The Return to Hogwarts

After a moment's hesitation, Percy decided to try his luck. The atmosphere at home after last night's conflict made him feel even more suffocated, and he preferred to get some fresh air outside.

As night fell, many shops had already closed, and the few remaining shops with their dim yellow oil lamps still lit had little business.

The few pedestrians on the street hurried along, unwilling to linger, after all, the recent security situation in the magical world was obvious to all.

Even in Diagon Alley, after sunset, there are bound to be more strange and shady characters.

Percy briefly touched upon the cause of the security problems before forcibly stopping himself from thinking about it any further.

Percy was startled when he caught a glimpse of a dark figure emerging from a nearby alley. Before the cloaked figure could get any closer, Percy drew his wand, pointed it at the man, and said sternly,

"Stop! Who are you? What do you want?"

"Oh, don't be nervous, sir—"

The cloaked wizard appeared to be from out of town; his skin looked rough, and his deep-set eyes held a pair of cloudy blue eyes. After being forced to stop by Percy, the wizard didn't tense up; instead, he flashed a slick, ingratiating smile.

"I'm not a criminal, sir, I'm just... Oh, if you're interested, may I show you around my products?"

"commodity?"

Percy looked at the blue-eyed wizard suspiciously. After confirming he had no intention of attacking, Percy slowly put his wand into his pocket, slightly raised his chin, and scrutinized the wizard of unknown origin.

"So, you're a businessman?"

"Your wisdom is admirable, Your Excellency—"

The blue-eyed wizard smiled ingratiatingly and said cautiously,

"So, are you interested?"

What do you sell?

"Some antiques, sir, please come this way!"

Percy's refusal to immediately storm off invigorated the blue-eyed wizard. He dragged Percy to a spot against the wall, then lifted his wide black cloak to reveal a chest hanging from his waist. The vendor opened the chest, exposing his wares to Percy.

The interior of the box was much larger than its exterior suggested. When the box was opened, the shelves holding the items unfolded from their folded state, and within seconds, a stall appeared before Percy.

Several sets of gleaming silver armor, brooches, snuff bottles, gemstone rings, exquisite porcelain, and some odds and ends.

The blue-eyed wizard placed the box on the ground, walked around from behind the stall, and gestured to Percy in an inviting manner.

“Good quality and low price, sir. They all come from some once-famous wizarding families.”

Percy remained silent, his gaze falling on each piece of merchandise that looked very old.

Although Percy was not born into a wealthy family, the Weasley family is one of the Twenty-Eight Purebloods, and the bloodline derived from the Weasleys has long been established in the wizarding world, with many members coming from well-off families.

He had visited these relatives with his parents, seen their collections, and listened to their boastful introductions. Therefore, he had some ability to appreciate antiques.

In his opinion, while not everything the blue-eyed wizard had laid out in front of him was fake, about 95% of it was worthless junk.

“Look at the quality of this ring, sir. It comes from a fallen noble family in Desmir—Transylvania. This emerald ring is their family heirloom. I bought it for thirty gallons, but if you think it's good enough, I'll only charge you thirty-five gallons—”

Percy stared silently at the ring.

The blue-eyed wizard's words were half true and half false. He might have indeed bought the ring from a down-on-his-luck nobleman, but when he acquired it, it should have only contained the ring setting. The dark yellow setting likely contained a certain proportion of mithril, which was indeed worth a considerable amount of money, but the gemstone set in the ring setting was completely fake.

The blue-eyed wizard enthusiastically explained the ring's history to Percy, but suddenly—

"What's your name?"

Percy suddenly interrupted the blue-eyed wizard's incessant chatter.

"Tudan Corcante--"

The blue-eyed wizard answered instinctively, but after saying his name, he immediately snapped back to reality and looked at Percy warily.

"What's the matter, sir?"

“Then, Mr. Corcant—”

Percy, who was significantly taller, looked down at the blue-eyed wizard with a cold and arrogant expression. "I suppose you must have a license issued by the Ministry of Magic, right?"

"license?"

Corcante paused, then his expression turned cold.

"What does this have to do with you?"

"Oh, what a coincidence—"

Percy twitched his nostrils.

“I am from the Ministry of Magic.”

Corcante squinted at the young man in front of him.

"Are you from the Enforcement Division?"

"This is none of your business—"

Percy blushed slightly, pursed his lips, and said in a low voice,

“According to the law, Mr. Corcant, if you don’t have the relevant sales license, you will be fined, and if you can’t pay the fine, you’ll be sent to Azkaban. Hey, wait!”

