The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 751 Respect for Freedom

2024-02-09

stab-

The scalding wax dripping from the nearly burnt-out candle on the coffee table made a sizzling sound as it touched the lacquered surface, and a pungent, acrid smell filled the room with wisps of black smoke.

Aeschylus unleashed a dark green spell that entered the body of the Muggle standing upright in the corner. Instantly, the two upward-turned pupils on the Muggle's ashen face began to sway violently from side to side and up and down, bulging so much that one worried the eyeballs might fall out of their sockets at any moment!

As the eyeballs move, intricate patterns gradually appear on the whites of the Muggle's eyes, twisting and swaying like black worms crawling into the eye sockets.

Such a horrific scene did not move Jasna at all; she watched it quietly.

Once the magic runes were fully formed, in the dim light, all the lines merged into the whites of the Muggle's eyes. Then, the Muggle, who had been standing motionless in the corner since Jasna entered the room, began to walk. He walked stiffly, step by step, toward the bed. Under the watchful eyes of the two, he climbed onto the bed and covered himself with a blanket.

"You're not expecting this, are you?"

Before Gasna could finish speaking, Aeschylus interrupted her.

"Of course I don't expect this to take down Blaine or Dumbledore—"

Aeschylus, with a relaxed shoulder and a light tone, said...

"It's just to give them some fun—"

Aeschylus, who seemed frivolous, was more cautious than Jasna had imagined. Before leaving the house, he waved his wand and began cleaning inside.

Of course, he wasn't cleaning the room, but rather cleaning up all the traces he had left in the room.

"What are you doing?"

Aeschylus took a glass bottle from his pocket, uncorked it, and let the purple smoke rise from the bottle.

The purple smoke expanded rapidly upon contact with the air, filling the entire room in the blink of an eye.

Upon seeing this, Jasna immediately raised her wand and used a Bubble Charm to envelop herself to prevent herself from inhaling the poisonous smoke-like substance.

"We all know what those powerful wizards are capable of—"

The purple smoke rolled through every inch of the house, and after a dozen seconds, the purple color faded rapidly, disappearing as if it had merged into the air.

Aeschylus nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, they can forget about finding even the slightest clue—"

Jasna roughly understood what her companion was doing, but she still spoke with a dismissive tone.

"We can simply burn everything to the ground with fierce fire—"

"That will only leave a bigger opening. Don't forget what kind of magic Blaine is good at—"

Aeschylus casually remarked that after glancing around the room again to make sure nothing was left behind, he followed Jasna out of the room.

The moon's weak light could not penetrate the deep night. In the dark ditches on both sides of the narrow alley, some melted snow gathered and formed black trickles, the dull sound of the flowing water like the weeping of ghosts.

Aeschylus and Gassna stood outside the door, silently watching the house.

After a long while, Aeschylus withdrew his gaze, his eyes sweeping around the surroundings, taking in the dilapidated houses that were almost as run-down as the place he had been staying during this time. For some reason, the light smile that had always been on his lips disappeared, and a deep gloom appeared in his eyes instead.

“To liberty—” Aeschylus suddenly said.

Standing beside him, Jasna's expression was solemn, her voice low, "To freedom—"

She said so too, and then, with two soft sounds, the two figures disappeared, vanishing into this refugee area that seemed to have been forgotten by time.

As Amosta donned his black cloak once more, donned the wide hood, and his fair face was once again hidden behind the vortex of magic, his breathing quickened, as if he had been plunged from a scorching steam room into an unpolluted primeval forest, causing him to involuntarily exhale several heavy breaths.

But then, Amosta chuckled self-deprecatingly.

If people only knew that Amostra Brayne, the Vice President of the International Wizarding Federation, Honorary Vice President of the Anti-Dark Magic League, Senior Advisor to the British Ministry of Magic, and Head of the Student Safety Office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was a guy who spent all his time thinking about becoming a dark wizard, then everyone would probably be shocked.

However, it's a path I chose myself, so there's nothing to complain about.

There is no true freedom or whim in the world. Whether it is the world above ground or the world below, there is a set of rules. Even the strong who make the rules will eventually be bound by the rules they make. Only someone like Voldemort, who has deviated from reason and gone completely insane, would hope that the world is in eternal chaos.

A cacophony of noise filled the air. The underground world of Turndown Alley was even more 'prosperous' at night than during the day. The fireplaces on the walls of the cave frequently flashed green light, and wizards clad in black robes joined the night's revelry.

Kakus Foley was "off work," but Amosta's purpose for this trip wasn't him either. After glancing at the group of house-elves who had seemingly forgotten their past wounds and gathered here again, Amosta strode towards the underground market.

On the black market, there are many good items, but even more inferior ones that are passed off as superior ones.

What you buy depends entirely on your own judgment. Every day, people are scammed out of their fortunes here, or they get lucky and find good items and become rich.

Whether you're cheated or make a fortune, you have to accept it yourself and are absolutely not allowed to go back and cause trouble for the seller. The seller also can't pursue the goods they sold, otherwise, there would probably be life-or-death battles here every day, and it would be impossible to do business.

Of course, the situation in the trading market and the order market is much more complicated.

