The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 260: A Strange Guest in Knockturn Alley

If Diagon Alley in London is the CBD of the British wizarding world, and can be equated with the City of London, the Great North and Manhattan, then Knockturn Alley is the largest gray trading center in the British wizarding world.

Knockturn Alley is full of all kinds of speculators, weirdos, and dark wizards, who specialize in buying and selling magical items with strange properties. This is just a cover for Knockturn Alley, and the real profits here come from gray transactions, or buying and selling dark magic items.

In August 1992, Harry accidentally entered Knockturn Alley, where he saw Lucius Malfoy dealing with dark magic items at home. At that time, Mr. Malfoy went to Borgin and Burke's, the most famous store in Knockturn Alley.

Borgin and Burke's is a historic shop located at 13B Knockturn Alley. The shop's owners, Mr. Borgin and Mr. Burke, often deal with ancient wizard artifacts.

And because of the sinister intentions of the cunning customers who come in and out of this store, and the greedy nature of the two gentlemen, this store often handles a lot of gray business and often sells items related to black magic or other dangerous items.

If you were to ask which business was the most profitable, the two gentlemen would probably think of the locket first. With only 10 gold galleons, they bought Slytherin's relic from a woman and then sold it to another woman. This business was the most profitable for this black-hearted store.

And one day in late June, Borgin and Burke's store was about to have a big business.

This morning, there was no customer in the shop, and Mr. Bokin was idly fixing his greasy hair. Shops like this usually stay closed for half a year, and it is common for the shop to be deserted.

Just when Mr. Bogin wanted to go to the back room to rest, the door of the shop was opened and a man carrying a suitcase walked in. This man was too ordinary, not handsome but not ugly, not tall but not short, so ordinary that you would never find him in the crowd.

Mr. Borgin was sure that neither he nor Burke had ever dealt with this man, but Mr. Borgin was as slick as his hair, and he would not miss any possible opportunity.

Mr. Borgin took the initiative to approach him and said respectfully, "Sir, I don't know why, but the first sight of you makes me feel happy. Have we met before?"

The man ignored Mr Borgin and looked around as if he was visiting a place for the first time. After a moment he said, "No, sir. I don't think we've ever met before."

"Even if we have never met before, since we have met today, we can regard it as a long-lost reunion!" Mr. Bogin said enthusiastically, "Do you want to buy something? Do you need me to introduce it to you?"

The shop was a little dim, and nothing displayed in the window or on the counter was legal.

On the mat in the glass box, there was a withered human hand, a stack of bloodstained cards, and a motionless glass eyeball. There were also a hideous mask, various human bones, and a somewhat blackened silver hairpin.

But these are just the tip of the iceberg of this store. There must be more unknown and dangerous goods hidden under the counter and in the back room of the store.

The man frowned, not knowing whether he was not used to Mr. Bogin's enthusiasm or whether he did not like it. The man said calmly, "No need to bother. I have something I would like you to estimate its value for."

"With pleasure, sir." Mr. Borgin's smile faded a little, but he still said, "Let's go inside and talk!" Mr. Borgin led the way to the room inside the shop, and the man followed behind him.

Mr. Bogin, who had his back to the man, rolled his eyes. He didn't think this strange man could have anything good, but his professionalism still made him respect the man. Mr. Bogin secretly decided that if the man really had something good, he would definitely make a lot of money from him and lower the purchase price to the lowest.

Inside the house, Mr. Borgin poured the man a glass of wine before he sat down. Mr. Borgin smiled and said, "Sir, what is the item you want to be appraised? Is it in a box?"

The man did not drink the glass of wine, he just put the box on the table. He opened the suitcase and turned it around to show Mr. Borgin.

Mr. Borgin's face changed, he was shocked by the items in the box. He put on a pair of pince-nez, lowered his head and observed carefully, Mr. Borgin asked: "I haven't seen this thing for a long time, is it related to Hogwarts?" "How could Dumbledore allow this thing to flow out of the school? I have my own channels. And where this thing came from, you should not be interested." The man shook the wine in the glass and said calmly.

