#143 - Looking Glass

Is this the secret meeting place of the Order of the Phoenix back then? This thought popped into Anduin's head, sparking his curiosity about the place.

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

"It's nothing, I'm just a little curious how such a dilapidated store hasn't closed down yet." Anduin snapped back to reality, perfunctorily said to Vivian, then turned to leave.

"Ha, don't underestimate this place just because it looks run-down. This store has been around for hundreds of years. History even records that the Hog's Head Inn was once the headquarters of the Goblin Rebellion," Vivian said, feeling very knowledgeable about history.

However, before she could finish showing off, she realized that Anduin had completely ignored her and had already walked away, making her stomp her feet in anger.

Anduin withdrew his curiosity and turned into a nearby shop called Dervish and Banges, which specializes in various magical equipment and tools. He even saw an alchemy carving knife on a shelf, but judging by the layer of dust on it, no one seemed interested.

The store's most popular items were Quidditch-related equipment. At this time, a group of young wizards were drooling over the Nimbus 1500 and Cleansweep Six broomsticks on display. Vivian and Velen, who had followed Anduin in, were also attracted by the flying broomsticks.

However, Anduin wasn't interested in this. He only glanced at the price tags of the brooms when he entered, then turned to look at other products. With that money, wouldn't it be better to buy another rune plate?

He kept picking up magical items from the shelves, examining them carefully before putting them down. Many of them had runes directly engraved on them using the Ming engraving method. Anduin gained a lot of inspiration from these props, but many other props used dark engraved runes. Unless he took out the damage-free hammer and knocked a few times, there was no way to study the rune content on them. But he didn't dare to do that. Just looking and not buying was already making the boss hate him. If he took a hammer and smashed everything, he wouldn't want to enter the store again in the future.

"It seems that I have to make an alchemy item that can penetrate materials to observe the charms, otherwise how will I steal knowledge in the future," Anduin muttered.

After touching all the goods on the shelves, he bought a Sneakoscope. This was mainly because the boss was already looking at him very unkindly, so he had to buy something. Secondly, he was very interested in this kind of warning prop and planned to buy it back for research.

"My father told me in a letter that if I can successfully be selected for the Quidditch team next year, he will give me a Nimbus 1500."

Anduin, who had bought his things, came to Vivian's side and happened to hear her conversation with Velen.

"Why buy the Nimbus series? Aren't the Cleansweep series brooms easier to handle? The Cleansweep Six is a good choice in terms of both speed and stability," Velen discussed with Vivian.

"What do you know? The Nimbus series brooms are so flexible! They can make 360-degree turns anywhere in the air, and the top speed is faster than the Cleansweep Six," Vivian retorted to Velen, obviously having paid attention to flying brooms for a long time.

"You're a girl, what do you need such a sensitive broom for? You need to know that in the air, if you don't control it well, you can even be thrown out. What's more, there will be a lot of interference around you when playing Quidditch.

And the Quidditch pitch is so big, you don't need to push to top speed most of the time, and only the seeker position needs this kind of fast and flexible broom. What are you, a beater, doing riding this kind of broom?" Velen, as a seeker himself, used the Nimbus series broom, so he shared his experience very rationally.

"I don't care, I just want it. Look how handsome this broom is. The Cleansweep Six looks dull and not cool at all," Vivian said, turning her head away.

That's the real reason you're buying it, and being cool can only prove that your wind resistance coefficient is high. If you want to be cool, it would be more exciting to hold an umbrella while riding a broom.

Anduin played with the Sneakoscope in his hand, listening to the discussion between the two, and couldn't help but slander in his heart.

At this moment, the spinning top-shaped Sneakoscope in Anduin's hand suddenly reacted, constantly spinning and emitting light, which made his heart tighten. He quickly raised his head and looked around.

When his eyes swept across the window, he happened to see a figure staring at him outside the store with malicious eyes.

The figure outside the window saw Anduin looking at him and quickly flashed to the side.

"Travers? Does that guy hate me so much that even the Sneakoscope is reacting?" Although it was only for a moment, Anduin still recognized who the figure was.

After thinking for a while, Anduin raised his eyebrows, and a thought suddenly occurred to him, so he turned to Velen and Vivian and told them that he had something to go out for a while, and would meet at the Three Broomsticks later.

Hearing Anduin's words, the two did not notice anything unusual and were still enthusiastically discussing the topic of flying brooms.

After putting away the Sneakoscope, Anduin walked out of the shop and could still see Travers's figure in the distance. He nodded thoughtfully, found a deserted corner, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and manipulated his magic to make himself float, following Travers's direction.

At this time, Rosier, carrying a bag of candy, walked out of Honeydukes Sweetshop and happened to see Travers looking unnatural.

"What's wrong? Didn't you say you were going to Dervish and Banges to buy the latest windproof goggles? Why are you back so soon?" Rosier asked curiously, seeing that he was not holding anything in his hand.

"Don't mention it. I ran into that Mudblood in Dervish and Banges, how unlucky!" Travers said resentfully, panting heavily.

When Rosier heard him say the word Mudblood, he knew who he was referring to. Since Christmas, Travers had been avoiding Anduin. Although he was very honest when paying protection fees, he never held back his words. Every day, Rosier could see him cursing Anduin with malice. If voodoo dolls were popular in the British wizarding world, Anduin's voodoo doll would only have needles on it.

Rosier sighed when he heard the words: "It's good to avoid him, don't provoke him if you're okay, otherwise you'll only suffer."

Rosier was originally just trying to comfort Travers, but the effect was somewhat counterproductive.

"Hmph, I'm not convinced. Why can that dirty Mudblood be so nonchalant, but we are avoiding him? Have you forgotten how he humiliated us?" Travers roared at Rosier, his emotions agitated.

Why are you yelling so loudly?