Charing Cross Road.
This was one of Britain's famous commercial streets, but even more famous than its shops were the many old bookstores lining this bustling road.
For people from the wizarding world, however, the best-known place here was still the Leaky Cauldron, which muggles could not see.
On this lively summer afternoon, a taxi pulled up precisely by a relatively quiet stretch of pavement. Its two beautiful passengers, however, had no intention of entering the magical world.
"I always feel muggles have far too much to learn. I really don't know how their brains manage it."
While the taxi driver, utterly bewitched by her, sat there completely baffled, Fleur had not even finished sighing before Hermione hurriedly pulled her out of the car.
"Don't talk about things like that in front of muggles! Besides, riding in a taxi isn't something they have to learn at school!"
Yes, at Fleur's request, Hermione had temporarily ended her holiday plans at the Weasley home and brought her to this street.
And Fleur had insisted they do it the muggle way.
Fleur ignored Hermione's warning and continued looking around at the buildings and passing cars with the typical astonishment of a wizard observing muggles.
"There are so many bookstores here!" She did not care how noticeable she was as she pointed at the various bookstores scattered along the street and cried out in delight.
"You were the one who wanted to buy books, weren't you? Of course I brought you to the famous bookshop street!"
Hermione raised her chin proudly, but to stop Fleur from doing anything else embarrassing for a witch, she quickly pulled her forward.
"By the way, why did you suddenly want to read muggle books?" Hermione asked curiously.
Fleur's eyes were still fixed on the dazzling rows of bookstores and the books inside them, so she answered somewhat absently, "Haven't I been working at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for a year?
"During this time, I summarized a lot of questions I wanted to ask Professor Fawley. When he finally had time to glance at them, he told me that these questions had all been answered by muggles during their abolition of slavery and their development of various distribution systems…"
"So you wanted to buy books like that and read them?"
Hermione understood at once. Seeing Fleur still clearly troubled by the professor's perfunctory attitude, she comforted her, "That's just how the professor is. Don't take it to heart.
"If he's having afternoon tea, especially afternoon tea with Pumpkin juice, he'll be especially interested in helping you answer all sorts of questions.
"But if the professor has something to do, then he'll answer in a way that… encourages us to think independently."
As a proper top student, Hermione had asked the professor plenty of questions back at school, so naturally she had picked up some experience.
"But the professor said he's so busy he doesn't even have time for afternoon tea…"
Fleur said helplessly, letting Hermione pull her into a clearly more spacious classical bookstore.
"Foyles?" She looked curiously at the shop sign.
Just from the outside, this five-story bookstore looked even larger than the Hogwarts library.
"That's right." Seeing the shelves inside packed with books, Hermione immediately grew excited. "This is the largest bookstore in the world. It has more than two hundred thousand books!"
"Is there anything I can help you with, beautiful ladies?"
A young man in a brown suit could not resist coming over, wearing what he clearly believed was his most charming smile.
He had noticed Fleur, who radiated captivating charm at every moment, as soon as she stepped out of the taxi.
He had only hesitated because he saw their destination was his least favorite place, a bookstore.
But clearly, it had only been a brief hesitation.
"I'm looking for…"
"I didn't know the staff at Foyles had started wearing suits," Hermione said.
The innocent Fleur had thought he was a shop assistant coming over to help them find books. After all, finding the exact book she wanted in a sea of more than two hundred thousand volumes was about as likely as The Statute of Secrecy being overturned.
But Hermione cut her off decisively.
The thing she had worried about most on this outing was Fleur's natural charm. With muggles having no resistance to it at all, in a bookstore with thousands of visitors every day, they were bound to attract no shortage of troublesome admirers.
They were witches, so naturally they were not afraid of being harmed by muggles. But that was precisely the trouble. They were witches, and Hermione in particular was still underage. Even using magic against muggles in self-defense would be troublesome.
But to the young man, this sort of childish response was nothing.
"My name is Shackley. As a good boy who has loved helping others since childhood, I'm very happy to offer assistance to any beautiful lady in need."
"Then can you help us find so many… Huh, what's this?"
Hermione pointed at a pile of books that had caught her eye. They were arranged into a neat cone-shaped mountain, but something about them looked strange.
More precisely, it was the exquisite hardcover that looked strange.
"Books," Shackley said matter-of-factly. But seeing the two of them lean in with interest, he hurriedly followed.
"Oh." Seeing the title, he patted the thick book and showed a look of understanding. "This is the bestselling book in London, even in all of Britain, recently."
Even though he hated reading, Shackley still knew about this book. It had been discussed everywhere, in bookstores, newspapers, television, and every kind of media.
"The Adventures of Young Kid and the Vampire…"
Fleur and Hermione stared at the cover with serious expressions.
There was nothing wrong with the title. Even in the muggle world, Vampires appeared in many fantasy novels.
The problem was that the cover showed a tall boy and a pale-faced man, and what they were holding in their hands were wands.
Fleur immediately picked up a copy and began flipping through it, but Hermione did not focus on the book. Instead, she looked at Shackley, who was waiting beside them.
"Do you know why these books are displayed in the most prominent position in Foyles? I don't remember the shop ever doing this before," Hermione asked, somewhat uncertain.
"Miss, Foyles certainly has never done anything like this before."
Shackley clearly became proud. After all, gathering all sorts of gossip was what he was best at.
"But it seems the publisher gave the owner of Foyles a price he couldn't refuse. From the moment this book went on sale, it was placed in the most eye-catching spot."
He pointed toward the bookstores outside. Hermione, sharp-eyed, noticed that those shops had also set up all kinds of conspicuous displays, and every single one of them was filled with the exact same book.
"In fact, this book has been displayed in every well-known bookstore in Britain!"