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"Mr. Marcus McGonagall—"
The attendant exclaimed in a hushed tone once more.
"You know my name? Did you used to work in the Auror Office?"
Marcus held his head high, full of vigor and spirit.
"No, no, no—"
The attendant shook his head rapidly.
Now it was Marcus's turn to be confused.
"Please follow me to the VIP room, respected Mr. McGonagall."
The attendant appeared exceptionally excited, respectfully guiding Marcus and Sean into a quiet room.
It seemed that silencing magic had been cast here; the noise of the outside world was muted with the click of a button.
"Sir, might I ask what this is about?"
Marcus, as always, spoke his mind directly.
"Ah, respected Mr. McGonagall, you are a friend of Mr. Hermes. May you know, the Fairy Tale Shop is open to you and Professor Minerva McGonagall free of charge."
The attendant asked in surprise, unable to comprehend Marcus's confusion.
"Friend?"
Marcus frowned. He had no recollection of ever knowing such a Master Alchemist.
He assumed it must be a colleague of Minerva's.
At this moment, Sean tugged at his robes.
"We'll be leaving soon, my dear little Green."
Marcus spoke as if coaxing a child.
"My apologies, Mr. McGonagall. Please take this Magic Hand Mirror..."
The attendant swiftly placed a slim version of the Magic Hand Mirror into Marcus's hand.
"Do you require a Multi-way Mirror? We have three-way, four-way, all the way up to seven-way mirrors, all hand-crafted by Mr. Hermes himself. You need not worry about stock; you have the highest priority."
"Multi-way Mirror? Sir, please explain quickly, my little gentleman has been waiting here too long."
Marcus's interest was piqued again, and he asked promptly.
"Certainly—the Multi-way Mirror supports face-to-face communication for multiple people simultaneously. It is a scarce product of the Fairy Tale Shop. There are fewer than thirty copies in total, and only three of the top-tier seven-way mirrors exist."
The attendant explained rapidly.
"I see, I see—oh—I must ask Minerva—"
Marcus thought of something, and he became somewhat worried.
Without knowing who this mysterious alchemist was, he didn't dare to spend casually here.
He had always understood that free items were often the most expensive.
"Grandpa Marcus, here."
Suddenly, a unique mirror surface appeared by his hand. When he looked down, the gentle face of Minerva McGonagall appeared right on it.
"My dear Minerva—"
Marcus said with pleasant surprise.
After a moment, he realized what was happening. He opened his eyes wide, looking at the mirror, then at Sean.
"Do you know a Master Alchemist named Hermes?"
He finally swallowed his doubts and asked Professor McGonagall.
"Marcus, your eyes really are getting old..."
Minerva McGonagall shook her head, the corners of her mouth twitching up helplessly.
"Ask Mr. Green."
The VIP room was silent. The attendant, with his ears pricked up, tactfully retreated from the room upon hearing this sentence, leaving only Sean and Marcus.
"This is our shop, Grandpa Marcus."
Without the miscellaneous shouting and noise, Sean could finally ensure the excited Marcus heard his words.
He had been thinking for a long time about whether there was sound-transmission magic in the wizarding world.
"This?"
Marcus's eyebrows twisted into a question mark.
"When did dear Minerva become a Master Alchemist..."
He muttered.
"It's not Professor McGonagall."
Sean said.
Now Marcus was completely at a loss. He racked his brains, searching through the few disappointing children he knew to see who could shoulder such a heavy responsibility, and finally, his bewildered gaze landed on Sean.
Sean nodded.
"The Thrice-Great Hermes?"
Marcus asked with his mouth wide open, his voice pitching high.
"Just a rumor."
Sean shook his head.
"The future greatest wizard?"
The corners of Marcus's mouth lifted high, filled with extraordinary surprise.
"The wizarding world always likes to boast and exaggerate, Grandpa Marcus."
Sean shook his head like an electric fan.
"Green's beard—"
Marcus finally exclaimed with joy.
A few seconds later, Sean realized he was inexplicably rising, the cabinets outside the glass sinking lower and lower—it turned out Marcus had picked him up.
Then, three seconds later, a black cat drilled down from the air, landing and turning back into a little wizard.
"What beard?"
Sean asked in confusion.
"A gift from the heavens to the McGonagall family—Green's beard—"
Marcus was still immersed in the beauty of the moment.
Now Sean heard it clearly.
He couldn't help but touch his chin—there was no beard there, but his Animagus form had whiskers.
It was hard to say if that was accurate or not.
...
This was the most joyful day Marcus had experienced in decades.
He surveyed the bustling Fairy Tale Shop, holding a Magic Hand Mirror in one hand and leading the little wizard with the other, thoroughly enjoying the surge of cheerfulness in his heart.
The bright blue sky looked waxed, and the leaves at the end of winter seemed glazed.
The world suddenly appeared bright and clear.
Happiness, like a fuzzy kitten, stirred within his heart.
Was he the happiest wizard under this blue sky?
Yes, of course.
In such a moment, it was hard to be troubled by anything—even Voldemort couldn't ruin his joy.
War would naturally destroy many things, but there was one class of wizards who would never be greatly affected.
That's right, the top masters, the most important of whom were Potions Masters and Alchemy Masters.
Rulers constantly exchanged power, reshaping the wizarding world into what they cared about.
But the truly top-tier wizards could still live well enough.
His thoughts could be verified by facts, such as Nicolas Flamel during Grindelwald's era, or Professor McGonagall, who was restrained and persuaded to surrender during Voldemort's reign but still taught at Hogwarts.
Looking again at the wizards scrambling to buy Magic Hand Mirrors, the cheerful tune on Marcus's lips never stopped.
"Minerva's child, my lovely child, the child of the McGonagall family..."
He muttered to himself endlessly along the way, sometimes even amusing himself with his own words.
Sean looked at Marcus with concern, quietly observing the old wizard's uncontrollable, triumphant smile through the Magic Hand Mirror.
When they parted at the fireplace, the old wizard didn't even blink. While contemplating how to tell Na Yi the good news, he comforted Sean:
"It's just a simple parting. Spring is here, can summer vacation be far behind?"
"Waiting is truly a painful thing, but it must be endured..."
Sean opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
"You can do it, Marcus—"
At this moment, he heard Marcus's voice again.
Then, the green flames engulfed Sean's figure.
When the familiar castle appeared before Sean's eyes, he had already used the leisure of the day to figure out how to solve the curse of the Resurrection Stone.