Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 251: The Chocolate Frog Card Committee (3k)

As July approaches, the days become clear and cloudless, sweltering, making one want nothing more than to grab a few pints of chilled pumpkin juice and stroll to Diagon Alley. Perhaps a raspberry chocolate ice cream would also be a nice touch; Florin's ice cream is always delicious.

On this seemingly ordinary yet extraordinary day at the end of June, a shop that had never advertised before opened for business.

The shopkeeper was a handsome but somewhat worried wizard. If any Hogwarts students were here, they would recognize him as Professor Quirrell, who had successfully fought off the evil dark wizard.

Everyone was saying that he had been injured by a dark wizard and cursed, and that he would never be able to return to Hogwarts as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

This made some of the students who had mocked Professor Quirrell blush, so they were the loudest when they applauded him at the year-end banquet.

early morning.

Diagon Alley was still shrouded in a thin mist, and the magic shop was still packed with long queues, but there wasn't a single wizard in front of the fairytale shop.

In a few minutes, it will be eight o'clock, the opening time.

Judging from this, Quirrell might even doubt whether these fifty portions could be sold.

Even so, their prices remain high, with the cheapest costing several hundred Galleons.

It seems they didn't even consider whether anyone would buy it.

Professor Quirrell understood that this might be some kind of powerful alchemical creation, but he really couldn't understand why a cookie could have such a high value.
Just like when the first mobile phone appeared, no one knew how valuable that little black box could be.

There were no wizards queuing outside Fairy Tale Square, but outside of Britain, alchemists' entry applications had already filled the Ministry of Magic.

Some alchemists even stated bluntly:

"Whether the Ministry of Magic agrees or not, we will arrive at Diagon Alley, England at eight o'clock this morning."

……

The entrance to Fairy Tale Square was instantly filled with wizards of all kinds, arriving at the shop entrance the very next second after eight o'clock.

Quirrell had never seen anything like it—these wizards seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

He didn't even know which country these wizards came from: some were dressed in silk robes, looking sharp and capable; others wore headdresses made of feathers and expensive leather clothing; some were simply black panthers, nimbly taking the lead.

Without exception, they all knew Professor Terra, who was in charge.

"Master Terra..."

"It's so nice to see you, Teda Master. The weather is so beautiful, isn't it..."

“You’ve really found a gem, Terra.”

They greeted each other, then stared intently at the shop window.

"Seizing the magical powers of fantastical creatures—an alchemical technique akin to a miracle—let me see it—"

The Latino wizard snapped his fingers, and a series of fairytale cookies floated into her hand.

"Vagadu's human transformation has come to an end, but in the vast magical world, something always awaits... ten copies each!"

She had barely finished speaking when the surrounding wizards glared at her angrily:
"Do you think the alchemists here can't afford the price? I advise you to calm down, miss. If you didn't see the notice on the wooden board at the entrance, you should know that each person is limited to two items."

"It was said by a male wizard dressed in a black robe."

The group gave her a cold look, then began to choose two suitable portions from the four types of cookies.

For most of the wizards present, these cookies were more of a research tool than a practical tool, so their selection had to be extremely careful.

Before Professor Quirrell could process what had happened, a group of wizards dressed in Ministry of Magic uniforms walked in.

They are wizards of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the UK. This department's subordinate offices include—the Auror Office, the Department for the Prohibition of Muggle Misuse, the Office for the Investigation and Confiscation of Counterfeit Protective Charms and Equipment, the Office for the Prohibition of Misuse of Magic, and the Wizengamor Administration, among others.

It is the largest department of the British Ministry of Magic.

At this moment, they looked eager and anxious. The British Ministry of Magic had gone to great lengths to block the entry applications of staff from other countries' Ministries of Magic, which meant that being able to come here was practically a privilege reserved for native wizards.

Among them was Mr. Weasley, with his blond and red hair—he was the head of the Department for the Prevention of the Abuse of Muggle Articles.

This very morning, he received tremendous news—

The alchemist hailed as the most gifted wizard in the world in six hundred years, and the pioneering Gold Medalist of the Udara International Alchemy Conference, will open his alchemy workshop in Diagon Alley.

All departments of the Ministry of Magic were vying to apply to represent the Ministry, but the qualification was ultimately awarded to the British Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which, as mentioned before, is the largest department of the Ministry of Magic.

"Three thousand Galleons?!"

Mr. Weasley was shocked by the price as soon as he entered.

This is almost equivalent to his salary for two or three years.

He looked distressed. The funds allocated by the Ministry of Magic were simply not enough. The cheaper categories had already been bought up, and the funds he had now were far from sufficient to support him in completing the tasks assigned by the British Ministry of Magic.

On the other side of the shop.

