The day before school started, the festive atmosphere of the Christmas season had yet to dissipate, and Diagon Alley looked completely silvery throughout.
This year's Diagon Alley looked much different from the past, the vast majority of stores had Christmas lights hung in front of them - a friendly gift from the 'Future World' company, and during this period of time, as soon as the evening arrived, even before the last rays of sunshine disappeared from the sky - these magic lights had lit up, illuminating a small open space in front of the stores.
Eric and Clammy stepped out of the vertical castle, wearing a single set of normal summer clothing, without being affected by the cold, bitter wind.
Clammy adjusted the dial of the thermostatic locket and stuffed it into her pocket, looking at the wizards of both genders on the street contentedly, she said rather emotionally, "It's not even six months, but Diagon Alley has changed a lot."
Eric empathetically replied, "Indeed ... remember the book signing event at the Flourish and Blotts Bookshop on New Year's Eve? Rita Skeeter purchased two magic gramophones and kept the projection of the Weird Sisters group afloat in front of the bookshop until the event was over. It was like watching a live show ..."
Clammy blinked, remembering the scene again. That reporter had had the audacity to include members of the ancient Black family in the book, but what is even more overblown is that she also mentioned the Dark Lord.
Some descriptions in the book make her blush a little when she thought of it now:
'... That devil-like man possessed a transcendent charm that is not limited to either of the genders, a charm that even the descendants of ancient and pure-blooded families could hardly resist, as they have willingly swooned at his feet and kissed them reverently. Even if there is just a hint of hope - to be able to dine with this cold dark lord, or to be able to secure the gift of kissing the back of his hand - they fought to obtain it. The young man in our story was also willing to go through hell ...
The young pure-blooded descendant will never forget that night when the dark lord summoned his loyal servant personally. The Dark Lord's slender fingertips brushed his cheek as if they were hot charcoal, murmuring a gentle whisper that could not be refused: "My faithful one, I need you ... need you to do a thing for me ..."
Although she did not directly mention their names in the book, but anyone with a few brain cells and general knowledge can guess who the two main characters in the story are based on.
"What's wrong with you?" Eric asked her as he looked at the abruptly blushing Clammy, curiously sizing her up.
"N-no... it's nothing," Clammy blushed and stammered.
...
On a busy street in the heart of London, two strange men stood in front of a very well-decorated store.
The store stood next door to a stationery store, and the owner of the stationery store looked at the two strangers, not half suspecting their antics, as she herself found the store that opened next to hers rather odd -
She had lived in London for decades, but she had just heard the name of the company 'Future World' for the first time a few months ago.
'How strange, why would a jewellery store be named like that?' The owner wondered cynically, 'Isn't the retro style trending now, is it a new trend from Paris?'
There is another unreasonable thing. The signboard of this store, in the lower right corner, read - 'Shop No. 7' in gold-stamped letters, which seemed absurd, and even though the clerk there said that other branches of the store were located abroad, she still remained unconvinced.
She thought while blatantly sizing up the two men at the entrance through the glass window, one looked very young yet had a serene expression and seemed to be a very well-read rich teenager? The middle-aged man next to him seemed to have a story written all over his face, and if she could, she would gladly invite him to have a small glass of brandy, to listen to some heartbreaking story ...
At that moment, Felix and Lupin did not even realize that they had become the object of judgment, as an impromptu exchange between them came to an end -
"She's scared to death now, she just finished her book signing, and suddenly the next day the Ministry of Magic published a wanted notice for Barty Crouch Jr., Despite Fudge's hard work in not acknowledging Voldemort's existence, just the words 'Vicious hardcore follower of the dark lord, ' is enough to keep her from sleeping! -- and Sirius had tried to stop her at the start, but she did not believe his words."
Felix grimaced, he had flipped through Rita Skeeter's new book, after that had he left with a feeling of being tainted, and now he felt that she deserved a few more days of fear.
So he said to Lupin, "Don't bother with her for now."
Lupin gave him a precise look of puzzlement, " Are you going to make her wait close to two months? She certainly would become crazy." That's the time when the second task of the tournament will begin and when the gates of Hogwarts will be opened for spectators and journalists.
Felix smiled playfully: "Don't forget that our journalist friends have a special skill."
Lupin's heart suddenly shuddered as he asked, "Animagus?"
Felix nodded slightly.
Rita Skeeter used to be an illegal Animagus, the reason why the word 'used to' is used because she had closed the hole and registered at the Ministry of Magic, but she was also exposed because of that and became rather a notorious figure.
According to a reliable source, the beetle dispelling potion was sold out of stock during that time.
