Over the past few days, the number of Muggles around the Leaky Cauldron had noticeably increased.
At first, there had only been one or two, standing on street corners and looking around as though searching for something.
Then there were three or five, wandering through the alleys with a crumpled map in hand.
A few days later, their numbers had grown to over a dozen.
Some wore trench coats, some carried backpacks, and some held a book in their hands, muttering to themselves.
"A big bookshop... a record shop... between them..."
"There aren't many places like that in London..."
"Maybe this place inspired the novel?"
A young man in a baseball cap stood between the big bookshop and the record shop, looking up at both shops.
His gaze moved from the big bookshop to the record shop, and it seemed to him that the two shops were right next to each other.
He held a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, opened it to a certain page, and compared it with the scene before him.
"It really does look like the description in the book."
He took out his camera and snapped a few photos, but he could still see only the bookshop and the record shop.
"So the novel really is fiction. And here I was imagining that the Wizarding World actually existed."
He sighed in disappointment.
But that did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm for finding things connected to the Wizarding World.
He wanted to find similar places to visit and take photos.
Because it was just so cool!
Similar scenes played out again and again over the next few days.
More and more Muggles gathered around the Leaky Cauldron, although all they could see were the big bookshop and the record shop.
Still, they excitedly took photos outside the bookshop and the record shop, declaring that they had found the place that most closely resembled the novel.
The bookshop and the record shop also unexpectedly welcomed a flood of customers, and their sales soared.
With this unexpected windfall, both shopkeepers wore smiles all day long.
"What? Have I seen any strange people?"
"I don't remember..."
"Hmm... I think I do sometimes see people wearing robes."
That was what the two shopkeepers told customers who asked.
After all, business at both shops had been mediocre before, so neither had been in any mood to pay attention to who was outside.
As a result, they had little clear recollection of whether strangely dressed people had passed their doors.
Tom stood behind a window on the pub's second floor, watching the Muggles below with an exceedingly complicated expression.
"What the hell are these Muggles thinking?" he muttered.
"Do they think this is a tourist attraction?"
Edmund, standing beside him, shrugged. "Looks like that book has had an even bigger impact than we imagined."
"These Muggles probably got so absorbed in it that they wanted to see the places it described for themselves."
"But this is Wizarding World territory!" Tom raked a hand irritably through his hair. "How are we supposed to do business with them crowding around like this?"
"There's nothing we can do," Edmund said. "Unless you drive them away with magic, but that would violate the International Statute of Secrecy."
Tom took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"You're right," he said. "We can't take action."
"But we can't let this go on, either."
"I know," Edmund said. "That's why we need to find out where that book came from as soon as possible."
"Let the Ministry of Magic worry about all that."
Meanwhile, some strange rumors began to surface in the Wizarding World.
The first to spread them were wizards who had visited the Muggle world.
While drinking at the Leaky Cauldron, they happened to mention what was in the book.
"Did you know? That book says Harry Potter lived in a cupboard under the stairs at his aunt's house when he was little."
"Under the stairs?" The wizard beside him widened his eyes. "Isn't he the hero who defeated You-Know-Who? How could he live somewhere like that?"
"That's what the book says." The wizard shrugged. "It also says his aunt and uncle treated him very badly, made him do housework, and wouldn't even give him enough to eat."
"Merlin's beard..." Another wizard covered his mouth. "That's just awful, isn't it?"
"Isn't it just."
The news soon spread throughout the Leaky Cauldron.
Then it spread from the Leaky Cauldron to Diagon Alley, and from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade.
Within a few days, the entire Wizarding World knew about it.
"Have you heard? Harry Potter had a miserable childhood."
"I have! Apparently, he lived in a cupboard under the stairs, had to work every day, and didn't even get birthday presents."
"Oh my... I always thought he was doing well at his aunt's."
"So did I. Now it seems we might all have been wrong."
Similar conversations played out in every corner of the Wizarding World.
Then new rumors appeared.
"Did you know? That book mentions the Malfoy family, too."
"The Malfoy family? What about them?"
"The Malfoy family's son, Draco Malfoy, is really arrogant at school and looks down on students from less privileged backgrounds."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. A friend of a friend read that book in the Muggle world. He told me himself."
"Tsk, tsk... This won't do the Malfoy family's reputation any favors."
At the same time, rumors about Snape began to spread as well.
"Have you heard? That Professor Snape seems to have a real problem with Harry Potter."
"Snape? The Potions professor at Hogwarts?"
"Yes, him. The last chapter of the book's first half mentions him giving Harry Potter a hard time in class."
"Why?"
"Ahem, I heard..."
There were also rumors about Hagrid.
"Did you know? That gamekeeper, Hagrid, seems to be hiding something important on him."
"Something important? What is it?"
"No idea. The book doesn't make it clear, but it seems to be connected to the Gringotts break-in."
"Was it the thing that went missing in the break-in?"
"Exactly, but he took it out beforehand. The book describes it as a small package."
"Tsk, tsk... Gringotts was broken into right after he took it out. Looks like Hogwarts isn't all that peaceful, either."
These rumors spread like wildfire through the Wizarding World.
No one knew where they had started, and no one knew whether they were true.
As the rumors spread, the number of owls at Hogwarts began to rise dramatically as well.
Normally, only a few dozen owls flew into Hogwarts each day.
But over the past few days, that number had increased more than several dozenfold.
Hundreds upon thousands of owls flew into the castle every day, some carrying letters, some parcels, and some newspapers.
They packed the Owlery, hooting so noisily that they gave the caretaker a terrible headache.
"What on earth is going on?" The caretaker stared blankly at the roomful of owls.
"Why have so many owls suddenly turned up?"
A tense atmosphere hung over all of Hogwarts.
Just then, the Daily Prophet published an article.