Chapter Sixty-Four: The House of the Flashing Shadow Golem

When the Flash-Image Golem House was first acquired, it was just as crooked and leaning as other wizard-modified homes. In his letters, Roger insisted that it had to be renovated to stand straight and orderly.

Stealing into his view as he arrived at the shopfront was a quaint and elegant two-story building. The exterior walls were made of deep red brick, adorned with pale yellow decorative molding along the corners and windowsills.

The wall directly facing Gringotts featured a massive glass display cabinet, still draped in cloth and concealing its merchandise from public view.

Above the arched entrance made of oak hung a gleaming signboard, carved with the words "Flash-Image Golem House," flanked on either side by a pair of sculpted owls. Perched above the sign was a huge lightning bolt emblem, arousing intense curiosity from passing witches and wizards.

Since it was a flash-image business, lightning was an absolute must to convey the convenient and instantaneous nature of magic polaroid photography. Roger could guarantee that the lightning logo he designed pointed in a completely different direction from Harry Potter's scar.

Pushing open the door, Roger stepped into a spacious and brightly lit interior. The center was an open activity area, flanked on the left and right by tall commodity display shelves.

Most prominent on the left-hand side was the magic camera section, where five or six wooden shelves were neatly arranged, carefully showcasing magic polaroids in three colors: black, silver, and coffee. They were compact and exquisite, each bearing a red circular mark engraved with a golden lightning bolt.

To the right was the photographic supplies zone, where the uppermost shelf held black-and-white golem paper printed with adorable panda patterns, followed by neatly organized bottles of Flash-Image Revelation Tincture. Tucked into the very back were various camera lenses, resting in delicate boxes and available for trial use.

Following her son's instructions, Jessica had specially installed several protective charms here, including the Alarm Charm, Anti-Theft Charm, and Anti-Apparition Charm, making her feel that her shop's security measures were second only to those of Gringotts across the street.

"The renovation is truly wonderful." Roger greatly appreciated the bright and neat environment, which made his family's shop stand out sharply from the surrounding wizarding stores.

"Of course, I put a lot of thought into it. Deanna even came to help for this grand opening." Hearing Jessica's praise, Deanna on the perch immediately chirped in response.

"Madam Jessica, Merry Christmas. Oh my, what a lovely little fellow." Sophie, having just emerged from the storeroom, greeted them warmly. "Hello, I'm Sophie, the shop assistant."

Her blonde hair was styled in soft waves, and her blue eyes were exceptionally bright. Dressed in the shop uniform, she looked lively and pretty.

"Madam Jessica told me you are a true magical genius."

"Haha, that's a bit of an exaggeration. I'm actually just a little diligent." Roger smiled and shook his head; the assistant his mother hired was certainly enthusiastic.

"Sophie, hurry and take Roger to Wiseacres Wizarding Equipment to buy fireworks. We must have everything ready before two o'clock. Quick, quick, get moving!" Slipping into working mode, Jessica instantly became brisk and decisive.

"Alright, Madam Jessica, we're going right now." Sophie's eyes lit up; she grabbed her coat, took Roger by the hand, and hurried toward the magical shop.

"Roger, Mr. Jerry Giggle's prank shop has everything. Vomit pastilles, fake wands, miraculous firecrackers..." Sophie quickened her pace as she spoke, having utterly adored magical joke shops during her school days.

"Sophie, we're going there to buy fireworks," Roger reminded her. "What if we get back too late?"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Sophie flashed a mischievous smile. "Roger, you've never been to a prank shop before, have you?"

"As long as you don't tell Madam Jessica, I'll buy you a toy." Looking at Sophie's pitifully pleading expression, Roger nodded, and she immediately cheered.

"Sigh, my parents are both Muggle actors, so I could never exchange for many Galleons when I was at school. But now it's different; I have a job and can earn my own money, so I can buy whatever I want." Gazing at the crowd gathered in front of the shop, Sophie forged a difficult path through with Roger in tow.

"Roger, just grab whatever you like." Before her voice had even faded, Sophie vanished into the throng.

"Good grief, who is the shop assistant here anyway?" Roger had no choice but to go and find the owner, Jerry, hoping Sophie would still remember the afternoon opening event.

