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Chapter 29: Secondhand Books Are Hidden Vaults
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
After making some small talk, Xenophilius quickly left with his child.
At another time and place, he might have been able to pull William aside for a long chat—but not now.
No father wishes to look pathetic in front of his daughter, to say nothing of being grabbed by the collar and nearly getting into a fight on the street. The incident had just happened, and he wasn't very familiar with William. What if his daughter found out?
As the father in a single-parent family, he would never allow his dignified image to crumble before his daughter.
William, for his part, was wondering how to shake off this head paparazzo. The two were of one mind, parting with the kind of brisk, mutual relief rarely seen outside of a disastrous blind date.
Madam Malkin seemed to have noticed something, but the clever lady didn't ask a single question and simply began to take William's measurements.
Before long, all the measurements were taken. Since William wasn't in a hurry, he opted for the custom-made version that would be ready in a few days. After all, there wasn't much of a price difference. Although Madam Malkin claimed her clothes were hand-sewn, the actual work was done by magical equipment working around the clock without pay.
Considering that Old Tom would likely track him down and nag him for a long time if he went back, William gave up on returning to the pub and instead headed towards a well-known secondhand bookstore in the area.
He wasn't short on money for the time being, especially with the extra income he'd received today. However, Flourish and Blotts was simply too proper. Never mind books on Dark Magic; even the books the prisoners in his cell had mentioned were sold secretively and not to new customers. It was far too difficult to hope to find any useful books there.
After passing through the most prime street and rounding a few corners, he found several dilapidated shops—the secondhand shops.
Secondhand books, secondhand clothes, secondhand cauldrons, secondhand broomsticks—you could find anything you could possibly imagine here, with the exception of a "shared girlfriend," which the Ministry of Magic did not permit, at least not openly.
These shops weren't very specialized; their businesses tended to overlap a bit, but the owners themselves got along quite well.
William walked straight to the one with the most old books. While he didn't rule out the possibility of finding some magical item in these stores, with his level of expertise, he figured such a lucky break was just wishful thinking.
"Welcome."
A hoarse voice emanated from a copper box. The owner, who had been dozing in a rocking chair, struggled to sit up, looking at William with a sleepy expression.
"Good afternoon—" He covered his mouth with his hand and yawned.
"Have a look around. Novels and stories are seventy percent off, history books are sixty percent off, and old textbooks and magic books are fifty percent off. The especially old ones can be sixty percent off."
The owner pointed to the books inside, gave a rough price list, then lay back down on his chair and closed his eyes again.
"Can I take a look at the unsorted books?"
"Sure. That pile in the back. But if you want to buy any, it's four Galleons a book, whether it's priced or not."
"Alright. You can rest then, sir."
William carefully navigated around the books piled on the floor in front of the bookshelf and headed straight for the back. It was only because he had been taking notes in his books these past few days that he'd even thought of a secondhand bookstore; otherwise, the owner of Flourish and Blotts wouldn't have gotten a single Knut from him.
Though it wasn't like he had paid for those, either.
With secondhand books, a little bit of searching could turn up a new book that had barely been used. If you were lucky enough to find one from someone who loved to take notes in the margins, it felt even more like digging up treasure.
But William had no intention of doing that kind of gold-digging today. Instead, he wanted to find some books that were... not so legal.
Compared to searching for a top student's notes, the books that ended up in the shop due to various accidents were far more exciting.
This was especially true during the period of great chaos in the Wizarding World over a decade ago. In their panic, people trying to protect themselves printed and released many books that should never have seen the light of day in times of peace. For example, William had previously seen a book that was essentially a militia manual; it was hard to imagine such a book being permitted for mass publication and distribution during peacetime.
Finding those books now wasn't very feasible, though, as too much time had passed. William was just hoping to find something that had been overlooked.
After casting a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, William simply used a pile of sorted-out, worthless books as a stool. With his wand in one hand to clear away dust and a book in the other, he began his earnest search.
The shop owner clearly hadn't organized his stockroom in a while. Although the books were protected by magic from rats and insects, they were covered in a thick layer of dust. William guessed that after picking out the newly acquired textbooks, the owner had just left the rest of the purchase here.
