Morris turned his attention to the sales list attached to the end of the letter.
[Crup skeleton-30 Galleons]
[Augurey skeleton-45 Galleons]
[Wampus Cat skeleton-80 Galleons]
[Graphorn skeleton-120 Galleons (note: horns missing)]
[Nundu skull-200 Galleons (note: fangs intact)]...
A line of small print appeared at the end of the list: all prices above are nonnegotiable. Special species may be ordered in advance. A basic care guide is also included free of charge.
After reading the list, Morris froze for a moment.
It listed skeletons of various animals he did not recognize.
There were actually shops specializing in this sort of business. No wonder it was in Knockturn Alley.
Although he did not know the specific laws of the Wizarding World, there was probably something at least a little questionable about this trade.
In that case, the skeleton he had seen earlier in the secondhand robe shop should have been genuine too.
Morris suddenly wanted it even more.
It looked as though he would have to speak to the owner in person.
Not now, of course-quite apart from his lack of ability to protect himself, even if the owner agreed to sell it to him, he did not have enough Galleons.
After buying an owl and some miscellaneous items, he had only thirty-nine Galleons left, along with a few Silver Sickles and Knuts.
That was only enough to buy a Crup skeleton.
Morris sighed softly.
Sure enough, whether in the Muggle World or the Wizarding World, people still had to worry about money.
So, should I buy it?
A Crup skeleton.
To be honest, he was quite interested.
It sounded like the skeleton of some kind of canine creature.
But... could it be a little unsafe?
What if I send the Galleons and they don't send the goods?
After all, it was an unfamiliar shop in Knockturn Alley with no credibility to speak of.
Morris had never liked agonizing too much over this sort of thing.
I'll buy it!
He immediately picked up his pen and wrote a reply on the paper:
[Mr. Frick:
Please reserve a Crup skeleton for me. I will enclose thirty Galleons with this letter.
If convenient, please include a basic introduction to the species.
I look forward to receiving your goods.]
After finishing the letter, he carefully counted thirty Galleons out of his money pouch and wrapped them in soft cloth.
The expense used up most of his savings, but when he thought of obtaining a genuine, well-preserved skeleton of a magical creature, he still felt it was worth it.
Morris handed the heavy envelope and parcel to the owl waiting on the windowsill, and it immediately flapped its wings and vanished into the sky.
In the end, curiosity had won out over his misgivings.
A magical animal's skeleton was of absolutely no use to him at present.
He was simply interested in it.
That was all.
But that was already reason enough to buy it.
Forget it. There's no need to overthink it.
Morris closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
One evening two days later, the owl visited Morris's lodgings again.
This time, Morris received a note and a fairly large wooden box.
[Thank you for your patronage. We look forward to doing business with you again.]
That was the entire contents of the letter.
As for the introduction to Crups he had requested, there was no sign of it at all.
Not very reliable, as expected.
Thinking this, Morris opened the wooden box with a bad feeling.
"..."
He stared at the contents of the box, lost in thought.
The box was filled with bone fragments of varying sizes.
The fragments came in all shapes, ranging from tiny finger bones to larger leg bones.
Every piece was very well preserved, with a soft sheen under the light.
With something of a headache, Morris tipped all the fragments onto the table in one go. He estimated there were several hundred pieces.
There was also a very small glass bottle with a label reading "Adhesive."
So after all that, I have to assemble it myself.
He rubbed his temples helplessly.
"Woohoo-look what I found... wait, Morris, what are you doing?"
Just then, Scott opened the door and walked in, holding a five-pound note.
When he saw the table covered in bone fragments, his eyes went round.
"Where did you get all these bones?" He leaned toward the table and cautiously poked a skull fragment with his finger. "These aren't... human bones, are they?"
"You have quite an imagination." Morris leaned back in his chair and said rather helplessly, "It's a model of a dog's skeleton."
It was a reasonable excuse, since the bones really did look like a model.
"Did you find it somewhere? Oh, never mind that!" Scott excitedly waved the five-pound note in his hand. "Look! This is the real find. I found it under a rubbish bin."
He smugly smoothed the note out on the table-such a large sum was not something they saw often.
"Very nice, but I wouldn't recommend rummaging through rubbish bins," Morris replied offhandedly, busy trying to fit two bone fragments together.
"I wasn't rummaging through rubbish bins!" Scott curled his lip. "Whatever... are you going to put this model together?"
"Mm." Morris focused all his attention on what he was doing with his hands.
"I'll help!" Scott enthusiastically rolled up his sleeves.
Before Morris could respond, he had already grabbed several bone fragments and begun trying to fit them together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Oh well, let him.
Morris sighed.
Children were naturally fond of playing.
About two and a half hours later.
Morris rubbed his sore eyes and stretched. "That should more or less do it."
The bone fragments on the table had been assembled into a fairly complete whole.
"Yes, perfect."
Although quite a few unused bone parts still lay scattered across the table, Morris nodded in satisfaction all the same.
"Hey, isn't this supposed to be a dog model?" Scott tilted his head, studying the skeleton on the table in confusion. "Dogs are supposed to walk on all fours, aren't they? Why is this thing standing up? And... why is one of his arms longer than the other? Wait, why is its tail growing out of the front?"
"Don't worry about those details."
Morris sighed and pushed the entire skeleton over with his hand.
Sure enough, trying to assemble the skeleton of a completely unfamiliar magical creature without a diagram really was asking a bit much.
Scott watched the model turn back into a pile of broken bones and smacked his lips regretfully. "It took so much work to put it together."
"It's all right."
Morris replied and began tinkering with it again.
"You carry on playing. I'm going to bed." Scott gave an enormous yawn and stretched as he rose from the table. "I have to get up early tomorrow."
He kicked off his shoes and lazily climbed back into his bed.
The next day, Morris tried using the Undead Creature Transformation Magic Circle to transform the pile of broken bones directly.
Unfortunately, he failed.
The bones showed absolutely no sign of coming to life.