My necromancer career begins at Hogwarts

"Welcome." A witch wearing a checkered apron strode out from behind the counter.

Her gaze lingered briefly on Harold before turning to Maurice. "Is this preparation for starting school at Hogwarts? We have plenty of owls here that are suitable for new students."

The shop was filled with the sounds of owls hooting and flapping their wings.

“Yes,” Morris said, his gaze immediately drawn to the owls. “I want to see for myself.”

"You can call me anytime if you have any questions." The witch nodded knowingly and stepped back behind the counter, giving Morris enough space.

"I'll wait for you at the door. I'm allergic to birds," Harold said.

Morris nodded and walked alone toward the owl enclosure, strolling slowly among the neatly arranged perches.

Since we're choosing a mailman, the stronger the better.

The owls seemed to know they were the chosen customers, tilting their heads and staring curiously at the arriving guest.

There were other customers in the shop choosing pets, several of whom were children around the same age as Maurice, presumably also new students at Hogwarts.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

A girl who was engrossed in choosing an owl accidentally bumped into Maurice's shoulder.

"It's okay."

Morris responded casually, his gaze fixed on a certain pure white owl.

That was a snowy owl.

Compared to other owls, it is significantly larger and appears more agile.

"Perfect," Morris thought.

"Um... hello, are you also a new student at Hogwarts?"

Morris turned around and found that the girl he had bumped into earlier was talking to him.

"Hmm," he replied casually, then continued to focus his gaze on the snowy owl.

"..."

Seeing that Morris had no intention of continuing the conversation, the girl pursed her lips in disappointment and turned to walk towards another row of shelves.

At this moment, the shop assistant seemed to realize that Morris wanted to buy the snowy owl and came closer.

"What's your decision? This snowy owl is very healthy," she asked with a smile.

"This one... wait a minute, isn't that owl a little weird?"

Morris wanted to make a decision immediately, but a cage in the back caught his attention.

Inside was a completely black owl.

Its feathers were ruffled and its eyes were dull, a stark contrast to the other spirited owls.

The shop assistant followed Morris's gaze and sighed softly, "That's a Ulln owl, but it's quite rare to see one this black."

"Is it sick?" Morris asked.

"Hmm, maybe," the shop assistant said vaguely. "It doesn't have much longer to live. Let's look at the others."

No wonder.

Morris could detect a faint scent of death emanating from the owl.

"How much would it cost if I wanted to buy it?" Morris asked.

The sales clerk was visibly taken aback, a look of surprise on her face. "You really want to buy it?"

"How much?" Morris repeated.

"To tell you the truth, sir," the clerk said in a low voice, "this owl has been cursed by a dark wizard and only has two days to live. We put it here to take care of it, just so that it can be as comfortable as possible in the last moments of its life."

"Well, it's alright," Maurice said. "Perhaps my uncle can find a way to cure him."

In fact, it doesn't matter if it's dead; Morris can find a way to bring it back to life, as long as he transforms it into an undead creature.

Upon hearing Maurice's words, the shop assistant suddenly became flustered.

He composed himself and explained, "Sir, even if this owl is in this condition, we cannot offer you any discounts; that's the rule."

By this time, Maurice had already put his hand into the cage.

The owl weakly raised its head and gently touched his fingers with its beak.

"Yes, I'll take it," Morris said confidently.

The clerk hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Since you insist... ten Galleons. This price includes the cage and a month's supply of owl food."

She brought over an exquisite birdcage and carefully transferred the Ulln owl inside.

The weak owl fluttered its wings slightly as it entered its new cage, then fell silent, as if it had fallen asleep.

"Good luck," the shop assistant said softly as he handed the cage to Maurice.

When Maurice returned to the door after paying, he saw Harold talking to two strangers.

"Oh, Maurice, you're back," Harold introduced. "This is Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Their daughter is also a new student at Hogwarts."

The couple smiled kindly at Maurice.

Morris guessed that they probably approached Harold because he was dressed as a Muggle.

After all, there aren't many people wearing suits in Diagon Alley.

"Hello," Morris greeted politely.

Mr. Granger's attention was involuntarily drawn to the owl in the cage in his hand.

"Your owl looks great," he said.

"Yes, it's very good," Morris said honestly, "even though it only has two days left to live."

Mr. Granger seemed surprised by the reply and looked puzzled. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to use it to make yakitori."

"?"

Mr. Granger opened his mouth, but then hesitated and stopped himself from speaking.

"It's getting late, we should go. Goodbye, Mr. Granger."

"Uh... goodbye."

Morris quickly pulled Harold away from the pet store.

Afterwards, Mr. Granger walked out with a skeptical look and glanced at the sign again.

That's right, this is a pet store, not a grocery store.

......

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Harold asked, puzzled, after they had left the pet store.

"It's dangerous to talk to strangers," Maurice replied without turning his head.

Harold paused for a moment, then nodded helplessly.

Okay, you're a wizard, you're right.

But he always felt that his and Maurice's roles had been reversed.

"Is this the owl you bought?" Harold changed the subject, focusing his gaze on the cage in Maurice's hand. "It doesn't look very lively."

"It's dying," Morris said casually. "In fact, I wasn't lying; it really only has two days to live."

"You're not really going to turn it into yakitori, are you?" Harold exclaimed in surprise.

Morris stopped and looked at him with a "Are you stupid?" look.

Harold gave an awkward laugh.

As the two continued onward, Maurice explained, "Even if it dies, it doesn't matter; I can bring it back to life."

Harold's eyes widened, his voice trembling slightly. "Is this even possible? To bring the dead back to life?"

"More or less," Morris replied calmly. "Have you ever seen a zombie movie?"

This unexpected question left Harold speechless for a moment.

Images of those staggering, undead figures flashed through his mind, and his face turned deathly pale. "You wouldn't be thinking of... turning it into one of those things, would you?"

Morris didn't answer directly, but gently shook the birdcage: "Don't worry, it will be much more elegant than that."

Harold was at a loss for words.

Wizards are truly terrifying.

He thought about it carefully.

Hmm, he probably didn't offend this young master in any way.