Chapter 59: Buying

The last week of the holiday went by so fast. Wade felt that he had only read a few books, but time had already slipped away.

Professor Murray left him a small matchbox, which contained a small piece of curled, blue-black thin film, like a dried caterpillar or a wing membrane torn from a bat's wing.

Because he could not use a magic wand, Wade only observed its appearance with a magnifying glass, and did not use more destructive monitoring methods. He could only study it carefully after he arrived at school.

As he said, Marchionne really made "The Book of Friends" go on sale as scheduled. Wade also received an invitation letter for the release date of Aslan's magic workshop, and the owl sent him samples - there were two sets of each style, and it was noted that he could keep one set and give the other set to others.

Compared with joining in the excitement of the "first day of release", Wade preferred to read books at home. However, Fiona saw the advertisement of the Book of Friends in the Daily Prophet and wanted to go there with great interest, so the father and son accompanied her.

The family drove to Charing Cross Road in Westminster, parked the car nearby, and then walked to the Leaky Cauldron. It had just snowed recently, and the ground was wet and slippery. Fiona held Ferdinand's arm tightly, and her feet were still slipping when she walked.

"I really want to fly to the Leaky Cauldron - drink some butter beer - no, fire whiskey -" Fiona muttered as she walked tremblingly.

"It's almost there." Ferdinand comforted her. In fact, they had already seen the sign of the Leaky Cauldron.

As squibs, the Gray couple did not accept them as students in the magic school, but the wizarding world did not completely close the door to them. Ferdinand and Fiona both have magic in their bodies. Although they cannot use it, it also makes them different from Muggles.

For example, they can see the Leaky Cauldron, which does not exist in the eyes of Muggles, and potions can also have normal effects on them.

If they were pure Muggles, some potions that were common to wizards would turn into deadly poisons when they drank them, such as the bone spirit; some injuries that were not worth mentioning to wizards would be irreparable and serious injuries to Muggles.

When Wade was in Hogwarts, the Greys would sometimes wander around Diagon Alley. Although they did not have wands, they could enter Diagon Alley as long as they followed other wizards when they opened the entrance, and others would generally not say anything.

At this time, Wade felt that his parents were like returning home after entering Diagon Alley. Naturally, they first drank a beer at the Leaky Cauldron (I don’t know when Fiona no longer disliked the hygiene here), and then followed the winding path to the entrance, all looking at Wade.

Wade took out his wand and knocked on a brick on the wall. The familiar archway immediately appeared, and there was a huge poster in front of him——

[The Book of Friends, a landmark symbol! ]

[You haven’t bought a Book of Friends for your child yet? Merlin, what should he do at school? 】

【Top quality, excellent but not expensive, irreplaceable enjoyment in the new era! 】

【With me by your side, the world is different - communicate anytime, anywhere, the friend book changes your world and mine! 】

"Oh my god -" Fiona couldn't help but exclaimed.

Colorful posters can be seen in almost every corner of the sight, and various slogans are rolling and appearing, urging people to buy immediately. Diagon Alley is crowded with people, parents of children everywhere, and even many foreign wizards.

They don't need to go to Marchionne's shop anymore, because along the streets of Diagon Alley, there is a sales point every ten meters. The clerk shouted loudly: "Limit one book per person! Limit one book! Hey, sir, you took too much!"

"Don't worry! We will produce more products soon! Don't worry, if you are willing to wait for two days, you can sit in the store and choose slowly! Various styles!"

But no one listened to him. People kept pushing forward, holding Galleons in their hands and shouting loudly--

"Give me three books! I have three children!"

"Don't squeeze in the back! Who stepped on my shoes?!"

"I want the red one, give me the red one!"

A cry suddenly came from the crowd, and the crowded crowd dispersed with a bang. The two wizards rolled on the ground and fought. Screams and shouts were mixed together, and soon they were pulled apart by the people next to them.

Fiona swallowed her saliva: "We-why don't we just look here--"

"--a wise choice."

Ferdinand bought ice cream, and the three of them sat at a small table outside the store, watching the daunting rush to buy over there.

The boss Fusco, wearing a vest, brought ice cream to the table and said with a smile: "Are you here to buy the Book of Friends for your children too?"

"Um - yes -" Ferdinand said vaguely.

"Then you better go buy it early." Fusco adjusted his bow tie and said: "I have inside information. The Book of Friends made by Aslan Magic Workshop overtime is only this batch. After the purchase, their staff will have to take a few days off before they can continue to work. So if you miss this one, you will have to wait at least a week to buy it."

Wade looked up at him - no wonder the shouting of the clerks to maintain order was useless. With these Diagon Alley bosses promoting "inside information" to create anxiety, of course everyone will worry that they can't buy it.

"What is your inside information -" Ferdinand asked cautiously.

"Oh, the daughter of a neighbor of my distant aunt works in Aslan's magic workshop and is responsible for the production of the Book of Friends, so my information is absolutely true and reliable!" Fusco said proudly.

"Oh--" Ferdinand nodded doubtfully.

Wade: ...

Could this "inside information" be released by Marchionne's employees? In order to stimulate consumption, rumors were deliberately spread. On the one hand, the official propaganda was "we have a lot of inventory", and on the other hand, people revealed the inside information "inventory is tight". Of course, people would choose to believe the latter.

"Wait a week--it's nothing, right? Wasn't it good to have only owls before?" Fiona asked curiously.

"How is this the same?" Boss Fusco looked at Wade and said, "Think about your son - Madam - when he gets to school, his classmates are talking about and exchanging friend books, but he has nothing. Won't he be isolated? At least he will feel inferior, right? Think about that scene - as a parent, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable?"

Fiona followed his words and imagined it - the students in the school were playing in groups, chatting in the friend book, laughing and joking with each other, and her Wade could only stand alone in the corner, watching pitifully - Fiona's heart suddenly became sad, and she nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes! Of course! It's too pitiful, it can't be like this!"

"Right, everyone thinks so - at least let the child bring a friend book to school, so that he won't be out of tune with other children - so is there anyone who can resist not buying it?"

"Can't resist, then I will definitely buy it!" Fiona said very flatteringly.

Fusco sighed and left, still sighing about the love of parents for their children. Fiona was looking at the people rushing to buy things, and suddenly she stood up. Ferdinand grabbed her arm again. Wade looked at her in surprise.

"Ferdinand--"

"Wade already has a friend's book, remember?" Ferdinand said helplessly: "He has a lot of friends' books, and he can exchange with everyone he meets. He is not a poor guy."

--He is even the inventor of the friend's book. What kind of things does he want?

Fiona blinked and suddenly realized: "Oh--yes!"

Wade: ...

So, you are really encouraged, not secretly promoting for me, right?