That's right! It must have been them. Last time, they moved the rubbish bins to the wrong side, and I ended up poking the wrong brick like an idiot!"
"Terrible! Molly Weasley really needs to keep those two in check."
One person after another chimed in, and soon all the blame was pinned squarely on the unsuspecting twins.
Even Old Tom believed it, because he had seen the twins earlier.
Granted, it had been a while ago, but not many wizards had passed through since.
Maybe the others already remembered the exact spot and didn't need the enchanted bins anymore?
The more Old Tom thought about it, the angrier he became. He stormed over to the counter, pulled out a stack of parchment, and started writing a letter.
He was going to complain to Molly Weasley!
Later that day, when the twins snuck out to have some fun and returned home via the Floo Network from Diagon Alley…
They were immediately met with a full dose of motherly "love and discipline."
Utterly confused, the two stared at each other, and once they figured out what was happening, they loudly protested their innocence.
They hadn't pulled any pranks that day—really! They had just gone out for a casual stroll, to see if the joke shop had any new items in stock.
It wasn't them!
But given their usual behavior, Molly didn't believe a single word. After a hearty serving, she threw them into their room for a strict timeout.
The twins exchanged bewildered glances, their teeth practically grinding in frustration.
They'd always been the ones tricking others—how had they been framed today?
But… that's a story for another time.
At this very moment—
The true culprit, young Wayne Lawrence, had arrived at the Magical Menagerie, basking in the attention of the animals.
The moment he stepped in, all the magical creatures turned to look at him.
Several owls, who had been dozing off, immediately flew over and began fighting for a spot on his shoulder.
Even the usually aloof Kneazles walked over gracefully, narrowing their eyes and rubbing against Wayne's pant legs.
Wayne reached down and picked up a short-haired cat, immediately beginning to pet it.
The shop assistants were stunned.
That was the most cold-natured cat in the shop! Guests had tried to buy it before because of its cuteness.
But the cat had always ignored them, forcing the customers to give up in disappointment.
Now, it was actively cooperating—and even rolled over to expose its belly with a look of sheer enjoyment.
The shop assistant stared at Wayne .
This wasn't some little wizard…
He looked more like a Veela who had wandered in from Merlin-knows-where!