Ian's last trick was revealed.
He used the most sinister tactic against children.
"!!!!!"
Aurora's expression suddenly became very animated. She gasped and looked at Ian with an indescribable disbelief.
"You actually want to bribe me?"
Aurora's voice carried a hint of incredulity, and perhaps a little excitement?
"This isn't bribery, Miss Grindelwald. It's a transaction between you and me." Ian corrected earnestly and continued in a lowered voice.
"I'll secretly return the book. By then, it would be a win-win where nothing actually happened. I gain the knowledge I want, and you get the Golden Galleons to buy plenty of chocolate frogs."
"Or perhaps you prefer lemon sherbet or Bibiduo flavor beans?" Ian figured that kids likely couldn't resist the temptation of snacks.
As it turned out.
Aurora's expression clearly wavered. The aloof air that her appearance gave her seemed to dissipate quite a bit.
"I don't know if it's right or wrong to do this, but it feels like a rebellious act I've never done before. Maybe this is exactly what my grandfather said I need to learn at Hogwarts?"
Aurora seemed to be talking to herself.
"Learn what?"
Ian asked curiously.
The extraordinarily beautiful young girl looked up at Ian.
She uttered two words.
"Slyness."
She made a conclusive judgment.
"..."
Ian somewhat regretted his prying question.
However, things were fortunately progressing as he hoped.
"I can agree to this transaction with you."
Ultimately, Aurora was persuaded by Ian. It might not be the Golden Galleons that persuaded her; maybe she just thought that behaving this way would allow her to gain something she wanted.
Hmm.
It's hard to imagine someone wanting to become cunning.
"A wise choice!"
Ian was a bit excited.
"Here you go."
Aurora took out a piece of paper.
On it, she noted the names of each book.
Then.
She took a Golden Galleon from the counter and handed it to Ian — this was the money from returning three books, minus the rental fee, with one left over.
"Thank you! This is really helpful!"
Ian sincerely thanked her. If his wallet wasn't so constrained, he wouldn't have tricked the little girl; alas, even a hero can be defeated by a lack of funds.
He hadn't expected there to be so many textbooks over seven years, and given Teacher Mara's situation, it was certain he'd need countless more books in the future.
"You're welcome."
Aurora replied with a crisp voice.
Suddenly.
She asked unexpectedly.
"Does that make us accomplices?"
For some reason.
The voice of this little foreign girl sounded a bit excited.
"Friends."
Ian responded with a smile.
"Friends?"
Aurora's gaze turned a bit dazed again.
Yet.
Soon she refocused on those books.
"To be honest, I don't suggest pouring too much into studying magic potions, as they won't grant you much powerful strength." Aurora seriously advised.
"I'm just interested, that's all."
Ian started stacking the books one by one, making it easier to carry them back. Meanwhile, Aurora went to a corner and pulled out a book from a white backpack.
"My grandfather told me, when you make like-minded friends, you need to win their hearts. I think this will suit you." Aurora approached Ian with a very expensive-looking book.
"What is this?"
By now, Ian had picked up a stack of books, and saw Aurora placing her book on top of the pile of magic potion books that had already towered over his head.
"I have a gift. I can sense it will suit you very well... better than lying around with me." Aurora's odd-colored eyes focused on Ian's face.
"Thanks."
No matter what it was.
It was after all a gift.
Ian felt the unique pressure from her odd-colored eyes.
"I'm heading back; see you in a couple of days."
Ian prepared to skidaddle.
"You're the most persuasive peer I've ever seen. You shouldn't live here; you're destined to end up in Azkaban. Sooner or later, you'll end up there for fraud."
Aurora also waved goodbye, though she sincerely expressed her feelings. Her remarks, as always, were open and frank, speaking her mind.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Azkaban isn't all that bad, but if I had to choose, Azkaban would be a crash course; Nimongard is the real graduation."
Ian joked.
He struggled a bit, carrying the stack of books to the door. If it weren't for the physical skills from [Free Fighting], his small frame might not have managed such a huge pile of books.
"You know about Nimongard?"
Sitting back at the far end of the counter, Aurora looked up in surprise.
"That's the place where the first generation Black Demon King is imprisoned. I know it. Yes, my textbook likely has a record of it. I'll look up the name tonight."
Ian knew this information from the textbook in the "Magic History" class.
But he had been busy studying Rune Language and hadn't read any first-year textbooks other than "Standard Spell: Beginner".
The things he mentioned were memories from before his crossing over, from several films and Hermione fanfictions he read. These haven't faded yet despite the passing of time. Occasionally, in some chats of the current chapter of a Hermione fanfiction, mysterious people would mention Nimongard.
Like the Sorting Hat.
Or the main character committing murder.
Mysterious people would shout to send the main character to Nimongard.
"Gellert."
Aurora spoke in a low voice.
"Uh, is it this?"
Ian continued walking.
"I think there shouldn't be any mistake in this matter. His name is Gellert… Grindelwald." Aurora's voice slowly dropped.
Ian stopped in his tracks.
Due to the memory haze from drifting for so long post-crossing, it suddenly cleared up.
Damn!
No wonder!
No wonder the name Grindelwald sounded familiar!
Before crossing over, wasn't there a derivative film about this name in the works? Oops! Did he stupidly call someone else's family member a Black Demon King right in front of them!
"Miss Grindelwald…"
Ian reluctantly turned his head to look behind.
He saw the German girl looking at him with a deep gaze.
"If I said Black Demon King was a positive term, would you believe me?"
Ian forced a very awkward smile.
"You should be grateful Craft isn't here."
Aurora suddenly chuckled.
She raised her hand in a goodbye gesture to Ian.
"But he will be back soon."
This seemed like a reminder.
Ian quickly grasped his books and bolted – he ran back to the small house Snape arranged for him, panting hard. After a short rest, he dumped the dozens of books onto the table.
"Rustle~"
A large pile of books spread across the table.
Among them.
The most striking book, gifted by Aurora, was uniquely shaped, with a black cover streaked with purple streaks, looking and feeling completely different from the old textbooks.
"Advanced Dark Arts Unveiled"
The name of the book might carry a special magic.
It seemed to squirm and twist.
〔ps: Note, there wasn't any sneaky business. This book was outlined only after the first five chapters were released on day one, hence the first five chapters were slightly edited following readers' suggestions.
Grindelwald only appeared in the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", in the memory segment where Voldemort interrogates the whereabouts of the Elder Wand in the prison.
And in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in the Chocolate Frog card introduction of Albus Dumbledore. In early fanfictions, this character was rarely mentioned.〕