The Disturbance at Flourish and Blotts

Throughout the holiday, Wes had been enjoying himself on the little island. The island's seafood suffered terribly, as the diligent Jandi came up with all sorts of ways to prepare exquisite dishes for her master.

With the holiday nearing its end, Wes left the island three days early and returned to his dormitory at Hogwarts. After being empty for an entire holiday, the room had gathered a thin layer of dust. The thoughtful Jandi immediately transformed into a cleaner and thoroughly tidied the place.

While Jandi was cleaning the room, Wes decided to visit Flourish and Blotts to see whether the books he had asked the owner to collect last time had all arrived.

The moment Wes arrived in Diagon Alley, he saw that Flourish and Blotts was exceptionally lively. The entire bookshop was packed with people, and a long queue had formed outside its entrance.

The line stretched all the way into the street like a long snake.

More than ninety percent of those in line were witches, each clutching a book tightly in her hands.

The witches gathered together and chatted softly. Whenever the conversation reached an exciting point, they could not help giggling aloud, only to realize their lapse in composure and hurriedly cover their mouths in embarrassment.

"What good thing happened at the bookshop today?"

Wes swept his gaze over the bustling scene. Ever since arriving at Hogwarts, he had never seen Flourish and Blotts this crowded.

"You don't know?"

A witch raised her chin slightly and looked Wes up and down as though he were some country bumpkin.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is holding a book signing at Flourish and Blotts today."

"Who?"

Wes frowned. It took him a while to recall who this person was.

"Gilderoy Lockhart, Britain's most famous adventurer and author."

Another witch proudly lifted her head, as though merely knowing the man made her immensely proud.

After casting Wes a contemptuous glance, she ignored him, as though saying another word to him would be a waste of time.

Wes found it utterly baffling. Where did this strange sense of superiority even come from?

Seeing how packed Flourish and Blotts was, Wes shook his head helplessly. He had no interest whatsoever in joining this kind of excitement.

"I'll come back when there are fewer people." He turned and went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, ordered a cup of ice cream, and sat there for a full hour.

When Wes came out of the ice cream parlour, the queue outside Flourish and Blotts had not shrunk in the slightest. Left with no choice, Wes used his privilege as the bookshop's super VIP customer and, with the owner's help, cut into the line and entered the shop.

Naturally, that drew the others' displeasure.

The witches shot him angry looks and muttered under their breaths.

But Wes did not care. He only wanted to get the books he needed as quickly as possible and leave this noisy place.

"All the books you wanted are on that shelf over there."

The owner hurriedly called out to him before throwing himself back into his busy work. He was far too busy today, with barely a moment to rest.

Wes walked over to the shelf and quietly leafed through the books. He had asked the owner to collect every one of them, and each possessed its own unique value.

However, the shrieks coming from the signing event beside him kept him from settling down. The witches' waves of screams constantly disrupted his thoughts.

Wes sighed helplessly and decided to take the books back to read at his leisure.

Just then, a commotion from the signing event caught Wes's attention.

"You are simply the disgrace of pure-bloods, making friends with Muggles!"

The person who said this was undoubtedly a supporter of pure-blood ideology.

"Heh, has the new Muggle Protection Act left you scrambling? Have you finished getting rid of the Dark Magic Items in your house? Be careful I don't catch you with something."

Another voice answered without yielding an inch, full of mockery.

"Are you threatening me?"

In a fit of rage and embarrassment, Lucius Malfoy nearly shoved Arthur Weasley to the ground.

"How dare you!" Molly Weasley's face flushed red with anger as she immediately hurled the book in her hand at Lucius.

Lucius reacted quickly, tilting his head to avoid the blow.

"You..."

Arthur rose to his feet, his body already trembling slightly with fury.

"Hit him, Dad!"

"Show him what for!"

The Weasley twins shouted excitedly, constantly egging their father on.

Their faces were full of anticipation, completely unafraid of making the situation worse.

