“All right, I will give you a discounted price!” He grits his teeth and decides to get rid of it at a low price.
Otherwise, this batch of books can only continue gathering dust in the shop.
“One book for 3 Sickles.
Take all ten as a bundle.
It cannot be any lower!”
“20 Sickles…”
…
The two go back and forth, and in the end, the ten books are sold for 25 Sickles and 16 Knuts.
For the remaining items, Rayleigh also directly asks for half off.
Elvin stares at the kid across from him and trembles all over.
“Brat, impossible!
If I cannot sell these things this year, I can still wait until next year!” Elvin shakes his head firmly.
“At most, at most 20 percent off!
I will not sell for a single cent less!”
“All right, all right.
Forget the textbooks and cauldron then.
Look at these potion bottles.
They are not even cleaned properly inside.
The scales have not been calibrated.
I do not even know if there will be problems.
As for this astronomy telescope, it is rusted shut here.
I cannot even twist it.” Rayleigh tests Elvin’s bottom line and does not continue pressing the price down.
“Reparo, Scourgify!” Elvin glares at Rayleigh and waves his wand.
The small problems Rayleigh mentioned instantly disappear.
“What about now, brat?” Elvin glares angrily at Rayleigh.
Rayleigh says without haste, “20 percent off it is.”
Elvin quickly calculates in his head: “These things at 20 percent off are 69 Sickles, 17 and 1/2 Knuts.
Plus 25 Sickles and 16 Knuts, the total is 5 Galleons, 10 Sickles, 4 and 1/2 Knuts.”
Although Elvin is old, he is still extremely sharp with numbers, not letting go of half a Knuts.
He reluctantly accepts Rayleigh’s 20 percent discount request and mentally calculates the profit margin of this transaction.
“Change!” Rayleigh puts down 6 Galleons and places the things into the Undetectable Extension backpack beside him.
“Brat, this was not included in the price just now.” Elvin sweeps the Galleons into the drawer with one hand and presses the other hand on the backpack.
“This Undetectable Extension backpack is worth 15 Sickles.
The money you just paid does not include its cost.
If you want to take it away, add another 7 Sickles!” Elvin narrows his eyes.
The brat should not even think about taking advantage of him.
Rayleigh unhappily takes out a Galleon and slaps it on the table.
He casually takes an old wand from the pen holder and says sarcastically: “So stingy!”
“Keep the change.” He pulls the old wand out of the pen holder, tosses it into the backpack, and walks out of Elvin’s Junk Shop without looking back. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Elvin curls his mustache in satisfaction, thinking, ‘You brat still want to take advantage of me?
Not a chance!’
He flips the Galleon into the air and happily puts it into the drawer.
Just then, Elvin remembers that the old wand Rayleigh took away was premium old stock, worth at least 1.5 Galleons.
Now, not only did he fail to make Rayleigh pay extra, he also lost an Undetectable Extension backpack!
Elvin regrets it endlessly, but Rayleigh has already gone far away: “Brat, you just wait.
Next time you come, I will charge you 120 percent!”
Actually, when calculated properly, Elvin still made a small profit, but having stumbled over a brat, he really feels uncomfortable.
“Wand and textbooks are all set.
Now I still need a pet.” Rayleigh looks toward Gringotts.
Diagon Alley has a chevron-shaped structure, and Gringotts happens to be at the intersection.
The matter caused by Quirrell is getting bigger and bigger.
Even Ministry of Magic’s Aurors have arrived.
Rayleigh looks at the crowded people ahead and gives up on Eeylops Owl Emporium, which is blocked by the crowd.
He turns toward the Magical Menagerie nearby.
As soon as he steps into the Magical Menagerie shop, everything inside dazzles him.
On the wall hang phoenix feathers and curved eagle beaks.
On the counter, a floating vial contains a magical eye.
Compared with the shop that specializes in owls, this place gathers all kinds of strange magical animals.
In a glass tank, a cyan fire salamander is breathing out flames.
In the water tank beside it swim silver fish and green water monsters called Grindylows.
On the wooden ceiling, a purple Acromantula lazily crawls across a spiderweb.
In the corner is a bundle of crooked horns.
From the silver-white and brown-yellow alternating horns, it is impossible to tell what magical animal they came from.
“These are the horns of a flying deer.
Very precious.” The shop assistant walks over and, seeing Rayleigh’s confusion, explains: “Flying deer can fly in the sky.
Their horns can not only be used for wands, but also as potion ingredients.”
“I have never seen you in Diagon Alley.
You are a Hogwarts’ new student, right?” The shop assistant smiles at Rayleigh and points at the magical animals over there.
“A first-year new student has to bring one pet.
Do you want to take a look together?” Compared with Elvin in the shop next door, the Magical Menagerie assistant is warm and polite.
“Thank you.” Rayleigh nods to the amiable assistant.
He looks at the owls standing on perches, then at the cats in the shop.
“Why can we only bring three kinds of animals?” Rayleigh asks curiously.
“This is mainly out of consideration for the students’ safety and because these animals are easier to train and care for.” The assistant thinks for a moment and patiently explains.
“Hogwarts is in the Scottish Highlands, and students are relatively far from home.
Owls can help students deliver letters. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
They are very useful magical animal companions.”
“Cats and toads are smaller in size and quieter.
They will not disturb other students.
Compared with owls, cats can bring warmth and companionship and ease homesickness.
The mucus produced by toads is also a very good potion ingredient.”
“In addition, these three kinds of animals are all relatively easy to care for and do not require too complex a raising environment.
The school needs to consider that all students’ time and energy are mainly placed on studying magic.” The assistant smiles and adds, then looks at Rayleigh, waiting for this little customer to decide which kind of animal companion to buy.
“I want to buy an owl and a cat.” Rayleigh thinks for a moment.
Toads, those slimy things, give him goosebumps just thinking about them.
What kind of freak would bring that kind of pet?
“Huh?” The assistant is somewhat surprised.
“Can a Hogwarts first-year new student not only bring one pet to school?”
“Of course not, it’s for my mother.” Rayleigh said.
He chooses two pets not for his own consideration, but for Jessica.
For eleven years, Rayleigh has been by Jessica’s side.
In September, he will go to Hogwarts to study.
By then, Jessica can only wait alone for him to come back during vacation.
Although they can contact each other through owls, Rayleigh still wants to buy a cat to stay with Jessica.
“I understand your thoughts.” The assistant hears that Rayleigh is buying an extra pet for his mother and says gently: “Come, I will show you the owls and cats in the shop.”
The assistant pushes open a small door in the shop, and a world full of natural atmosphere appears before his eyes.
“This…
what is this place?” Although he has lived two lives, Rayleigh is still stunned by this scene.
Behind the small wooden door, there is actually a huge zoo-like space hidden.
Here, there is bright sunshine, fresh air, a slowly flowing small river, lush trees, and colorful flowers and plants…
and all kinds of magical animals wandering inside.
“No wonder this shop is called the Magical Menagerie.” Rayleigh exclaims.
“This place was expanded using an Undetectable Extension Charm.
We can better care for all kinds of wonderful animals.” The assistant explains.
“Please follow me.
We will first go to the owl area and take a look.”
Rayleigh excitedly follows the assistant through the lush vegetation and arrives at the owl activity area.
Dozens of different kinds of owls perch on the branches, curiously sizing up the newly arrived guest.
“This is a Long-eared Owl from Eastern Europe.
It is strong and can fly in wind and snow.
The price is twelve Galleons.” The assistant points at an owl on the tree with light gray feathers and long ears.
It turns its head and looks curiously at Rayleigh with big, round eyes.