Chapter 100: Gilderoy Lockhart and Happy Fatty Water

The work in the shop was unexpectedly quiet; wizards' demand for wands is stable and limited, so normally not many customers ever visit.

Mr. Ollivander often locked himself in the micro-carving room and the assembly room without coming out, and Allen never found a chance to help him.

Allen lived like a shut-in, spending his whole day studying the few spellbooks he brought or researching the ancient runes he had recorded.

Allen's only daily exercise was strolling in Diagon Alley in the evening, and the place he must visit every day was Gringotts; he didn't know why he wanted to wander around Gringotts so much every day. Eventually, even the Gringotts guards recognized him, though the Gringotts guards didn't think this strange little wizard posed any threat.

In the end, Allen could only conclude that when one wields a sharp weapon, the urge to kill arises.

When retrieving the Philosopher's Stone, he had already discovered a new usage for the Unlocking Charm; let alone the fact that he was an Extreme-Cast Wizard who had refined the Unlocking Charm to its utmost, with the charm's power being double that of others. Theoretically, there should be no door in the world he couldn't open.

Yet someone with such supreme skills was so destitute...

Allen gazed dreamily at Gringotts' towering white building and bronze doors. If he could sneak into Gringotts, it would be like a rat falling into a rice jar—pfft! No, it would be a dragon returning to the great sea, a tiger entering the mountain forest.

But thinking about his current strength, he decided this matter still needed to be planned carefully for the long term...

During this period, he also wrote many letters to his friends. Hermione and Ron both wrote back to him, but Harry had given no reply at all.

This made him unable to help but think in the worst direction.

However, Ron later wrote to explain the situation. It turned out that Harry's uncle had cut off Harry's connection to the Wizarding World, and Harry had now been taken to Ron's house. At the same time, Ron also invited Allen to visit his home when he had time.

Only then did Allen feel relieved.

One day, Allen sat listlessly behind the counter reading a book as usual, drinking tasteless plain water. Recent life had made him somewhat lazy. Touching his slightly distended belly from drinking so much water, he suddenly noticed some extra flesh seemed to have appeared there. He quickly ran to the mirror in the washroom to check and found that his facial lines had indeed become rounder...

Allen sighed inwardly, not expecting to become a shut-in fatty in this life just like in his previous life!

But Allen quickly pulled himself together, returned to his post, and continued sipping his plain water.

Suddenly, an idea jumped into his mind: as a shut-in fatty, he was still missing a bottle of Happy Fatty Water!

Once this thought emerged, it seized his heart. He immediately realized he could buy Happy Fatty Water in the Muggle World, but he instantly realized he had no money to buy Happy Fatty Water. His pockets held only some Knuts, which were worth more than a bottle of cola by value, but buying Happy Fatty Water required pounds. Gringotts would not accept such a small exchange business.

Yet the urge to drink Happy Fatty Water was something he simply couldn't suppress. After all, he hadn't had any in over two years. This urge made his brain active, and he suddenly remembered he still had two bottom-of-the-box unicorn horns in his trunk. According to Hagrid, unicorn horns were very precious magical materials that could sell for many Jin Jin Jialong...

Allen's mind instantly became lively. He quickly found the horns and dashed off to the place in Diagon Alley where magical materials were bought and sold.

As the largest wholesale and retail hub in the British Wizarding World, Diagon Alley also had a highly developed trade in magical materials. After asking several shops, Allen finally sold them at fifteen Jin Jin Jialong per horn...

Thirty Jin Jin Jialong thus entered Allen's pocket. He instantly felt his back straighten up.

This was the first time Allen had truly touched Jin Jin Jialong; previously, touching them had only happened in dreams.

On the way back, Allen felt as if he were treading on clouds. Hearing the Jin Jin Jialong jingling in his pocket, Allen felt very fulfilled, and even his steps became a bit lighter...

After returning to the shop, Allen used velvet cloth to polish every single Jin Jin Jialong until they shone brightly, then arranged these little cuties on the table, watching them shimmer with a charming glow...

Allen decided to exchange one Jin Jin Jialong for pounds later. Of course, he wouldn't exchange it at Gringotts. A few days ago, while strolling at Gringotts, he had encountered some wizards trading exchange rates. At their place, one Jin Jin Jialong exchanged for twice as many pounds as at Gringotts...

After exchanging, he would go to central London after work to buy Happy Fatty Water! Allen made this decision in his heart.

At that moment, an owl flew in quickly and tossed a letter to him.

Allen took the letter with a puzzled expression. The envelope was yellow parchment, instructing him to take the Hogwarts Express to Hogwarts on September 1st.

The letter also listed the new books required for the year.

Second-year students must read:

"Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2" by Miranda Goshawk;

"Break with a Banshee" by Gilderoy Lockhart;

"Gadding with Ghouls" by Gilderoy Lockhart;

"Holidays with Hags" by Gilderoy Lockhart;

"Travels with Trolls" by Gilderoy Lockhart;

"Voyages with Vampires" by Gilderoy Lockhart;

"Wanderings with Werewolves" by Gilderoy Lockhart;

"Year with the Yeti" by Gilderoy Lockhart.

Allen thought he was hallucinating. He read the new year's book list carefully again and found it was still the same...

And in Allen's memory, the old books he received last year did not include any written by Gilderoy Lockhart.

It seemed he could only buy new books. However, Allen was very clear about the prices of spellbooks. His thirty Jin Jin Jialong were more than enough to buy these books, and his Happy Fatty Water plan would not change.

Allen felt very confident in his heart; indeed, money is a man's courage!

Just as Allen was sighing, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the shop window.

Looking up, he saw a furry head. It was Hermione smiling at him outside the window. Behind her followed Harry and Ron, though Harry looked rather ragged...

Allen happily opened the door and welcomed his friends inside.

"Why have you come to Diagon Alley?" Allen said cheerfully.

Ron waved the parchment envelope in his hand and said, "Today we received the list of items needed for this year's classes, so we are preparing to go out and shop..."

"Do you want to come with us?" Hermione picked up Ron's words and asked.

Touching the large handful of Jin Jin Jialong in his pocket, Allen suddenly felt Hermione's suggestion was quite good, so he told Mr. Ollivander.

Mr. Ollivander was very happy upon hearing this. He smiled kindly: "You accompany me, an old man, in this shop every day. Having friends come to see you is a very good thing. Go and enjoy your time with your friends!"

So Allen went out shopping together with Harry and the other two. Their first destination was Flourish and Blotts!