The inside of the building was no better than the outside. Worse even as I spotted a few doxy's borrowing into cracks at the sudden intrusion. Not surprising to find the annoying little pests really as they always infest magical buildings not maintained constantly. Other than that however everything had a fine layer of dust over.
"Scourgify." I incanted calmly while waving my hand.
Bubbles spewed out of thin air in front of my palm and washed over the shop clearing away the dust and grime.
"Wandless incantation?" Lucius muttered with a look of surprise that he quickly wiped away.
"Just a little trick." I said humbly as I walked in and began to look over everything.
The flooring was dirty and cracked in places and needed replacing, the counter was mostly fine and the walls were solid if doxy infested. The shelves needed replacing and the stairs needed repair work. I found the hatch leading into the basement of the building and found a bunch of dusty empty boxes, doxy nests, and a boggart that turned into me with a chain around my neck and shackles on my limbs. I banished it with a frown.-
"Slavery?" Malfoy commented when he saw it.
"A lack of freedom." I corrected.
"I see." he said with a funny look.
The upstairs area was a bit worse than the downstairs. More doxy's, more structural damage, water leaks, outdated plumbing, the usual from long disused buildings.
"I've seen enough. The bones of the building are solid but it needs serious work to restore to acceptable condition." I say seriously.
"Indeed. I will, of course, deduct the expenses of such an undertaking from the sale price." Lucius said with the polite tone of politician.
"Given everything that we have seen I appraise the total value of this property at nine thousand five hundred and twenty eight galleons. Is this price acceptable for you both?" Ragkog asked professionally.
"Given it's location I believe eleven thousand would not be terribly hard to accept?" Lucius countered calmly.
"Ten thousand even." I said firmly.
"Done. Shall we return to Gringotts to finalize the purchase?" he asked without haggling further.
We did exactly that and the paperwork was finalized in a matter of only thirty minutes. Ragkog was prepared. He had the paperwork all ready in his office and we merely had to go and sign it.-
"Now that we have concluded that I was wondering if perhaps you might indulge me a moment to discuss another bit of business?" Lucius said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"You have my interest." I said waving him to continue.
"There have been... rumors. That you possess the means to acquire fruits of extraordinary purpose." He said lightly.
"And these rumors, did they say what I asked for such a thing?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I confess they did not. I can assure you the Malfoy family possesses a vast fortune however." he said and I chuckled.
"I didn't ask for mere money. I want knowledge. The sort that pureblood families hoard to themselves but clearly don't bother learning. That is the price I asked for that particular commodity." I said calmly and watched his face twist as he put the pieces together.
My price was little different than asking the purebloods to hand over legacy. It's not about whether they use the knowledge or not. It's about the fact they have it and no one else does. Even worse they are fairly certain I am muggleborn which was a WHOLE other issue.-
"Forget I said anything then." he said before leaving unhappily.
"Now then, Ragkog I require a full renovation and updating of the entire building. Luxury is not required but modern standards must be met." I said to the Goblin who was sitting nervously in place.
"You can leave it to me sir." he said and I nodded before leaving Gringotts again with Salem.
"Malfoy will not be accepting that price. He'll make a less than legal play for what he wants." I tell her calmly.
"And you think he'll target me?" she asked amused.
"Oh it's almost guaranteed. You introduced yourself with my name and there's enough resemblance between us that he'll no doubt make the mistake of thinking we are related. He won't target me directly because I'll be at school soon but you are a perfect pressure point as far as anyone in this world knows." I say frankly.
"I believe you said it won't matter so long as I leave no evidence behind yes?" she asked and I nodded.
"Memories also count as evidence. Should any of them survive their memories can be extracted and used in court. So if you do kill them be thorough." I say casually.
"Oh? This world's magic can allow you to view memories?" she asked very interested.
"It can. There are four methods in fact. Pensieve which allows you to experience the memories from a sort of third person perspective. Projection which replays exactly what was seen and heard. Absorption that allows you to directly add the memories to your own. And finally Legilimency and occlumency, the magic arts of the mind." I explained calmly.