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But Flick just whistled and hummed a song without offering any explanation.
"I understand, Professor Snape. Thank you for reminding me. I will be careful," Maurice said obediently. "Then I'll take my leave. You two talk."
After saying that, he walked into the lounge.
...
A few minutes later, Flick also pushed the door open and came in.
Morris immediately asked curiously, "Are you familiar with Professor Snape, Mr. Frick?"
Frick pushed a steaming cup of tea toward Maurice, picked up another cup for himself, and blew on it.
"Severus? Oh, of course I know him. You'd be hard-pressed to find a decent businessman on this street who hasn't dealt with him."
"Almost everyone has bought his potions. He's also a regular customer of my shop, often coming to buy potion ingredients. I think, as a Hogwarts student, you should know about his abilities."
Morris nodded.
Snape seems to be a celebrity in Knockturn Alley.
"Speaking of which, is it alright for a Hogwarts professor to be so active in Knockturn Alley?" Morris asked again.
"Severus is no pushover; he's cunning and has powerful connections." Frick glanced at Maurice, his expression somewhat subtle. "But what exactly is your relationship with him? Are you really just professor and student?"
"Before he left, he specifically told me to take good care of you."
Morris smiled slightly. "My potions grades are pretty good."
There's no way around it; good students just get special treatment from professors.
However, he initially thought that even if Snape knew his identity, he would simply ignore him.
From this perspective, Snape valued him quite a bit.
Chapter 75 The Three Broomsticks and the Weasley Twins
Over the next few days, Maurice spent the entire time in Diagon Alley, visiting almost every place he could find.
Among them, secondhand stores and Flourish and Blotts are the places he frequents most often.
Flourish and Blotts needs no introduction; Morris spent at least twenty Galleons on books that interested him.
The most expensive item was a book called "Wandering with Werewolves," which the clerk recommended to him.
The main story is about the author, Gilderoy Lockhart, helping a village get rid of werewolves.
After reading it, Morris felt a little regretful. Although the story was exciting, five Galleons was still too expensive.
However, Maurice did have some respect for the author himself, as depicted in the book.
He heard from the shop assistant that Lockhart had published a complete autobiography, each copy selling for five Galleons and becoming a bestseller.
Gilderoy Lockhart must be an incredibly powerful wizard.
And he's very rich.
Morris thought so.
In the secondhand store, Morris also found some things, including a dusty viewing mirror.
This is a black magic detector that looks like a glass spinning top.
It will light up and spin if there are suspicious people around.
Morris had initially thought this would be a useful gadget, able to prevent danger when he entered Knockout Alley.
However, things did not go as planned.
After he stepped into Knockout Alley, this thing kept glowing and never stopped.
Constantly emitting light is the same as never emitting light.
Okay, that makes sense.
So in the end, this peephole naturally became a toy for the skeleton dog.
On Christmas morning, Maurice returned to the orphanage by Knight Bus and had Fireworks transport all the things he had bought in Diagon Alley and the skeleton dog back to Hogwarts.
He had intended to brew some potions when he had some free time, but unfortunately, his most handy cauldron was not with him.
Therefore, he had no choice but to stay in his room and read books all day.
That evening, Harold arrived on time to pick him up to celebrate Christmas together, and Morris enjoyed a sumptuous Christmas dinner.
Incidentally, Harold's family consists of only two members: Harold himself and his daughter. According to him, it was thanks to Maurice's arrival that their Christmas wasn't so quiet.
The next morning, Maurice returned to the Leaky Cauldron by Knight Bus.
This time, however, he did not intend to continue living in Diagon Alley, but instead went to visit other wizarding communities.
"The fireplace is over there, Mr. Black. Don't panic when using Floo Powder, just a pinch is enough. Remember to pronounce the location correctly."
"I understand, Tom."
Morris took a small bag from old Tom, which contained some silvery powder.
Floo Network is the most popular way for wizards to travel. It's convenient and very cheap; a spoonful of Floo Powder only requires two Sickles.
Morris walked to the fireplace in the corner and pinched a pinch of powder from the bag.
"Three brooms!"
He clearly pronounced the place name and sprinkled the powder onto the ground.
The green flames suddenly shot up and instantly engulfed him.
Morris saw a flash before his eyes, followed by a strong wave of dizziness, as if he had been stuffed into a high-speed spinning drum.
It took him a few seconds to feel the ground again.
"At least it's more comfortable than Apparition."
Maurice steadied himself, brushed the dust off his robe, took a few steps forward, and looked around.
Warm, bright lighting, noisy laughter, clinking glasses, and the sweet aroma of mead in the air... Three Brooms is completely different from the dark and cramped Leaky Cauldron.
Just then, the fireplace behind him reignited with green flames.
Morris instinctively stepped aside, only to see a witch stumble out of the fireplace in a disheveled state, nearly bumping into him.
The witch walked straight to the bar and called out, "Rosmerta, a butterbeer."
"Okay, Babling."
The proprietress, Ms. Rosmerta, had a friendly and cheerful voice.
Morris also ordered a butterbeer, which looked more tempting than the Leaky Cauldron's, with a rich aroma.
Of course, it will also be more expensive.
He searched for a seat in the bar, but all the good spots near the fireplace were already taken. Finally, he found a small table in a corner against the wall.
Two red-haired heads were huddled together at the table, chatting about something.
Aren't these the Weasley twins?
How did they end up here?
Morris moved closer and placed the butterbeer on the table.
"Someone's here... Hey, it's you, Maurice!"
One of the redheads, presumably Fred, looked up and was startled when he saw Maurice.
"It's me."
Morris nodded and squeezed in next to them. "Fred, George, aren't you two at Hogwarts?"
"Shh-"
Fred put a finger to his lips, glanced around nervously, and whispered, "We sneaked out through a secret passage."
Morris raised an eyebrow.
Sure enough, these twins were never well-behaved.
George added, "Fred said he was bored, so we came out for a walk. We're going to Joko's Joke Shop later, do you want to come along?"
"Sure," Morris replied.
Although he didn't know what Joko's joke shop was, he decided to go and check it out since the twins had invited him.
"You won't regret it," Fred said with a laugh. "Oh, by the way, did you receive our Christmas present? It was from the Joko's Joke Shop."
"certainly."
Morris nodded.
The Weasley twins gave him a type of candy called "burp candy," which could make the user burp continuously for a short period of time.
He quite liked it because the candy itself was very sweet.
Fred suddenly remembered something and pulled a small glass bottle from his pocket. "We received the eye drops you sent us. They're quite interesting. Have you considered selling them as a product?"
"commodity?"
Morris asked doubtfully, "Would anyone actually buy this?"
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