A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 176: L.C.A. Publishing House

The next morning at half-past nine, 126a Diagon Alley.

In front of a low, white building, Felix Harp smiled as he shook hands with a woman in a purple dress bidding her farewell.

"No need to accompany me, madam. It's been an honor to continue our collaboration."

"Oh, Mr. Harp, you're too modest. Your books are always so inspiring."

Felix descended the deep brown wooden steps and blended into the bustling crowd. At this moment, a sense of relief washed over him. "The first book negotiation went smoothly, hardly took any effort."

"But the real challenge lies ahead."

He strolled along Diagon Alley, turned a corner by the entrance of Gringotts Bank, and followed another side street, counting door numbers.

"13a, 14b, 15a on the south side of Diagon Alley... So, shop 15b should be right across." Felix turned around and saw a seven-story building.

The building was dirty, showing signs of neglect over the years, with letters on top almost completely faded. He could just make out a letter 'L,' casting a shadow over his upcoming collaboration.

In the gap between the building and the adjacent one, a row of large trash bins was stacked, bearing the marks of L.C.A.

He ascended the dark staircase to the second floor, pushed open an oak door covered in scratches, and a cacophony of fragmented voices assaulted his ears.

He seemed to have stepped into another world. The walls were adorned with an array of colorful comic strips, completely concealing the walls themselves.

The central figure in most of these comic strips was a young boy with a beret and a striped shirt. He was depicted in various scenarios: being chased by a group of mischievous pixies; brandishing a small wand vigorously; riding a unicorn, joyfully turning back to greet a friend; standing atop a cottage roof, donning a wizarding cloak...

But Felix also noticed that these artworks had seen their fair share of years. Some had lost their colors, and a few were covered in patches of purple mold in the corners.

All of this suggested that this publishing house had once thrived but now had fallen on harder times.

"Is anyone here? Mr. Andis?" Felix called out.

After a moment, a door beside him swung open, hidden amidst layers of artwork that he hadn't initially noticed.

A lean, middle-aged wizard with a scruffy beard stared at him, his voice nasal as he asked, "Felix Harp?"

"That's me. I assume you're Mr. Andis? We had an appointment."

The wizard released the doorknob. "Come in, it's a bit cluttered." He stepped back on his own accord.

Felix furrowed his brow slightly, but he didn't say anything. He followed the wizard into the room, where an unpleasant smell lingered and various items were haphazardly strewn about. He even spotted a few plates of leftover food in the corner.

This sent shivers down his spine, and he instinctively thought of Apparating away from here.

The only comfort came from the fact that in this makeshift studio, he saw fresh paint and canvases, with some impressive half-finished artworks.

He decided to delve further, as long as the room aligned with his aesthetic.

"Cleanse anew! Sweep away the old! Whirlwind's fury!"

Felix waved his wand repeatedly, clearing away the clutter. A sudden gust of wind wreaked havoc in the small room, causing the windows to rattle, and the furniture to shake vigorously. But the dust and grime were swiftly stripped away by the wind, forming a murky mass of air.

He opened the window, and from the tip of his wand, a silver swallow darted out. "Do me a favor. I remember seeing a trash bin when I came in." The swallow nodded and flew out the window, followed by a gray, serpentine dragon.

"You, you..." The wizard named Andis stared in astonishment at Felix, his tongue momentarily tied in knots.

"Please, have a seat, Mr. Andis." Felix waved his wand, pushing a chair that had been freshly cleaned towards him.

Andis sat down with a bewildered expression, looking around. After a moment, he seemed to realize, "This seems to be my home?" He muttered softly at first, then his face flushed red, and he angrily protested.

Seated across from him, Felix maintained a calm demeanor as he spoke, "Mr. Andis, let's get to the point. Since you agreed to this visit, I assume you have a need for external submissions."

"And as a potential collaborator, at least until you explicitly decline, I hold the right to make demands."

"You..."

Felix Harp tapped the ring with his wand, and a stack of sketches flew out from it. "These are my submissions, 'The Adventures of Young Wizard Mick.' I mentioned it in my letter. You can take a look first, and then it's up to you to decide if we continue our conversation. I don't want to waste both of our time."

