Chapter 20: The Invisible Book of Invisibility
Flourish and Blotts, Diagon Alley
Ronald Bilius Weasley
July 15, 1989, Saturday
Just as Ron gave Alfred the Scan command, the Library Scan screen appeared before him, a screen he was already familiar with.
But unlike before, the 100 slots on the scan screen were completely full for the first time.
Ron walked into the store and headed to the bookshelves, meanwhile mentally giving Alfred instructions to adjust the scan screen priorities.
'Alfred, prioritize books on Mind Arts as the top priority. The second priority is books on crafting. Then prioritize books containing advanced information, such as Advanced Potion-Making and Advanced Charm Casting. After that, books on magic theory. You can prioritize the rest yourself, but put fantasy novels and storybooks last.'
[As you wish, Master Ronald. Do you want me to get your approval for the list before the scans begin?]
'No need. Go straight to the scan. I want to copy as many books as possible in the time I have here.' Ron replied in his head.
[Understood, Master Ronald. The scanning process is starting.]
Then Ron saw the books on the scanning list in front of him being rearranged before the scanning process began.
When it came to books without a protective spell, the Library's scanning feature took a minute per book, allowing Ron to scan and copy 6000 books in an hour.
Frankly, Ron was skeptical about the legality and morality of what he was doing.
On the one hand, he wasn't harming Flourish and Blotts in any way, nor did he take anything from them physically. After Ron left, Flourish and Blotts would continue their day without any loss.
On the other hand, Ron would have obtained something that normally sells for money, without paying anything. And Ron didn't know how moral that was.
But if he considered the Library's scan feature as his talent, Ron was simply using his talent to its full advantage without harming anyone.
Would a Seeker with quick reflexes feel guilty using this talent in Quidditch? Of course not.
But Ron knew that these two things weren't exactly the same. Still, he also knew that people like Hermione argued that knowledge should be shared, not hoarded.
Yet, it would be hypocritical of him to consider himself justified, since he wouldn't want such a thing done to him.
But putting all of that aside, the wizarding world possessed a spell called the Duplication Charm (Geminio), and he found it difficult to understand why wizards and witches didn't make copies of old books instead of buying new ones.
He knew that objects created with a Duplication Charm deteriorated or rotted faster than their originals. But someone powerful and skilled in this spell could easily duplicate books to last for years.
From this perspective, the Library's Scan feature wasn't much different from a permanent Duplication Charm.
'Anyway. Thinking about it won't change anything. I had already prepared a surprise for Flourish and Blotts. I'll give them a discount as compensation,' Ron thought.
Then he turned his attention back to the scanning screen. Now, the first group of books was almost finished being scanned. And a few seconds later, all the scanning progress on the list was finished, and the list was refreshed, revealing the names of new books.
But then Ron noticed that some of the books at the top of the list were still being scanned rather than replaced with other books.
After a moment of surprise, Ron looked at these books carefully and understood what was happening. Unlike the others, these books had protective spells, which is why their scans were taking longer.
The book "Guide to Advanced Occlumency" still had approximately 36 minutes of scanning time.
The book "Advanced Legilimency Techniques" has 51 minutes, and "Living with Legilimens: Choose Your Minds Wisely" has 14 minutes.
In addition to these, some books, notes, and tomes on mind art and other advanced branches of magic and spells were also still on the list. But while their scan time was longer than a normal minute, it wasn't as long as the others and was under ten minutes.
'Alfred, can you tell me where these books are that are taking longer than usual to scan?' Ron said Alfred from his mind. These books had piqued his curiosity, and he wanted to glance at them while the scanning progress was continuing.
[These books aren't in the shop's public area, Master Ronald. You don't have access to their location under normal circumstances.]
And then, after Alfred's reply, it dawned on Ron. The Library's scanning area has a radius of 100 meters with Ron at the center. This essentially meant a sphere with a diameter of 200 meters.
Considering its sheer size, Ron could right now be scanning all the books on every floor of Flourish and Blotts, as well as those in the neighboring shops.
And these books, bearing protective spells, were either books that Flourish and Blotts kept separate and only brought out upon request due to their value and sensitivity, or they were part of someone's private collection.
But Ron had no intention of stopping the scan. These books were incredibly valuable to him, and if he missed this chance, he didn't know when he'd be able to scan them again.
While the scanning process continued, Ron began wandering among the bookshelves, examining the books that caught his eye, picking up those he liked, and carrying them under his arm.
After all, he needed to point to a source, even if just for show, for the information he was going to learn. So, he was considering buying a few books that he thought would look good on his shelves, such as those on crafting, wizarding etiquette, and the laws of Magical Britain and the wizarding world.
As Ron wandered among the bookshelves, examining the books and occasionally taking long reading sessions standing up, time flew by.
After a while, when Ron checked the time with a Tempus Spell, he realized that about an hour and a half had passed since he arrived.
He also realized the shop manager had been glancing at him occasionally for the past half hour.
