Harry Potter: The Wizard of Apocalypse

Walking along the quiet path outside the castle gates, Ian soon arrived at the famous Hogsmeade. The medieval-style buildings around him made it feel as if he had traveled back in time, hundreds of years ago. In short, this was a beautiful little village full of magical atmosphere.

Since it was early in the morning, many shops were not open yet, but Ian didn't mind. He had originally come here to go shopping and relax, so he wandered around, admiring the peculiar buildings around him.

He soon arrived at the main street of Hogsmeade. Compared to the deserted scene earlier, nearly all the shops on both sides of the road had opened for business.

Ian looked up at the nearest shop, Gladrags Wizardwear – a high-end wizard clothing store.

Without giving it much thought, he decided to step inside. Although he wasn't specifically looking to buy anything, he figured it wouldn't hurt to take a look. After all, it was a well-known brand in the wizarding world, with branches in London and Paris.

Inside the small shop, various new clothes were neatly arranged. It was worth mentioning that the store also sold a wide variety of quirky socks. In the original Harry Potter books, Harry had bought odd socks here to give to Dobby, the house-elf.

"Welcome!"

A crisp, slightly surprised voice greeted Ian. It was the only salesperson in the store, a young woman with freckles on her face. Perhaps she hadn't expected customers so early in the morning.

"Good morning, ma'am. I'm just here to look around, so don't mind me. I'll let you know if I need anything."

This must have been a common situation in Hogsmeade shops. The salesperson, seeing Ian in his Hogwarts uniform with a plain sky-blue background, could easily tell he was a student out on a weekend stroll.

"Okay, please feel free," she replied softly.

Ian wandered around the shop, admiring the merchandise. Compared to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, this place felt more refined.

He noticed that although the clothing here was branded, the prices were reasonable, with none of the items costing more than 30 Galleons.

Although Ian quickly skimmed over the clothing items, he found himself lingering a bit longer at the shelves full of various socks. One pair of thin white mid-length stockings caught his eye.

It wasn't some special hobby, but it suddenly occurred to him that, after knowing Hermione for so long, he'd never given her any gifts. She was one of his few friends at Hogwarts, after all.

"Ma'am, please wrap this pair for me, thank you," Ian said, adding, "And another black one of the same style, packaged separately, please."

The two pairs of socks cost less than one Galleon in total, which was very affordable for Ian. After all, he had already spent over a thousand Galleons on a flying broom, and didn't have any other significant expenses.

After leaving Gladrags, Ian made his way directly to Honeydukes Candy Shop. He needed to bring something back for his two roommates as a small gesture of courtesy.

Honeydukes was a popular candy shop among young wizards. During Christmas, it would be packed with customers, making it hard to move around.

This was also the shop the Weasley twins frequented in the original books, since there was a little-known secret passage in the cellar that led to Hogwarts.

But it was early now, so the shop was empty.

"Good morning, young man! Looking for some candy?"

The shopkeeper, Ambrosio Frum, asked in a quiet voice.

A broad, bald man, Ambrosio mostly left the running of the shop to his wife. He was responsible for buying goods and handling other business matters.

Ambrosio had attended Hogwarts in his youth and was a member of Professor Slughorn's Slug Club. After a series of events, he and his wife settled in Hogsmeade in 1983 and opened the candy shop.

"Good morning, sir. I'm looking for some candy that isn't too weird. Do you have any recommendations?"

Ian was indeed a little overwhelmed by the many candies on the shelves. Knowing that wizards loved strange flavors, he decided to ask the shopkeeper for advice.

"Oh, of course. We have plenty of normal candies here. They've even been approved by the Ministry of Magic and are safe to give to Muggle friends. For example, we have toffee candies, liquorice sticks, pear drops, and butter peanut candies. They're all regular, with no strange effects..."

As the shopkeeper continued to speak, Ian couldn't help but interrupt. "That sounds great. Please give me some of each. Thank you!"

While the shopkeeper packed his order, Ian continued to browse. The shop's main color scheme was light red, and the space seemed to be at least 200 square meters. Although it wasn't cramped, the many shelves made the space feel somewhat small, like a bustling street shop.

Ian spotted many interesting candies, such as pink shimmering coconut sorbet, floating sherbet drinks, black pepper urchins (which could breathe fire when eaten), and the most impressive: super bubble gum, which was said to fill an entire room with long-lasting blue bellflower-colored bubbles.

"It's all packed, and the total is 15 Sickles," the shopkeeper called.

Ian walked up to the counter, where four large brown paper bags filled with candy awaited him.

As he paid, the shopkeeper added, "We offer a mailing service for orders over one Galleon, but only to Hogwarts. You can also send a letter with your owl and we'll pack the candy for you to be delivered."

"Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you for your kindness," Ian replied smoothly.

As he left the shop, Ian had an idea: Maybe it's time to buy my own owl?

He had been so focused on his studies and other goals that he hadn't thought about this before. Now that things were starting to fall into place, it seemed like the right time to get one. After all, even though he didn't have many friends, he could still use an owl to send letters to those he did.

After making up his mind, Ian set off to buy an owl.

Hogsmeade Owl Post Office

The Hogsmeade Owl Post Office felt like a magical zoo as Ian entered. The small space was packed with owls of all sizes – from large eagle owls and barn owls to nimble little horned owls. There were easily two or three hundred owls of various breeds.

While it was primarily a post office, the shop also sold owls to wizards in need.

Ian walked up to the counter, where a witch stood, and said, "Hello, ma'am. I'd like to buy an owl."

The witch glanced up from her work.

"Do you have any specific requirements? Perhaps long-distance flying or carrying heavy packages? Or would you prefer an owl strictly for delivering letters?"

"I don't have any special requirements," Ian said. "I just want one that's smart and doesn't have any obvious flaws."

"Then I'd recommend the gray forest owl. These little creatures are incredibly clever. You don't even need to feed them – they'll hunt small rodents like foxes and mice. They're very loyal to their owners, and most importantly, they have no significant flying issues."

The witch pointed to a lazy-looking owl on the left side of the counter.

Ian looked at the gray forest owl, which had light brown feathers, a round head, and big, inquisitive eyes. It peered up at him, like a child waiting for a treat.

"Okay, I'll take it. It's a very cute owl."

"That will be 15 Galleons, including a cage and two bags of owl treats."

Ian was prepared for the relatively high price, knowing that training and maintaining these owls was no easy task. They were considered semi-luxury items, comparable to buying a new mobile phone in his previous life.

Ian left the post office with the owl in its cage and his bags of candy, then stashed everything safely in his magically expanding backpack. By now, it was nearly 9 a.m. – Ian had woken up early to head straight to Hogsmeade, and his stomach was starting to rumble.

There were many food and drink shops in Hogsmeade, but the Three Broomsticks stood out as the most famous, especially mentioned in the original Harry Potter books.

Not only did he want to check out the pub, but Ian also wanted to avoid the other two options: the Hog's Head Inn (which secretly hosted black market deals) and Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop (known for being a couples' retreat).

After careful consideration, Ian decided on the Three Broomsticks. It was a traditional, well-respected pub, and nearly every wizard who visited Hogsmeade chose to sit there.

This choice also meant that Madam Rosmerta, the owner, had a very wide network of connections, from the Minister for Magic to the dark wizards of Knockturn Alley.

...

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