I Can Go Without, But…

"Um… actually…"

Harry looked utterly conflicted. The words "I’m sorry" rolled around in his mouth several times, but he just could not force them out.

Whenever Harry came looking for him before, he had poured everything out like a sieve. This was Adam’s first time seeing Harry speak so hesitantly.

"You can sort out what you want to say and come find me later, or have your friends pass along a message… If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now?"

"No, wait!"

Harry hurriedly grabbed the back hem of Adam’s robe.

"What I wanted to say was… I’m sorry! Um, I mean, about before…"

After shouting out that apology as if breaking a boat to cross the river, Harry’s voice immediately dropped again.

"…Sorry?"

Adam turned back, confusion written across his face.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Huh? Um, it’s about before… I mean, last school year… I told people that you were the one who dealt with the monster in the Chamber of Secrets…"

"Oh, that."

Adam nodded. He had indeed been somewhat angry at the time, but he had stopped dwelling on it afterward.

"I accept your apology."

"Phew, that’s good!"

Harry let out a breath, as though a great burden had been lifted from him. Then he looked at Adam somewhat sheepishly.

"I’m really sorry I put off apologizing until now… I should buy you a gift to make up for it. What do you like?"

"Hm?"

Adam had not expected Harry to be so thoughtful. He was about to say he lacked nothing when he suddenly remembered Harry’s Invisibility Cloak.

"I remember Ron said you slipped out of school using your Invisibility Cloak?"

Harry: "!!!"

Harry swiftly looked around. Only after confirming no one was nearby did he relax.

Adam was speechless. If only Harry had shown this much vigilance earlier.

After confirming the area was clear, Harry began considering Adam’s words. From the sound of it, Adam wanted his Invisibility Cloak?

"Um… if you want an Invisibility Cloak, Adam, I can buy you another one. The one I have now was my father’s keepsake…"

"I don’t want your Invisibility Cloak. I just want to take a look at it. I can return it right away."

"Huh? You just want to look at it?"

Harry blinked.

"That’s right. I’m merely curious about that legendary Invisibility Cloak, but I don’t need it."

As Adam spoke, his body gradually vanished before Harry’s eyes.

"See? Wizards have more ways to become invisible than just an Invisibility Cloak. There are other methods, such as the Disillusionment Charm."

"Wow!"

Harry’s eyes gleamed. He could not help reaching out, only to press directly toward Adam’s face. Adam’s eye twitched as he grabbed Harry’s hand in midair.

"What are you doing?"

"Ahem, I just wanted to try it… I didn’t expect someone could become invisible so perfectly using only their own power!"

Harry rubbed his hands together regretfully.

"I’ll go get the Invisibility Cloak for you to see right away…"

A minute later, Adam got his wish and received the Invisibility Cloak.

The cloak was extremely light. It felt like a layer of flowing mist, one side capable of complete invisibility while the other resembled a light silver veil.

"Truly incredible…"

Omnipresent magic slowly flowed across the cloak’s surface, maintaining a spell that seemed capable of lasting forever while automatically negating all revealing magical effects.

It still had a series of flaws, such as being trackable, unable to conceal sound, and unable to eliminate physical collisions… but in terms of invisibility alone, this cloak truly deserved the title of a Deathly Hallow.

Adam shook out the Invisibility Cloak in his hands and flipped it over. One hand held up the cloak with its reverse side facing upward, concealing the movement of his other hand as it stuffed another Invisibility Cloak into his satchel.

Although he had no use for an Invisibility Cloak with his Illusion Card, just as he had no use for Anubis’s Scales with his Scale Card, he was still quite interested in copying such a rare treasure for his collection~

"Here, I’ll return it to you."

"Um, that’s all? You could look at it a little longer."

"No. Seeing it with my own eyes once was enough. Whether I look at it a few more times or a few fewer makes no difference."

After putting away the Invisibility Cloak, Harry watched Adam walk away and silently decided that he should still buy an Invisibility Cloak for Adam.

Honeydukes Sweetshop was not far from the Three Broomsticks Pub. After pushing open the shop door, Adam immediately spotted Klon and the others. Aside from the four of them gathered together, there were only seven or eight scattered customers in the shop. As Adam entered, two Gryffindor students were heading out.

When they saw Adam, their disappointed eyes immediately lit up.

"Adam? I didn’t expect you to come to this shop too."

"I came to see how the legendary new product tastes."

"Oh! Don’t even mention it…"

One of them rolled his eyes.

"Same old stuff in a new package. They call it a new product, but really, they just changed the flavor of their old things…"

Honeydukes Sweetshop’s candies sold more than just sweetness. They also came with novel magical effects, such as sherbet balls that made people float off the ground while sucking on them, or Black Pepper Imps that made fire shoot from one’s nose. These were things Adam’s desserts could not compare to.

Even so, Honeydukes Sweetshop’s sales had been squeezed into an extremely dismal state by Adam. No matter how interesting a candy’s effects were, they became boring after trying them a few times. If someone really liked playing with things, why not buy toys instead?

Besides, what kind of normal person spent every day shooting fire from their nostrils for fun?

But Adam’s desserts were simply delicious. They returned to the essence of desserts, and there was a wide variety as well. Other than a very small number of products that challenged the limits of wizarding taste, there were hundreds upon hundreds left. Even if someone ate one a day, they would not be able to try them all in a school year.

Before, there had been no choice. Now that there was one, everyone could only judge by real capability—and for candy, real capability was naturally flavor.

Unfortunately, reality was even crueler. On this point, not even Honeydukes Sweetshop’s longtime customer, Professor Dumbledore, would stand on their side.

It could be said that Honeydukes Sweetshop’s only remaining customers at Hogwarts came for its sole advantage over Adam’s products—the amusing effects. Yet their new product was merely a different flavor?

What a joke. If people wanted flavor, what Hogwarts student would still come to Honeydukes Sweetshop now?

With that, it was not difficult to imagine why the place was so deserted.

"I see…"

Adam nodded. It seemed this side had run out of tricks.

"You’re Adam?"

Adam turned and saw that the speaker was a balding, fat man. The man was looking at him as he walked over.

"Ah!"

The two young wizards were startled and hurriedly fled, but not before reminding Adam.

"He’s the owner of Honeydukes Sweetshop, Ambrosius Flume!"

Raising an eyebrow, Adam looked at Ambrosius and nodded.

"That’s right. I’m Adam."

There were actually quite a few people named Adam, but they both knew exactly who the other meant.

"I hear you sell candy too."

Ambrosius spoke in a rough voice. He walked up to Adam, then turned to look at his own shelves.

"What do you think of the flavor of my shop’s candies?"

"To be honest, they taste good…"

With a sweep of his gaze, Adam spotted several candies he recognized.

"I really like your Coconut Ice."

At that, Ambrosius reached out, took a box of Coconut Ice, and handed it to Adam.

"It’s for you."

Adam stood there holding the box of Coconut Ice for several seconds.

"Um… should we still go up and help?"

Bernard silently tucked the wand he had half-drawn back into his inner pocket and quietly asked Uther beside him.

"Mm… let’s watch a little longer."

Uther narrowed his eyes at Ambrosius and replied quietly.