Chapter 6: Editor's Urging for Manuscripts
Time quickly advanced to August.
Douglas had stayed indoors for a month.
During this period, he sent some letters to a few close friends.
Of course, because his early plan was to hide in the Muggle World as much as possible, he didn't keep an owl.
For this, he had to thank the manuscript-urging owl from his editor in the Wizarding World—Mr. Slynn of Momo Ran Publishing Company.
If not for it, Douglas felt he might have truly become disconnected from the Wizarding World.
He learned about the OWL and NEWTs exams from some graduating seniors and juniors in recent years, summarizing nearly five years of exam syllabi.
Fortunately, due to the population base of the Wizarding World and the long lifespans of the examiners, most of the exam questions remained largely unchanged.
In addition, he divided the textbook content into practical and theoretical sections.
It's worth mentioning here that every subject Professor had the right to choose their own textbook.
Of course, Douglas didn't make any changes in this regard.
Although classics aren't necessarily the best, due to the Wizarding World's slow development in various aspects, for many years, the lower grades have continued to use 'Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Defense' written by Quintin Trimble, a book that deeply introduces various dark creatures and some defensive spells.
He wasn't as narcissistic as Lockhart, making students study his own books.
He had previously published books in the Wizarding World under an alias.
The main reason for this stemmed from his fear of Dumbledore's Legilimency during his student days.
Therefore, he thought of using imaginative novel ideas as a cover.
It's a pity that not all students were named Harry Potter.
Initially, Dumbledore didn't pay much attention to him.
It was only after he caused those incidents at school that Dumbledore noticed him.
However, thinking of Lockhart, Douglas always felt as if he had overlooked something.
He glanced at the clock; it was already one in the morning.
Douglas stretched, looking out the window at the crescent Moontooth in the sky.
He couldn't help but sigh:
"The moon is like a hook, tender feelings hard to dispel... Oh, crap!"
Suddenly, Douglas caught sight of a car flying in the moonlight, seemingly not very far from him.
He immediately remembered what it was.
Then he tapped his finger beside his eye and silently chanted:
"Zoom in!"
Instantly, it was as if he was using a high-powered telescope; the distant scenery rapidly zoomed in until he could clearly see the people in the car.
Sure enough...
There were four people in the car, three with red hair.
Among them were a pair of twins, who he could guess without confirmation were Fred and George, whom he had seen at The Burrow a few years ago.
There was also their youngest brother, Ron, though he was a seven or eight-year-old child when Douglas last saw him.
Most importantly, he saw a black-haired child wearing glasses.
"He looks a bit familiar. Is that Harry Potter?"
Before he could observe carefully, the car flew into a cloud of mist.
Douglas frowned slightly and rubbed his eyes.
"If I remember correctly, this should be the 'Weasley breaks into Dursley's, drives to rescue Harry from misery' plot.
Based on their flight direction and the location of The Burrow, does that mean Harry Potter actually lives not too far from my home?"
Douglas tried hard to recall if he had inadvertently met this protagonist in his daily life.
"However, Mr. Weasley is quite talented.
Should I also find a car and ask Mr. Weasley to help modify it...?"
Douglas's lips curved upward slightly.
About five years ago, Douglas had a very good relationship with Bill Weasley, a top student in his year.
That year, he was even invited by Bill to The Burrow to celebrate Christmas.
There he met the future twins, as well as young Ron and young Ginny.
Of course, there was also Charlie, but they had already known each other at school.
After staying at The Burrow for a week, Mr. Arthur Weasley asked him a lot about the Muggle World.
When he learned that Arthur hadn't started modifying Muggle cars yet, he offered a few suggestions.
It was also then that Douglas realized that fully modifying Muggle items into magic items was not simply about casting corresponding spells on the items.
It also required deep Alchemy knowledge.
Unfortunately, Hogwarts' Alchemy class had been without a Professor for many years due to the turmoil of those times.
But because it was only an elective, this course had been suspended for a long time, and only the library had some Alchemy books.
However, judging from Arthur's reaction, although the Weasley family was not wealthy, that was only in terms of money.
As one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, they clearly had their own heritage.
Douglas stated that he wasn't envious at all.
However...
Douglas finally remembered what he had always felt he was missing.
After seeing the Weasley children, he finally remembered—Ginny, the diary, the Chamber of Secrets, and the Basilisk.
Too much time had passed...
In fact, in his first year, he had even looked for the Chamber of Secrets.
And he successfully found the bathroom where Myrtle resided, and also found the faucet with the snake emblem that wouldn't run water.
At that time, he even imitated the Parseltongue he learned from movies in his previous life, trying to open the Chamber of Secrets.
Haha, Muggle movies really aren't reliable.
Douglas stroked his chin, recalling his past chuunibyo moments.
"If I remember correctly, I seem to have written in Chinese Pinyin in a copy of 'Hogwarts, A History' in the library, next to the content about the Chamber of Secrets, where the Chamber was and what was inside.
I also carved '【Welcome Home, Lord Voldemort】' next to that faucet..."
Thinking of this, Douglas couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of himself for having done such childish things with a mature soul.
He also wondered if it would scare Lord Voldemort if he jumped out and made a prophecy.
But these were not what he needed to consider now.
When the sky falls, the tall ones bear the brunt.
Now, what Douglas needed to consider was how to deal with his meeting with the editor at the end of the month.
Being pressed for manuscripts was a very painful thing.
Time quickly came to the end of August.
Douglas, carrying the manuscript he had rushed out this month, enough for a volume, arrived in London.
Between a bookstore and a record store, he saw the Leaky Cauldron.
Stepping into the Leaky Cauldron, Douglas couldn't help but purse his lips.
The pub's decor was still dim and simple, with only a few tables in the shadowy corners besides the bar.
The only promotional menu was a dirty poster behind the bar about pig's head meat as a bar snack.
That's right, this was still designed by Douglas himself and hung there back then.
He wouldn't have given away the recipe for that pig's head meat unless someone had something on him.
As soon as he entered the pub, Douglas was spotted by the sharp-eyed proprietor, Tom.
"Oh, let me see, who is this, Mr. Holmes, a big patron.
It's been a long time, would you like a butterbeer? It's on me.
To celebrate you becoming..."
Douglas couldn't help but cough lightly, then hummed:
"Old Tom is still as well-informed as ever.
But thank you, I have things to do in Diagon Alley. I'll come back and chat with you later."
Old Tom shrugged, indicating it was fine, then continued wiping the glasses in his hand.
He guessed who the other party was looking for, after all, that pig's head meat bar snack was his hush money back then.
As the gatekeeper of the entrance to Diagon Alley, he still knew what to say and what not to say.
Douglas walked on his own to the small courtyard behind the pub.
He pulled out his wand, then using the trash can as a reference, counted up three bricks, then two bricks across.
(Why count? Because he rarely came here.)
He gently tapped it with his wand.
Accompanied by a scraping sound, the lively sounds of the market suddenly filled his ears.
A long street paved with cobblestones and various strange shops appeared before his eyes.
"Wizarding World, long time no see!"