After staying in the pet shop for a while, Wayne fully experienced the power of his Beast Affinity talent.
No matter how difficult or arrogant the magical creatures were, they would obediently gather around him. Just a bit of interaction was enough to tame them.
Not only that, he could vaguely sense the emotions of these creatures, and even understand the meaning behind their cries.
Even though the magical animals here were meant to be pets for wizards and had already been domesticated…
Wayne believed that even if he encountered wild or dangerous magical creatures, this talent would still prove effective.
"Newt probably has a similar talent. Otherwise, how else could he run around with a whole suitcase of dangerous animals?"
Wayne thought to himself.
If he wanted, he could one day carry around a portable zoo just like Newt.
But he had no intention of doing that.
None of those magical creatures were easy to handle. Even the seemingly harmless Niffler could cause a lot of trouble.
Newt had spent his life either being Dumbledore's errand boy or cleaning up after magical beasts.
He'd already been blacklisted by the magical authorities of dozens of countries.
Even the MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States), where he now resided, was constantly on edge. If it weren't for the fact that Newt had once helped save the American wizarding world and assisted in capturing Grindelwald...
They truly wouldn't have wanted that walking catastrophe settling down in their country.
Wayne had no desire to end up like Newt—loathed by people and animals alike.
With a horde of pets watching him leave with longing eyes, Wayne adjusted his trousers, turned around, and walked off without hesitation.
Even the shop clerk was baffled.
Seriously?
You didn't buy a pet, or even pet supplies. What the heck did you come in here for?
Unaware that he had almost been added to the store's blacklist, Wayne left the pet shop and headed toward Flourish and Blotts.
At the bookstore entrance, a large poster was attached to a tripod. The greasy middle-aged wizard in the poster kept throwing flirty winks, causing many passing witches to stop and stare—very much a magical-world advertisement.
Seeing Wayne eyeing him, the man instantly put on his standard commercial smile, revealing eight sparkling teeth.
But in truth, Wayne was reading the lines above his head:
"Four-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award, recipient of the Order of Merlin, Third Class, and honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League—Gilderoy Lockhart's newest book, Travels with Trolls, now available!"
Wayne looked thoughtful.
This con artist of the wizarding world was still riding high—he'd published five or six books already. Wayne couldn't understand why he'd suddenly lose his mind next year and insist on teaching at Hogwarts.
Did Lockhart really believe the stories in his books were his own?
But when Wayne saw the price tag on Travels with Trolls, he immediately understood.
Seven Galleons?
He'd only spent less than five Galleons on three Standard Book of Spells volumes. This price was daylight robbery.
Could it be that Lockhart agreed to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts just to sell books?
A full set of his books would cost 30 to 40 Galleons. Multiply that by several hundred—nearly a thousand Hogwarts students—and you'd get tens of thousands of Galleons.
That's a small fortune.
After flipping through a few pages, Wayne decided to buy the entire Lockhart collection.
Aside from the flashy, flowery language, the content was actually full of valuable information—
After all, they were adaptations of real events.
Wizards weren't stupid. If everything had been fabricated, Lockhart would've been exposed long ago.
Having the clerk wrap up all of Lockhart's books, Wayne began browsing other titles.
Right now, he was eager to learn everything about the magical world. Studying spells was just one part; more importantly, he wanted to understand how wizards lived—their culture and their way of life.
Only then could he truly integrate into wizarding society, instead of being just a Muggle who happened to know magic.
As for the Dark Lord...
Honestly, Wayne didn't think much of Voldemort. The guy spent half his life trying to take over the wizarding world, and couldn't even conquer one school.
He was constantly outwitted—by words.
He really couldn't bring himself to feel interested.
Now, if Grindelwald came back to stir up trouble again, that might be exciting—at least he had some grand ambitions.
"Defensive Magical Theory"? Bought.
"Encountering Faceless Phantoms"? Bought.
The entire series of "Standard Book of Spells"? Bought.
In one go, Wayne purchased textbooks covering several school years, not even skipping Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
That book—arguably the most famous magical creature guide in the world—was priced at only one Galleon. Compared to Lockhart's books, it was practically a steal.
Seeing Wayne purchase books so recklessly, even the manager of Flourish and Blotts couldn't help but intervene.
"Young lad, you must be a first-year, right? First-years don't need all these. You can always buy them later when you actually need them."
"Oh," Wayne replied casually, placing a copy of "Advanced Potion-Making" into his trolley. He looked up with a smile and said, "I've got lots of free time during the holidays anyway—might as well treat them like light reading. No worries."
Seeing how persistent he was, the manager gave up trying to persuade him.
Wayne randomly picked up another book.
"The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore."
Whoa—spicy, isn't it?
After seeing the author's name, though, Wayne wasn't surprised.
Rita Skeeter. There's nothing she wouldn't dare to write.
By now, his trolley was packed full of books, and Wayne finally stopped.
Just as he was about to go pay, his eyes landed on the thickest book in the entire shop, tucked away in an unremarkable corner—at least five inches thick.
Upon closer look, it turned out to be "Hogwarts: A History."
Wayne lit up. He had actually been hoping to buy this frequently mentioned book from the original story, but hadn't been able to find it.
A clerk even told him it was out of stock—but here it was, hidden in a corner all along.
He squatted down and yanked the heavy book out. Though it looked a little dusty, it was clearly brand new.
He didn't mind. As long as it was readable, that was all that mattered.
"Ah—ouch!"
Two cries of pain rang out at once.
Just as Wayne was about to get up and head to the counter, he felt a jolt of pain in his forehead—he had bumped into something hard.
Rubbing his head and taking a step back, he finally saw what he'd collided with.
It was a little girl.
Fluffy hair, thick brown curls, wild and bushy—she was clutching her chin in pain, baring her front teeth in a wince.
Wayne, instead of being annoyed, burst out laughing.
That look—those unmistakable features—who else could it be but the legendary know-it-all herself?