Chapter 505: Dream Story: Revised Edition

The last time Lijhen Bookstore had such a big event was before Lockhart’s arrest.

Harry leaned on the railing, peering curiously.

Amid the crowd surging toward the bookstore, he spotted a wizard walking quietly against the flow.

“Wizard Sean!”

Harry cried out in delight.

The young wizard in the crowd looked up and saw Harry, Jia Jia Siting, and others waving excitedly at him.

He threaded through the throng and arrived near Florish and Blotts Ice Cream Shop.

“Good morning.”

Wizard Sean said.

“We’ve been waiting for you so long!”

Hermione glared at him.

“Sorry, I was searching for external wisdom on the Bright Light Charm—the pronunciation and gestures took me some time...”

Before Wizard Sean could finish, Jia Jia Siting interrupted him.

“Oh, Wizard Sean, let’s talk about this another time.”

Jia Jia Siting smiled brightly.

“Yeah, please don’t make me think I’m still in school—”

Ron chimed in.

“We’ve bought all the books, right? Anything missing?”

Jia Jia Siting looked around and asked.

“Of course, but what’s with all those ‘Monstrous Book of Monsters’?

We said we wanted two, and the clerk nearly cried.”

Ron pointed to a large bag under his chair.

“What are those, Hermione?”

Harry asked curiously, pointing to three bulging bags on the chair beside her.

“Oh, I took more new classes than you did, didn’t I?”

Hermione said,

“These are all my textbooks—Astronomy and Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies—”

“Why are you taking Muggle Studies?”

Ron said, rolling his eyes at Harry,

“You’re a Muggle-born. Your parents are Muggles—you already know everything about Muggles!”

“If you have questions about this, ask Wizard Sean and Jia Jia Siting—they both signed up too.”

Hermione snapped.

“Hmm... knowledge is never too much.”

Wizard Sean replied naturally.

“Same here.”

Jia Jia Siting smiled.

“Exactly, and studying them from a wizard’s perspective will surely be fascinating.”

Hermione said enthusiastically.

“Same here.”

Jia Jia Siting echoed again.

“Alright, Jia Jia Siting, even if Wizard Sean and the others took Divination, you’d join them too, wouldn’t you?”

Ron winked mischievously,

“Wizard Sean, are you taking Divination? Oh, you are... great, me too!”

No sooner had he spoken than Harry burst out laughing, and even Neville was stifling giggles.

“Ron... you’re right, studying isn’t always fun—but with friends, fun naturally appears.”

Jia Jia Siting said without annoyance, smiling,

“My mother told me, with friends, even the roughest path becomes the best.”

Ron fell silent, thinking deeply:

“You’re right—I feel the same!”

Everyone laughed and chattered; Wizard Sean watched quietly from the side, slowly smiling.

After a while, as the crowd at Lijhen Bookstore still buzzed, Harry gazed at the towering pile of books and asked:

“Are you even going to eat or sleep this year, Hermione?”

Ron smirked beside him; Hermione ignored them, turning instead to the packed Lijhen Bookstore, seemingly puzzled by why such a surge had occurred after ten o’clock.

“Shall we go in?”

Hermione asked hesitantly; though she addressed everyone, her eyes fixed squarely on Wizard Sean.

“Let’s go.”

Jia Jia Siting looked eager—he found joy in anything as long as he was with friends.

“Mm.”

Wizard Sean silently wondered what Newt would write in the book, then gazed at Lijhen Bookstore as its brass bell rang.

The six young wizards naturally merged into the crowd.

The crowd was filled with all kinds of wizards, all excitedly chatting with one another.

As they walked, they noticed giant banners every ten meters along the path to Lijhen Bookstore, each emblazoned with thrilling phrases.

【Dream or Nightmare: Do Spirits Exist in a Wizard’s Dreams?】

【God or Magic: What You Missed While Asleep!】

【If You Don’t Know the Lord of Dreams Who Controls Fortune, You’re Doomed!】

“Whoa!”

Wizard Sean heard Ron mutter as he stared at the banners.

He observed silently—the closer they got to the bookstore, the more banners appeared.

At the entrance, however, the pattern broke: only one massive banner stood:

【Thank You to the First Buyer of ‘Dreams and Gods’: The Honorable Dumbledore】

“Headmaster Dumbledore—”

Wizard Sean heard Hermione gasp.

He stared at the four large characters—Dumbledore—and thought the Headmaster seemed more relaxed than he’d imagined.

And Lijhen Bookstore? It was practically about to add “Dumbledore was here.”

“I’m going to buy—”

Hermione pushed fiercely forward.

Wizard Sean saw this and thought: perhaps this was celebrity effect?

Soon, Hermione’s voice and figure were swallowed by the enthusiastic wizards.

“Two copies for me!”

“I want ten!”

“Collector’s edition, sir—I want the collector’s edition!”

A weary-looking male wizard stood at the entrance, blocking the jostling crowd, saying:

“Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet... don’t push... watch the books...”

Wizard Sean followed the crowd; the winding line stretched from the entrance all the way to the back of the bookstore. As he picked up a copy of ‘Dreams and Gods’ and began reading, he unexpectedly spotted a familiar back.

“Good heavens—it’s Professor Newt Scamander—”

It was Hermione speaking.

Wizard Sean looked up: the Hufflepuff senior was shyly signing books, offering each buyer a sincere smile.

Perched on his shoulders were three Nifflers, all lazily basking in the sunlight, their fur edged with gold.

A tall witch in a purple coat wandered back and forth, snapping photos with a large black camera.

Each time the flash blazed, the camera spat out puffs of purple smoke.

Wizard Sean suddenly realized he’d underestimated how seriously the Hufflepuff senior took this book.

He began to feel curious: how did a wizard so learned and powerful view the Threshold and dreams?

Wizard Sean knew perfectly well that the Lucky Black Cat was nonsense—he knew it better than anyone.

But the Threshold was real, a magical realm scarcely explored.

His knowledge of it came mostly from ‘The Dream Story’—now perhaps he could add the Hufflepuff senior’s book.

He studied the book in his hands intently.

At the center of the cover was a black cat, lounging atop a cloud of mist, watching the wizard outside with a mischievous gaze.

And that black cat—Hermione and Jia Jia Siting had seen it before.

They now looked simultaneously at the young wizard reading intently, their eyes filled with unmistakable bewilderment.