Lynn put *Ancient Runes Made Easy* back where it belonged.
Then he turned around and started picking out books.
*A Compendium of Nineteenth-Century Potion Accidents*.
*A Handbook for Identifying Common Herbs*.
*Demonstrations of Miscast Elementary Charms*.
*Fantastic Beasts Trivia for Children*.
*One Hundred Wizarding Jokes*.
*Household Magic: Tips for the Wizarding Kitchen*.
He placed them into his basket one by one with casual, natural movements, looking for all the world like a first-year student who had just stumbled upon cheap bargains.
Arthur walked over, a look of concern growing on his face as he read the increasingly bizarre titles filling the basket.
“Son, are you sure you need *Household Magic: Tips for the Wizarding Kitchen*?” “Dad, no knowledge is beneath us.” “And what about *One Hundred Wizarding Jokes*?” Lynn picked up the thin collection of children’s jokes and flipped through it earnestly.
“This one is even more important.
The fastest way to understand a society is to see what they find funny.” Arthur was persuaded for a brief second before realizing something still felt off.
Professor McGonagall stepped closer and glanced into the basket.
She was not surprised by *Ancient Runes Made Easy*, but the book of jokes left her noticeably silent.
“Mr.
Grey, I encourage reading, but I wouldn’t advise taking on too much material before term starts.” “Don’t worry, Professor,” Lynn said.
“I’ll prioritize the first-year curriculum.
These are just light reading.” *Light reading.* Professor McGonagall now knew that when Lynn said “light reading,” it usually meant he had already drawn a boundary along the edge of danger and was getting ready to stand outside it with a telescope.
While Arthur and Professor McGonagall were talking, Lynn quietly slipped the sheets of parchment out of *Ancient Runes Made Easy* and tucked them into the lining of *One Hundred Wizarding Jokes*’ cover.
His movements were subtle.
He used no magic and made no show of hiding it.
The simpler the trick, the less attention it drew.
He left the genuinely conspicuous old book right where it was, sticking a crumpled shopping list from a nearby wastebasket inside it.
The edge of the scrap peeked out just enough to fool anyone watching into thinking the target remained inside.
Then, clutching a dozen miscellaneous volumes like an over-eager freshman, he headed back to the counter.
The gray-robed wizard glanced toward the second-hand shelves.
The brown cloak paused near the stairs.
Both of their attentions had been successfully diverted.
Lynn looked down, adjusting his stack of books, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Wizards always seemed to share a common blind spot.
They were quick to suspect spells, wands, and bloodlines, yet constantly underestimated a person’s simple ability to move an object from one spot to another by hand.
The checkout line was long.
Up ahead, a witch was arguing with a shop clerk about whether a used textbook missing three pages deserved a discount.
Nearby, a child leaning against the counter tried to stuff a quill up his nose before being hauled back by his mother.
When it was the Greys’ turn, the clerk began scanning the items…
no, began rapidly jotting down book titles and prices with a quill.
“Full first-year Hogwarts set, new.
Twelve used reference books.
One children’s joke book.” Finishing the list, the clerk looked up at Lynn.
“Quite a broad range of interests, young sir.” Lynn offered a polite nod.
“Mainly because they’re cheap.” Arthur instantly beamed with relief.
As the clerk packed the books into paper bags, he remarked casually, “You’re in luck today—we just restocked the second-hand corner.
Most of it came from an estate clearance near Spinner’s End.
There are some rather obscure titles in there you don’t usually see.” Spinner’s End.
Professor McGonagall’s hands froze over the list she was holding for a brief moment.
It was minuscule.
So brief that neither Arthur nor Helen noticed.
Lynn noticed.
He pushed the coins across the counter and asked offhandedly, “Is that far from here?” While counting out change, the clerk replied, “Not particularly close.
Over in the Muggle area.
Old houses, hard to navigate.
Most wizards don’t care to visit.
Supposedly the family moved out years ago, and someone only recently got around to clearing out their old things.” “Who cleared it out?” Lynn asked.
The clerk shrugged.