After all, you couldn't use magic to sort these books, which made it truly tiring work. Looking at the piles, William would have believed it if someone told him there was ten-year-old stock hidden in there.
Thinking of this, William gave up on the pile in front of him and instead started searching for the oldest books by judging the thickness of the accumulated dust.
But apparently, he wasn't the only clever person in the Wizarding World—one of the dustiest stacks actually contained a book published two years ago.
After a good while, William finally managed to locate a pile of books that seemed to have much older publication dates. He settled down, not even bothering to brush the dust off his clothes, and began rummaging through them while squatting.
"An old picture book—the photos have all yellowed."
"The great Dark Lord, Grindelwald? This book must be ancient. Times have changed; there's a new Dark Lord now."
"Ancient and Enchanting Architecture? This one's a bit interesting—"
William flipped through it briefly. It contained a lot of information about ancient magical mechanisms, which he figured might be helpful later, so he set it aside.
"The Uses of Magical Creatures? Uses? Not 'How to Eat' them?"
Protected by the Bubble-Head Charm, William ignored the dust kicked up by the pages, flipped through a few, and tossed the book aside. How did this trashy book ever get approved for publishing?
He noted it had no price and no preface. It was probably a private book from some fallen pure-blood family that had found its way here.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
This was an old edition. William flipped through it and found no notes, but he did discover that nearly half of the countermeasures mentioned had since been classified as Dark Magic in modern times. It would be a good way to expand his knowledge, so he gritted his teeth and added it to the pile he would take.
"My First Half of Life? An adventure journal?"
William found that the book was filled with illustrations. The beginning was normal enough, but the stories in the latter half became increasingly outrageous. Considering it cost four Galleons, he simply put the book aside.
...
Rummaging and searching, time passed much faster than William had imagined. This was especially true for the books he couldn't afford to take with him; he couldn't bear to put them down right away and would end up flipping through a few more pages.
He picked and chose, giving up a few more books after considering his budget. By the time he emerged from the back, clutching several books, the sky had already started to dim.
(end of chapter)
2022-07-14 Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
After making some small talk, Xenophilius quickly left with his child.
At another time and place, he might have been able to pull William aside for a long chat—but not now.
No father wishes to look pathetic in front of his daughter, to say nothing of being grabbed by the collar and nearly getting into a fight on the street. The incident had just happened, and he wasn't very familiar with William. What if his daughter found out?
As the father in a single-parent family, he would never allow his dignified image to crumble before his daughter.
William, for his part, was wondering how to shake off this head paparazzo. The two were of one mind, parting with the kind of brisk, mutual relief rarely seen outside of a disastrous blind date.
Madam Malkin seemed to have noticed something, but the clever lady didn't ask a single question and simply began to take William's measurements.
Before long, all the measurements were taken. Since William wasn't in a hurry, he opted for the custom-made version that would be ready in a few days. After all, there wasn't much of a price difference. Although Madam Malkin claimed her clothes were hand-sewn, the actual work was done by magical equipment working around the clock without pay.
Considering that Old Tom would likely track him down and nag him for a long time if he went back, William gave up on returning to the pub and instead headed towards a well-known secondhand bookstore in the area.
He wasn't short on money for the time being, especially with the extra income he'd received today. However, Flourish and Blotts was simply too proper. Never mind books on Dark Magic; even the books the prisoners in his cell had mentioned were sold secretively and not to new customers. It was far too difficult to hope to find any useful books there.
After passing through the most prime street and rounding a few corners, he found several dilapidated shops—the secondhand shops.
Secondhand books, secondhand clothes, secondhand cauldrons, secondhand broomsticks—you could find anything you could possibly imagine here, with the exception of a "shared girlfriend," which the Ministry of Magic did not permit, at least not openly.
These shops weren't very specialized; their businesses tended to overlap a bit, but the owners themselves got along quite well.
William walked straight to the one with the most old books. While he didn't rule out the possibility of finding some magical item in these stores, with his level of expertise, he figured such a lucky break was just wishful thinking.
"Welcome."