Corcant completely ignored Percy's reprimand. Knowing that he had come to an official of the Ministry of Magic, he immediately waved his wand, causing all the goods exposed in front of Percy to bounce back into the boxes. Then he hung the boxes back on his belt, rolled up his cloak, and turned to leave.

Hey, I'm talking to you!

Percy's face darkened with anger, and he reached out to grab Corcanter's shoulder, but—

Wow!

His black robes billowed, and a wand emerged from beneath the cloak, pointed directly at Percy's eyes. Corcanter's cloudy blue eyes held no reverence for the Ministry of Magic official; instead, they gleamed with a chilling light.

"I advise you not to cause trouble for yourself and your family, kid!"

Faced with the trembling tip of the staff and the suddenly ferocious face, Percy froze at first, but then a surge of anger welled up from the bottom of his heart. He stared sharply at Corcant's face, calculating the possibility of avoiding the first spell.

But before Percy could make a move, a streak of red light flashed past his shoulder, singeing a few strands of his red hair before striking Corcant's raised wrist with pinpoint accuracy. The lawless scoundrel was sent flying backward as if he had been punched in the face!

boom!

Corcante fell heavily to the ground and never got up again. The box containing the contraband smashed against the wall and broke open, scattering its contents all over the floor. His wand flew backward over Percy's shoulder and landed in someone's hand.

"Pah, scum!"

Sirius spat, then strode over to the unconscious Corcanter. He turned him over with his toe, and after confirming he was unconscious, a thin rope shot from the tip of Sirius's wand, binding Corcanter securely. He glanced at the scattered antiques on the ground, then coldly waved his wand, sending them back into the box. Finally, he turned to the astonished Percy, smiled, and shrugged.

"To borrow a phrase from Alastor, Percy, stay vigilant. Things aren't as peaceful as they used to be."

"Sirius?"

Percy took a few breaths of cool air.

"What are you doing here? Oh, are you on a patrol duty?"

Actually, I've already left work, just like you.

Sirius Black, standing on Corcanter's back, adjusted the lunchbox in his hand.

“I’m here to deliver food to Remus. I just came out of the Leaky Cauldron and saw you. By the way, what are you doing here?”

Chapter 997 The Current State of the Workshop

2024-06-25

Send food to Remus?

Percy's gaze was drawn to the package in Sirius's left hand by his words, and he stared blankly for a moment.

Whether at the Ministry or at home, he had heard about the success of Professor Blaine and Professor Lupin's Learning Machine Workshop. According to estimates from the International Department of Magical Cooperation, the Learning Machine Workshop was expected to pay taxes this year that would increase the Ministry of Magic's annual business tax rate by several percentage points compared to last year!

So, would Professor Lu Ping, who runs such a large workshop, not have anywhere to eat?

Percy's career at the Ministry of Magic had certainly helped him improve, though he didn't point it out, instead stammering out...

"Um, oh. I want to go to the machine workshop too--"

Sirius's words made Percy realize that Professor Lupin was probably still working overtime in the workshop. Under Sirius's surprised gaze, he waved the file folder in his hand.

"Professor Blaine asked me to give this to Professor Lupin—"

"Amosta?"

Sirius was even more puzzled.

"Isn't he at Hogwarts?"

Percy was glad Sirius hadn't heard about the task the Minister of Magic had given him; otherwise, Sirius probably wouldn't have given him a friendly look either.

"Um, some departmental matters. I just returned from Hogwarts. Professor Blaine asked me to give this document to Professor Lupin on my way back. What should we do with it?"

Percy didn't want to delve into the topic. He looked at the criminal being trampled under Sirius's feet and tried to change the subject.

Percy's little tricks naturally didn't escape Sirius's notice, but Sirius didn't want to pry too much into Percy's secrets. After raising his eyebrows slightly and giving Percy a deep look, Sirius looked at Colcant with disgust.

"Hmm, I'm afraid I don't have time to escort him to the ministry right now. Oh, I've got it—"

Sirius Black turned to look at the Leaky Cauldron, which was still lit up.

“I can ask Tom, the bar owner, to keep an eye on it for now. He has owls. I’ll write a letter to the department, and Amelia will send someone to take it over.”

With that, he flicked his wand, causing Corcante to float up and follow behind him, jogging across the white cobblestone streets and into the backyard of the Leaky Cauldron.