Queen of Mystery? Ⅱ

The shopkeeper points out the two novels to the two married women. He thoughtfully points out another novel on the shelf. "I would suggest that the ladies browse for a bit for there are plenty of excellent novellas including North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell." The two married witches eagerly begin to browse the bookshelves abandoning their husbands to their own devices without any guilt.

Seeing the two gentlemen looking rather bored, the shopkeeper says, "Might I interest the gentlemen in mystery or two?" The two wizards look a lot more interested as the shopkeeper continues, "I would recommend Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but I myself, prefer the Queen of Mystery, Agatha Christie, especially her detective novel series of Hercule Poirot. The portrayed crimes and mysteries are intriguing with a gripping plot until the very end."

"Show us, both," Mr. Vane said in a loud dramatic fashion with Mr. McLaggen nodding his head arrogantly in agreement.

"Right this way, gentlemen," the shopkeeper happily said and led the two gentlemen to the mystery section. Needless to say, the two wizards became fascinated by the elegant, suave Belgium detective, Hercule Poirot. Mind you, Sherlock Holmes was not bad, but Sherlock Holmes lacked a certain je ne sais quoi that Hercule Poirot possessed.

The two couples happily browsed the shelves for over an hour, before realizing the late hour. The shopkeeper had hopefully retreated into the bookshelves to stack books giving the customers plenty of space and time to browse to their heart's delight. By the time, he returned he found the two couples patiently waiting for him without having selected any books.

A bitter sense of disappointment fills his soul, but he attempts to appear cheerful. "Ladies and gentlemen, were the recommendation's not to your satisfaction?" He courteously asked.

"On the contrary, they were most excellent," Mr. McLaggen haughtily said. "I and Mr. Vain would like to an order the entire novels of Agatha Christie that involve detective Hercule Poirot."

The shop owner almost chokes on his own spit. "All of them?" He incredulously gasped.

"Yes, the entire series," Mr. McLaggen replied with a bit of a frown at having to repeat himself.

"Right away, sir's," the shopkeeper said, before quickly remembering the ladies. Without speaking, he glanced at them with questions in his eyes.

Mrs. Vane arches her brow at the balding shopkeeper, "You will need a quill, sir."

The shopkeeper hastily grabs a scrap of paper and pen and begins to write the long list of novels. With his hand nearly cramped, he says, "Er, I welcome for the Vane and McLaggen families to sit and wait while I pack the novels."

"Of course," Mrs. McLaggen said before the two couples sat down each with a book to intently read.

The balding shopkeeper was in a stupor and did not understand how he managed to pack the entire set of books. With care, he packed several boxes, before placing them neatly before them. Mrs. Vane motions to her husband and says, "Pay the shopkeeper, dear," with Mrs. McLaggen giving her husband similar looks.

"How much will it be, shopkeeper?" Mr. Vane asked as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out rolled-up wads of money causing the shopkeeper to almost choke again in shock.

"Just a moment," the shopkeeper began to say, before Mr. Vane and Mr. McLaggen each placed three very thick rolls of money causing the shopkeeper to feel the urge to pinch himself to verify it was not a dream.

"Will this be sufficient, shopkeeper?" Mr. McLaggen asked with an arched brow.

"That will more than suffice," the shopkeeper weakly replied as the two wizards nodded their heads in approval.

The shopkeeper was two stunned over the rolls of money that he failed to notice the wands that emerged from the two women hand's that shrunk the boxes right in front of him for their husbands to pocket. In fact, an entire troop of elephants could suddenly have appeared on the street and the balding shopkeeper would have still been too stunned to notice the encounter.

"Good day, shopkeeper," the two couples said as they made their way to the door.

"Wait, your change," the balding shopkeeper feebly called out.

"It is merely change, there is no need to quibble," Mr. Vane replied over his shoulder causing the book shop owner to choke again, before returning to gaze at the rolls of money. "We shall see ourselves out shopkeeper."

The stunned shopkeeper merely nods his head and watches the two couples depart from his book shop. The tinkling of the bell at the door ceases to ring leaving the bookstore empty once more. Uncertain as if he is dreaming, he pats his face roughly, before pinching his cheeks. He winces, but he is certain that he is not dreaming.

The balding shopkeeper's eyes return to the wads of money on the counter. With trembling hands, the shopkeeper carefully unrolls the rolls of pounds. He does not even commence to count them but rather checks them to ensure that they are not counterfeits!

The shopkeeper carefully inspects every single pound but finds no sign of counterfeits. Letting out a soft sigh, he licks his sudden dry lips. He now needed to count the pounds.

The balding shopkeeper's hands tremble as he counts the pounds one by one. The more he counts the more his eyes fill with awe and shock. The total sum was not hundreds of pounds but rather thousands! It was roughly five to six months of sales during his best months! He numbly puts the money away and slumps down to the floor. He didn't know if it was a dream or not, but he was grateful to the method actor's generosity. Wait, were they really method actors? Actors usually couldn't throw around that type of money! The shopkeeper was left to his deliberations for the rest of the afternoon.

The poor balding bookstore owner did not know what his actions had done that day. The Vane and McLaggen couple in the following days spread the word to their friends and associates. As it turns out, a great deal of witches and wizards were interested in reading such dramatic plot novels. It was the dawn of Agatha Christie in the wizarding world and she quickly became a household staple.

As a result, Flourish and Blotts swiftly took the initiative and paid a visit to the small bookstore via a squib associate. A Gringotts contract was made for the balding bookshop owner to provide a large selection of books each month to Flourish and Blotts. The very next day, Flourish and Blotts cleared out the blading bookshop owners' bookshelves before the Christmas rush.

The bookstore owner was over the moon not knowing that he had indirectly impacted the very fabric of wizarding society. Not only were pureblood interested in muggle literature but were subtly learning more about muggles. In this manner, muggles became less and less different to them and became far more relatable to them. It is often, the smallest of things that have the largest of impacts.