"You want her to work for you?" Lupin asked in a hushed voice, as his heart squirmed deeply, although he did not like to deal with someone like Rita Skeeter who talked hogwash as easily as drinking and breathing, but he could not bring himself to watch her step into the death door.
Felix glanced at Lupin, seeing through his thoughts without much effort. After all, Sirius had mentioned that he and James were attracted to Lupin because of his inner kindness - no one would refuse to have a friend like that.
Felix reminded, "You seem to be caught in some sort of moral dilemma, but the truth is, we don't have to do anything."
"Yeah," Lupin whispered with a sigh, "it's because we didn't do anything ..."
They walked into this most unusual store number seven, the interior of which is a long aisle with delicate glass counters on the left and right rows, in which wide array of exquisitely shaped gold and silver ornaments, with all kinds of jewellery and gems placed in red, black, and purple velvet cushion.
From the customers to the clerks are all ordinary people.
A young female clerk spotted Felix and Lupin, and her big eyes flickered twice over the former before she spotted Lupin. Lupin nodded at her, and they walked straight through the long aisle toward the back, where there stood a small, unassuming door.
A customer inquired the store clerk, "Is this a George IV-era Cigar case?"
"Ma'am, it's just a replica, you can see our logo on it." The clerk said with a pleasant smile, probably trying to impress the boss, as her tone became extraordinarily patient and gentle.
"Each of our silver wares strictly complies with the sterling silver hallmark system, in addition to that, we also have a handbook for our customers to check the silver content, origin, date, etc., as well as the certification of the official identification agency ..."
Felix and Lupin pushed open the small door, the interior is a narrow cubicle, in which a workbench occupied a third of the space, and some common crafting tools were laid out on the workbench.
"Will we be using these?" Felix asked, holding up a pair of tweezers, he didn't really understand how they use this, anyway, he could use magic to shape metals easily, especially since he could cheat with his thinking room magic.
"Occasionally it is used, some guests will request some minor adjustments." Lupin said, "In order to facilitate secrecy, we also acquire silver wares from normal channels, and have a special staff in charge of this matter." He smiled and said, "In fact, this store is no different from other gold and silver jewellery stores in the way they operate, except for the occasional few goblin-made pieces."
"Felix, I must remind you that the number of employees in the company is already over one hundred and twenty."
Felix looked into Lupin's eyes and considered for a second, "That's exactly what I expected, as you would have realized recently, that only after reaching a certain threshold, it is possible to divide a clear division of labour, and gather collective wisdom to form a large-scale impact. Moreover, with more people, we can concentrate more effort on one thing to produce results quickly. Like the research on the projection screen this time."
Felix smiled, "I like this feeling, watching them go from unfamiliar to familiar with each other, through some simple tasks to get through the bonding phase, only then, when we really have a big task, we won't be overwhelmed."
Lupin showed a helpless expression, "Don't let the people in the company hear these words, they don't think they are completing a 'simple' task."
"Oh, I was wrong," Felix said perfunctorily, "it is very difficult task."
When they emerged from Shop No. 07, the sky darkened as Felix and Lupin parted. Felix was satisfied with everything so far, especially since his book of runes is nearly finished, which put him in a very good mood.
He took a rare stroll through the streets of London, which were crowded with people walking in a hurry, and before he knew it, he veered into an out-of-the-way street, where a figure wobbled in the dim light.
That is a dark-haired man, with a stump-like figure, sunken cheeks and eye sockets, with messy hair.
'A homeless man? A crackhead?'
Felix moved away a little, not expecting the man to walk towards him head-on. A strong sense of absurdity welled up in Felix's heart, 'It can't be that I've met a mugger.' This thought made him choose against leaving, as he remained where he was, curiously sizing up the other party.
The man is so thin and frail that he seems like he would be blown over by a gust of wind. He reached into his pocket with one hand, so Felix inclined his head and put on a humanoid shield charm on himself, "Do you need me to call a doctor for you?" He asked him slowly.
"I do need some 'medicine'." The man said as he licked his yellowing teeth.
He pulled out a folded flyer and handed it to Felix with an odd smile on his face. He then left to find his next target.
Felix looked at the contents on the flyer and for a moment he found it baffling -
'Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in mystery? There are uncharted territories in this world, a world that is very different from science. If you feel like you are often dizzy, giddy, and waking up not knowing where you are (this paragraph is highlighted) ... friend, you are probably destined to be part of this hidden world.
Feel free to join us, we will provide attentive guidance and fulfil your wish - for example, you desperately need to turn your bad luck around and desperately want to see your true perspective - or you are suffering from an incurable disease and feel that your life is hopeless ... '
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