Chapter 319: The Monster Book of Monsters

Compared to the ever-changing Muggle cities, the wizarding world always seemed to evolve at a much slower pace.

In recent years, apart from Aslan Magic Workshop introducing new products and trends annually, most of Diagon Alley remained unchanged—almost as if the shops were NPCs in a game, refreshing at fixed intervals.

As a result, Wade and the group followed the same routine as always—getting new robes tailored at Madam Malkin's, restocking potion ingredients at the apothecary, and buying books at Flourish and Blotts.

In the bookstore's display window, a large iron cage held hundreds of The Monster Book of Monsters. Inside, the books viciously bit and clawed at each other, looking more like a swarm of feisty crabs than reading material.

—Books brawling in a cage—who has ever seen such a thing?

Scraps of paper flew everywhere, and raspy growls echoed through the store. But the passing witches and wizards, seemingly unfazed, walked by without so much as a second glance.

Even though Wade and Harry both already had copies gifted by Hagrid, they still stopped to watch.

At that moment, a student approached the counter with a book list. The store manager, wearing thick gloves and wielding a gnarled wooden staff, smacked at the books as if fending off a pack of rabid dogs.

Seizing the moment when the books recoiled, the manager swiftly snatched the nearest one.

Just as he withdrew his hand, another book suddenly leaped up without warning. Its pages spread wide and revealed sharp, jagged teeth—it lunged straight for the manager's arm!

"Watch out!"

Harry shouted instinctively and flicked his wand. A bolt of red light shot out, blasting the attacking book backward with a thud.

Even Harry himself was stunned and stared at the book he had just repelled, then at his wand in disbelief.

As he stood there dazed, the manager quickly pulled back his hand with a sigh of relief. But before he could express his thanks, another young wizard raised his wand—

Instantly, every Monster Book of Monsters in the cage froze in place.

Then, with a loud whoosh, they all tumbled to the ground, only to be swiftly bound by ropes that appeared out of thin air. One by one, they were stacked into a neat pile.

The books still trembled and struggled, their covers snapped shut with loud thwaps, but they could no longer bite or move freely.

The manager stood there, dumbfounded. He looked at the once-chaotic books, now finally silenced, then at the two young wizards in front of him, unable to say a word for a long moment.

"Wade! Harry!"

A student emerged from the bookstore—it was Rolf Scamander.

Beaming, he said, "You guys are here to buy books too? I never expected to run into you here!"

"Hey, Rolf," Wade greeted, then asked curiously, "Are you buying The Monster Book of Monsters too?"

"Yeah," Rolf nodded. "I was surprised to find out that we didn't have a copy at home—actually, we did have two, but they got into a fight and accidentally flew into the fireplace. Grandpa was so upset he never bought new ones."

"Is that so..."

Wade thought to himself, Could it be that the Scamanders are raising these books like magical creatures too?

"Here, your book."

At that moment, the store manager snapped out of his daze, having finally managed to wrestle a Monster Book of Monsters into submission. He tied it up tightly and handed it to Rolf.

"Thanks."

Rolf paid for the book, then waved goodbye as he headed off to buy other supplies.

"Did you see that, Wade?"

Only now did Harry finally let out his excitement, with a look of a mix of joy and disbelief on his face. "Just now... I just—suddenly—"

"Congratulations," Wade said with a grin. "That was your first time casting a nonverbal spell."

Hearing this confirmed, Harry's face lit up with pure joy.

He turned, eager to share the news with Sirius and Lupin, but saw that only Sirius was standing nearby.

The tired-looking man didn't seem to notice what had just happened. 

Instead, he was scanning every passerby like a searchlight and his sharp gaze lingered especially on children carrying pet rats—he stared so intensely that he looked like he might scare them to tears.

Seeing this, Harry sighed softly, and the excitement in his heart dimmed slightly.

Once again, he was struck by the realization that, although he was James Potter's son, the pain Sirius carried was far deeper than his own.

Harry had never truly had something to lose, so he could never feel such profound heartbreak.

"...Um, you two go to Hogwarts? Here to buy books?"

The store manager, having observed them for a while, finally approached with a grateful expression. "Thanks for your help just now. What year are you in? Let me see your book list."

Harry quickly handed it over. "Third year."

"Alright, give me a moment."

The manager glanced at the list, then efficiently pulled several books from a nearby stack and packed them up.

"Wait, we already have The Monster Book of Monsters!" Harry quickly said.

"Oh..." The manager hesitated for a moment, seemingly a little disappointed, but then put the book back and continued packing.

Then, as he glanced at Wade's book list, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You signed up for every elective? That's no small feat."

Wade nodded. "I made the decision carefully."

"Alright, I figured as much..." the manager said enviously. "Not everyone can silence over a hundred Monster Books in an instant."

Wade just smiled and said nothing.

In truth, he found it rather surprising that the manager of a magical bookstore couldn't even handle something this basic and had to rely on physical means to avoid getting bitten.

It just went to show—not everyone who manages books is wise enough to absorb knowledge from them.

Wade was used to dealing with the elite among wizards. Seeing this manager made him realize that many adult wizards, after graduating, didn't continue to refine their magic. 

Instead, their skills deteriorated to the point where they weren't even on par with current students.

Take this manager, for example—aside from spells related to running his bookstore, he had likely forgotten most of his knowledge about potions, herbology, astronomy, history, and other subjects due to years of monotonous work.

In front of someone like this, any humble words from Wade would only come across as mockery.

Before long, the manager finished packing Wade's textbooks. When it was time to pay, he even gave them a 50% discount.

The two of them walked out with their books in hand, but Lupin was still nowhere to be seen.

"Where did Remus go?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"He seemed to have spotted someone he knew. He'll be back in a bit," Sirius replied.

—

"Remus, something's happened to Will."

A frail blonde girl spoke in a sorrowful voice:

"I can't reach him. I went to his house, but he wasn't there… The workshop said he hasn't shown up for work in days, and they've already fired him… He would never do this. I know something must have—must have happened to him..."

She let out a sob, covering her face as she wept softly.

For a moment, Lupin couldn't find the words to respond.

He knew all too well—when a werewolf disappeared in this world, there could be countless reasons for it. Reporting it to the Ministry of Magic wouldn't be much help either.

After all, many people believed werewolves didn't even deserve to exist.

"Claire, do you have any clues? Anything about his disappearance?" Lupin asked after a brief silence, though he didn't have much hope.

But Claire hesitated before saying:

"I—I do… Before he vanished, he had just accepted a job… I remember him mentioning that these kinds of tasks could be dangerous. I kept telling him not to take it, even said I could do it instead… But he refused…"

"What kind of job?" Lupin asked.

"I don't know… He never told me anything…"

Claire said mournfully, "But I do think the person who hired him had something to do with Hogwarts…"

"Hogwarts?" Lupin was stunned. "How do you know?"

"Not long ago, didn't Hogwarts kill a basilisk? And they even let students examine the shed skin…"

Claire wiped her tears and continued.

"That's true," Lupin acknowledged.

Claire explained, "I have a heightened sense of smell. Even after several days—even after someone bathes—I can still detect the distinct scent of a basilisk. And that day… I smelled that same scent on the person who came looking for Will…"

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