Chapter 435: Chapter 435: The Dementor Movement (Edited)
The cabinet floated all the way up until it connected with the ceiling. The buried part of the cabinet resembled the wand shelves in Ollivanders' wand shop, with small boxes lined up in tight rows. Glancing at it, Tonks realized there were hundreds of them.
Mr. Borgin: !!!
For a moment, he felt like he was being strangled, unable to breathe: this was what he and his partner, Caractacus Burke, had accumulated over the years, and now it was over!
Mr. Borgin was a cautious person. Although he had cast many anti-theft spells in his shop, he used to keep the genuine items of value under the counter. The objects displayed in the showcase were replicas created with duplication spells or forgeries made by craftsmen. There were also some low-value or very dangerous items that were displayed directly. He didn't care if someone stole the former, but the latter would probably leave the thief trapped in the shop.
However, this trick was pointless in the presence of Moody. His magical eye could even see through the invisibility cloak, so what did a few layers of floor and protective spells mean? In less than two minutes from his entry, Moody found Borgin's secret hiding place.
Moody looked at Borgin, not wanting to personally open the cabinet. Mr. Borgin sighed again and approached the cabinet, knocking it several times, and all compartments opened.
Moody snorted disdainfully as he approached the cabinet and took out the illegal items one by one, sealing them in bags from the Department of Magic. With each item he took, Borgin's face grew paler and paler.
What was inside were not only Mr. Borgin's belongings but also those of his partner Burke and other things belonging to pure-blood wizards that were temporarily stored there. Although it was the Department of Magic conducting the inspection, were they really going to be reasonable with them? After the Department of Magic staff left, he would probably be arrested by this group of people and squeezed for his last copper coin. Although he had been collaborating with Burke for decades, he knew his partner had no scruples. Borgin was very aware that his partner was not a person of good character.
"Let's go," Moody said after taking a few turns around the room to make sure there were no forgotten prohibited items, and he left Borgin & Burkes directly. Before leaving, his magical eye fixed on a corner of the wall for a brief moment. He knew there was some kind of mechanism there, but unfortunately, it was a treasure hidden by Burke, and Borgin couldn't open it.
Although there were nearly a hundred prohibited items in Mr. Borgin's shop, the Department of Magic couldn't simply arrest him because he had a legal business license. According to official records, Borgin & Burkes was an antique shop that also provided secret appraisal services for "ancient rare magical objects inherited by prominent wizarding families." Moody and Tonks could only confiscate the illegal items from the shop and couldn't arrest the owner.
Today, only a gang of thugs and wizards who had been discovered buying dark magic items would be caught. These people would spend the winter in Azkaban.
After Moody left, Borgin's body trembled a few times. He almost collapsed but managed to hold himself up by leaning on the counter.
At that moment, several Dementors floated into Borgin & Burkes. At that moment, Knockturn Alley was in total chaos, with Aurors and other Department of Magic members busy searching. Shop owners and customers were being taken away by the staff, and no one noticed that several Dementors had entered Borgin & Burkes, which had already been frantically looted by the Aurors.
Borgin felt them approaching and abruptly looked up, his face filled with horror. "You, how... there were no-"
He was terrified. He thought these Dementors had come to take him to Azkaban.
"Don't get nervous," a voice sounded from behind the Dementors, "Mr. Borgin, I believe we could make a deal."
Borgin: ???
"What are you... what are you?" His face turned pale, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He knew that whether the speaker was a man or a monster, one couldn't toy with him.
"Of course, I am a person," the voice said as the Dementors made way, allowing a young person in a mask and strange attire to approach Mr. Borgin.
"I'm curious, do you have to pay for the things they just took? Or do you have some other way to get them back?" He looked with interest at the empty shelves and the descriptions of the merchandise that had been on them, mentally calculating the value of the dark magic objects.
Mr. Borgin opened his mouth and then closed it, repeating this several times before letting out a long sigh. His body slumped a bit more, and his back hunched even further. "Of course, it's up to me to pay... and even if those important folks can reclaim their own confiscated items, they'll make me pay... the more demanding ones will require a public relations compensation, and the less demanding ones will demand a refund for the original value of the items... Decades of accumulation, all gone down the drain!"
The young person who entered Borgin and Burkes was, of course, Tom. After carrying out a major operation with hundreds of Dementors, how could the Dementor leader not follow through? So far, he had been observing from a distance with the protection of some of his henchmen. Seeing how they confiscated Borgin and Burkes and took away a large number of hidden items, Tom suddenly had an idea. So he led the Dementors to enter Borgin and Burkes.
Mr. Borgin's words confirmed Tom's assumption. At that moment, he looked at the few remaining items on the shelves, lost in thought.
"If I were you, I'd run," he said as he approached a large cabinet and stopped. His intuition told him it was the vanishing cabinet from Borgin and Burkes. Through this cabinet, one could teleport directly to Hogwarts.
The vanishing cabinets came in pairs. They were easy to use: enter one of the cabinets, close the door. If you opened the door again, you would exit from the other. There was a Vanishing Cabinet in Borgin and Burkes, and another in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. However, the one in the Room of Requirement was damaged and didn't allow living beings to be transported onto the campus.
Although living beings couldn't currently be transported, once repaired, this pair of Vanishing Cabinets would become a secret passage for accessing Hogwarts undetected. In the original timeline, the Death Eaters had entered Hogwarts this way and trapped Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower.
Undoubtedly, this pair of Vanishing Cabinets posed a security risk to Hogwarts. As a student of Hogwarts, Tom wouldn't like to have vulnerabilities in the school's defenses. The way to eliminate this risk was also very straightforward: destroy the cabinet and toss it into the fireplace to use as firewood; that would be absolutely foolproof. But what would be the consequences of doing that?
