Chapter 176: L.C.A. Publishing House

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.This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

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!"

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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