The moment Glenn stepped into Flourish and Blotts, he felt something was off.
To be precise, it was far too noisy.
The clanging of metal against metal, the low growls of strange creatures, the grating sound of sharp teeth gnawing on steel—what was usually a relatively peaceful store compared to the other shops in Diagon Alley was now filled with an unbearable cacophony.
The source of the noise was the numerous iron cages scattered throughout the bookstore, each containing small, monstrous creatures—books with long, sharp teeth.
It seemed these were the required textbooks for the Care of Magical Creatures class: The Monster Book of Monsters.
The name was quite fitting.
This book was listed on their shopping list, but Hermione didn't seem to care about it at the moment.
After she had rushed into the bookstore to avoid something, a certain switch inside her seemed to have been flipped.
The number of courses they would be taking had increased…
In other words, Hermione's already vast ocean of knowledge was about to expand even further!
Previously, as a newcomer to the wizarding world, Hermione had been cautious not to overreach, focusing her energy on mastering the basics taught at school.
But now, things were different!
Hermione believed her abilities were now sufficient to absorb a wider variety of knowledge!
Although these "adorable" pieces of knowledge weren't as appealing to Hermione as they were to Glenn, their sheer quantity and variety made them irresistible!
Slurp.
The beast within Hermione awoke. She forgot the embarrassment she felt before entering the bookstore and began ravenously selecting her chosen "little beauties."
Third-year students were required to study seven core subjects: Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Astronomy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. In addition, they had to choose at least two elective courses from Divination, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies.
Typically, most young wizards would only pick two electives.
But Hermione was no ordinary young witch.
So…
She planned to take all the electives except Divination!
As for why she chose not to take Divination, that was thanks to Glenn's advice.
He had long anticipated that Hermione, with her thirst for knowledge, would impulsively decide to take every single course. However, she seemed to have forgotten that while they were learning Hogwarts' curriculum, they also needed to independently study parts of the curriculum from the North China School of Sorcery.
Although neither of them intended to delve deeper into the more complex elective content, the workload from their chosen courses was already immense.
Both Glenn and Hermione had chosen the Battle Arts and Spellcasting courses. Glenn had additionally opted for Alchemy and Artificer courses, while Hermione had chosen the Beastmaster course.
After all, the young witch had always dreamed of returning to China one day to join the ranks of young sorcerers and encounter her own fluffy magical beast companion.
She also planned to synchronize her studies with Hagrid's Beastmaster content, ensuring harmony between Hagrid and Norberta.
The amount of studying the two were undertaking was already beyond what others could imagine. Although they were both masters of time management, with exceptional self-discipline and high learning efficiency, the addition of third-year electives meant they would need to adjust and re-plan their schedules.
It would likely be exhausting, but that didn't matter—knowledge was always worth it.
Still, Glenn couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Hermione. He knew that once she got into her study mode, she would completely ignore her own well-being.
(Though, to be fair, he wasn't exactly self-aware about his own habits either.)
After much persuasion, carefully listing pros and cons, and analyzing the courses in detail, Glenn finally convinced Hermione to reluctantly give up Divination—a subject similar to Arithmancy.
For Hermione, who preferred detailed calculations over vague "omens," the choice was clear.
As for the other courses, Hermione was adamant about keeping them. To get Glenn to agree, she even resorted to some playful tactics—like cuddling up to him and acting coquettish—until he had no choice but to relent.
As for Glenn, he wasn't much better. He only chose one less course than Hermione, skipping Muggle Studies. Despite Hermione's arguments about the value of understanding ordinary people from different perspectives, Glenn remained uninterested.
To him, the most valuable understanding of humanity came from observing with his own eyes.
Even though he had one less class than Hermione, Glenn's schedule still had some conflicts. However, this didn't worry him. He and Hermione had already prepared for this and planned to tackle it head-on when the time came.
Glancing at Hermione, who was now enthusiastically exploring the depths of the bookstore, and the three girls chatting and laughing as they approached her, Glenn turned his attention to The Monster Book of Monsters.
Since he and Hermione had decided to take Care of Magical Creatures, he didn't bother about what Luna, Parvati, or Lavender chose. Instead, he focused on getting their copies of The Monster Book of Monsters.
After all, these books didn't look easy to handle. It was better to let Hermione spend more time considering her other book purchases while he dealt with the troublesome ones.
The manager of Flourish and Blotts had gone to assist Hermione and the others, as the number of books she planned to buy was substantial. Meanwhile, a clerk approached Glenn.
"Two copies of The Monster Book of Monsters," Glenn said plainly, preempting the clerk's question.
The clerk's inquiry of "Hogwarts, right?" was swallowed back, and he begrudgingly replied, "Alright." With a grim expression, he opened a cage and, donning thick gloves, reached for the snapping books, muttering incomprehensibly about "damned books" and "never stocking them again."
"Argh!"
A strange sound came from the clerk's direction. It was unclear whether it came from him or the books. His face twisted in frustration, though he seemed accustomed to it, suggesting he'd been bitten by these books many times before.
Glenn drew his wand, and with a flick of his hand, a set of alchemical materials appeared in mid-air. Pointing forward, he cast a spell. Under the clerk's astonished gaze, the materials formed two book covers that securely encased the biting books, sealing them shut.
The effect was immediate. Once the clerk managed to pull his hand free, the books, still struggling, floated in mid-air before being completely subdued by the covers. They could now only emit faint noises.
With a snap of his left hand, Glenn clapped the two books together in mid-air, silencing them completely.
It seemed they had fainted.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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