Chapter 253: Honor Bestowed

The Fairy Tale Shop has earned its reputation.

This is beyond doubt.

Almost every witch or wizard who entered the shop was enthusiastically discussing it—its opening was silent, yet it immediately began selling rare artifacts capable of reshaping the entire Wizarding World.

What made the most lasting impression was that they simply couldn’t get any.

What you cannot have is always what you long for.

“Invitation-only system… Starting next month, seventy invitations will be issued monthly; only guests with an invitation may enter the shop during that month…”

A male wizard stepped out of the Fairy Tale Shop—this establishment was far more complex than they had imagined—they operated on an invitation system!

He looked outside, where a crowd of reporters had blocked the entrance—the shop had been enchanted with powerful magic, preventing any reporter without permission from entering.

Even so, none of the reporters dared to publish reckless reports.

With just a little insight, they could see that the person who entered was the head of the Chocolate Frog Committee’s Information Gathering Division—what did that mean?

The last wizard this director interviewed was Dumbledore.

You could imagine that someone of comparable stature to Dumbledore was inside this shop.

And not just comparable in ability—someone who might rival Headmaster Dumbledore in power, but not necessarily in character.

In the uncertainty of whether Grindelwald was inside, no one dared to act rashly.

As soon as Xiang Xiang Xien stepped out of the Fairy Tale Shop, he was surrounded by the Weasley twins.

“Great Green, have you uncovered anything?”

Fred, wearing a tall hat, asked eagerly.

“We saw you go in—what does this rival shop even sell?”

George seemed to have just finished working at the Prank Shop; he wanted to enter but found the Fairy Tale Shop closed.

This confused him—it was still afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly.

“Rival… shop?”

Xiang Xiang Xien held a stack of books—all by Professor Quirrell on ancient magical runes.

He couldn’t understand the twins’ thinking, since the customer bases of the two shops were entirely different—how could they be called rivals?

“Of course! Rival—shop!”

Fred was utterly certain.

Although he didn’t know why Professor Quirrell and the Weasley twins despised each other, Xiang Xiang Xien still explained:

“The Fairy Tale Shop sells cookies that can transform into magical creatures.”

This news would spread quickly—and it was one Xiang Xiang Xien had no intention of hiding.

“Merlin’s beard—”

Fred cried out.

“We’re going bankrupt.”

George cried out too.

Xiang Xiang Xien, still not quite understanding, walked away—he needed to pack and prepare to leave the Burrow.

Tomorrow, Professor McGonagall would come to pick him up.

…

The fireplace flame flickered out, and Xiang Xiang Xien appeared in the small room piled high with books.

Before leaving, he still needed to see the flying car. Fred and George had promised to explain it to him, but they’d been too busy these past two days, so they’d postponed it until this final day.

“Wait for me!”

Ron ran out of his room—his room was on the sixth floor of the Burrow, just below the attic. Everything here glowed in a dazzling orange-yellow, and the walls were plastered with posters of the Chudley Cannons.

Fred and George kept their promise and returned very early.

Together, they studied the flying car until late into the night.

Life at the Burrow was always noisy yet cozy, with wizards freely using their magic to make their lives simpler and more efficient.

Xiang Xiang Xien had spent a pleasant time here, and more importantly, he had finished his summer homework.

The next morning.

A sliver of sky leaked through the thick curtains of the room—cool and clear like diluted blue ink, the hue between night and dawn. Everything was silent.

In the stillness, the clinking of dishes from the Burrow’s dining room was the first sound to break the quiet.

Xiang Xiang Xien and Ron went downstairs for breakfast and found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already seated at the table.

Ginny was a shy little witch whose demeanor was nearly identical to the McGonagalls.

Only she was more reserved, always quietly standing in the garden watching Xiang Xiang Xien direct the gnomes in line to eat the roots of plants from other places.

She listened to him speak of “sustainable development” and “not draining the pond to catch the fish,” and though she didn’t understand, she was deeply impressed.

Sometimes, when Xiang Xiang Xien practiced Transfiguration in the back garden of the Burrow, a head would appear at the window, staring without blinking.

As the two came downstairs, Ginny accidentally knocked over her bowl of porridge, making a loud clatter.

But no one paid attention—everyone was distracted.

Mrs. Weasley wasn’t humming today, and the twins were wailing and clinging to Xiang Xiang Xien’s legs, refusing to let him go.

Percy couldn’t bear to look—he sat on the last remaining chair, but immediately jumped up, pulling a dusty gray feather duster from beneath his buttocks—he thought it was a duster, until he realized it was breathing.

“Errol!”

Ron shouted in shock.

He took the sickly-looking owl from Percy’s hands and pulled out several newspapers from beneath its wings.

The headline of “The Daily Prophet’s Ten Years of Major Influence” read in bold letters:

“Chocolate Frog Cards Receive Major Update.”

“Updated?!”

Ron was thrilled.

The largest photo in the Daily Prophet was a Chocolate Frog card.

Surprisingly, the portrait on the card showed only a back view—under the single beam of light on the pitch-black card, the silhouette appeared profound and captivating.

Even more surprisingly—the figure was far too young; no matter how you looked, it clearly belonged to an underage wizard.

“Let me see—”

Everyone at the table received a copy of the newspaper, and gasps erupted one after another.

“Hermes, renowned as triple-great, is recognized by the Chocolate Frog Card Committee as the top candidate for the greatest wizard of the twenty-first century.

His honors include:

Gold Medal for Groundbreaking Contribution at the Udal International Alchemy Assembly, Special Guest of the Century for Transfiguration (uninterviewed), and Alchemical Legend who seized the authority over magical creatures.

The Chocolate Frog Card Committee’s evaluation: It won’t take long before the dormant Alchemy World becomes a thing of the past. We celebrate the arrival of a genius worthy of standing beside Nicolas Flamel (this evaluation has been acknowledged by Nicolas Flamel himself).”

“Is that old woman right?”

Ron pulled out last week’s Daily Prophet—the greasy, cloying praise from Rita Skeeter was unmistakable.

The phrase “related to Hogwarts” triggered a wild guess in Ron’s mind.

He looked at Xiang Xiang Xien’s back as he rose from the table—couldn’t be similar—it was an exact match.

“It’s you, isn’t it, Xiang Xiang Xien?”

His face flushed crimson, but he finally asked.

Xiang Xiang Xien fell silent for a moment.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone!”

Ron suddenly remembered something and quickly added.

Deer guarantees five updates or more in early month.

Please, dear readers, cast some monthly votes in early month.

Deer bows his head to you. (Deer’s antlers touch the ground, thump-thump-thump)