Business was good. Diagon Alley was bustling with life, Christmas was only 20 days away, and wizards were already hunting for gifts. Everything was running smoothly. And then, an unexpected guest walked through the door. 'Azalea?' Alex blinked, momentarily surprised. Of all the people he expected to see, she was not one of them. Hadn't she just broken in last night? And now here she was, walking into the shop like a regular customer. He chuckled internally. No wonder people always said that criminals had a habit of returning to the scene of the crime.
Azalea, meanwhile, looked thunderstruck. She froze in the doorway, her expression blank with disbelief. Alex didn't need Legilimency to know exactly what she was thinking. She hadn't expected to see him here. She had assumed he was still at Hogwarts. And now she was standing in the shop of the man she had robbed, staring straight at him. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, "Azalea? Azalea?"
"Ah?" Azalea snapped out of her daze, blinking rapidly.
Alex raised an eyebrow, feigning curiosity. "What's wrong with you? Why are you just standing there?" Inwardly, though, he was rolling his eyes. 'This woman is beyond unprofessional. I thought she was just a little reckless before, but now she's just downright stupid.'
Azalea finally seemed to collect herself. "Oh..." She cleared her throat, adjusting her expression into something more neutral. "Sorry, I just… I thought you were still at Hogwarts. I wasn't expecting to see you here, Mr. Wilson."
"Ah, right." Alex nodded, smiling as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Well, I do have a business outside of school. Now that I've started one, it's hard not to think about it while I'm stuck at Hogwarts. So, I applied to leave early." Then, casually, he added, "You must really have a connection to my shop. The last time we met, I had just opened. And now, the moment I step out of Hogwarts, here you are again." His tone was light, friendly. Almost teasing.
Azalea stiffened for a fraction of a second. Then, forcing a small smile, she nodded. "Oh, so that's how it is. What a coincidence."
Alex merely smiled back. 'Yeah. A coincidence, indeed.'
Azalea felt a trickle of cold sweat slide down her back. If she had come just one day later… she could have walked straight into Alex while sneaking into his shop. The thought made her stomach churn. And then, as if he had a sixth sense for making her squirm, Alex casually remarked, "By the way, you don't look too well. Didn't get a good night's rest?"
The mention of last night made her heart skip a beat. Her fingers tensed for a fraction of a second, but she forced herself to keep her expression neutral. "Uh… yeah, that's true," she said, giving a forced chuckle. "I've been pretty busy lately. Haven't been sleeping well." She knew her smile must have looked painfully stiff, but she had no choice but to push through it.
"The Ministry must be keeping you on your toes, huh?" Alex mused, still sounding perfectly casual. "Honestly, it's much better running a business. Less stress." Azalea nodded absentmindedly, praying he would drop the subject. But then, "Oh, right," Alex continued. "Today isn't a weekend, is it? Shouldn't you be at the Ministry right now?"
Azalea barely stopped herself from cursing out loud. Did he have to ask so many questions? Still, she steadied herself and replied naturally, "That's true, but the Ministry's been running us into the ground with overtime. I pulled an all-nighter recently, so I was given the day off." This part wasn't even a lie, so she was able to answer without hesitation.
Alex tilted his head. "Oh? Didn't know the Ministry had jobs that required overnight shifts. You're not doing fieldwork, are you?"
Azalea clenched her teeth behind her smile. 'This guy. He would not stop.' She forced a small laugh. "Sorry, you know how it is. Ministry regulations, can't discuss classified work."
Alex gave an exaggerated nod. "Ah, of course. Totally understandable." For a brief second, she thought she had finally escaped the interrogation. But then, "That said, how are you finding my equipment? It's holding up well, isn't it?"
Azalea barely kept her face from twitching. 'It's working too damn well, that's why we're in trouble.' If Alex was hoping for praise, she had half a mind to tell him his creations were about to get him killed. Instead, she swallowed her irritation and kept her response vague. "Well, you'd have to ask the Aurors for details," she said, keeping her tone light. "I'm not a frontline combatant, after all." She could feel herself running out of patience. If Alex asked even one more question, To her relief, he seemed to sense her discomfort and smoothly changed the topic.
"You're looking a little drained," he said, gesturing to the other side of the store. "Why don't you check out the phonographs? Music can be a good way to relieve stress. We've got a new Christmas album in stock."
Azalea nearly sighed in relief. 'Finally. Something normal.' "Oh? Really?" She feigned curiosity, though in truth, she was just glad he had let her off the hook. "But I think I'll look at the accessories first," she added, already making a beeline toward them. She still hadn't forgotten about the jewelry she had been eyeing last night.
Alex simply smiled and gestured for her to browse freely. As he watched her select items with surprising precision, he resisted the urge to smirk. 'Your performance is a little too obvious, don't you think?' This was only her second visit to his shop, yet she moved as if she already knew which accessories she wanted. The way she picked through the displays with clear intent… It was laughable.
Azalea, however, was too engrossed in her selections to notice Alex's scrutiny. After gathering a few jewelry pieces, she turned her attention to the phonograph section, flipping through records until she spotted the Christmas album Alex had mentioned. "This is the one you were talking about?" she asked. "Can I try it out?" Her instinct was screaming at her to finish shopping quickly and get out before she slipped up. But seeing a record she hadn't noticed last night was too tempting to pass up.
Alex, meanwhile, internally sighed at her behavior. 'Oh, so you know we have a place to test records, do you? Feigning enthusiasm, he nodded. "Of course! You might not know this, but we actually have a special room for listening. You can also try on your accessories there. It's right this way, follow me."
Azalea suddenly realized she had been a little too familiar in her actions. She quickly plastered on a surprised expression, as if she were hearing about the listening room for the first time. Even Fang, who had been idly lounging on the counter, sneezed out of sheer embarrassment at her terrible acting.
After Azalea paid for her items and left, Alex leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms as if nothing had happened. Fang, still perched at the counter, eyed him strangely. "master," he said, tilting his head. "That woman was acting very suspicious. Why didn't you expose her?"