“The wizard who dropped them off was young, had dark hair, a bad complexion, and wasn’t very polite.
Can’t say I remembered his name.
Flourish and Blotts buys books, not family business.” Professor McGonagall spoke up.
“Mr.
Grey, we ought to be going.” Her voice sounded completely normal, but she cut the conversation off sharply.
Lynn didn’t press further.
Taking the paper bags, he held them against his chest.
“Very well, Professor.” As they left the counter, Lynn caught a reflection in a bookshelf glass.
The gray-robed wizard had already reached the second-hand section and picked up *Ancient Runes Made Easy*.
The brown-cloaked figure approached from the other side, feigning ignorance of the other man.
Both were waiting for a result.
Lynn had no intention of giving them one.
Stepping out of Flourish and Blotts, the outside air felt far fresher than inside.
Helen finally let out a sigh of relief.
Taking a few of the book bags, she glanced down at the stack of second-hand volumes in Lynn’s arms.
“Are you truly going to read all of these?” “Some of them are fine just reading the table of contents,” Lynn said.
“And others I can sell back once I’m done.” Arthur stared at him in utter shock.
“You can do that?” “In theory, yes.
As long as I don’t write in them.” Professor McGonagall walked ahead, remaining silent for the moment.
Lynn knew she was thinking about Spinner’s End.
The place meant nothing to ordinary people, but to someone like him who knew the original story, it was quite different.
Spinner’s End was where Severus Snape had grown up.
And Snape’s mother was named Eileen Prince.
Lynn’s great-grandmother was named Eileen Prince Grey.
Sharing a name might not be a coincidence, but sharing the surname Prince definitely wasn’t.
If those second-hand books really had come from near Spinner’s End, then what had been brought to Flourish and Blotts might not just be old books—it might be a long-buried loose end of a family history.
The question was: who was casting the line?
Lynn hated being led by the nose.
But he hated pretending not to see a dangling thread right in front of him even more.
Reaching a quieter corner of the alley, Helen stepped aside to adjust her parcels while Arthur confirmed their travel arrangements home with Professor McGonagall.
Taking advantage of the lull, Lynn opened *One Hundred Wizarding Jokes*.
The very first page featured a deadpan joke.
[Why don’t ghosts like attending dinner parties?
Because nobody leaves them an appetite.] Lynn fell silent for a moment.
The wizarding world’s sense of humor leaves much to be desired.
He flipped to the lining inside the cover and pressed his fingertips against the sheets of parchment.
The ink surfaced once again.
The top lines were identical to before, but at the very bottom, where it had previously been blank, a line of small script slowly materialized.
[Hogwarts is no sanctuary; it merely keeps danger locked away longer.] Lynn stared at the line, the gentle smile fading from his face bit by bit.
This wasn’t his great-grandmother’s tone.
Eileen Prince Grey would have cursed the family mess outright or warned him away from black mirrors.
Her writing was blunt, carrying distinct personal mannerisms.
This line felt more like a warning.
Or a test.
Someone knew he was going to Hogwarts.
There was no reason to state such an obvious fact—unless what the writer truly wanted to reveal was that a long-confined danger resided inside Hogwarts.
Was it the Chamber of Secrets?
A Horcrux?
Or the Prince family’s black mirror?
Lynn snapped the joke book shut and looked up toward the second-floor window of Flourish and Blotts.
There was no one by the window.
Yet he knew that at least one of those two watchers had already realized the pages inside *Ancient Runes Made Easy* had been swapped.
Professor McGonagall walked over.
“Mr.
Grey, what exactly did you notice in the bookstore earlier?” Lynn slipped the joke book into his paper bag, his tone remaining mild.
“Professor, I discovered that wizarding jokes aren’t very funny.” Professor McGonagall wasn’t so easily brushed off.
“And what else?” Looking out at the crowds bustling at the end of Diagon Alley, Lynn said quietly, “One more thing.” Arthur and Helen both turned to look at him.
Lynn paused, lowering his voice.
“Professor, does a place called Spinner’s End have a close connection to the Prince family?”