From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

Chapter 499 Outrageous Things

"Alright, you've seen most of the sights. It's time to leave the black market. This isn't some leisurely tourist spot. If the tour guide keeps spouting nonsense, just confront him."

After giving the students a brief tour, William began to urge them to leave—leading such a group of inquisitive students around the black market made him feel like he was causing trouble.

"Professor, how about we take another look at the tavern? Adventure stories always say that the tavern in the black market is an essential place for gathering intelligence. We've never seen a place like that before!"

"That's right, Professor!"

The students were clearly not done having fun, and they started pestering William to take them to the taverns over there.

...

What's the difference between that and Pighead Bar?

If you really want to go, wouldn't the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade be safer? Students there are absolutely no chance of getting into trouble, and the specifics wouldn't be much different. Black market pubs are like chain fast food restaurants, pretty much the same routine…

But as a professor, he couldn't say such a thing. After all, Pig's Head Bar had already been very restrained, and he absolutely couldn't rashly accuse it of being a black market pub...

"Alright, for the last stop—I'm making this clear in advance: you're not allowed to shout to stop anyone you see cheating or stealing, nor are you allowed to intervene out of a sense of justice when a fight breaks out. Anyone who does that will be the first to be immobilized by my magic."

William raised his voice a few decibels, “In a place like the black market, while I can’t say everyone has a problem, most wizards have something fishy going on. So don’t think that just because you’re righteous you’ll get help. The wizards here are more inclined to kill strangers first.”

"Eavesdropping on other people's conversations is a major taboo. I can handle one or two wizards, but if a group of seasoned black market veterans were to make a move, I would have to flee myself, let alone take care of you—understand?"

"Yes, Professor!"

"No problem, Professor!"

A group of students chimed in with agreement, and William nodded before leading them toward the tavern they had just encountered.

-

Welcome!

When William pushed open the door to the bar, he had to admit that his perception of Pighead Bar was indeed somewhat flawed.

This place was completely different from the black market taverns he was familiar with; it was more like the Three Brooms pub—the customers here didn't even wear masks, and they all openly showed their faces. If William hadn't been very clear that this was a black market, he might have thought he had just entered an ordinary bar.

William looked around and chose two tables near the door for the students to sit down. He then asked each of them what they liked before going to the bartender to order his own large beer.

William casually placed his wine on the table and began to survey his surroundings.

The house was well-lit and clean, completely changing his preconceived notions. But a quick glance around told William that he hadn't come to the wrong place—he had witnessed at least three illegal businesses in just a brief look.

This does not include the trade in magic carpets, which he was unaware of whether was permitted in Greece, or the trade in several rare and magical biological materials that would normally be considered illegal.

While he was looking around, the bartender had already brought out the drinks for the rest of the people and placed them on the table.

"Professor, let's have a drink!"

One of the students suggested, but William just shook his head and replied in a low voice, "Generally speaking, drinking etiquette should be fine here, but when drinking in an unfamiliar place, it's still necessary to have someone who doesn't drink stay behind."

He raised his glass, clinked it with the students, then tapped his finger on the glass, causing the wine to slide down slightly. He then put the glass back in its original position and continued to glance at the people around him out of the corner of his eye.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please sing me a song, and I'll just have to buy you a drink!"

Seeing that they were chattering away and didn't seem to be there to do business, a male sorcerer carrying a lyre soon came over. "Coming to Greece is incomplete without listening to the epic tales of heroes. Wine and song are the perfect combination!"

His chosen location was ingenious, blocking the view from most of the tables further inside and also blocking the view from this side to that side—undoubtedly, this person had a partnership with the tavern, aiming to prevent clueless tourists from accidentally disturbing the rest of the business while collecting Galleons.

"There are even bards! This is like an adventure story!"

One student's offhand remark nearly made William cover his forehead—hadn't this completely exposed their true nature? A group of greenhorns, excited about adventure stories, arrived on the black market streets… weren't they just asking to be ripped off?

"Then, let's play one of the most classic ones!"

Another student enthusiastically requested a piece of music, and the singer tuned his harp, letting it play on its own, and then loudly sang a story about the Trojan Horse.

Are Muggle semi-mythological stories popular here too?

William, who had originally intended to hear about the differences between the myths and legends here, suddenly became interested and listened patiently. The story was slightly modified; for example, the construction of the Trojan Horse was aided by a wizard who even used magic to help the soldiers open the city gates silently, which ultimately led to the success of the Trojan Horse plan.

This was quite interesting, especially since the other person had a very good voice. William promptly bought him a drink and then began to discuss the payment for singing.

Next, they soon heard all sorts of songs, including the story of the prophet Carcas's failed prophecy, the story of the witch Seraph tricking sailors into turning them into pigs, and the story of the invincible Andros's adventures across the European continent relying on his staffless spellcasting and a giant-sized guardian deity.

'Worth the ticket price…'

William nodded and paid a Galleon as payment for the songs.

"Are there any more modern epic stories?"

He asked the bard curiously.

"Of course I have them! I have stories about the Malashi Party, and stories about the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald!"

