It didn't take long before, while Sean was brewing potions in the dungeon, a new flood of letters arrived.
Professor Snape frowned as owl after owl swooped down, dropping envelopes all over the worktable. In the end, he barely restrained the urge to shove them all straight into the cauldron.
The letters were a mess—first, there was a deluge of articles. The craze around this "Hermes" had never died down; in fact, it had risen again as more witches and wizards managed to pull his Chocolate Frog card.
Next came coverage of the Fairy Tale Cookie series. After two rounds of business, reporters finally confirmed all the types being sold.
Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but this time it was different: the sign at the shopfront had been updated. The photo in the article clearly showed several large characters: Cerberus Series Coming Soon.
Witches and wizards were practically ready to overturn the shop. Every day, people crowded around the storefront, hoping that mysterious alchemist would change his mind and hand out a few public invitations.
The allure of a three-headed dog didn't need explaining. More importantly, this shop clearly had terrifying potential.
If there was a Cerberus, why couldn't there be a Thunderbird?
If there was a Thunderbird, why not a Nundu, a Snallygaster, a Phoenix…
Just imagining it was enough to make a witch or wizard's blood race.
So this shop that only opened once a month had people loitering at its doors every single day. Its agent, Quirrell, spent his days studying Dark Arts and Defensive Magic, casually tossing out any idiot who tried to force their way in and alerting the Ministry so they could be shipped straight off to Azkaban.
In practice, witches and wizards were always fond of these "shortcuts."
When the Philosopher's Stone was first created, two or three people a week tried to steal it, and every single one of them simply vanished.
That in turn proved one thing: anyone who truly stood at the top of the magical world had decisive personal power.
There might not be "authority" here, only a naked difference in magical strength.
Or in other words—magic was power.
After all the clippings came one separate letter:
[Respected Mr. Green,
Once you agreed, one invitation was delivered to the Chocolate Frog Committee. Fairy Tale House will be open tomorrow.
—Your loyal, Quirrell]
One hundred Galleons for a single invitation—that had been the Chocolate Frog Committee's offer.
Sean had a good guess at what they planned to do and hadn't objected.
After that letter came others—from Ron, Harry, and the rest. The Hope Room group wanted to go to Diagon Alley together in two days to buy their books, and every one of them wrote to ask when Sean would be free.
As Sean wrote back, one owl veered toward Professor Snape. Snape's cold gaze flicked to the invitation on its leg, and he plucked it off.
By then, Sean's cauldron had long cooled. He gathered the potion-filled crystal vials and placed them into a box.
Some simple potions he could brew himself, but some of the ones Quirrell needed were not simple at all. Quirrell usually had to buy those in Knockturn Alley.
…
July had raged past in storms and high winds.
Sean gradually mastered his Animagus form; his Soul Transfiguration had reached Novice.
And on the day the rain finally began to ease, Fairy Tale House was set to open again.
All of magical Britain was buzzing, everyone hoping to receive an invitation.
At this point, invitations were being traded under the table for over a hundred Galleons each. Sadly for the scalpers, the invitations were bound with special magic; bought invitations simply didn't work.
Of course, it wasn't that anyone had sold one. An old wizard had died during the month, and when his son turned up with his father's invitation and was stopped at the door, he'd discovered the problem the hard way.
The Daily Prophet was splashing this across its front page—even the news about celebrity Gilderoy Lockhart's upcoming signing session had been shoved aside.
After all, the special feature on "Hermes" had just gone out.
Almost as if to add fuel to the fire, the Chocolate Frog Committee released their exclusive interview within two weeks of the new card's launch.
At the same time, they dropped a bombshell: one "Hermes Card" would have a Fairy Tale House invitation printed on the back.
That alone doubled the crowds in Diagon Alley. Witches and wizards from other countries had even flown in just for it.
Sean paid little attention to the chaos outside. He was more surprised by the figure walking beside him.
The professor was actually coming with him.
"Have you forgotten," Snape said silkily, "that you're still serving detention…?"
"You'd better move quickly—Sean Green—"
His tone dragged the name out, but the old crushing pressure was gone.
Out in the corridor, Sir Cadogan buckled on a helmet he hadn't worn in ages, hiding his expression from Lady Violet. Only once the large and small black-robed figures had vanished did the knight bury his face in his pony's mane and glug from a bottle.
Lady Violet and the Fat Lady then realized he was sobbing loudly.
"My lady," he hiccuped, "there are two kinds of courage a wizard has. One is the courage to charge in without a thought. The other is the courage to endure and bear the weight.
"Which of the two is nobler? To this day, no one has settled it…"
He rambled on with words no one understood, gulping wine, and promptly turned around to challenge the monk who supplied it to a duel—on the grounds that, a century ago, they'd tried to peek under Miss Sunflower's skirt.
The monks' lechery was common knowledge in the portrait world of Hogwarts, but a knight who could remember several centuries of scandals was a rare thing indeed.
The Fat Lady finally understood why the knight was never short of people to duel.
…
Diagon Alley, outside No. 77.
The shop wasn't even open yet, and already a Chocolate Frog stall had been erected beside it. Witches and wizards without invitations—and with hopeful eyes—were lining up there.
Harry and Ron were among them.
They'd come with Fred and George. Unlike a certain hands-off shareholder, the twins were at the shop every day, running it with manic enthusiasm.
They'd already leased a site in Hogsmeade, excited to take Weasley & Green's Wizard Wheezes global.
Thanks to them, Harry and Ron had a chance to buy a few Chocolate Frogs. Ron still desperately wanted to get that "Hermes Card."
Inside Fairy Tale House, the hearth suddenly flared to life and warm orange light bloomed through the windows.
In the tense, buzzing air outside, Fairy Tale House opened its doors.
Witches and wizards surged in—ever since receiving their invitations, they'd been waiting for this day.
Snape swept into the shop like a thundercloud. The instant he saw Quirrell, his face twisted into something frightening.
He drew his wand and jammed it against Quirrell's chest.
"Ah—" he hissed, voice low and lethal, "I'd assumed you were smarter than this—perhaps smart enough to go far away from Britain—"
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!