Dumbledore Picks Up the Tab!

Ever since Dumbledore became headmaster, he had never again personally welcomed a young wizard enrolling at Hogwarts.

The reason was simple.

It made perfect sense for Dumbledore to explain things to young wizards from Muggle families before he became headmaster;

but if he still had to do it after becoming headmaster, what was the point of being headmaster?

Hogwarts graduates came and went, class after class, while Dumbledore remained headmaster year after year.

Looking at the beloved Dumbledore among the crowd, Isaac finally understood why Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic in the Harry Potter books, had feared Dumbledore so deeply.

With Dumbledore's reputation, he would not even need to start spouting slogans like "The blue sky is dead; the yellow sky shall rise."

If he said on the street today, "I want to be Minister for Magic," someone at the Ministry of Magic would impeach Cornelius Fudge tomorrow and demand that he step down for someone more worthy.

And when it came to the vote, there would probably be far more supporters than abstentions.

As for opponents... aside from one or two of Cornelius Fudge's confidants, probably no one would object.

Under such pressure, so long as nothing major happened, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts might still be able to mind their own business.

But once a major matter requiring a decision arose, all wizards—even those within the Ministry of Magic—would lean toward asking Dumbledore to step forward.

Cornelius Fudge was like a newborn child.

He would use the clumsiest methods to test his "parents."

At this point in time, Dumbledore was clearly the indulgent-mother type. He merely tolerated Cornelius Fudge without end.

Still, since Dumbledore was the indulgent mother, Isaac could indeed find Cornelius Fudge a strict father.

Gellert Grindelwald would absolutely be the strictest father any Minister for Magic could have.

See? Didn't that tie everything together?

When Isaac came back to himself, he and Dumbledore had already arrived outside Flourish and Blotts.

Along the way, Dumbledore had not neglected a single wizard who spoke with him.

Nor had the wizards disturbed Dumbledore too much.

After exchanging only a few words with him, they simply stood where they were and watched Dumbledore leave with longing in their eyes.

Upon entering Flourish and Blotts, the shop manager hurried over at once.

"Professor Dumbledore, welcome!"

"Prepare a set of textbooks needed by a first-year young wizard for this gentleman." Dumbledore pointed at Isaac beside him as he spoke to the manager.

"No problem!" Without another word, the manager flicked his wand, and a bundled set of textbooks floated over from a nearby shelf.

Along with it came a similarly wrapped package of quills, parchment, and ink.

"Professor Dumbledore, these are the textbooks required by first-year young wizards, along with the parchment, quills, and ink included with a full set of textbooks."

Isaac knew about the "stationery" given away by Flourish and Blotts.

The Hogwarts homework trifecta, after all.

All he could say was that the Flourish and Blotts manager was thoughtful, afraid that young wizards heading to school would have nothing to write their homework with.

Dumbledore accepted the sorted textbooks and gifts from the manager, then said to Isaac,

"Flourish and Blotts is one of the largest bookstores in Diagon Alley, and its collection is extensive.

If there are works that are particularly difficult to find, you may also commission them to search for them on your behalf."

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, the manager beside them immediately added, "That's right. We do not charge any additional markup for helping customers locate books.

You only need to pay us a small fee for our trouble."

After transmigrating, Isaac had already come to understand the disparity between Britain and his hometown in his previous life.

Here, books were genuine "luxury goods."

In the Wizarding World, books meant knowledge, and knowledge meant power—not merely in an abstract or spiritual sense.

In the Wizarding World, knowledge was power in the most literal sense.

Dumbledore could be considered one of the most knowledgeable people in the Wizarding World, and he was likewise one of the most powerful.

So, Flourish and Blotts openly offering to help find books and works for a stated price was already quite generous.

Some works could not be bought even at a premium, let alone at their original price.

Isaac nodded and solemnly accepted the contact information handed over by the Flourish and Blotts manager.

Hogwarts certainly had many books, but who could guarantee that its collection would contain every book Isaac needed?

Whenever Isaac, with his gift of prophecy, needed a particular work that the Hogwarts library happened not to have, he could first divine its whereabouts.

Then he could ask the Flourish and Blotts manager to contact its owner.

Leave professional matters to professionals. By paying only a small fee for their trouble, he could have such capable wizards serve him.

Isaac knew perfectly well that this was special treatment the bookstore manager had offered out of respect for Dumbledore.

After all, in the Wizarding World, where knowledge equaled power, a bookstore like Flourish and Blotts was no different from a gun shop or arms dealer in Muggle society.

"Would you like to see whether there are any books in the shop that interest you?" Dumbledore asked Isaac.

"No, thank you very much, Professor Dumbledore. But there are no books I am particularly interested in at the moment."

Isaac shook his head at Dumbledore. He was lying.

Having just arrived in the Wizarding World and unlocked a place like a bookstore, how could Isaac possibly be uninterested in the other books inside?

After all, the protagonist of Harry Potter was Harry, The Boy Who Lived, and he was not particularly fond of studying.

At least, he did not enjoy reading that much.

Thus, bookstores and libraries did not appear very often in Harry Potter.

But in the real world, it was like an ocean of knowledge waiting for Isaac to absorb.

His gift of prophecy could even help him filter out most "useless knowledge." It could be said that Isaac was already nearly unable to wait to explore Flourish and Blotts.

Beautiful Miss Knowledge was waiting for Seer Mr. Waldore to favor her, yet he forcibly held himself back.

How could Isaac fail to see that Dumbledore intended to pay the bill for this trip?

There was absolutely no reason for Isaac to reject the headmaster's sponsorship.

Isaac was an orphan with no father or mother. Dumbledore's willingness to lend him a hand and support him was undoubtedly the help of yet another benefactor.

A benefactor like Grindelwald.

Perhaps Dumbledore had shown him such favor because Isaac's three Grindelwald traits were simply too strong, prompting him to extend his affection to Isaac as well.

But Dumbledore could extend his affection by association; Isaac could not push his luck.

Throughout history, those who knew gratitude earned praise and were liked by others.

No one liked an ungrateful wretch who pushed his luck.

Therefore, Dumbledore could take the initiative to give, but Isaac could not thoughtlessly keep asking for more.

Isaac had hidden his insincerity quite well. Unfortunately, he was facing a shrewd old man who had lived for over a century.

Dumbledore no longer asked for Isaac's opinion and immediately instructed the Flourish and Blotts manager,

"Until this Mr. Isaac Waldore graduates from Hogwarts, I will pay every bill he incurs at Flourish and Blotts."

A master wizard naturally possessed a master wizard's privileges. And for a wizard like Dumbledore, whose fist was large and whose power was even greater, those privileges were especially numerous.