The alchemists were incredibly bold.

"I'd be willing to pay three times the price to buy another one."

A wizard from Vargadu approached Quirrell, who was still dazed—half the cookies were sold out in just ten minutes of opening the shop.

"Rules are rules."

Quirrell snapped out of his daze and firmly refused.
"The store will have new products every month on the 7th, miss."

This is also a notice written on the entrance door panel.

"..."

The wizard from Vargadu remained silent for a while, and then sighed helplessly after seeing Terra, Vargadu's strongest alchemist, in charge.

"Damn Terra, they won't sell you a single more..."

She muttered.

The Fairy Tale Shop was bustling with noise, almost as loud as the Magic Shop next door. More importantly, the wizards in the Fairy Tale Shop had truly formidable purchasing power; a few thousand Galleons were just a number to them.

They spend money without batting an eye.

The descriptions of the cookies under each glass display case perfectly explain why:

"The Fairy Tale Cookies series offers the ability to transform wizards into real magical creatures: currently only Thestrals, Bowtruckles, Hippogriffs, and Charmanders are available."

Upon seeing this introduction, Professor Quirrell himself was incredibly excited.

His gaze immediately fell upon Mr. Green, who was quietly practicing magic in a separate shop.

He finally understood that the Daily Prophet's report was completely accurate, as was the thought that had crossed his mind.

...He must be incredibly foolish to have such doubts.

The cookies in the fairytale store were disappearing at a visible rate, and Mr. Weasley was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"Not enough funds—it's too expensive—"

His murmurs were drowned out by the many other voices.

The wizards outside the Fairy Tale Fairy Shop were curious about the unusually crowded shop. Some tried to squeeze in to see what was going on, but were pushed aside by a group of reporters with cameras.

They tried to come in without saying a word, but Quirrell blocked them at the entrance.

"This is not allowed to be reported."

“We are from The Daily Prophet, sir!”

"That's what the wizard at the front said."

"The Wizarding Weekly, sir, the witches are all eager to learn about this young master."

A young witch's face was full of anticipation.

I've heard this master is incredibly young and handsome...

“Sir Agent, Today’s Metamorphosis requests that you give us thirty minutes, no, just ten minutes.”

The scholarly wizard was the last to speak.

But no matter how they explained it, Quirrell ultimately didn't let a single wizard in.

The argument was raging in front of the shop, and it wasn't much better inside.

Unlike other wizards who asked Master Terra for a larger share, Mr. Weasley never dared to voice his desire for a lower price.

Sheehan was studying Professor Dumbledore's insights on transmutation, but he overheard Mr. Weasley's complaints.

After roughly understanding what was going on, he walked out of the cubicle.

“Mr. Weasley”.

He said hello.

"Green, it's a pleasure to see you here—are you here to learn?"

Mr. Weasley put his anxiety aside for the moment; no matter how anxious he was, the task was unlikely to be completed anyway.

It's just criticism, the Ministry of Magic probably won't fire him for this... right?

An annoying face unconsciously surfaced in his mind—Lucius Malfoy, who always had a knack for making a fuss over these little things.

“I’ll take care of it, sir.”

Sheen explained.

This is his alchemy workshop.

Although Professor Terra personally oversaw the situation, allowing him to step back and avoid the spellcasting of the wizards, he still had to watch silently from here.

"Looking?"

Mr. Weasley didn't quite understand, but he didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he turned his worried gaze back to the product.

"1,500 Galleons is enough to buy the cheapest Bowtruckle series, which costs 700 Galleons, but now even the lowest-priced Hippogriff costs 1,000 Galleons, which I can't afford..."

Mr. Weasley muttered to himself.

He found himself walking towards the Bowtruckle series, which was already sold out before they even came in.

He could easily explain the reasons, but the officials at the Ministry of Magic might not listen.

While he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a voice:
"Sir, it seems there are still some."

"Ah, Green, how could this be..."

He smiled wryly, then suddenly noticed something extra in the glass cabinet in front of him. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was two pieces of the Tree Protector series.

He grabbed two cookies with lightning speed, and after happily paying the bill, he suddenly realized that he had a hundred Galleons more than the amount allocated by the Ministry of Magic.

This made him extremely happy.

However, after the initial excitement, doubt filled his mind: Where did these cookies come from?

Just then, Professor Quirrell entered the shop with a middle-aged witch.

He spotted Sheen in a secluded corner at a glance.

So he ignored Mr. Weasley next to Sheehan and said in a careful and respectful tone:
"Mr. Green, this is an interview with the Chocolate Frog Card Committee. They would like to gather some information about you."

After he finished speaking, Mr. Weasley's mouth looked like it could fit an egg.

(End of this chapter)