"There's this too?"

Before William could speak, the students were already excited.

"Of course there are. Let's start with the story of UMNO."

The bard drank another large cup of wine, then tapped his lyre and changed the tune.

"...It was a dark night when the evil UMNO party infiltrated the border of the defenses."

"...Maginot is a nice name; merciful wizards are stationed over there..."

"Grindelwald's apostles launched a blitzkrieg; in the dead of night, countless bolts of lightning tore everything apart..."

"The thunder drowned out all the shouts, countless wizards..."

……

The singing was beautiful, the lyrics were fluent, logical, and convincing—the Maraini launched a blitzkrieg; on a pitch-black night, lightning shattered the protective magic, and the wizards who had spontaneously defended the Maginot Line were completely overwhelmed, rendering the Maginot Line useless in an instant…

Well, aside from the content being a bit too absurd, everything else is excellent—William was also learning for the first time that blitzkrieg actually refers to wizards controlling a large number of lightning bolts to strike randomly in the air…

'I actually wanted to find clues in the bard's stories...'

William suddenly wanted to laugh at himself—the blitzkrieg was already this outrageous; there was no need to hear any more of Grindelwald and Dumbledore's story. He was afraid the other side would ruin a few more words...

“Okay, no need to listen anymore, your voice is a little hoarse,” William said with a smile as he performed the last song for Xike, then exclaimed, “It was a very beautiful voice, I think they must have thought so too.”

"That's enough for today. Let's go, we should go see other places."

Although the students seemed a little unsatisfied, they stood up after William spoke and began to walk orderly toward the bar entrance.

Several observant students had already noticed that some people were exchanging illegal items, but they held back and didn't say anything. They just pointed and whispered among themselves, but because of William's warning when he arrived, no one showed anything unusual.

'Very good, that's it—'

Just as William was about to leave peacefully with his students, a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the bar. A group of panicked wizards squeezed in, waving their wands and greeting the bartenders while curiously peering outside.

"Wait a little longer."

William had no choice but to stop and let the students return to their previous tables—theoretically speaking, people who run bars in the black market are unlikely to cause trouble, and he had no interest in getting involved in the commotion at the door.

"What happened? Why are they fighting?"

"Hey, it's all because of those newbies!" A guy carrying a cloth bag glanced outside before answering, "They tricked some guy last time, and a month later they were caught on the street. This time the other side had more people, so a fight broke out."

Before they could finish speaking, the victor emerged, arrogantly grabbing the man carrying the package by the collar and striding into the bar, where he occupied an empty table.

"We finally caught this swindler! Last time he cheated me out of two hundred Galleons, claiming it was precious African tree snake skin, but it turned out to be all fake ordinary snake skin!"

Holding the conman's wand, he casually slapped him across the face while forcefully ripping the package off. "Trying to pull a fast one, huh? It was all real at first, then you switched it with fakes. Now that I've caught you red-handed, do you think you can switch it again?"

"Come on, search them. We have to find those two hundred Galleons!"

He and his partner grumbled and rummaged through the swindler's pockets, but the search ended with yet another slap in the face.

"You poor wretch, where's the money?"

"The flowers...they're all gone..."

"If you've spent all your money, then you can pay off your debt with something!"

After another slap, the sack on his body was pulled over and placed on the table, clattering and spilling a whole table full of miscellaneous items.

"Professor...that looks like...a bird snake's eggshell over there."

A student lowered his voice and said, "This stuff is one of the key ingredients in Felix Felicis. Last year, it was hyped up for unknown reasons and then its price dropped very slowly."

"That over there, is it a gill-puff grass?"

Another student glanced at it and also recognized the valuable item.

"What kind of junk is this..."

The burly man glanced at the miscellaneous items on the table. "Only this eggshell looks valuable... Is it silver?"

He weighed it in his hand and tossed it around. "Consider it silver. It's a considerable amount. Five Galleons. Does anyone want this pile of silver?"

"mine!"

"Snapped!"

Another resounding slap followed. "They're ours now. If we sell them for two hundred Galleons, fine. If not, we'll beat you up again."

"I'll take it, five Galleons!"

The man who had been so confident in his offer started pulling out money from his pocket, then panicked. "Wait a minute, keep the item, I'll go get the money. Don't sell it to anyone else!"

He dashed off in a flash, and then the burly man picked up another item and weighed it in his hand—it was a fire crab shell. "Colorful and fancy, anyone want it for fifteen Galleons?"

That item sold quickly, followed by the next one.

Let's go...

William tapped the table to alert the eager students and left the shop before they could make a purchase.

Several students kept glancing in that direction, but ultimately managed to resist leaving the group.

About a hundred meters from the bar, William stopped and looked at his graduates with anticipation in his eyes.

Something seems... off...

"Yes...but the thing does look real..."

“Professor,” Nancy suddenly asked, “were those people in cahoots?”

William nodded. "Clearly, one of you showed off your wealth while shopping; you really went all out..."

"My God...the ones who hit, the ones who were hit, and even those who ran away, were all together?"