The Bouncing Jokes Magic Joke Shop is a store dedicated to selling prank props and knick-knacks, similar to Zonkos Joke Shop in Hogsmeade.
Wayne bought two of each item—one for himself and the other for research. Although he only bought two of each, the sheer volume had the shop assistants grinning from ear to ear.
Which young master from a pureblood family is out shopping? Spending dozens of galleons on prank items means he could easily take a hefty amount back with him.
After the frenzied shopping spree, Wayne sat under the umbrella at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, enjoying an ice cream cone.
At the same time, scores began to appear in his mind.
[Successfully prevented a wizard from entering Diagon Alley, Score +5]
[Successfully interfered with a wizard trying to enter Diagon Alley, Score +1]
[Successfully prevented a wizard from entering Diagon Alley, Score +5]
[...]
Wayne smiled.
Although the score increments were small, they added up nicely. In such a short time, his score had already reached eighty.
The system scores could be used for a lottery, with each entry costing one hundred points. The quality of the prizes ranged from white, blue, purple, to gold, with at least one gold prize guaranteed for every hundred entries.
In the years since gaining the system, Wayne had only received a gold reward once—fifteen percent of shares in Microsoft, non-dilutable.
He wondered if that guarantee remained intact.
He had entered the lottery over one hundred thirty times; with just another seventy entries, he could earn another gold reward.
"System, give me an update."
[Beep! The card-drawing mechanism is not affected by upgrades. The host is guaranteed to get a gold reward within sixty-four draws.]
"That's more like it."
Wayne happily finished the last bite of his ice cream. Seeing his score had jumped to one hundred, he casually entered the lottery.
To his surprise, he drew a purple reward.
The chance of drawing purple was only ten percent, so this was quite a stroke of luck.
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the talent: Magical Creature Affinity!]
Hmm?
Wayne raised an eyebrow.
This seemed... promising.
Magical creatures were a crucial part of the wizarding world, and if utilized well, even the Dark Lord could face challenges.
Right? What do you think, Old Granger?
After paying the bill, Wayne headed straight to the Magical Creature Shop on the south side of Diagon Alley, eager to test out his new talent.
Meanwhile, at the Leaky Cauldron…
"Who on earth did this?!"
Old Tom stood in front of the brick wall, shouting to the heavens, with several angry wizards behind him.
"Unbelievably cheeky!"
"Exactly! I searched high and low for that brick!"
"Stop talking; I found the right spot, but I didn't dare confirm if it was the one. What if I got it wrong and summoned the enforcers? I'd get fined!"
With the brand-new wall and a row of identical trash bins, the wizards were fuming.
This was just low!
Old Tom, red-faced, began moving the duplicate trash bins, leaving just the original one.
Looking at the wall, his anger eased a little.
To be fair, the repaired wall looked much nicer than the previous shabby one.
Using his wand to turn the original brick red, Old Tom decided to leave the rest as it was. "Who could have done this?"
"Who else but those mischievous little wizards!"
"Did anyone see who came in earlier?"
The wizards began to chatter, trying to find the culprit, while Old Tom fell into deep thought.
An image of Wayne flashed in his mind.
This little wizard had only been gone for a short while when the problems started, making him the prime suspect.
But Tom quickly dismissed the thought.
The reasoning was quite simple. Any wizard accompanied by Professor McGonagall had to be from a Muggle family and had never interacted with magic before.
In just a few days, how could he have learned such intricate repair and duplication spells?
Tom had inspected the trash bins himself; they could last at least a month.
No way; absolutely not.
Wayne seemed quite well-behaved—certainly not the type to cause mischief.
Suddenly, someone blurted out, "I saw the Weasley twins come in while I was having a drink earlier."
The room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into excitement.
"Exactly! It must have been them! Last time they moved the trash bins to the other side, and I ended up poking the wrong brick like an idiot!"
"Such little troublemakers! Molly and Arthur must discipline them better!"
As the group debated, they collectively blamed the unsuspecting twins who were completely oblivious to the chaos.
Even Old Tom believed it; he had indeed seen the twins earlier.
Though it was quite some time ago, not many wizards had come through for a while after them.
Maybe those wizards remembered the location without needing to use the trash bins for navigation?
The more Old Tom thought about it, the angrier he became. He rushed to the counter, grabbed a stack of parchment, and began writing a letter.
He was going to complain to Molly!
By the time the twins snuck out to play for the day and returned home via the fireplace in Diagon Alley, they would be greeted by their mother's loving yet stern lecture.
The two looked bewildered, and once they grasped the situation, they felt utterly wronged.
They hadn't done any pranking today; they simply went out for a stroll, checking if there were any new items at the prank shop.
It wasn't them!
Unfortunately, given the twins' track record, Molly didn't believe them; each received a lecture with a side of stir-fried bamboo shoots and pork, earning them a timeout in their rooms.
The twins exchanged glances, furious at the injustice of the situation.
They were always the ones pulling pranks on others; how had someone pranked them today?
But that was all for later.
At this moment, the real culprit, Mr. Wayne Lawrence, had already arrived at the Magical Creature Shop, basking in the adoration of the little creatures.
As soon as he stepped in, he immediately attracted the attention of all the magical creatures. A few owls that had been dozing flew over and began to squabble over who could perch on his shoulder.
The usually indifferent cat-things approached gracefully, narrowing their eyes as they rubbed against Wayne's pant legs.
Wayne reached out and picked up a short-haired cat, eager to play.
The shop assistants were left speechless.
This cat was the most aloof in the store; customers often found it cute and wanted to buy it.
But this cat would hardly even acknowledge them, forcing them to give up in frustration.
Yet today, it was actively engaging with Wayne, rolling over and exposing its belly in bliss.
The staff stared at Wayne.
This was no ordinary young wizard; he was simply a charming lad who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere!
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