Chapter 73: Flourish and Blotts Bookseller

The three of them walked along the way, often stopping, and soon arrived near Flourish and Blotts Bookseller.

Maybe because school was about to start, the shop was very busy today, but when Arthur looked closely, he saw that most of the people there were witches.

From young witches attending Arthur's school to old witches in their seventies and eighties, they all had excited expressions as they gazed at the bookstore.

"Today is a signing event by Gilderoy Lockhart!" Hermione said with a hint of disgust as she looked at the display hanging on the bookstore's second floor.

During Christmas, Arthur had given her a set of Gilderoy Lockhart's books and told her about how Gilderoy got those stories.

Being a young witch, Hermione naturally chose to believe Arthur, which led to her strong dislike for Gilderoy.

But since she had no evidence, she couldn't do much about it.

Otherwise, with her strong sense of justice, Hermione would have written a letter to the Ministry of Magic to report Gilderoy.

"Hermione, don't you like Gilderoy Lockhart? My mom is a loyal fan of his," Cho, who was standing beside them, curiously asked Hermione.

Hermione then explained everything to Cho, who trusted her without hesitation and instantly lost any impression of Gilderoy.

At that moment, Arthur suddenly spotted the Weasley twins. He walked up to them and greeted them.

"George, Fred!"

Hearing someone calling their names, the twins turned their heads and saw their good friend and boss, Arthur, which made them smile.

Approaching the three of them, Fred and George made some playful gestures and gave thumbs up to Arthur.

"Are you here to buy Gilderoy Lockhart's books too?" Arthur ignored their usual and went straight to the point.

"No, our mom is in line. George and I are helping Ginny buy her school supplies," George replied.

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this time seems to have gone mad. He's demanding that we purchase Lockhart's complete set of books."

Fred also sounded in with his complaints.

With four boys from their family attending Hogwarts, plus Ginny who just started this year, buying so many books impacted their finances.

After all, Gilderoy Lockhart's books were not cheap.

At that moment, a middle-aged man with a girl walked over. When seeing them, the twins immediately called out,

"Dad!"

Arthur knew that it was Mr. Weasley.

The twins introduced everyone to each other, and Mr. Weasley was very happy.

"Arthur, George, and Fred always mention you at home, saying you should come over as a guest."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley. I went to France for some things, so I didn't have time to visit."

Mr. Weasley waved his hand and said it was fine.

It was clear that he was a kind person.

During their conversation, Arthur suddenly remembered the question from earlier.

"George, Fred, I don't think you need to buy so many Gilderoy Lockhart books."

Everyone looked at him curiously, their faces filled with confusion.

"In fact, you only need to buy two sets of his books. After all, he can't teach different grades at the same time. You just need the books to be in the hands of those who are about to attend his class."

After hearing this, the Weasley family immediately understood.

Yes! As long as the twins had two books during class, they could lend them to others when needed.

Mr. Weasley, who had understood, immediately rushed into the bookstore to find his wife.

He prayed that Molly hadn't bought the Gilderoy Lockhart books yet.

Ginny, who was left behind, looked at Arthur gratefully. With this, she should be able to get a new school uniform.

Arthur also observed Ginny for a moment. She was a cute little girl, but her freckles and red hair weren't Arthur's type, so he didn't pay much attention to her.

Since Cho hadn't bought the Gilderoy Lockhart books yet, the group entered the bookstore to buy a set.

However, as they entered, they heard an argument.

They approached to find Mr. Weasley and a man with silver-blonde hair facing off, with Draco Malfoy standing next to the man.

Fred pointed out the identity of the man, Lucius Malfoy, and mentioned that his father had recently led a search of Lucius's house.

The argument got worse into a physical fight.

Mr. Weasley couldn't bear Lucius Malfoy's rude comments and threw a cauldron before throwing a straight punch.

Lucius Malfoy was caught off guard, staggered back, and knocked over a bookshelf, causing several books to fall on their heads.

However, they paid no attention and continued fighting on the ground.

George and Fred cheered and rooted for their dad. Arthur watched with great interest.

'Are all wizards good at close combat?'

"Fuck him, Hit him! Mr. Weasley, hit him!" Arthur couldn't help but shout, offering his own suggestion.

Hermione and Cho quickly distanced themselves, trying to make it clear that they didn't know the person.

When hearing someone calling him, Mr. Weasley instinctively followed the suggestion and landed a punch.

"Ah!"

Lucius Malfoy screamed in pain, his face turning red as he covered his lower area.

His body curled up like a shrimp.

Luckily, Hagrid appeared out of nowhere, carrying one in each hand, and separated the two.

In the end, Lucius Malfoy painfully got up, trembling hands picking up the things Mr. Weasley had dropped.

He mocked them a few times before leaving.

However, what surprised Arthur was that he didn't see Lucius Malfoy make any small moves, nor did he see the diary.

This made Arthur a little more suspicious.

He couldn't only rely on the plot to figure out things next semester.

News of the incident quickly reached Gilderoy Lockhart. With Lockhart's attention-seeking and noisy personality, he would surely come over.

Arthur, Hermione, and Cho didn't stay.

They said goodbye to the Weasley family and went on their way.

...

During the last two days of summer vacation, Arthur had dinner at Cho and Hermione's homes separately, and they agreed to go to the train station together.

Alia had planned on sending Arthur out that day, but she was stopped.

It wasn't that he looked down on Alia, but he was afraid of attracting attention from certain individuals.

Alia's recent expansion caught the attention of some families who were curious about where she got so many high-quality potions.

After meeting up with Hermione and Cho, the three of them walked into Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and boarded the train.

Seeing the familiar hustle and loud old-fashioned train, Arthur's mood became much happier.

...

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