Chapter 436: Chapter 436: Then There's Only One Answer! (Edited)
The Vanishing Cabinet is one of the most mysterious magics in the wizarding world, or rather, no magic related to time and space is straightforward. Given the current state of the magical world, this pair of Vanishing Cabinets is likely the last pair left in the wizarding world. If he destroyed them, this wonderful spatial magic could be lost forever.
That would make him a sinner in the wizarding world.
Tom couldn't do something like that, destroy the legacy of magical civilization for reasons as abstract as "security." He felt that he should at least study the cabinet's magic before finding a solution to manage them. And he could seek an alternative solution! The existence of the Vanishing Cabinet affected Hogwarts' security, so he could simply remove the cabinet from the Room of Requirement and solve the problem! Plus, he could harness this marvelous magical tool for himself.
Tom extended his hand and gently rested it on the Vanishing Cabinet's door, reading its description.
[Vanishing Cabinet (intact) - unparalleled: a magical alchemical artifact that can jump through space. Needs to be used with another Vanishing Cabinet]
"You can't escape them. They'll chase me to the ends of the earth, like sharks smelling blood." In response to Tom's suggestion of escape, Borgin shook his head. "Unless they imprison me in Azkaban, it's only a matter of time before they catch me."
Saying that, Mr. Borgin smiled maliciously. "Those who operate in the gray area between good and evil have a much keener sense of smell than others. We, people like us, are much better than the incompetents at the Ministry of Magic at finding people. If they give us enough information, even if it's Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, we can somehow find them."
Tom believed Mr. Borgin's words. As for escaping, after his escape, Sirius managed to hide for a long time, but Igor Karkaroff was caught and killed by the Death Eaters. What's the difference? One was sought by the Ministry of Magic, while the other was pursued by the Death Eaters. So Sirius survived, but Igor Karkaroff was caught and died in a cabin in Siberia.
As for tracking people down, these wizards who operate on the edge of the law are a bit more skilled.
"So why don't you go into hiding in Azkaban?" Tom withdrew his hand from the Vanishing Cabinet and looked at Mr. Borgin, who was standing to the side. Due to Mr. Borgin's hunched posture, Tom, who wasn't known for his height, suddenly felt a sense of superiority.
Upon hearing Tom's words, Mr. Borgin raised his head in surprise. "Go to Azkaban... this..." He was speechless for a moment. Saying that was like hiding in the bear's den to escape from the wolves.
But then he looked at Tom and the unpleasant smell of Dementors surrounding him, and Borgin suddenly had a bold idea.
"What if the Dementors don't affect you?" Tom smiled and spoke words that excited Mr. Borgin. "You, watch the store's door and don't let anyone in." Tom ordered the Dementors in the store.
The Dementors obediently headed to the store's door.
"Can... can you really do that?" Mr. Borgin quickly corrected his posture and became more humble and flattering. Seeing that Tom could control the Dementors, Mr. Borgin already believed 99% of what Tom said. He understood that the time had come to change his fate.
Burke, a pure-blood noble? Go to hell! If you dare to come see me, I'll be waiting for you in Azkaban, and if you dare to enter, I'll give you credit.
For wizards, Azkaban was a forbidden land, whether you were a dark wizard or a white wizard, a common Muggle, or a Ministry of Magic official. In front of Dementors, everyone was equal. Wizards who could conjure the Patronus Charm were few, and wizards who could drive away hundreds of Dementors at once were extremely rare. If they didn't let their emotions get the best of them, these hundreds of Dementors would be the best guardians for Borgin.
However, Mr. Borgin, after so many years as a merchant, also understood that free things were the most expensive.
So he asked cautiously, "And what can I do for you, noble sir?"
Tom appreciated Borgin's attitude; this man was obedient, and that pleased him.
"I need you to run a business on my behalf, but you'll have to deal with Muggles. Can you do that?" Tom had come to see Borgin today on a whim, but there was also a practical need: he needed someone to help him with the White Dolphin Prison. Often, the people Yuri left behind couldn't solve magical problems, and it was better to have Borgin deal with them than to send a letter every time there was an issue.
"Of course, no problem. I've had this shop for decades; you'll be pleased with it. Besides, I'm not a follower of blood purity, so dealing with Muggles is no problem at all." When Mr. Borgin heard this, he realized it was that kind of business. For him, management and trade were his specialties, so there was no issue. He promised with determination that he would make Tom's business thrive in the Muggle world.
Trade and business management were Borgin's field of expertise. He had been running the Borgin and Burke magical items store since before Voldemort's birth. He was confident that, as long as he had a little time to adapt, there would be no problem in growing Tom's industry in the Muggle world.
After learning Tom's objectives, there was only one response from Mr. Borgin.
"And there's one more thing," Tom said as he looked at Borgin and Burke's cluttered shop. He felt that he could still uncover a bit more of the store's potential. "Hurry and tidy up the shop, take everything you can carry, and also attend to your personal affairs. We're preparing to depart."
"I appreciate your kindness. The defensive protections of the store have already been deactivated. You can have them start moving things." Borgin pointed to the idle Dementors at the door and then bowed to Tom before quickly heading to the back of the shop to pack his belongings.
While Borgin packed his things to flee, Tom didn't remain idle. He ordered the Dementors to collect all the items they could carry, including the Vanishing Cabinet.
"By the way, have I told you that you're not going to Azkaban? You're going to the New Azkaban, the White Dolphin Prison."
These words provoked a massive surge in Mr. Borgin's mind.
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