Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 61: A High Price
Harry arrived at Lady Rose's shop without attracting any more unwanted attention.
As soon as he entered, Lady Rose welcomed him as if she had already been expecting him, even though he had not spoken with the woman after buying the materials for his foci.
"Welcome, Mister Potter." Her piercing blue eyes appeared to scan him over. "You look somewhat distressed today. Is everything alright?"
Harry had failed to realize that his emotions were bleeding through his Occlumency shields and acted to fix the issue.
His expression returned to a neutral state before he spoke. "I'm fine."
"So you are." Lady Rose smiled and pretended that she didn't notice anything. "What can I help you with? Did you bring another long list of rare materials to acquire?"
"It's not that long, I believe." Harry pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. "As for rare…" He wasn't really sure about that. "It's up to you."
"A challenge, I see." She sounded excited.
Lady Rose picked up the list and began reading it carefully.
"Oh… that is a peculiar list of materials. I honestly have no idea what you are trying to do with these."
"Does that matter?" Harry asked.
"No, not necessarily. I just have a very curious nature. That's why I am so good at my job."
Harry knew that she was referring to her job as an information broker, because that was also what allowed her to secure so many rare materials that other merchants would be unable to find. Lady Rose had many important contacts all over the globe.
"Can you get them all?"
"Sure," she said with no hesitation. "The issue is time… I'm confident I can have most of these in a day or two, but this last one…" She pointed at the list. It was an item called 'Arkstone,' a crystal used to give power to artifacts or anything else that requires magical energies to function. "Do you really need one this big? What are you trying to power, a castle?"
"Tsk… not good, huh?" He knew this was going to be an issue.
In the past, he had taken whatever he wanted, and that made things much easier. But buying things was a lot more complicated.
'I don't think the Ministry of Magic would be too happy if you take theirs,' V commented.
'No, I don't think they will,' Harry realized that he was going to have to change his plans.
He would have to compromise on this one. Having many sources of power was much worse than having a single one, as it created more weak points.
But he couldn't afford to wait for too long before creating the protections for the Weasley household. There was no telling when the Death Eaters could make their move.
And he certainly didn't learn anything new today.
Harry approached the counter and picked a nearby quill. "What about this…" He wrote a new set of dimensions, but this time he added that he would need twelve of them.
"This will have to do."
"Mmm… now that is more reasonable. I can get you those in just a few days." Lady Rose said.
"Okay, that would b—"
"However." Lady Rose interrupted him. "The matter of the payment…"
"I have enough galleons to pay for this," Harry said with confidence. "Name your price."
"Yes, I am aware that the Lestrange vault had a mountain of gold inside." Lady Rose commented casually, revealing that she knew exactly where that gold had come from, even though the goblins never made this information public.
"But there is a limit on how many of those galleons I can move around without raising suspicion. After all, each of the big pureblood families has ways to track down their own assets."
"What are you saying, that I need to get money from somewhere else?" Harry didn't really have an issue with raiding another vault.
As if she were reading his mind, Lady Rose spoke again. "Well, I would prefer if you didn't go to the goblins again for that. They are already quite upset after not finding the culprit, and we don't want to start another war with them. I think you would share this feeling as you are already busy with one."
"Ah…" Harry hadn't considered how the goblins could react after having their vaults repeatedly broken into. "What do you suggest then?"
Lady Rose's satisfied smile revealed that this was the question she had been waiting for. "There is another way to pay for these materials. Just do one simple job for me, and we can consider sealing the deal."
'Harry, be careful,' V warned him.
"A job? What kind of job?" Harry wondered what she was plotting.
"Oh, there is no need for that look of suspicion. I am not plotting anything devious. I just happen to need someone with your skills."
Now Harry was wondering if she was reading his mind. But that should be impossible for as long as he had V on his head. This magical hat was likely the most powerful mental protection in existence.
"No, I am not reading your mind." Lady Rose wore a mischievous smile. "I'm just very good at reading people's faces, even those who try to hide behind Occlumency." She reached for something on one of the shelves behind her and showed it to Harry.
It was a thin, old book that had been carefully preserved with spells.
Harry opened it and found that the text was filled with ancient Egyptian symbols.
"A tomb?" Reading it was not an issue for someone like Harry, but he was surprised by its contents.
Mainly because this book was talking about a place he had never known about: a set of tunnels beneath the Great Pyramid, built for Pharaoh Khufu.
"Not just a tomb, but one that belonged to the greatest sorcerer of ancient Egypt," Lady Rose said. "The legendary Amenhotep."
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