"What?" Harry was dumbfounded by Vivian's words; he felt as if his worldview had collapsed in an instant. Those lovely fairies targeted him… because he had money? Is the adult world really that pragmatic?
"Absolutely true. Otherwise, how would we trick those young brats into spending money in the store? This is a little secret of our shop, and you must help us keep it confidential." Vivian continued, a hint of slyness in her eyes. "So, the boss of our shop is quite ruthless. You should be careful if you ever encounter him!"
After listening to Vivian, Harry stood rooted to the spot for a long while, his mind seemingly elsewhere. It took him a moment to react. "Oh, I see."
"By the way, I'll tell you another little secret!" Vivian seemed to have a good impression of this shy young boy and whispered again, "You see how colorful those blind boxes are? When you go to pick one, choose the one with the most unpopular color. Those are more likely to contain good stuff!"
"Ah, really? There's a trick like that?" Harry's spirits immediately lifted upon hearing this, and he looked at Vivian with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
"Of course. Just remember, the uglier and dirtier the blind box looks, the higher the probability of getting good stuff inside. Auntie wouldn't lie to you." Vivian chuckled as she ruffled Harry's hair.
Of course, this was only a higher probability, Vivian chuckled inwardly. She felt that Alan's business acumen was becoming increasingly shrewd, with an endless stream of money-making schemes. Take these blind boxes, for example. Initially, Alan spent over a thousand Galleons just making the boxes. Vivian even laughed at him for wasting money. However, after the blind box business was launched, it became incredibly popular, recouping its costs in less than a month.
After receiving Vivian's information, Harry couldn't help but feel a renewed urge to try. Thinking of this, he slowly approached the counter where the blind boxes were sold. Hagrid, who was beside him, didn't stop him and continued chatting casually with Vivian.
When Harry finally squeezed through the noisy crowd to the front of the counter, he found that the salesperson inside was a large dog! At this moment, the dog was deftly helping the surrounding wizards exchange for the blind boxes they fancied. These blind boxes were piled high in the cabinets behind him, and many were even under the floor and his backside.
At the same time, these square boxes looked colorful; almost every one was different. Some were adorned with simple geometric or animal patterns, while others were haphazardly splattered with various colors, like random doodles. Of course, there were also solid-colored blind boxes, but even those had very subtle color distinctions. Harry saw at least seven or eight different shades of red alone.
"Kid, found one you like? Make up your mind and pick quickly, don't just stand there blocking the way!" Hog couldn't help but bark at Harry twice when he saw him just standing there, staring blankly at the surrounding blind boxes.
"Ah! Oh!" Harry was startled to see that this dog could not only work but also speak. But after realizing that everyone else around him was unfazed by the dog's ability to talk, Harry could only temporarily suppress his curiosity.
"Uh, I want to buy four blind boxes!" Harry mimicked the young wizard he had seen earlier, pulling out a handful of money from his pocket, piling it onto the counter, and calling out.
"Alright, four blind boxes are two Galleons and six sickles in total. Which ones do you want? Hurry up and tell me!" Hog deftly gave Harry his change, then couldn't help but urge him again. There were simply too many customers around, and some people nearby were already pressing forward.
"Um, can I choose the one you're sitting on?" Harry pointed to a dark blue blind box under Hog, which he was using as a cushion, and looked at him with some apprehension.
"Heh heh, another one trying to cheat, huh? Do you think there's definitely something good inside the blind box I'm sitting on?" Hog gave a cunning smile, then unhesitatingly pushed the blind box from under him toward Harry. He then casually pulled another box from nearby to use as a chair and sat down.
Was he really just picking a random blind box to sit on? Ever since Harry had talked to Vivian, he kept feeling that there might be some trick involved. For example, that the people in the shop would hide good things in the corners, but Hog's reaction seemed different from what he had imagined.
"Then also help me get that gray one, the half-black, half-green one, and that earthy yellow one." After a moment of hesitation, Harry pointed to three other blind boxes that he considered very ugly.
"Oh? You want these ones? Your taste is quite unique..." Hog took out the blind boxes Harry had chosen and looked at him with a teasing gaze.
Harry didn't continue talking after receiving the blind boxes; he just clutched them and nervously ran to the side.
