The Flourish and Blotts became a battlefield both inside and out.
A reporter from The Daily Prophet, armed with a magic camera, waited in front of the store, but no large influx of people entered. This prompted Lockhart, who had been hiding behind the bookshelves, to come out on his own.
"I'm not mistaken about the date," Lockhart exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't today the start of the school year? Shouldn't this be the busiest place? How come no one's here for the great Lockhart's book signing?"
"They all went to a Magic Mobile Phone store; almost everyone was gathered there."
"What?" Lockhart was furious; how could a store steal the spotlight from his book signing?
If he could steal the memories about how the Magic Mobile Phone was made or what its shortcomings were, it would be big news—Mr. Lockhart would bravely unravel the conspiracy behind the Magic Mobile Phone and restore peace to the Wizarding World!
"Don't worry, they'll come over gradually after they buy the Magic Mobile Phone," the reporter reassured them. "We have a whole day."
Outside the store, several families gathered together in perfect unison.
Harry, Ron, Hermione greeted each other and then stood aside chatting. Draco walked up to them and gave the three of them a sarcastic look. Hagrid stood with the Weasley family, Hermione's parents seemed oblivious to the situation, Lucius stood guard, mocking everyone equally.
Before Lucius left with Draco, he picked up Ginny's secondhand textbook and scoffed. When he put it back, he found a black-covered diary among the books.
"It's Harry Potter!"
Lockhart, who was inside the store, spotted Harry. The reporter, understanding the situation, immediately pulled Harry in front of Lockhart.
Perhaps because Lockhart and Harry were together, the number of people finally increased at this moment.
"Oh ho ho, who would have thought that our the Chosen One, little Harry, would be buying ' Magical Me ' at my book signing today? It's worth mentioning that this book has been at the top of the Daily Prophet's bestseller list for twenty-seven consecutive weeks."
Lockhart affectionately put his arm around Harry and whispered a reminder, "Smile, Harry, we'll be making headlines."
Harry was unhappy, whether it was because he was dragged up by reporters looking disheveled or Lockhart calling him the Chosen One, but with cameras in front of him, he could only manage an awkward smile.
He hates the feeling of being controlled.
So after the photo was taken, Harry immediately stopped smiling and walked away with a straight face.
Lockhart then went on and on about how he would give Harry a signed copy of his entire collection of books.
A round of applause erupted from the audience.
Harry was even more annoyed. He leaned close to Ginny's ear and said, "I've given you all the books, Ginny, but I haven't prepared a gift for you yet."
"But those are Defence Against Dark Magic Class textbooks," Ginny said worriedly. "What will you do if you give them to me?"
"I'll buy another set, without the autograph." Harry looked at Lockhart with disgust.
Shopping for second-year students isn't as complicated as it is for first-year students, as there's no need for measurements or buying pets. However, the Weasley family also have Ginny, a new student, so Harry stayed with them until the afternoon.
Director Lorne's Magic Mobile Phone Shop remains incredibly popular.
Looking at the expectant eyes of his three sons and Harry, Arthur casually brought up the topic to Molly: "Shall we go check out that new store?"
Molly was about to shake her head, but the four boys shouted in unison, "Yes!"
Even the youngest daughter, Ginny, nodded.
She touched her purse and reminded them, "Children, we can go look, but we won't buy anything."
Quirrell was assigned to the store, and he complained all morning that his back ached, his throat was sore, and he was going to file for work injury if Lorne didn't replace him.
Lorne, who had tried his hand at sales outside the store, went from being a witty and humorous person who kept making jokes to a machine that could only repeat itself.
Looking at the ever-growing queue, Lorne realized that the stock of Magic Mobile Phone might still be insufficient.
So he picked up a megaphone and shouted, "Thank you all for your support! We didn't expect the Magic Mobile Phone to be so popular. Our stock may not be enough, but on behalf of the Magic Mobile Phone Official Flagship Store, I assure you that we will restock at the same time next month. If you didn't get Magic Mobile Phone today but are still interested, you can get a 10% discount coupon from me."
Molly, who had just arrived, keenly noticed the words "coupon".
She immediately abandoned her husband and children, rushed into the crowd. "I'm giving up now, can I have a 20% discount ticket?"
"No, but I can give you a raffle ticket."
Unlike the Magic Mobile Phone, the prizes in the raffle were all made by Lorne himself, with no limit on quantity and the ability to restock at any time. As for the redemption codes on the back of the cards, they were just strings of data to Lorne.
Molly readily accepted; the best deals are those you can get today.
The Weasley family sent Ginny to draw a prize. Ginny was quite lucky; although she didn't win the grand prize, she did win a golden new character card.
"It is the Witch of the Moon - Ozomuna."
A new character in the Wizard Legend!
Harry hasn't turned on his Magic Mobile Phone yet today, but the banner hanging above the Magic Mobile Phone shop features a divine portrait of the Witch of the Moon.
"Why does the art style of Wizard Legend seem to be getting better and better?" Harry muttered to himself.
Ron nodded, feigning an air of knowledge. "I think so too."
Because of the coupon, Molly stopped to listen to Lorne's explanation, but when Lorne talked about " Cuckoo Messaging," this mother's eyes showed determination for the first time.
"We have to save up, Arthur," Molly said firmly. "We need to buy two more so we can text Bill and Charlie at night."
Arthur took Molly's hand. "Okay, I'll definitely work hard."
Ron thought it was unlikely. He was about to remind his parents that a cell phone cost more than eight Galleon when Molly's words choked him up.
"Our family is going to go on a big budget-saving phase. We're canceling our ice cream for everyone tonight and going home now."
"Should we save some Floo Powder too?"
"No--"
10 PM.
Inside the Magic Mobile Phone shop, the three slumped weakly into their chairs. Lorne asked, barely able to speak, " Quirrell, how many Magic Mobile Phone do we have left?"
"As you requested, we have a dozen or so left for emergencies."
"Alright, one of these is for you," Lorne arranged. " Sains already has one, so let's convert it into Galleon and give it to him as a reward for today."
"Besides, even I can't handle two days off, not just you guys."
Lorne propped himself up and went upstairs. Once in his bedroom, he immediately collapsed onto the bed.
Next comes the routine maintenance of the Magic Mobile Phone store, which I believe Quirrell can handle on his own.
As for himself, Hogwarts would be starting soon, and the castle's pastures were in dire need of a horse or ox.