บท 163: Chapter 163: The True Use of the Oil Lamp
London, Diagon Alley.
Nearly a month had passed since the Sirius Black escape incident. During the first week, people were still on edge. However, as time went by and Sirius seemed to vanish without a trace, the incident's fervor died down, and Diagon Alley gradually regained its usual bustling atmosphere.
Especially as the start of the Hogwarts term approached, many shops opened early for business. As for Sirius? Sorry, but he wasn't as important as Galleons.
Life seemed to return to its normal rhythm.
But this was true only for ordinary wizards. This summer was unusually tough for Harry.
Not only was his activity range limited to Diagon Alley, but even his daily outings were constantly accompanied by Aurors. All he could do was sit by the window on the second floor every day, watching the bustling crowds outside in Diagon Alley.
Today, after finishing his homework, Harry moved his chair to the window as usual, preparing for his daily observation. It had been over a month of the same routine. Sometimes he thought, even running into Malfoy and having a good argument would be better than his current life.
However, fate always loved to play tricks. He had just sat by the window for a few minutes when Harry suddenly stood up and walked downstairs.
He had seen two familiar figures at the corner of the street: Hermione and Ino, laughing and talking as they headed towards Flourish and Blotts.
...
On the cobblestone road of Diagon Alley.
Ino suddenly noticed Hermione acting a bit unusually, especially after he mentioned that the number six represented absolute success in divination. Her smile hadn't faded since.
But regarding the second occurrence of 'six' on the dice, he had a rough guess.
It seemed the dice recognized people; otherwise, even if Hermione divined whether Hogwarts would start normally this year, the result would likely be 'five,' not an absolute divination.
However, sometimes it's better to leave things unsaid. Divination can be akin to psychological therapy—making the person happy is enough, no need to quibble over everything.
"Ino, what electives are you planning to take in the third year?" Hermione asked curiously as they walked.
"Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures, just two subjects that interest me."
Having anticipated Hermione's question, Ino replied without a second thought.
Two elective courses were enough; taking more would be a waste of energy. Besides, he didn't plan on working at the Ministry of Magic. Even having twelve certificates wouldn't be useful.
"You're not planning to take Divination?" Hermione stopped in her tracks, her tone incredulous.
Facing Hermione's confusion, Ino revealed his inner thoughts:
"Divination is very mysterious and powerful! But I don't want to rely too much on it."
Just as they were chatting, they heard a faint voice calling behind them: "Hermione! And Mr. Swinburne! Great to see you!"
Harry shouted as he ran towards them, followed a few meters behind by an adult wizard.
"Long time no see, Mr. Potter!"
Ino greeted with a smile, glancing at the adult wizard, who returned a friendly smile.
"Harry? You're here too?" Hermione's tone was indifferent, akin to hearing the doorbell ring during dinner.
"Of course I'm here, and I've been here for over a month, staying at the Leaky Cauldron..."
Harry's spirits sank as he spoke about his grievances.
But after a brief slump, Harry began to talk incessantly about his experiences over the past month. It seemed that being alone for so long had made him overly talkative, oblivious to Hermione's expression.
The three of them continued walking towards Flourish and Blotts.
...
Inside the bookstore, they noticed it was quite different from usual.
Typically, the store displayed thick, gold-lettered spell books. But now, behind the glass was a large iron cage containing about a hundred copies of "The Monster Book of Monsters."
These books were all entangled, fiercely fighting each other as if in a wrestling match, with torn paper flying everywhere.
"Why would the owner stock such books?" Harry asked curiously.
"Because it's listed as a textbook for Care of Magical Creatures. Didn't you read the Hogwarts letter?"
Hermione said, looking at Harry in surprise.
Hearing Hermione, Harry suddenly thought that the professor for the Care of Magical Creatures might have a lot in common with Hagrid.
He took out the book list from his pocket and looked at it properly for the first time.
It clearly stated: Care of Magical Creatures textbook—"The Monster Book of Monsters."
Seeing Harry's dumbfounded expression, Ino said softly: "It's not entirely Mr. Potter's fault. Anyone under such close watch would hardly care about other things."
Grateful for the defense, Harry shot Ino a thankful look.
Similarly, after Ino spoke up, Hermione dropped the subject and cleverly changed the topic: "Let's buy the books first, but they don't seem easy to handle."
"You're absolutely right!" A complaint came from beside them; it was the bookstore manager.
The usually well-dressed middle-aged man looked rather disheveled.
"Not just difficult to handle, they're a total mess! We once bought two hundred copies of 'The Invisible Book of Invisibility,' spent a fortune, and then couldn't find a single copy. I thought nothing could be worse."
Invisible books? Hearing the manager's complaint, Ino suddenly thought of something and immediately asked:
"Sorry to interrupt! Did you say you have 'The Invisible Book of Invisibility' for sale?"
"In theory! For sale, but as you see, I can't find them."
The manager spread his hands helplessly, recognizing the boy who had appeared on the cover of the Daily Prophet months ago.
So he chose to be honest instead of selling a pile of air like before.
"Are you sure you received the shipment? And they're in the store?" Ino asked again.
"Absolutely! I have the receipt. If it weren't for them... sigh! Anyway, according to them, the books are in my store!"
The middle-aged manager sighed deeply. There was something he didn't say—if he could afford to offend the suppliers, he would have gone to them with the receipt long ago.
"Hermione! Mr. Potter, please wait here for a moment. I'll be back soon!"
With that, Ino headed outside. The manager's words had given him a revelation—"couldn't see even a shadow of those books."
What causes shadows? Only objects illuminated by light.
With this in mind, he remembered the oil lamp that could reveal illusions.
So he hurried off to find a secluded spot to test the oil lamp from the Sanctuary.
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