Chapter 71: Flourish and Blotts
Chapter 71: Flourish and Blotts
When Liam and his friends arrived at the entrance of Flourish and Blotts, they found the bookstore's door packed with people. A banner above the door announced that it was Lockhart's new book signing today.
"These fans are way more enthusiastic than Dad's", Liam muttered, watching the crowd of middle-aged witches.
"We can meet him in person!" Hermione said excitedly to Liam. "After all, almost all the books on our list are written by him!"
"He might be really good, but using novels as textbooks is a bit too much..."
"You have a point. Mr. Lambert's novels are great, but they can never be used as textbooks", Hermione seemed to come to her senses.
Liam saw Harry and Ron standing in the front of the queue, clutching their books, waiting for signatures. Mrs. Weasley, looking a bit nervous, was fixing her hair at the back of the line, with Ginny by her side.
When Liam and Hermione walked over to Mrs. Weasley, they overheard her whisper to Ginny, "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I can only buy you second-hand books because Lockhart's novels are quite expensive."
"That's okay, Mum. The textbooks are important. I don't mind at all", Ginny whispered back.
At that moment, a crowd surged forward, pushing Liam to the door. The twins were just coming in, and Liam said to them, "How about the stuff I brought? Did I bring the right things?"
"The stuff is great", Fred said. "But can we pay you later? We're a bit short on cash right now", George added.
"No problem, whenever you have the money, just let me know. But it seems like your family might be a bit biased. Last year, Ron got a new robe when he started school, but this year, Ginny, who's a girl, only got a second-hand one."
"Hey, that's because of Lockhart's new books. We need to buy five sets, so we could only afford a second-hand robe for Ginny. That's also why we need to delay the payment to you. We want to buy Ginny a few new quills and ink."
"Wait, why do you need five sets of books?" Liam asked.
"We have five people starting school, so we need five sets", Fred explained.
"No, what I mean is, since all the required books are the same this year, and you're not all in the same grade, you won't be taking Defense Against the Dark Arts at the same time. Why don't you share the books? You can use notebooks for notes. That way, you only need one or two sets", Liam looked at the twins and said.
"Good point, why didn't we think of that?" The twins exchanged a glance and pushed their way into the store, apparently to find their mother.
Liam stood at the door and watched as Lockhart posed for photos with Harry, clearly trying to capitalize on his fame. This reminded Liam of how his father, Mr. Lambert, used to take photos with U2 members at his book signings to boost his popularity.
No wonder Lockhart has so many fans. His talent for self-promotion rivals that of modern internet marketing teams, decades ahead of his time. Not to mention, Lockhart is quite handsome. If you didn't know he was a fraud, it would be easy to be charmed by him.
Liam finally managed to squeeze into the store and witnessed a classic moment: Harry placing a complete set of Lockhart's new novels into Ginny's cauldron.
Then came the private feud between Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley, leading to a scuffle. In the midst of the chaos, Liam pulled the Granger family to a safe corner of the bookstore.
Standing in the corner, Mr. Granger asked a bit worriedly, "Is the wizarding world always this chaotic? And is discrimination that common?"
Liam knew they were worried about their daughter's life here, so he reassured them, “People with such racist attitudes are not that common. In the Wizarding world, knowledge is power. Hermione is a top student, so generally, no one bothers her.”
After Liam’s explanation, Mr. Granger seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. At that moment, Hagrid arrived and stopped the fight between Weasley and Malfoy. Liam and the Granger family joined the crowd as they walked out of the bookstore. Mrs. Granger still looked a bit scared, and Mr. Granger kept comforting her.
At the entrance, Liam met the Weasley family and Hermione. Hermione ran up quickly, asked about her parents, and thanked Liam, “Thank you for helping to reassure my parents. I was really afraid they would worry too much after seeing all this.”
“You’re welcome. We’re friends,” Liam replied. Then, the group headed towards the Leaky Cauldron. Liam deliberately lagged behind to walk with Ginny. He then pretended to notice the old books in her cauldron and said, “You appreciate the knowledge hidden in old books too?”
Ginny was startled and turned to look at Liam. She recognized him as a friend of her older brothers.
“Hi, I’m Layne Liang, but you can call me Liam. Every time I come to Diagon Alley, I look for interesting or useful old books in the second-hand shops. I’ve learned a lot from them. This kind of behavior isn’t usually understood by others, so I saw you buying old books and thought I’d find a kindred spirit. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”
“I know who you are,” Ginny said, looking up. “Ron said you were the second-best student in your year and one of his best friends. He also mentioned that he can’t understand why you, with all your money, still go to old bookstores to look through books.”
After that, Liam and Ginny chatted for a while. As they neared the Leaky Cauldron, Liam tapped his forehead and said, “You’re starting at Hogwarts this year. As a friend of your brother, I should give you a gift.” He then pulled out a notebook filled with his notes from the previous year and handed it to Ginny.
“Here are my notes. I hope they help you.” Ginny happily accepted the gift and placed it in her cauldron.
At that moment, Liam noticed a black notebook tucked between the pages of Ginny’s old Transfiguration textbook. He pointed to it, pretending to be surprised, “Wow, you’ve already started taking notes before school even starts. That’s impressive.”
Ginny took out the notebook and examined it, then shook her head. “This doesn’t seem to be my notebook.” She flipped through it, but it was blank.
Liam saw that the cover of the notebook had a faded date, indicating it was from fifty years ago. On the first page, a name was barely legible in faded ink: Tom Riddle. The back cover bore the name of a newspaper vendor from Vauxhall Road in London, suggesting it was an antique notebook.
“Who is Tom Riddle?” Ginny asked, curious. “This must have been accidentally included by the second-hand shop.”
Seeing Liam’s intense interest in the notebook, Ginny handed it to him. “If you like it, you can have it. Consider it a return gift for your present.”
Liam thanked her and put the notebook in his bag. He told Ginny that a fifty-year-old notebook in such good condition was rare and that he could give it to his father, who loved antiques.
(End of Chapter)
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