Hogwarts Raven (Harry Potter)

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His face showed a trace of remorse.

Harry Potter didn't quite know how to respond to that, but the Granger couple immediately became a little alarmed. It was as if they had just heard solid evidence that the wizarding world was extremely dangerous.

"Do wizards not go to jail for murder?" Mrs. Granger looked at Ian, horrified.

"Of course they do," Ian replied calmly. He first glanced at Harry Potter, then at the blond-haired boy Lirim, who had returned to reading, before leading the two adults and Hermione out of the wand shop.

"I'll explain everything in detail later," he added in a low voice.

Discussing Voldemort or his crimes in front of a victim's relative was clearly inappropriate, so Ian deliberately kept his voice down.

He did have some interest in the remnant soul inside Harry's scar, but since they'd have plenty of time to interact in the future, he wasn't in a rush to study Harry Potter's head just yet.

"Are you all getting ready to leave?"

Old Ollivander suddenly turned around again at that moment. He had probably noticed the Grangers' well-stocked wallet earlier, and now opened his mouth with new enthusiasm for product promotion.

"Just because you've bought a wand doesn't mean it doesn't need maintenance. A wand is a delicate and valuable item, so you might want to consider a wand maintenance kit."

"The latest technology, the latest product, it'll keep your wand forever young and always in top shape. Originally priced at five Galleons, but now during the back-to-school season, you only need to pay three Galleons!"

Honestly, there was a reason Ian always remembered Ollivander's wand shop.

His salesmanship was far ahead of its time.

It had very muggle-like flair.

"Uhh…"

Mr. Granger was still hesitating when,

"What? A new maintenance set? And it's on sale too? I want one! Get me a set!"

Hagrid jumped up from the bench at once, his voice full of excitement.

He truly had no shortage of money.

But this kind of behavior,

"..."

Left not just Ian speechless, but even the Granger couple, who still knew very little about the wizarding world, felt that something wasn't quite right.

"He must still be keeping his wand." Hermione muttered very softly to Ian.

Honestly, Hagrid really had no sense of subtlety or secrecy. Even a child could see through the "secret" he thought he was hiding so well.

"Alright then!" Naturally, old Ollivander was the best at playing dumb. He didn't ask anything more, just cheerfully fetched a big pile of maintenance kits and began recommending and upselling them to Hagrid.

What is the very first thing a child wants to buy upon entering the wizarding world?

For Harry Potter, it was probably a wand.

For Tom Riddle, a powerful wand.

But for Hermione Granger, it was books on magic.

However, since it was Ian who guided her, she ended up buying a wand first. But when Ian brought her to Flourish and Blotts Bookseller, this little witch was even more excited than she had been in the wand shop.

Flourish and Blotts was the largest bookstore in Diagon Alley. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of Ian's properties, so he didn't get a landlord's discount. The enormous shop was filled with all kinds of books.

Of course, aside from the annual rush to buy textbooks and a few useless bestsellers, most of the books here hadn't sold even once in decades.

Especially the ones way in the back of the store. According to the elderly shopkeeper, even when her mother took over the shop, those books had already been gathering dust on the back shelves.

Indeed, Ian, hoping to find some hidden treasure, flipped through a few. Most were outdated history books that hadn't been updated in years. They had no magical power, and the events recorded were long past.

In contrast, the Daily Prophet, with its current events, was the kind of "history" most wizards preferred to read.

"This one! And this one! And that one!" Hermione was practically ready to take the whole bookstore home with her. Naturally, the Granger couple, knowing their daughter's personality all too well, began sorting through and filtering her selections.

"I need to buy some textbooks for this year too." Ian stood in front of the first shelf, holding the book list for Second Year. Besides the most basic Standard Spells, Grade 2, there were quite a few new textbooks added this year.

"A History of Magic: The Middle Ages Edition"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts: In-Depth Analysis"

"Fundamentals of Potions and Brewing: Advanced Volume"

"Where Are Magical Creatures? New Discoveries"

"A History of Magic: The Middle Ages Edition" (again)

…

These were all the newly added required textbooks for the year. Besides those, Ian felt like he'd been hit with a plot charm, because "Professor Lockhart" had also added several required readings that Ian considered completely pointless:

"The Magical Me of Dumbledore"

"Travels with Dumbledore"

…

A total of six or seven titles Ian had never even heard of, each written by "Professor Lockhart" over the past year. It was hard to imagine these could actually be considered educational materials.

After a round of shopping, Ian purchased everything on the list. And when he turned to check on Hermione, this knowledge-hungry little witch had already picked out more than sixty books unrelated to the standard curriculum.

The Granger couple didn't stop her. After all, in competitive elite education, extra reading was expected. And they didn't have any financial burden, since they could exchange Muggle money for wizarding currency through young wizards like Ian.

"'Notable Magical Advances Over the Past Ten Centuries' and 'Geniuses of the 19th Century' are both worth buying, especially Geniuses, which just received a recent update this year,"

"It's even added my name to the list. That's the kind of book Hogwarts should be assigning," Ian said, recommending a few titles to Hermione.

The thing was, you couldn't find truly advanced magical texts in a store like this. What was available were only the more basic learning materials. The deeper, more obscure knowledge was either locked away in the major wizarding houses… or hidden in Knockturn Alley.

"I also recommend you get a copy of Hogwarts: A History. Not for its accuracy, but because it feels right… Hey! Put that useless book down!" Ian had wanted to gently nudge Hermione back onto the classic path. But when he saw that Hermione showed no interest in Hogwarts: A History, and had instead picked up a book titled:

"The Weakness of Human Nature: The Secrets of Prince"

--he cracked.

He admitted it.

His mental composure snapped a little.

"But this one's also written by Gilderoy Lockhart," Hermione said with confusion, looking at the book Ian had just snatched out of her hands. "Isn't it a book about you?"

She wasn't just twisting the knife, she was stabbing it in and twisting hard.

"…"

Ian was utterly exasperated.

"It's full of slander, persecution, and… utter nonsense!"

Ian forcefully shoved The Weakness of Human Nature: The Secrets of Prince back onto the shelf, and stuffed Hogwarts: A History into Hermione's arms.

"This is the kind of book a proper student should be reading." Ian emphasized this very seriously.

Hermione stood there, confused, holding the book that had been shoved into her hands.

Even as her parents finished checking out, she still couldn't figure out why Ian had reacted so strongly. But as the saying goes: "The more you're denied something, the more you desire it."

That brief moment sparked an intense curiosity in Hermione toward The Secrets of Prince.

The street outside was full of people, packed with young wizards shopping in Diagon Alley.

Ian spotted a few familiar faces.

All of whom quickly turned away to avoid him.

There was no need to guess, they were obviously from a certain House. Amid all the shouting vendors selling toys and magical figurines, Ian led Hermione and the Grangers toward a shop for purchasing potion ingredients.

Hermione's eyes lit up once again, and she began joyfully browsing and selecting items.

Her parents stayed close at her side, worried that she might run into danger, even in this shop.

They had a point.

After all, she'd almost gotten her head bitten off by a book in the bookstore, the Grangers still couldn't comprehend how a book with sharper teeth than a crocodile could be legally sold in a bookstore.

"Good morning, ma'am," Ian greeted the counter.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" The freckled girl at the potions shop's front desk gave Ian a warm and genuine smile.

She always offered just a little better service to handsome young wizards.

(To Be Continued…)