Chapter 75: An Unexpected Discovery
"Harry, you must pronounce the words clearly," Mrs. Weasley said with a worried look. She was a little concerned that Harry had never used the Floo Network before and might run into trouble.
After recalling the instructions, Harry used the Floo Powder after Mr. Weasley. Ron and Mrs. Weasley had told him, "Close your eyes, don't move, and when you see Fred and Arthur, step out of the fireplace."
But as soon as he threw the powder into the fire and shouted "Diagon Alley!", a mouthful of scorching ash hit his face. Then he felt himself being sucked through the chimney like a vacuum cleaner—and finally he ended up here.
Harry carefully sorted through his thoughts.
He had used Floo Powder to travel from the Weasleys' fireplace to Diagon Alley. Clearly, something had gone wrong during the trip. He hadn't arrived in Diagon Alley at all—he had ended up somewhere else.
Harry was about to leave when he looked around and noticed a glass case beside the fireplace. Inside it was a shriveled human hand, a stack of blood-stained cards, and a glass eyeball. Horrifying masks hung on the walls, and various human bones were displayed on the counter.
It didn't take much imagination to realize that this place was definitely not a good one.
Suppressing the soreness in his body, Harry tiptoed toward the door. But when he had only walked halfway, two figures suddenly appeared in the doorway.
One of them was Harry's school rival—Draco Malfoy.
Not daring to let Draco see him, Harry quickly looked around and spotted a large black cabinet on the left side of the room. He immediately slipped inside and closed the door, leaving only a narrow crack to peek through.
Almost at the same moment, the doorbell rang and Malfoy walked in.
The figure behind him was his father, who had the same pale face and cold, arrogant gray eyes. Mr. Malfoy walked through the hall, glancing indifferently at the items displayed on the counter before pressing the bell on it. Then he turned to Draco and said, "Draco, don't touch anything."
Draco reached out to touch a glass sphere.
"I thought you came here to buy me a present," he said.
"I already told you I'd buy you a Quidditch broom," Mr. Malfoy said, tapping the counter with his finger.
"First I have to join the junior team. Otherwise, what's the point of having a broom?" Draco said casually. "Harry Potter won a Nimbus 2000 last year and helped win several Quidditch matches. Dumbledore just gives him special treatment—only because he's famous, only because of that stupid scar on his forehead."
Draco bent down again, staring at the various skulls on the shelves.
"His reputation keeps growing. Everyone seems proud of his outstanding achievements."
"You don't need to repeat that again," Mr. Malfoy said impatiently. "Let me remind you—when everyone treats Harry Potter as the hero who drove away the Dark Lord, you shouldn't openly create conflict with him."
"Ah, Mr. Borgin," Mr. Malfoy said, turning his attention to the man in front of him.
A hunched man appeared behind the counter. As he smoothed his greasy hair with his hand, he said, "Mr. Malfoy, it's a pleasure to see you again."
Mr. Borgin's tone was as oily as his hair.
"It's truly an honor, Mr. Malfoy, and young Master Malfoy as well. What can I do for you today? Perhaps you'd like to take a look around. Today's new items are very reasonably priced…"
"Mr. Borgin, I'm not here to buy anything today," Mr. Malfoy interrupted his sales pitch. "I'm here to sell a few things."
"Sell?" Borgin's smile faded slightly, replaced with mild disinterest. It wasn't easy to get a good deal from someone like Mr. Malfoy.
"You've probably heard that the Ministry of Magic has strengthened its investigations lately," Mr. Malfoy said as he slipped a hand into his robe and carefully took out a roll of parchment from his inner pocket. He unfolded it and showed it to Borgin.
"Some things are inconvenient to keep at home right now. If people from the Ministry come to investigate…"
Mr. Borgin picked up a pair of glasses from the counter and carefully placed them on his nose as he looked down at the list.
"The Ministry won't trouble you, surely, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked.
Mr. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"The Malfoy name still carries some weight. No one will come. But the Ministry has been getting more and more restless lately. They even introduced something called 'Muggle Protection.' Ridiculous. That pure-blood Arthur Weasley must be behind it—disgracing his bloodline by actually liking Muggles…"
Hearing Mr. Malfoy insult Mr. Weasley, Harry felt a surge of anger and silently cursed.
That damned Malfoy. Doing shameful things behind the scenes and still slandering Mr. Weasley.
"You see, some of the items on my list include poisons that can render people unconscious…" Mr. Malfoy said as he showed Borgin his collection.
"Of course, sir. Let me take a look. I'll give you a reasonable price," Borgin said, examining the list while secretly calculating how to gain a better profit.
"I want to see that," Draco said, pointing at the shriveled hand inside the glass case.
"Oh, that's a marvelous hand," Borgin said, tossing aside Mr. Malfoy's list and hurrying toward Draco, eager to sell the item.
"Place a candle in this wonderful hand. The light it produces can only be seen by the person holding it. It's the perfect companion for thieves and assassins. Young Master Malfoy, you have excellent taste."
A cold glint flashed in Mr. Malfoy's eyes. He could tell that Borgin was greedy and trying to take advantage of them.
"My son, Mr. Borgin," he said coldly, "does not associate with thieves or assassins."
Seeing that Mr. Malfoy was becoming displeased, Borgin quickly explained, "My apologies, Mr. Malfoy. I didn't mean it that way."
"If his grades don't improve," Mr. Malfoy continued coldly, "he might end up doing such things in the future."
"That's because the teachers are biased!" Draco protested. "They favor Hermione Granger too much…"
"I thought you would at least feel ashamed," Mr. Malfoy said gloomily. "I truly admire you—losing every exam to a girl from a non-wizarding family, and that's your excuse?"
Haha, serves him right, Harry thought happily as he watched Draco stand there embarrassed and angry, unable to talk back. Harry secretly resolved to defeat Draco thoroughly in his studies.
"There are too many things like that these days," Borgin said casually. "Wizard bloodlines are becoming less and less valuable."
"I don't think so," Mr. Malfoy said, turning his head and fixing Borgin with a commanding gaze.
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