"Phew, I wonder if what that fast-talking auntie said is accurate. These blind boxes all look so ugly." Harry spread the boxes on the ground, then first took out the dark blue box that Hog had used as a stool. After forcefully opening the lid, Harry curiously peered inside and found the box empty, with a chaotic blackness at the bottom, looking like a layer of black smoke. Harry scratched his head in confusion, then turned the box upside down and shook it vigorously, but nothing happened.
"Empty? It shouldn't be."
"What are you doing? Why aren't you opening the blind box you bought? Is this some new good luck ritual?" Before Harry could do anything, a youthful voice came from beside him.
"Huh?" Harry heard someone talking to him and quickly looked up nervously. He then realized that a boy about his age had appeared beside him. The boy had red hair and freckles scattered across his face. He was staring at Harry with wide eyes, holding several blind boxes in his hands, apparently having just bought them and looking for a place to open them.
"Good… good luck ritual?" Harry asked, puzzled by the boy's words.
"Yeah, it's been popular recently to chant a phrase before opening a box. They say it increases your luck of getting good stuff. Earlier, it was carrying a four-leaf clover, but I tried that, and it didn't seem to have much effect." The red-haired boy pouted and shrugged. "What, isn't this your latest good luck ritual? Let me try..."
With that, the boy also spread his blind boxes on the ground, then mimicked Harry's earlier actions, opening a box, shaking it upside down, and then reaching his hand inside.
"Just a bottle of Owl Soda." Seeing the item he pulled out, the boy curled his lip in disgust. "What is this? Your good luck ritual doesn't seem to work very well either." With that, he picked up another blind box and muttered, "Praise the Silver Lightning!" Then he reached his hand in again and pulled out a handheld makeup mirror in front of Harry.
Upon seeing the mirror, the boy suddenly cheered happily, "Haha, it's a hit! It's a Children's Mirror! George was right, chanting phrases is the most effective."
"Children's Mirror? What's that?" Harry, seeing that the other boy had actually pulled something out after chanting, couldn't help but look at him enviously.
"This is a Children's Mirror! They have them on the shop shelves too. In this mirror, you can see yourself as a child. This thing costs three Galleons if you buy it directly!" After cheering, the red-haired boy turned the mirror toward Harry, and Harry saw a three or four-year-old child in the glass. His hairstyle and clothes were exactly like his current ones, but his face was adorably chubby.
But Harry wondered if he was seeing things; he noticed there seemed to be another self in the mirror, only that face completely overlapped his own, and only a faint, blurry outline could be seen at the edges. Harry closed his eyes and vigorously shook his head. When he opened his eyes again, the faint outline had vanished, as if it had merely been his imagination.
This brief interlude didn't dampen Harry's interest in exploring the blind boxes. He saw that the boy opposite had actually gotten something after chanting, which made him want to try too.
"Praise the Silver Lightning!" Harry mumbled softly, then mimicked the boy and reached his hand into the blind box. He felt as if his hand had plunged into a deep pit, and even when his entire arm was fully extended, he couldn't touch the bottom. Harry then continued to grope around for a while, relying on his sense of touch, until he felt as if he had grasped something out of thin air.
This magical experience of personally exploring the unknown was something Harry had never experienced before, making him increasingly excited. However, when he pulled his hand out of the blind box, he found that he was only holding a common mug.
"Your phrase doesn't seem to work either..." Harry dangled the mug, looking at the boy beside him with suspicion. He felt that the other boy's success in getting something was probably just luck.
"Of course it doesn't work if your heart isn't sincere!" The red-haired boy stared with a serious expression. "Listen to me, you have to pray to the Silver Lightning from the bottom of your heart. If you're not sincere, not only will you not get good stuff, but you might even get a pile of useless junk."
It seemed that the previous attempt had given the red-haired boy a taste of success, and he became self-hypnotized, firmly believing in the so-called ritual. He then continued to mutter 'Praise the Silver Lightning' with a pious look while trying his luck again, but the results were somewhat disappointing. Most of them were low-value miscellaneous items; the only useful one remained that Children's Mirror.
"Strange, why isn't it working all of a sudden? It must be that my chanting wasn't accurate enough. Fred always makes fun of my pronunciation. Hmm, it must be that, no! I still want to buy!" After a quick self-critique, the red-haired boy angrily rushed back into the crowd in front of the counter, while the opened blind boxes on the ground disappeared into thin air after a while.
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