A hoarse voice emanated from a copper box. The owner, who had been dozing in a rocking chair, struggled to sit up, looking at William with a sleepy expression.
"Good afternoon—" He covered his mouth with his hand and yawned.
"Have a look around. Novels and stories are seventy percent off, history books are sixty percent off, and old textbooks and magic books are fifty percent off. The especially old ones can be sixty percent off."
The owner pointed to the books inside, gave a rough price list, then lay back down on his chair and closed his eyes again.
"Can I take a look at the unsorted books?"
"Sure. That pile in the back. But if you want to buy any, it's four Galleons a book, whether it's priced or not."
"Alright. You can rest then, sir."
William carefully navigated around the books piled on the floor in front of the bookshelf and headed straight for the back. It was only because he had been taking notes in his books these past few days that he'd even thought of a secondhand bookstore; otherwise, the owner of Flourish and Blotts wouldn't have gotten a single Knut from him.
Though it wasn't like he had paid for those, either.
With secondhand books, a little bit of searching could turn up a new book that had barely been used. If you were lucky enough to find one from someone who loved to take notes in the margins, it felt even more like digging up treasure.
But William had no intention of doing that kind of gold-digging today. Instead, he wanted to find some books that were... not so legal.
Compared to searching for a top student's notes, the books that ended up in the shop due to various accidents were far more exciting.
This was especially true during the period of great chaos in the Wizarding World over a decade ago. In their panic, people trying to protect themselves printed and released many books that should never have seen the light of day in times of peace. For example, William had previously seen a book that was essentially a militia manual; it was hard to imagine such a book being permitted for mass publication and distribution during peacetime.
Finding those books now wasn't very feasible, though, as too much time had passed. William was just hoping to find something that had been overlooked.
After casting a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, William simply used a pile of sorted-out, worthless books as a stool. With his wand in one hand to clear away dust and a book in the other, he began his earnest search.
The shop owner clearly hadn't organized his stockroom in a while. Although the books were protected by magic from rats and insects, they were covered in a thick layer of dust. William guessed that after picking out the newly acquired textbooks, the owner had just left the rest of the purchase here.
After all, you couldn't use magic to sort these books, which made it truly tiring work. Looking at the piles, William would have believed it if someone told him there was ten-year-old stock hidden in there.
Thinking of this, William gave up on the pile in front of him and instead started searching for the oldest books by judging the thickness of the accumulated dust.
But apparently, he wasn't the only clever person in the Wizarding World—one of the dustiest stacks actually contained a book published two years ago.
After a good while, William finally managed to locate a pile of books that seemed to have much older publication dates. He settled down, not even bothering to brush the dust off his clothes, and began rummaging through them while squatting.
"An old picture book—the photos have all yellowed."
"The great Dark Lord, Grindelwald? This book must be ancient. Times have changed; there's a new Dark Lord now."
"Ancient and Enchanting Architecture? This one's a bit interesting—"
William flipped through it briefly. It contained a lot of information about ancient magical mechanisms, which he figured might be helpful later, so he set it aside.
"The Uses of Magical Creatures? Uses? Not 'How to Eat' them?"
Protected by the Bubble-Head Charm, William ignored the dust kicked up by the pages, flipped through a few, and tossed the book aside. How did this trashy book ever get approved for publishing?
He noted it had no price and no preface. It was probably a private book from some fallen pure-blood family that had found its way here.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
This was an old edition. William flipped through it and found no notes, but he did discover that nearly half of the countermeasures mentioned had since been classified as Dark Magic in modern times. It would be a good way to expand his knowledge, so he gritted his teeth and added it to the pile he would take.
"My First Half of Life? An adventure journal?"
William found that the book was filled with illustrations. The beginning was normal enough, but the stories in the latter half became increasingly outrageous. Considering it cost four Galleons, he simply put the book aside.
...
Rummaging and searching, time passed much faster than William had imagined. This was especially true for the books he couldn't afford to take with him; he couldn't bear to put them down right away and would end up flipping through a few more pages.
He picked and chose, giving up a few more books after considering his budget. By the time he emerged from the back, clutching several books, the sky had already started to dim.
(end of chapter)