"Shut up, you red-haired poor wretches..."

Draco Malfoy raised his chin arrogantly, spewing venom without restraint.

Ron was enraged by his words and shoved Draco to the ground.

Disregarding his status as an adult, Lucius moved to attack Ron.

Arthur could no longer endure it. He punched Lucius in the eye.

Lucius was dazed by the sudden blow. He froze for a moment before the fury in his heart was completely ignited.

He no longer cared about pure-blood honor or noble dignity and grappled with Arthur.

The two fell to the floor without a shred of decorum, refusing to stop as though they were two crazed beasts.

Spectators crowded around them, wearing all manner of expressions as they watched the farce unfold.

The reporters who had originally been covering the book signing saw this, and their eyes immediately lit up.

They swiftly aimed their cameras at the two men grappling on the ground and excitedly snapped countless photographs. To the reporters, this was excellent news material.

Gilderoy Lockhart also came over, wearing a look of false concern. "Gentlemen, stop at once! There are plenty of books. I guarantee that everyone will receive my personal autograph."

Then he turned and whispered to the reporters, "This is publicity delivered right to our door. Say that the Twenty-Eight Sacred Families came to blows over my new book. What a wonderful gimmick."

As he spoke, he quietly slipped some money into a reporter's pocket. The reporter immediately understood. He found several different angles and made sure to include Lockhart in the shots, making it look as though Lockhart were earnestly trying to break up the fight.

Wouldn't the sales of this book explode now?

At that thought, Lockhart's smile became even more brilliant.

A large group of female fans stared at Lockhart's charming smile and swooned, their eyes glittering with admiration.

"Someone, come separate them!"

Only after seeing the two men's brawl scare off quite a few customers did the bookshop owner finally speak up to stop them.

Wes watched the farce speechlessly.

"Separate at once."

A flash of magical light passed through the room, forcibly pulling Lucius and Arthur apart.

The two men got to their feet, both looking rather disheveled.

Lucius quickly straightened his robes to make himself look less bedraggled.

However, his messy hair made him look somewhat comical, like a bird's nest blown apart by the wind.

Arthur looked around and saw that the spectators had surrounded them three layers deep inside and three layers deep outside.

Arthur, who had always cared about his appearance, felt utterly humiliated. This was simply too undignified.

"Don't expect to have an easy time at the Ministry of Magic from now on, Weasley!" Lucius roared at Arthur.

Arthur did not back down in the face of Lucius's threat.

He puffed out his chest. "Don't think I don't know the things you did before, you—"

"Shut up!"

Lucius loudly cut Arthur off.

The two were about to start fighting again, and the atmosphere grew tense once more.

"Gentlemen, you're blocking the entrance. Please step aside."

A calm voice rang out. Lucius and Arthur turned toward the source of the voice at the same time.

Seeing that it was an unfamiliar young wizard, Lucius frowned.

"And who are you?"

Lucius demanded arrogantly.

"Professor Erwin! You're here too!"

The moment Hermione saw Wes, she greeted him warmly and very formally introduced Erwin to her parents beside her.

"This is Professor Erwin. He teaches Rune Class at our school."

Erwin greeted Hermione's parents using ordinary people's etiquette, and the entire exchange was very proper.

Hermione's parents had never expected their daughter's Magic School to have a professor who understood ordinary people's etiquette.

"Like Hermione, I'm Muggle-born."

Seeing the surprised expressions on Hermione's parents' faces, Wes offered an explanation.

Lucius curled his lips in disdain. "Dumbledore truly has gone senile, hiring a Mud—"

Wes stepped forward and stared into Lucius's eyes.

"Mr. Malfoy, you have already attracted enough 'attention' today. How about we leave it at that?"

Wes's tone was gentle, and his smile was kind.

Yet Lucius's heart tightened, and every hair on his body stood on end.

How is this possible? Who exactly is this young wizard? Why do I feel the same pressure from him that I felt from that person?