"Of course, we are not the Ministry of Magic, so we are not interested in where it came from." Mr. Borgin said. He put down his glasses. He had already estimated the value in his mind and began to think about how to get the basilisk skin and basilisk horn at the lowest price.

Snake sloughs are not expensive, but basilisk skins are not. This cruel dark creature can only be domesticated by Parseltongues, and breeding basilisks is strictly prohibited. Even dark wizards will not violate this law because it is too dangerous. In addition, Britain has not seen a basilisk for 400 years, so this complete basilisk skin can be sold at an extremely exaggerated price.

Basilisk skin has many uses, such as medicine, warding off evil spirits, and making black magic items. In addition, basilisk skin has the same effect as dragon skin, both can defend against magic and resist spells. Therefore, basilisk skin can also be used to make armor, and the effect of the finished product is much better than dragon skin.

In addition to the intact basilisk skin, the suitcase that was cast with the traceless extension spell also contained a basilisk horn. Legend has it that Salazar Slytherin's wand was made of a basilisk horn.

When the wand was passed down to Gormlaith Gaunt, it was stolen by her niece Isolthel and taken to America. Gormlaith Gaunt was furious and went to take revenge. She used Parseltongue to put the wand into dormancy and it has never recovered. Now the wand is buried underground outside Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and a snakewood has grown out of it, the leaves of which have powerful magical healing effects.

Of course, Mr. Borgin has never seen this snakewood, and he doesn't know if the leaves have such powerful effects, but all of this reflects the value of the basilisk horn. Moreover, this snake skin and basilisk horn will be the only ones circulating on the market for hundreds of years, and every businessman knows what this means.

Mr. Borgin calmly adjusted his emotions. He said, "Sir, I'm afraid this thing is not as valuable as you think. In addition, due to the law, there should not be many people who want to own it."

After hearing this, the man did not speak, but silently closed the box, picked up the box and walked out directly. Mr. Bogin originally wanted to lower the price to prepare for the purchase later, but he did not expect that the man would just leave.

Seeing that the man was about to walk out of the store, Mr. Bogin had no choice but to ask, "Sir, what are you going to do?"

"Since it's not worth anything, there's no need to waste time any more." The man turned around and said, "My dog ​​just needs a doghouse. This snake skin looks good and is suitable for making a doghouse."

Hearing this wasteful talk, Mr. Borgin wanted to strangle this man to death. He even had the idea of ​​robbing the thief. Mr. Borgin continued: "You are too anxious. If you don't mind, you can temporarily store the things in the store. When you find someone who bids, you will receive the money. I just need some hard-earned money."

The man shook his head. He looked directly into Mr. Borgin's eyes and said slowly, "Because you just lied to me in the house, I have no trust in you. I cannot leave the basilisk skin and basilisk horn with you. Unless you pay me for the goods now."

Mr. Borgin knew that he had made a mistake. This man had been playing dumb and this was not his first time in such a place. Mr. Borgin admitted his mistake and held up five fingers, giving his first offer.

"Sir, you should be able to see that I am not a patient person, so if we have the chance to meet again, please don't lie to me again!" After the man said this, he turned around and continued to walk out.

Mr. Bokin had to stop him again and make a second offer, but the man still shook his head. After several offers, the price was close to Mr. Bokin's psychological limit, and the man finally agreed to the price.

But the transaction of basilisk skin and basilisk horn could not go on. Mr. Borgin smiled and said embarrassedly: "Sir, the store cannot take out so many gold galleons at the moment. Please give me a few days to raise the money. Come back in three days, and we will settle the payment!"

The man thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I will come again in two days at the same time."

After that, the man walked out of Borgin and Burke's, and Mr. Borgin watched him go away. At the moment the man left, an inconspicuous little wizard immediately followed him.

(End of this chapter)