If Ron hadn't brought the books he was considering buying and placed them on a table in the corner of the shop, the manager would most likely have come over and politely asked him to leave.
But right now, Ron had more than ten books set aside to buy, and the manager was probably keeping quiet to avoid losing a potential sale.
After all, bookstores weren't particularly crowded except for the rush days between the distribution of Hogwarts letters and the start of school. Maybe, except for book signing events by "famous" authors like Gilderoy Lockhart.
Therefore, every potential customer should be treated carefully by the manager.
Thinking that Bill might be arriving soon, Ron decided it was time to put his plan into action slowly. He had already scanned over 8,000 books, and these would last him a long time.
After placing the book he was holding next to the books he had set aside, Ron went back among the bookshelves and, finding a spot where the manager couldn't see him, slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a medallion.
This medallion was made of wood, about the size of a galleon, and had rune engravings.
But Ron had actually summoned it from his inventory. Even though he was in the manager's blind spot, he didn't want people to know about his inventory.
And he never knew who was watching him or how. So, he thought it was best to be cautious.
As for the item he holds, this was one of the small projects he finished over the past week while working on his bigger projects. An item that, when activated, makes people and objects that have become invisible visible again.
Of course, if the targeted wizard or witch had high magical power, they could counteract the item's power, but Ron had no intention of using it on a human right now.
After activating the item, Ron wandered among the shelves for a while before finding what he was looking for. A book that stood out among the others, because it shines subtly.
The book was on the top shelf, but that wasn't a problem for Ron.
Without even moving his hand, the book floated down in front of him. His Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa) had now reached a level of mastery where he could use the spell with his mind.
The book Ron was currently holding was the infamous "The Invisible Book of Invisibility", which had caused Flourish and Blotts considerable financial loss. Flourish and Blotts had bought 200 of these books, but because they became invisible and disappeared within the shop, they became unsellable.
But thanks to the simple item Ron used, the book was now visible again in his hand, even though it glowed from the item's effect, showing it was an invisible object.
Ron aimed to do Flourish and Blotts a favor with these books and, in the process, make his first sale and earn his first money.
He deactivated his item, which he called the "Eye of Demiguise," making the book invisible again. Then, carrying it under his arm, he went to the table in the corner of the shop where he had set aside his books.
There were twelve books there, and including The Invisible Book of Invisibility, Ron would have a total of 13 books to buy.
In front of the shop manager's watchful eyes, Ron split the pile of books into two. What he would do with these books was to show the manager if he were a customer.
If Ron had put them back on the shelves, the manager would have been tricked by a little boy, who would have been allowed to wander among the shelves and read books for over an hour.
But if Ron brought the books he had set aside back to the counter, it would mean the manager's patience was justified and that he hadn't lost a potential customer.
Ron picked up one of the piles and started walking towards the manager's counter. He could see the manager's stern expression transform into a smile.
Ron placed the pile on the counter and said, "Hello, sir. I wanted to buy these books. But I have a few more to bring, please calculate all of them together."
The manager's smile widened even more, and frankly, Ron would be lying if he said he wasn't a little scared by it.
"Young man, aren't the other books you want the ones you've laid out on that table?" said the manager, pointing to the table in the corner of the shop.
"Yes," said Ron.
"Then you don't need to tire yourself out. I'll bring them over here for you," said the manager, and after he took out his wand and waved it, the books on the table flew up and came towards him, then landed neatly on the counter, piled on top of each other.
"Is there anything else you want besides these books, young man?" said the manager, but instead of looking at Ron, he was looking at the books on the counter and calculating their prices.
"Actually, there's something else. I wanted to know the price of The Invisible Book of Invisibility and how I can make it visible," said Ron.
"Those books? Two galleons and four sickles each. As for how you can make them visible... I have no idea. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lost a fortune because of them. I stocked 200 of them, and each one has disappeared somewhere in the shop." The manager said, his attention still on the books on the counter.
Now, more than the prices, he was wondering why such a young boy was buying so many books on crafting.
"So, can't I make this book visible? How will people read it then?" Ron said.
"That's the real problem..." The manager turned his head towards Ron, but Ron's pose, as if he were holding a book, caused him to stop mid-sentence.
As the manager mentally repeated what Ron had just said, he realized what Ron was holding, and his eyes widened. Then he said, "Did you really find one of them?"
End of Chapter 20.
--------------
Announcement: This story has now been added to my Patreon page. In addition to the weekly two public chapters, any extra chapters I manage to write will be added to my Patreon page.
I will increase the number of weekly public chapters once my Patreon page chapters reach their quota.
I hope you will support me on my Patreon page and encourage me to write more. Any amount helps, no matter how big or small.
I hope you enjoy it.
--------------
Author's Note: You folks can also read up to +3 chapters on my P@treon Page as an early access privilege.
www.patreon.com/vanguard_v
P@treon Page Name: V For Vanguard
Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.21: Negotiation and First Sale
Ch.22: Eye of Demiguise and Sigil of Invisibility
Ch.23: Hidden Achievements