It took Harry a few minutes to navigate through the streets of Diagon Alley and reach the destination suggested to him by Sharptooth.
Bradon’s, All Books Available since 1875.
From the outside, the bookstore was nothing special.
It looked old and almost ancient as if it had not been renovated even once since its founding.
The nameplate, the woodwork on the walls, the doorframe, and the door itself all appeared as if they might crumble at any moment.
At first glance, Harry doubted they would truly have all the books Sharptooth had recommended.
It did not look like the bookstore that the goblin had boasted to be one of the largest in Wizarding Britain.
Though skeptical, he stepped inside.
He found himself in a three feet long corridor with a wooden door at the far end of the corridor on the right hand side.
Harry walked down the corridor, turned right, and entered through the gate.
The moment he stepped inside, he was stunned.
Shocked.
This was not something he had really expected.
What he had entered was a massive, humongous hall.
The hall was brightly lit by more than a dozen glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
One look was enough for Harry to tell that these chandeliers were magical.
It was too bright, almost sparkling, in complete contrast to the dull and melancholic appearance it had from inside.
He even wondered where did such a large space fit in that small building he had looked from outside?
Perhaps, magic.
He could not tell.
In front of him stood massive wooden shelves, lined up through the entire hall, nearly twenty feet tall and arranged in a very organized manner.
Every bookshelf was filled to the brim with books.
All kinds of books, from new, shiny volumes to those that looked old and ancient.
In his entire life, aside from the Hogwarts library, Harry had never seen so many books in a single place.
The first thought that entered his mind upon seeing the vast collection was of Hermione Granger.
He could only imagine how fascinated she would be if she were to witness this many books at once.
Even he, who was no book lover, was very much fascinated by the sheer amount of books in the hall.
Harry barely had time to process what he was witnessing when a young man dressed in a blue coloured robe approached him.
The name of the shop was embroidered on the robe near his chest indicating that he was a staff of the bookstore.
In fact, it was a common practice for many witches and wizards to hide their faces.
“Welcome, sir,” he said, bowing slightly in greeting.
Harry nodded back in greeting.
“Would you like me to bring out a few specific books you are looking for,” the man questioned, “or would you prefer to look around yourself?”
“I will look around first,” Harry replied.
Though he was in a hurry to return and resume his very important business with the Peverell brothers, the sheer volume of books and the size of the bookstore had awed and fascinated him.
Despite his urgency to go back, he could not stop himself from having a look around the store.
The man nodded with a smile and stepped back, leaving Harry alone.
Harry took a deep breath and moved forward toward the shelves, scanning for books.There were a few people roaming the store just like him, but given the size of the hall, it did not appear crowded at all.
Harry continued to wander through the bookstore, but since returning home was at the back of his mind, he did not spend more than ten minutes.
Sharptooth had written the names of six books on the parchment, and Harry was able to spot two of them.
He might have been able to find more, but he did not want to waste any time.
Apart from those two, he also randomly picked up two books that appealed to him.
They were similar to Sharptooth’s recommendations and Harry assumed that they would help him fill his gaps in the knowledge he had about Wizarding Britain.
With four books grasped in his hands, he approached the counter where the same man was standing along with two other staff members.
Harry placed the books on the counter, pulled the parchment from his robes, and handed it over to the young man.
“Are these books available?” he questioned.
“Yes,” the young man nodded.
“Just give me a couple of moments.”
The man hurried away with the parchment as Harry waited.
He returned shortly with the four remaining books from the list to add to the two Harry had already brought.
“Here is everything you wanted,” he said, placing the books on the counter.
“Do you need anything else?” the man asked.
“Yes,” Harry nodded.
“I am looking for something specific,” he said.
“Have you ever heard the names Antioch Peverell, Cadmus Peverell, or Ignotus Peverell?
“We have heard of them,” the man replied.
“They are prominent characters in a children’s fairy tale book.”
“A children’s fairy tale book?” Harry mumbled, his eyes narrowing in surprise.
“Can you get it for me?” Though confused, he asked for the book to be brought to him.
The man nodded, walked away, and returned shortly carrying a thin volume.
“There you have it,” he remarked, handing the book to Harry.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard was the title.
Harry raised his eyebrows as he flipped through the pages out of instinct, though he did not truly bother to glimpse the contents yet.
“Do you have anything else related to them?” Harry questioned, placing the book with the others.
“No,” the man shook his head.
“I do not know what you are looking for or why,” he continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, “but if there is something else to be found, it would be in Knockturn Alley.
That is the place where you find things that cannot be found anywhere else.”
Harry nodded but remained non-committal.
He was not going to Knockturn Alley.
It was a dangerous place, and he did not wish to take any risks.
He would hear their stories from their mouths only.
“Is that all?” the man questioned, and Harry nodded.
Harry paid the total cost, and the man wrapped the books into a bundle.
He then tapped his wand against the package, and the books shrank until the bundle was the size of a fist.
Harry looked on in surprise, wondering how he would ever get them back to their original size.
“You just need to send a bit of magic through it, and it will return to its normal size,” the man explained.
Perhaps it was a standard explanation he offered to everyone, or perhaps he had simply noticed Harry’s unease.
Harry placed the shrunken bundle in his robes and exited the bookstore.
He found himself a secluded spot before calling for Dobby.
The house-elf instantly appeared with a pop, took Harry’s hand, and both of them vanished from the spot.
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