Edmund stood in the queue outside the Oxford Street bookshop, holding a copy of The Times.
He looked no different from the other Muggles waiting to buy the book.
But his eyes weren’t on the newspaper in his hands.
Instead, he was staring intently at the copies of [Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Part One] inside the shop.
Ever since his last conversation with Tom at the Leaky Cauldron, the book had been weighing on his mind.
Today, after hearing that the major bookshops finally had stock again, he had made up his mind to come and buy one himself.
The queue moved forward slowly.
Edmund waited patiently, and after a while, it was finally his turn.
“One copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” he said to the clerk.
“Of course, sir.”
The clerk smoothly pulled a copy from beneath the counter.
“Three pounds.”
Edmund paid, took the book, and quickly left the shop.
He found a secluded corner and opened it.
The first page, the second page, the third page…
“Merlin’s beard…” he whispered.
“This is far too detailed.”
He quickly flipped to the part describing Diagon Alley.
It mentioned Ollivanders, the goblins of Gringotts…
Every detail matched his memories exactly.
“This author is definitely a wizard,” Edmund murmured to himself.
“No Muggle could write something like this.”
He tucked the book into his pocket and strode quickly toward the Leaky Cauldron.
The same scene was unfolding in different cities across Great Britain.
…
Manchester, outside Simon’s Bookshop.
A middle-aged man wearing a T-shirt but also a bowler hat stood in the queue, looking rather mismatched.
His name was Augustus.
He was a retired Ministry of Magic official.
Today, he had made a special trip from home to Manchester just to buy a copy of the legendary book.
“I hear this book is very popular,” he said quietly to the stranger beside him.
The stranger was a Muggle.
Hearing him, he responded enthusiastically, “That’s right!
My daughter’s been pestering me every day to come and buy it.
Says it’s brilliant!”
Augustus smiled politely and said nothing.
If your daughter knew everything written in this book was real, she’d probably faint from shock.
Before long, it was his turn.
“One copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” he said.
“Of course, sir.”
The clerk handed him a book.
“Three pounds.”
Augustus paid, took the book, and left the shop.
He could hardly wait to return home.
Once there, he opened the book while drinking tea.
“Oh no.
This is unbelievable,” he whispered.
“These details feel completely…
Flawless?”
“Hiss… perhaps I should ask some old colleagues at the Ministry.
This book couldn’t have something to do with the Department of Mysteries, could it?”
…
Liverpool, outside a large chain bookshop.
A young witch stood in the queue, wearing an ordinary Muggle coat.
Her name was Lillian.
She was a Hogwarts graduate and now worked at a shop in Diagon Alley.
She had taken leave today specifically to come and buy this book.
“I hear the price of this book has been driven very high in the wizarding world,” she thought.
“But I don’t want to waste money.
It’s cheaper to come and buy it myself.”
The queue moved quickly, and in less than twenty minutes, it was her turn.
“One copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” she said.
“Of course, miss,” the clerk said with a smile.
“Three pounds.”
Lillian paid, took the book, and impatiently opened to the first page.
Standing right outside the bookshop, she read the first three chapters in one breath.
“My goodness…”
She raised her head, eyes shining.
“This book…
Its written like the Author really made a story about someone?”
“Maybe it really is true!”
She had to hurry back and share the book with her colleagues.
…
An old wizard stood in the queue, wearing an old-fashioned black coat and leaning on an oak walking stick.
He had made a special trip from the Hog’s Head into the Muggle world today just to buy this book.
“I hear this book has caused quite a stir in the wizarding world,” he thought.
“Then, shall I see what sort of content could make those wizards so excited?”
“One copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” he said politely when his turn came.
“Of course, sir.”
The clerk handed him a book.
“Three pounds.”
The old wizard paid, took the book, and left the shop.
He found a quiet café, sat down, and began reading.
When he reached the part about Harry’s life with the Dursleys, his brows furrowed.
“That child had it far too hard,” he whispered.
“What exactly was Dumbledore thinking?”
As if he had remembered something from the past, a cold look flashed across his face.
…
Within a few days, more and more wizards had obtained copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone through various means.
Some personally went to Muggle bookshops and queued to buy it.
Some asked friends to buy copies on their behalf.
Soon, a brand-new commercial chain quietly formed in the wizarding world:
Reselling.
The first to sniff out the business opportunity was a young wizard named Frederick.
He lived in London, close to the Muggle world.
He spent an entire day visiting five bookshops and managed to buy twenty copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Then he returned to Diagon Alley and set up a small stall outside Flourish and Blotts.
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Part One!
Freshly bought copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Part One!” he shouted loudly.
“Four Galleons a copy!
Limited quantity, first come, first served!”
Four Galleons converted to roughly twenty pounds in Muggle money, more than six times the original price.
But even so, his stall was quickly surrounded by people.
“Give me one!”
“I want one too!”
“I’ll pay five Galleons.
Sell me everything you have left!”
Frederick’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
He hadn’t expected the business to be this easy.
In less than two hours, all twenty books were sold out.
“This makes far more money than working at the Ministry,” he muttered to himself.
The news spread quickly.
More and more wizards joined the ranks of resellers.
Some made special trips to Muggle bookshops to buy in bulk, then brought the books back to the wizarding world and sold them at high prices.
Some ordered through owl post and then resold the books at the Leaky Cauldron or in Hogsmeade.
Some people even formed dedicated “book-buying teams,” dividing up the work with impressive efficiency.
However, because there were simply too many resellers, the price did not rise too absurdly.
At the beginning, one book could sell for four or even five Galleons.