"Hello, Mr. Jerry, do you have any fireworks?"

"Fireworks? Little wizard, you must mean the 'Waters-Bloom Miraculous Firecrackers', they're right over there." Jerry pointed the way while tallying a transaction.

With the Christmas season in full swing, young witches and wizards clutching their pocket money were swarming in to snap up various magical toys.

"Waters-Bloom?" Roger blinked in bewilderment. What kind of nonsense was that?

"Mr. Jerry, don't you have any regular fireworks in your shop?"

"Regular fireworks? Kid, this is a prank shop." Jerry furrowed his brow and shook his head, indicating he carried no such thing.

"Then I'll just go buy them in Muggle Chinatown."

"Muggles? How could their fireworks ever compare to mine!" Hearing Roger suggest Muggle fireworks were superior, Jerry hastily called him back.

"What do you need fireworks for anyway?"

"For a grand opening."

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Waving his wand, Jerry summoned the miraculous firecrackers from the shelf. "They only need a single drop of water to ignite, completely satisfying your requirements."

"Water?"

"Don't believe me? Look!" Irritated that a young wizard doubted his merchandise, Jerry immediately dampened a miraculous firecracker with a jet of Aguamenti.

With a sharp "Bang!" the firecracker instantly exploded, blooming with dazzling brilliance that illuminated the entire shop in shimmering gold.

"How's that?" Jerry looked at Roger triumphantly; no young wizard could resist the allure of miraculous firecrackers.

"It's all right, I'll take ten." Roger curled his lip. Did they really call this mere spark a firecracker?

He had expected Sophie to spend at least half an hour playing in the shop, but in less than five minutes, she trudged back crestfallen.

"Sold out?"

"No..."

"Then why do you look so glum?"

"Roger, I realized those things aren't interesting anymore, even though I loved them so much before graduation!" Sophie wailed, "Could it be that I've changed?"

"Perhaps it's just because you're no longer at school that it feels boring."

"Hmm, what you're saying makes a lot of sense." Sophie forced a smile and accepted the firecrackers from Roger's arms.

"Well, even though I can no longer feel the joy of pranks, you still can. Go pick out a magical toy, choose anything you like!"

"I—"

"Go on, we have to rush back for the opening!" Sophie pushed him inside unceremoniously. After wandering around for a bit, Roger finally picked up a mimicry mouth.

It was a crimson, oversized mouth, looking as though a circus clown's lips had been magnified tenfold. The thick, full lips were brightly and exaggeratedly colored, with stark, snowy-white incisors standing out vividly between the two rows of teeth, creating a bizarre and slightly terrifying appearance.

Whenever you spoke to it, it acted like a giant megaphone, repeating your words verbatim and magnifying them, matching your tone and pitch down to the finest detail.

"Isn't this just a talking Talking Tom?" Roger looked at the owner, Jerry, declaring that they shared quite a bond.

"Ah? You're just getting this? A mimicry mouth is so boring!" Sophie grumbled in dissatisfaction, eyeing Roger's utter lack of mischievous spirit.

"Ah? You're just getting this? A mimicry mouth is so boring!" the mimicry mouth echoed, perfectly mimicking the way Sophie had just spoken.

"Fine, at least it's guaranteed to make people furious." Gesturing for Roger to shut it off, Sophie had zero desire to hear her own voice amplified tenfold again.

The draperies outside the shop had been removed, and the winter sunlight spilled over the smooth glass display window. Susan was setting up a small stage by the entrance, preparing to kick off the lucky draw event.

A gleaming golden tripod held an array of shining prizes: a complete set of photographic lenses priced at ten thousand Galleons, a Nimbus 2000 broomstick, and an Invisibility Cloak woven from Demiguise hair.

The bright golden spines of the *Gilderoy Lockhart Collected Works* shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight, accompanied by small pouches containing sizzling gold Galleons, with golden pocket watches and music boxes resting on the lower tier.

Anyone who spent over ten Galleons in the shop could draw a numbered ball from the plush velvet box beside the display, giving them a chance to win these generous grand prizes.