Herman took a glance and thought no more of it, walking straight over with light steps.
The books in Flourish and Blotts were neatly arranged, sorted into categories as they awaited customers' inspection. Herman's gaze swept quickly over the shelves, and he soon found the section of encyclopedia-like books devoted to introducing all sorts of things.
Herman skimmed the shelves until a book with a somewhat familiar title suddenly caught his eye. His interest piqued at once, and he reached out to take it down.
He rose slightly onto his toes. Just as his fingers touched the spine of "Hogwarts, A History," a little boy came skipping over beside him.
The little boy's eyes sparkled with excitement as he said eagerly, "Are you looking for this book too? Are you from an ordinary family as well?"
The little boy's voice brimmed with delight. After wandering around Diagon Alley for so long, he had finally met a fellow student who, like him, apparently came from a non-wizarding family. Clearly, he had not noticed Herman, the protagonist, back at Gringotts.
"Yes." As Herman answered, he deftly took down two copies at once, then handed one to the little boy with a smile.
Now that Herman stood face-to-face with the little boy, he finally noticed his appearance: short, dark brown hair that looked like a carefully trimmed shrub, making him look full of energy; black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, lending him a distinctly scholarly air; and braces on his teeth. He was the very picture of a top student.
A lazy idea suddenly flashed through Herman's mind. He could copy the little boy's book list and save himself the trouble of finding the books one by one. So he asked politely:
"The shop assistant said you'd also asked about books on general knowledge. Are you trying to learn more about the wizarding world?"
The little boy nodded vigorously. "Yes, I know far too little about the wizarding world. The children born into wizarding families must already know magic. I'll have to work twice as hard to keep up with them."
Herman could not help remembering the children from pure-blood families in the original story who failed their classes, including students whom professors had even described as being on par with trolls. He reassured him, "They might not be all that good at studying either. There's no need to be so anxious."
"I still need to work harder. I never imagined I'd be studying magic one day. It feels like nothing I learned before will be any use."
Clearly, this little boy was just like someone from Herman's homeland in his previous life. School had not even started, and he was already caught up in the rat race. Still, that happened to save Herman some trouble.
Herman quickly followed up, "Then what books should we read to learn about the wizarding world? Do you have any recommendations?"
"Yes, yes!" The little boy's eyes lit up with excitement. "I've been looking around here for a while. Wizarding books all have summaries, and I've already made a list. Reading these should give us a basic understanding of the wizarding world."
There were many kinds of top students. Some were aloof and taciturn, but most were keen to teach others-or rather, share their knowledge. The little boy before him clearly belonged to the latter group.
As he spoke, the little boy pulled a small notebook from his pocket as though performing a magic trick. Its pages were densely covered in writing.
Herman glanced over it. It was all book titles and summaries, with notes beside them such as "This is the first book. Finish it within three days." Pointing to one line, the little boy explained enthusiastically, "The book we're holding now, 'Hogwarts: A History,' is the one I plan to read first. After all, Hogwarts is the school we're going to, so we need to learn something about it first."
"Mm." Herman nodded in agreement and instinctively looked for paper and a pen to copy the book list. But he had never been one to carry a pen, so in the end, he could only ask awkwardly, "Um, could you spare me a sheet of paper and let me use your pen? I'd like to write this down."
Hearing that Herman wanted to consult his notes, the little boy could not have been happier. It felt like receiving a precious token of recognition. Without another word, he tore out a sheet and handed it to Herman, then took a pencil from his little shoulder bag and said generously, "Here you go."
Taking the pencil, Herman immediately began taking careful notes. After writing down "Hogwarts: A History," he asked, "Thank you. What should I read next?"
"There's also this expanded edition of 'A History of Magic' by Skuris. It's not the one on the school list. The Skuris edition covers a longer period and records events in greater detail. But precisely because it contains so much, there's no hurry to read it. You can treat it as leisure reading and savor it slowly."
As he spoke, the little boy pointed to a book in the corner. It was as thick as three red bricks stacked together. Its cover was filled with all sorts of family crests, densely overlapping to form an abstract image of an old man's face.
The old man opened his mouth wide and gave an enormous yawn. Then, as though unable to catch his breath, he began coughing violently. The entire cover flushed red from the coughing, looking exactly like a person struggling for air.
"Are you sure this book won't just 'die' in my hands halfway through reading it?" Herman could not resist joking.
It was his first time seeing the utter boredom of reading made so tangible. Presumably, the author also knew that the book's contents were so dry that they would either make readers yawn nonstop or bore them "to death and back," and had deliberately designed it this way.
"Next is 'Important Magical Events of the Twentieth Century.' It covers the more important events in wizarding history. I think we really need to know about them. These events are like knowing who Britain's past prime ministers were. If someone brings them up and we know absolutely nothing, it'll be terribly embarrassing."
"Then there's the 'Directory of Modern Wizards.' Oh, and most of the wizards mentioned in this book are still alive, so it'll save us from meeting them later without knowing who they are." Like a knowledgeable little teacher, the little boy rattled off dozens of books with effortless familiarity. Only after finishing did he pause for breath, then continue:
"And of course, there are our textbooks. I think we need to study them in advance, at least enough to master one or two chapters. That way, we'll have a better chance of keeping up with the teachers' lessons."
"Right." For a moment, Herman did not know what to say. At that instant, he felt that the little boy before him seemed more like someone from his homeland, while he himself seemed like a genuine Brit.
With his views affirmed, the little boy was overjoyed. It had been a long time since he had met anyone who agreed with him so much, let alone someone willing to listen patiently to him talk for so long.
At that moment, the little boy felt that going alone to an unfamiliar school of magic did not seem quite so nerve-racking or frightening anymore.
Standing nearby, the little boy's mother was also very heartened to see the two getting along so well. Because the school did not allow casual visits, she had worried that her child might be lonely there. Now, it seemed he would be able to find good friends at school too.
"All right, Hugo, don't just talk about books. You haven't introduced yourself to your friend yet."