But as supply increased, the price soon dropped to around three Galleons.
Some shrewd buyers even compared prices between sellers and chose the cheapest one.
“Hey, that stall over there is only selling them for two Galleons and ten Sickles!” a witch shouted to her companion.
“Really?
Then let’s hurry!”
Seeing this, the resellers had no choice but to lower their prices.
In the end, the market price stabilized between two and three Galleons.
Although this was still much more expensive than the original Muggle-world price, it was acceptable to most wizards.
After all, they no longer had to personally go to the Muggle world and queue for the book.
As more and more wizards bought the book, the wizarding world was swept up in an unprecedented reading craze.
Inside Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley, the clerks were surprised to discover that business had improved quite a bit lately.
Strangely enough, however, most people who came in weren’t there to buy books.
“Excuse me, do you have seats here?” a witch asked as she walked in, holding a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
“Er… we don’t provide a reading area,” the clerk said awkwardly.
“Oh.
All right.”
The witch sighed and turned to leave.
Similar scenes kept happening in every corner of the wizarding world.
At the Leaky Cauldron, Tom noticed that the number of customers in the pub had clearly increased recently.
But these people weren’t there to drink.
“Give me a Butterbeer,” a wizard said as he entered the pub, holding a book in his hand.
Tom handed him the drink.
After taking it, the wizard found a corner, sat down, opened the book, and buried his head in it.
Tom watched the scene, torn between laughter and exasperation.
“Are these people here to drink or to read?” he complained under his breath.
A similar situation appeared at Honeydukes in Hogsmeade.
Several young witches sat on the benches inside the shop, each holding a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
They ate sweets while reading, occasionally letting out little gasps of amazement.
“My goodness, this part is so well written!”
“I know! Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
When I read about Harry entering Hogwarts for the first time, my heart kinda beats faster!”
“Stop talking, all of you.
Let me finish this chapter in peace!”
The shopkeeper, Florean Fortescue, looked at the scene and shook his head helplessly.
“My sweetshop is about to turn into a library,” he said with a bitter smile.
To be honest, though, he didn’t really mind.
Because while those witches were reading, they would also buy sweets along the way.
His turnover had actually risen quite a bit.
Across the streets and alleys of the wizarding world, almost everyone had a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in hand.
Even the way wizards greeted one another had changed.
In the past, they might have said, “Nice weather today.”
But now, whenever they met, they often asked, “Which chapter are you on?”
“I’ve just reached the part where Harry meets Hagrid.”
“That part is brilliant!
My favourite bit is when Hagrid rescues Harry from those awful relatives like some kind of savior!”
“Yes, yes!
Same here!”
Two wizards who had originally been complete strangers chatted passionately because of this book.
Inside the Leaky Cauldron, several wizards sat together and argued heatedly about the plot.
“Tell me, do you think Professor Snape is actually a bad person?” a plump wizard asked.
“I think he’s definitely bad!” another wizard said firmly.
“Just look at how he treats Harry.
It’s absolutely dreadful!”
“And… didn’t you see how the book describes it?
The hook-nosed teacher looked past Professor Quirrell’s turban and straight into Harry’s eyes—and Harry felt a sharp pain in the scar on his forehead.”
“You know, that scar is…”
He paused and instinctively shut his mouth.
For a moment, silence fell among the wizards.
“Not necessarily,” a third wizard said, shaking his head.
“I don’t think he’s a bad person.”
“After all, Dumbledore kept him at Hogwarts to teach!”
“Maybe he has some kind of hidden reason,” the third wizard added.
“A hidden reason?
What hidden reason could make him treat an eleven-year-old child like that?”
“You’re all overthinking it,” a fourth wizard cut in.
“I think he’s just a bad-tempered teacher.”
The group argued endlessly, and none of them could convince the others.
In the end, they decided to wait until the second half came out before making a final judgment.
At the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, similar discussions were also taking place.
“What do you think is inside that little package?” a witch asked curiously.
“I don’t know either,” her companion said, shaking her head.
“But I think it must be very important.”
“Obviously.
If it weren’t important, why would anyone want to steal it?”
“Do you think the person who wants to steal it might be Snape?”
“Possibly!
He doesn’t look like a good man at all!”
“But didn’t Hagrid hide that little package?
How could Snape possibly steal it?”
“Maybe he has an accomplice?”
“An accomplice?
Who?”
“For example… Professor Quirrell?”
“Professor Quirrell?
That stammering Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?
How could he…”
“Don’t be fooled by the way he looks.
It’s exactly that kind of person who can be the most quietly wicked!”
“That makes sense…”
Almost the entire wizarding world was discussing this book.
Whether in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade, whether at the Leaky Cauldron or the Three Broomsticks, even inside the offices of the Ministry of Magic, wizards were talking about the same topic:
[Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Part One.]
The book seemed to possess a strange magic of its own, making everyone who read it unable to stop.
And those who hadn’t read it yet were made restless by everyone around them, itching to buy a copy immediately.
For a time, a wave of “Harry Potter fever” swept through the wizarding world.
Just as the wizarding world was immersed in the reading craze surrounding the first half of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, a bombshell exploded in the Muggle world.
Outside the Bloomsbury Publishing building, a huge banner was hung up.
The banner had a deep blue background, with large gilded letters written across it:
[Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Part Two]
[The Three-Headed Guardian, the Truth Behind the Mysterious Gringotts Break-In, the Conspiracy in the Underground Chambers, and… the Final Secret!
Everything Will Soon Be Revealed!]
Beneath the banner was a smaller line:
[Official Release: 1 October!]