A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 236 The Art of Bargaining

Knockout Lane is another magical commercial district in London, besides Diagon Alley.

There are many shops related to black magic here, and you can find many hard-to-find items here.

Walking through these old alleys, you're more likely to find some nice items, but you need a discerning eye, otherwise you can easily get scammed.

This place is a mix of counterfeit and genuine goods, comparable to Panjiayuan Market in Beijing.

William walked for a short while before entering a shop.

——Bokin-Bock store.

This place specializes in buying and selling magical items with strange and unusual properties.

He walked straight to the counter, where a man appeared, bending over and repeatedly combing the greasy hair hanging down his face.

"Mr. Stark, we meet again." Mr. Borgin's voice and hair were both greasy and oily, like salted duck eggs.

Even Professor Snape would be outdone in this respect.

William was a regular customer here. During his summer vacation, he made many strange and unusual alchemical items, which the customer bought.

"Have you found the safety clock I need?" he asked.

"Of course," old Bokin smiled. "I searched many places before finding this safe clock in this 'hidden spot,' but it's not cheap."

The other person revealed a row of yellow teeth.

"Hidden Place" is a wizarding street in Paris, France, accessible through a magical bronze statue. This street serves a similar purpose in Paris as Diagon Alley in London.

Bojin quickly pulled out an eight-bell gilded bronze ebony clock from the counter.

The clock face was also engraved with things like "home," "Ministry of Magic," and "treasury," but it was broken.

"This clock cost me a lot of money, a full two thousand Galleons," Bokin boasted.

William remained noncommittal and began to examine the object carefully.

"Mr. Bokin, you're not being honest. Look at this base; it's reinforced with two screws to prevent it from falling off."

You may not know what this is; it's a Muggle item.

There are also children's doodles here, written in French, and I happen to understand some French... Did you find this from a Muggle?

Bogin shut up. It was indeed found in the Muggle junk market; in fact, he had only spent one hundred francs to buy it as scrap.

William examined the clock, shook his head, and said, "The dial inside is broken; there are signs of Muggle disassembly. You know, these things aren't worth much anymore."

"Eight hundred Galleons." Bogin conceded a step.

"I'd only pay fifty gallons for this kind of garbage."

Bojin's lips twitched. They really dared to haggle. Don't young people these days even know the old rule of cutting prices in half?

"Five hundred Galleons," Bogin said through gritted teeth. "I made a special trip to Paris just to find this clock."

"You didn't come here for me. I heard that the French Auror intercepted a shipment of your goods?" William said with a polite smile.

Tonks wasn't involved in this joint operation; she wasn't high enough in rank, but she could still find out by asking around.

Having connections inside is a good thing.

Borgin's attitude changed again, and he grinned, his wrinkles deepening. "Mr. Stark's information network is quite impressive, isn't it?"

"It's alright. I have a personal relationship with Minister Fudge. You know, I dealt with him when I received the Order of Merlin."

He's such a good person!

William continued to lie without batting an eye.

"Eighty Galleons, Mr. Stark, I would be happy to be your friend."

An item only has value if someone buys it; otherwise, it's just junk, especially a broken safety bell.

Bokin knew about this, and since he only spent 100 francs, he was making a profit no matter what.

"make a deal."

William took a packet of Galleons from his ring and tossed it over.

Just as Bokin was about to take it, William touched the bag and said with a smile, "Wait, I have something else to sell."

William then took out a glass object from the ring; it was a blue glass sight glass.

Bojin gasped, incredulously asking, "You fixed it?"

"It's simple, isn't it?" William smiled.

This isn't the kind of protective endoscope; it's a type of endoscope that can tell what other people are thinking.

The effect is basically equivalent to a weaker version of Legilimency.

The peephole was originally broken, but William Fifty Galleons bought it from Borgin's shop and repaired it immediately.

William certainly couldn't fix it easily; he completed the entire repair with Nico's help.

The core artifacts in this mirror are the eyes and nerves of a cat and a leopard.

The leopard cat is a magical animal that is somewhat similar in size and appearance to a cougar, and it is native to the Appalachian Mountains.

It can walk upright, run faster than an arrow, and its eyes have the ability to hypnotize and capture minds.

Therefore, its eyes are very expensive on the black market.

In fact, many mirrors that can see into other people's hearts contain the eyes of cats and leopards.

For example, the famous Mirror of Erised.

After some haggling, the two parties finally agreed on a price of two thousand Galleons.

William bought it for only fifty gallons, and even with the cost of repairs, he still made a lot of money.

Indeed... extraordinary wisdom is humanity's greatest treasure.

Borgin's attitude softened further, and he tentatively asked, "Mr. Stark, who taught you alchemy?"

"Professor Barbling." William was about to say Dumbledore, but in the blink of an eye, he threw out that ridiculously beautiful ancient rune professor.

It would be best if someone caused trouble for Babuling, given her terrible personality.

"Mr. Stark, would you be interested in interning at our shop after graduation?" Borgin invited.

"I know that someone of your caliber wouldn't be interested in our shop."

But here I can see all sorts of amazing items from all over the world, things you can't find anywhere else."

William chuckled. Could there be more magical items than Nicolas Flamel's estate?

"I think I need to think about it." William didn't refuse, after all, he would still need the old man's help with things in the future.

Borgin wasn't too disappointed. Looking at Stark, he almost immediately thought of a young wizard from more than half a century ago.

—Tom Riddle.

That handsome young man could have easily made a living off his looks, but he possessed astonishing talent.

Not only did he excel academically, but he also served as the grade leader and student council president at school, and received special awards from the school.

In the end, didn't he still work as a shop assistant at Bojin Store for a while?

Bokin used the promise of broadening the boy's horizons to lure him in.

Unfortunately, the other party resigned later, and Bokin never heard Tom Riddle's name again.

What a pity...maybe he's already dead.

William packed his things and was about to leave when the door opened again.

This time, it was an acquaintance who walked in—Lucius Malfoy and his son Draco.

……

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(End of this chapter)