The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 261 Don't Go to Knockturn Alley Alone
Two days later in the morning, Mr. Bogin was waiting in the shop for the man who had come that day to visit, but the smile on his face was somewhat malicious.

As the largest dealer of dark magic items in the British wizarding world, he naturally had a lot of people following him for a living, so after the man left, some people naturally followed him to find out the background of this strange man.

Back then, even Tom Riddle, who had just graduated, had worked at Borgin and Burke's. Although Tom had ulterior motives at the time and condescended to work here, it also indirectly showed that Borgin and Burke still had capable people under his command.

The man who secretly investigated the man that day was called Clive. From the information he fed back, Mr. Borgin learned that the man with the suitcase did not have a deep background, and even came alone to trade the precious basilisk skin and basilisk horn.

Mr. Bogin did have bad intentions. He initially thought that the man must be a virgin and wanted to lower the price to the lowest. However, he did not expect that the other party would not play by the rules at all. He picked up the box and left without giving him any chance to lower the price.

Mr. Bogin had no choice but to raise the price continuously, and finally offered a very high price. He failed to rip off the man, and was ripped off by him. Mr. Bogin, who spent all day hunting geese, was finally pecked in the eye by a bird.

How could Mr. Borgin swallow this insult? Besides, the basilisk skin and horn were indeed tempting, and the man had no background, so Mr. Borgin didn't have to worry too much.

At about the same time as that day, the man with the suitcase arrived, still alone, still dressed the same way as last time. Mr. Borgin greeted him with a smile, his words were still as respectful as that day, but his eyes were hiding a bone-cutting steel knife.

The fact that he is a loner shows that this man has no friends he can trust, and he can only come alone for such an important transaction without anyone to support him.

The unfamiliar face showed that he was not a pure-blood family that he was familiar with, otherwise he should have called him to their luxurious manor or house instead of carrying his treasures around. Otherwise, he should have come to the store with a list of items like Lucius Malfoy.

Everything this man did showed that he was just a nobody and no one would hold him accountable if something happened to him.

Mr. Borgin did not consider establishing a long-term relationship, as Scott Warren did with Ada. Mr. Borgin thought that the man would not have anything valuable to offer, so there was no need to leave a good impression on him.

As for the leather and horns in the suitcase, they must have been stolen by the little thief from somewhere, otherwise he wouldn't have been so anxious to sell them and wouldn't even be willing to wait even a day longer.

He was in such a hurry to cash in, he must be planning to flee and leave England as soon as possible. For this kind of petty thief who commits crimes on the go, robbing others is the best method and the one that can maximize the benefits.

Mr. Borgin didn't care whether the item really came from Hogwarts. Even if it did come from the Chamber of Secrets, so what? Would Dumbledore still come looking for him? Mr. Borgin also didn't care about the identity of the thief or how he got into Hogwarts. Only a fool would believe that Hogwarts was the safest place.

The man did not respond to Mr. Borgin's greetings, but placed the suitcase directly on the counter. It was obvious that he intended to hand over the money and the goods immediately, and did not want to waste precious time running away.

Although Mr. Bogin wanted to know more about the man, the other party was uncooperative, so he had to take out a special black purse and hand it to him.

There were two men in the shop, one counting the number of gold Galleons in the purse, and the other checking the authenticity of the basilisk skin and basilisk horn. For a moment, the only sound in the shop was the crisp and pleasant jingle of gold Galleons.

After the inventory was completed and the money and goods were paid, the man finally smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Bogin. I hope there will be opportunities for cooperation between us again!"

"Of course, there will be." Mr. Borgin said with a dagger hidden in his smile, "Bogin and Burke are here, I will always be here waiting for your visit again!"

Mr. Borgin smiled and bowed, and saw the man out of the shop. When the man turned the corner, the smile on Mr. Borgin's face became even brighter, because he saw Clive had followed him with his men. Good wine makes people popular, and money makes people happy. Facing the temptation of money, if Mr. Borgin could be calmer and recall the details of his relationship with the man more carefully, he would know how stupid his decision was.

On the outskirts of Devonshire, Clive and his three companions tracked the man all the way here. Although the man had Apparated when he left Knockturn Alley, the black money bag exposed his location.

It was a special money bag that could be used for tracking and positioning, and was a must-have for thieves. It was clear that this was not the first time Mr. Bogin had done this.

Clive and his companions Jimmy, Gary and Hill followed the signal all the way here, but they lost the man and there was only a small forest blocking their way.

Clive, the leader, lowered his head and checked the white wallet in his hand. The location shown on it was right here, so there was no mistake. But where did the man hide? Clive whispered, "Gary and I will go together, Jimmy, you and Hill will go together, let's split up and look for him. He may have changed his appearance, so be careful."

Just when the four were about to split up, a girl in a dark green robe appeared from the grove in front of them. This girl had long, shining golden hair and emerald eyes. Who else could it be but Ada?

Ada put her right hand in her pocket and swung the special black purse in her left hand. She smiled and asked, "Are you looking for this?"

Seeing the girl suddenly appear and the purse in her hand, Clive and his three companions immediately became alert and ready to take action at any time. The four of them had been in Knockturn Alley for many years and had never asked unprofessional questions such as "Did you see a man?" or "Where did you find the purse?" They believed that Ada was the man, but she had changed her appearance.

"We know you've made a fortune recently. As long as you take out the money and share it among us, we won't make things difficult for you." Clive said. He disguised the four of them as robbers who were greedy for money, rather than people sent by Mr. Borgin.

Ada didn't believe this. After her first visit to Borgin and Burke's, she saw this man following her. She certainly knew why Clive followed her. Ada threw the purse back and said, "Is this what you want?"

Hill, the youngest of the four, picked up the purse that had fallen to the ground. He opened it and found that there was nothing inside. Clive, the leader, looked at it and shouted angrily, "You are fooling us!"

"I did make a lot of money from Mr. Borgin, but what does that have to do with you?" Ida said slowly, "It's not a good habit to get something for nothing. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Clive laughed, with a mocking look on his face. Jimmy, Gary, and Hill slowly surrounded Ada, obviously ready to take action. Clive said coldly: "Little girl, you are still too young. You should go back to school for two more years. Knockturn Alley, a complicated place, is not suitable for you!"

Ida nodded, as if she agreed with what Clive had just said. Ida continued, "You're right. Knockturn Alley is a dark place. It's really not suitable for me. It's too dirty. The place is dirty, the people are dirty, and their hearts are even dirtier."

Clive didn't want to argue any more. The sooner he got the money, the sooner he could report to Mr. Borgin, and avoid more trouble. He said sternly, "I'll say it one last time. Hand over the money! We can let you go, or don't blame us for being rude!"

The behavior of these four people is really like those useless bastards who ask children to borrow money at the entrance of entertainment venues on the way home from school. But they are different from those bastards. They can do what they say.

Ada first looked around, confirmed the positions of the four people, and then said, "Do you think I still have a chance?"

(End of this chapter)