It is not uncommon for clients and agents to scheme against each other, which is why brokers like Foley, who handle commissioned tasks, have emerged.

"Ah, it's been a long time, my dear Mr. Golden Viper!"

Behind the stall supported by a few wooden sticks and planks, the hunched-over, bald owner stared wide-eyed at the person in front of him, trying to hide his astonishment at the sight of the distinctive, magical vortex on the face.

In the underworld, people who were active before but haven't appeared for a while are generally assumed to have been killed. Someone like Golden Viper, who hasn't appeared for over a year, is assumed to have already returned to the embrace of hell.

But after the initial shock, the stall owner nimbly stood up from his stool, straightening his back with difficulty. His face, showing a gleeful expression despite his crooked eyes, missing teeth, and a large black scar on his neck, revealed his true nature. While the Golden Viper was 'notorious' in the commission market, here at the market, he was known for his lavish spending!

"How can I be of service to you, Mr. Golden Viper?"

The shop owner spoke respectfully, his eyes revealing a longing for the gleaming golden Galleons.

"Willower--"

Golden Viper did not respond to the owner's enthusiastic greeting. It simply stood in front of the stall, silently looking at the strange and unusual things on it under the owner's attentive gaze.

It's no exaggeration to say that it's bizarre and strange.

On a wooden board roughly the size of four desks pieced together, there were many odds and ends: a broken sculpture in the style of ancient Greece, about the size of a palm; a pale vampire fang as long as an adult's index finger; a necklace made of dozens of bat heads strung together; a small, grotesque elf's head—oh no, a dried-up fairy's head; and Golden Viper even saw a bronze comb in the style of Eastern civilization, its surface covered in verdigris.

When the boss grew impatient and was about to speak, Kim Viper finally spoke in an aged and hoarse voice, her tone filled with indifference and contempt.

"What, Willorens?"

Golden Viper shifted its gaze from the items on the stall, looking down at the shop owner with a dazed expression.

"It's only been a few days, and you've already switched to selling garbage?"

Chapter 752 The Picky Golden Viper

2024-02-10

"--When did you switch to selling garbage?"

In the underground trading market, Golden Viper stood in front of a shop that specialized in selling cursed items, mocking the goods in the shop with a rather disdainful tone.

Shop owner Willorens was stunned for a moment, then, understanding one of the implications of Golden Viper's words, a wronged look appeared on his ugly face.

"Everything here is top-quality, Mr. Golden Viper!"

He hurriedly put on a dragon-skin glove imbued with numerous protective spells on his right hand before daring to touch the goods he was selling. Willorens picked up the vampire fang that the golden viper had just glanced at, held it up to the viper, and enthusiastically called out his wares.

"With your keen eyesight and knowledge, you must have already recognized them. These are vampire fangs, Mr. Golden Viper. You know how formidable these creatures are—"

Shop owner Will Lawrence lowered his voice and spoke to Golden Viper in a deliberately mysterious tone,

"The fang you see is said to belong to a powerful vampire from the 15th century."

The 15th century?

Golden Viper chuckled coldly.

"I think it was about fifteen days ago, Willorens. The venom in that vampire's fangs hasn't dried yet—"

“Yes, yes, I know it’s unbelievable, Mr. Golden Viper, but that’s what the collector who sold it to me said. Hundreds of years old fangs, without any proper protection, and the venom inside still looks fresh—how incredible!”

Willorens bared his fangs, revealing a seductive smile.

"These fangs are afflicted with a powerful curse, Mr. Golden Viper. Unlike those crudely made 'works of art,' the curse on them is natural. Anyone who accidentally touches them will hiss—"

The shop owner shuddered violently a few times.

"He will drain all the blood from your body in an instant. I bet you, Mr. Golden Viper, that even Amostrath Blaine and Albus Dumbledore couldn't withstand the powerful curse it carries!"

"Is it."

The Golden Viper muttered something under its breath, perhaps to echo the story its boss had painstakingly fabricated. It then tilted its head again, examining the pale fang with a gold ring at its base. After a moment…

Whoosh--

Willorens was also putting on a show of the fang's story, when suddenly, the Golden Viper swung his hand and snatched the fang from the boss's hand.

This sudden turn of events caused Willorens to raise his cane, but the golden viper raised its fangs and examined its quality by the light of the inverted green torch in the sky before reluctantly hiding the cane back behind its waist.

"good--"

A moment later, Golden Viper nodded slightly. He tossed the fangs onto the wooden board like trash, then casually wiped his nose behind the magical vortex with his withdrawn hand. "It made me bleed a little—"

Golden Viper showed Willorens his hand, which was stained with traces of blood, eliciting a smirk from the shop owner.

"This undoubtedly proves that you are far more powerful than Amostrath Blaine and Albus Dumbledore, Mr. Golden Viper, many times more powerful. That's it!"

They knew that if things continued to develop this way, the business would fall through.

Willorens could tell that the Golden Viper was somewhat interested in the fang, so he picked it up again, perking up.

"Considering our past good working relationship, Mr. Golden Viper, I can offer you a very good discount. You can take it from me for only three hundred Galleons!"