Read my new story (CaveLeather)
Game of Thrones: The Sword King
Game of Thrones: From Deserter to Power
Game of Thrones: King of Harrenhal— Garth Greenhand Stat Panel
Whether anywhere in the Muggle world or in the ancient underground Knockturn Alley, people connected to the [Black Market] always possess a distinct trait: they know which way the wind blows.
Facing a blatant threat of death, not a single fool insisted on challenging Ares for the sake of dignity or integrity.
"This is a misunderstanding, sir."
An old hag with a few sparse strands of hair on her head and only the whites of her eyes remaining—who knows what dangerous magical experiments she had undergone—grinned, baring her teeth.
"Yes, a lovely little joke. A gentleman of your esteemed status surely wouldn't mind!"
"That dragon is entirely your spoil of war. I assume no one would have an opinion on that!"
"Would you like a Veela, sir? Completely free... as long as you move that spear a bit further from my throat!"
The underground market, which had been tense with swords drawn just moments ago, instantly turned harmonious. People put on their friendliest smiles to express goodwill towards Ares.
"I'm glad we reached a consensus on the ownership of this dragon."
Ares nodded slightly and spoke calmly.
Bang—Boom!
With a series of crisp snaps, the chains binding the dragon broke in unison. The massive body of the female dragon crashed to the ground with a thunderous noise.
When this behemoth lost its restraints... even though it looked to be hanging by a thread, the dark wizards who usually treated it as commonplace unconsciously shrank their necks in unison.
But seeing Ares's spears still pointing at their vital spots, no one dared to move or retreat without permission.
They just watched... silent as cicadas in winter, watching the black-robed wizard take out a glass bottle labeled [Baruffio's Brain Elixir]... pour out its contents, then 'stuff' the dragon and the dragon egg into the bottle and pocket it.
"Well then, good day to you all."
Ares said. Then, he waved his hand, dismissing the [Spears of Space].
Silence persisted for a while.
People watched the black-robed wizard turn and leave, his figure receding until he disappeared from everyone's sight.
Whoosh—
The frozen atmosphere melted like snow meeting spring sun.
Noisy hawking and fierce bargaining returned to the market. The only witness to the fact that the conflict just now had really happened was a gradually cooling corpse lying on the ground.
A group of vampires quietly surrounded it.
Then, that corpse disappeared too.
.....
Although Old Tom of the Leaky Cauldron was hunched over and had a poor image, just like always, no matter what he was doing, he could spot a guest entering the pub at first glance.
"Look who it is!"
Having gone through the peak seasons of July and August, business at the Leaky Cauldron in October was much quieter than during the summer holidays. However, this allowed Old Tom and his employees to deal with things they usually didn't have time for, such as—cleaning.
When Ares walked into the pub from the back door, Old Tom was directing two employees to use their wands to control brooms to clear the accumulated dust and spiderwebs from the beams. The entire pub was briefly much cleaner.
"An Order of Merlin, First Class recipient!"
At first glance at Ares, Old Tom thought he was seeing things, but once he truly recognized Ares, he immediately sucked in a breath of cold air and shouted joyfully.
"The hero who saved the future of the British wizarding world—Mr. Ares Delfino!"
The two cleaning employees were also familiar with Ares from before, but now, their gazes towards Ares were filled with awe... looking like they wanted to say hello but felt unworthy!
"Instead of wasting time on pleasantries with me, Tom—"
From the moment Ares stopped the Hogwarts Express, he knew some changes were destined to happen.
However, this didn't make Ares arrogant, because [Fame] and [Power] were never things he pursued.
He smiled with his usual refreshing warmth.
"You might as well hurry up and get me a whiskey."
"Naturally, naturally, it's my honor, Mr. Delfino!"
Old Tom looked equally honored.
"And it's completely free—from now on, all your expenses at the pub are on me... as long as you're willing to tell me how you stopped the train that was broken by that bastard Quirrell!"
"What, you already know who the culprit is?"
Ares walked to the bar with a beaming smile and sat down. His gaze swept across the pub, and he immediately knew his question was completely redundant.
Posters of Quirinus Quirrell's face, bursting with a 'thieving vibe', were plastered on many pillars in the pub.
"Yeah, who doesn't know by now?"
Tom said angrily. He slammed a copy of the Daily Prophet onto the bar in front of Ares.
"This is yesterday's paper... Just arrived here, and people from the Ministry came right after to put up wanted posters!"
Sure enough, people's enthusiasm and initiative are far higher than usual when shifting blame.
Ares marveled a little at Fudge's efficiency in his heart, picked up his glass, and asked with interest.
"How are people here discussing this matter?"
"What else can they say... everyone says he's lost his mind!"
Old Tom said heartbreakingly.
"Robbing Gringotts is one thing, that's the goblins' trouble anyway, but to dare tamper with the train carrying young wizards, that's completely unforgivable. Even You-Know-Who didn't think of that back then... Oh, I really didn't see him as that kind of person before, Ares—"
In his agitation, Old Tom switched back to his usual address.
"Otherwise, I would never have let him run a tab here!"
"Cough cough—"
Ares choked on his drink and moved his gaze away from the newspaper headline—it was nothing more than fabricating some nonsense, finding some traces left by Quirinus Quirrell on the train, and claiming that train staff had seen a wizard resembling Quirinus Quirrell appear when the train lost control, and so on.
"Respectable awareness, Tom."
Ares smiled and raised his glass to Old Tom.
Old Tom also poured himself some whiskey and clinked glasses with Ares, flattered.
His yellowing eyeballs rolled in their sockets as he asked cautiously.
"But aren't you teaching at Hogwarts during this time? How come you're here... You, oh, I get it, you gave up that terrible job, didn't you? If you ask me, that's a wise choice!"
"Regrettably, Tom—"
Ares smacked his lips, savoring the wine in his glass.
Being famous wasn't entirely without benefits; even the whiskey Old Tom served wasn't watered down anymore.
"Although I agree with your point of view, I'm afraid I have to stick with that job for a while longer."
"Then you are here for?"
"Seeking benefits for those lovely students of mine, Tom—"
Ares put down his glass and looked at Tom pleasantly.
"Can you do me a favor, Tom? I want to invite some friends from Diagon Alley to gather here."
"That's naturally not a problem, but for what?"
"Ah, there's a big business deal to discuss with you all... Of course, whether it can go forward depends on your sincerity and determination."