The wizard across from him held the sketches, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at Felix.

"What are you waiting for?"

The wizard cleared his throat and awkwardly said, "N-nothing."

He quickly lowered his head to examine the sketches, simultaneously mentally labeling Felix as a strong-willed wizard.

The wizard decided to pick out a few faults casually, then swiftly usher him out. If Felix wasn't satisfied, he'd run out onto the street seeking help...

As time passed, Andis shifted from initially being nonchalant to becoming genuinely engaged. He made various comments.

"Not bad."

"Quite interesting."

"What's this, a fer...ris...wheel? How does it spin, and it's not really magic, is it?"

"Merlin's beard, pouring two glasses of water together turns them red? I suspect it's the effect of some kind of transparent potion."

At some point, he pulled the chair beside Felix and started discussing with him.

"I like this part, I find it quite wise—"

Felix looked over, it was a scene where the young wizard Mick and his new Muggle friend were shopping for clothes:

"So, what do I say?" Young Wizard Mick looked at the assortment of clothes in the shop, nervously asking, "I'm utterly lost, I'm just a clueless country boy."

"Don't worry, I'm lost too, but my mum told me a trick." His friend said.

Young Wizard Mick, gazing at the array of garments, confidently told the saleswoman, "My friend here has a budget of 15 pounds, and he needs a shirt, pants, and preferably a bowtie. Can you do that, madam?"

The young saleswoman smiled, "Of course, young sir." She gave Young Wizard Mick's figure a quick once-over, then went to fetch suitable clothes.

His friend grinned at Young Wizard Mick, "See, not too difficult, right?"

...

After about half an hour, Felix asked him, "What do you think?"

Andis's expression grew shrewd as he assessed the manuscript's value. After seven or eight minutes, he hesitated, "To be honest, I can't be sure."

He added, "From my personal perspective, this is quite an interesting children's comic. But I'm not that confident in my own judgment. As you've seen, this publishing house was indeed successful, but since I took over, we've had a dozen consecutive failures. We even had to release a 30th-anniversary edition of our old books."

"Mr. Andis, I haven't asked you yet, what does L.C.A stand for?" Felix inquired.

"It's the initials of the three founders' names. The 'A' stands for Andis, it was created by my grandfather and his two good friends." The wizard explained.

"What about your company's representative work, 'The Adventures of Martin Miggs'..."

"It was my grandfather's idea, somewhat based on his own experience. When he was a child, he once hosted a Muggle boy who accidentally stumbled into the magical world. They had a fun week together before the situation was discovered. Ministry officials erased the boy's memory and sent him back home."

Felix nodded knowingly. He took out a few pieces of parchment from the ring, covered in various forms and data. The parchment floated and adhered to the wall.

"Mr. Andis, I can't guarantee that this manuscript will single-handedly revive your publishing house, but from data analysis, since your company's establishment, you've published seventeen sets of comics. Of course, 'The Adventures of Martin Miggs' is the most famous. But I've obtained some data from my friend at the Ministry's publication department, and it's clear that content that's relatively novel tends to be more popular..."

"Furthermore, this manuscript, positioned for children, doesn't come across as too juvenile and is quite adult-friendly. If you're willing, we can collaborate."

Andis didn't have many options, unless he wanted to continue scraping by on the remnants of past glory.

Thus, after Felix provided him with a reasonable justification, Andis agreed in due course. Their initial plan was conservative, to publish a hundred copies as a trial. Even if it failed, it wouldn't be a catastrophe.

At best, Andis would've wasted some time, but time was something he currently had in abundance.

With the collaboration settled, Andis demonstrated his ancestral craft to Felix. He made alterations and improvements to one of Felix's sketches, using his wand to add color, refining the image in no time.

In the scene, a young boy stood on a towering Ferris wheel, tiptoeing to peer out the window. Beside him floated a half-eaten, levitating vanilla ice cream.

Half an hour later, Felix exited the L.C.A. building, feeling quite pleased.

He intended to use the public fireplace in Diagon Alley to return to his office, avoiding the need to Apparate to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and walk some distance. But just then—

"Professor Harp?"

Felix turned around and spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. He responded with mild surprise, "Potter?"

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