บท 94: Conflict and the Eye of Detection
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
When the light returned, Ivan found himself in a brand-new place, presumably a shop, with poor lighting and a dark interior, with transparent glass covers on top of cabinets.
The one nearest Ivan had a small skull that looked as if it had been specially treated, with deep scratches on either side.
The other glass cases also contained a variety of objects: dried human hands, blood-stained poker cards, jagged chandeliers, each stranger than the last…
Ivan waited for a while, and then a ghostly blue flame began to rise from the fireplace once more. Alicia arrived late, pulling her wand back into her sleeve.
"Did you do something to them?" Ivan asked, noting this and wondering if Alicia had gone after the drunks.
"What were you thinking? It's the Leaky Cauldron, and if you cause trouble there, the Ministry will be here any minute." Alicia shook her head.
Yvonne did not believe him. What could a Dark Wizard do against a couple of drunks?
However, the drunkards had it coming. From what he could remember of Alicia's methods, they would not die, but they would suffer.
"Don't even think about it, just stay close to me!" Alicia warned him, and then she went on ahead, with Ivan hurrying behind her.
Ring, ring,
As they passed the cupboard, the wind chime hanging on the door of the shop started to shake. A middle-aged, hunchbacked wizard playing with a strange spherical object behind the counter spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Someone else is coming. Who is it this time?"
"Mr. Borgin, it's me," said Alicia mildly as she approached from behind the cupboard.
"So it's Mrs. Harls…" The owner, Caratacus Burke, looked uninterested as he slumped back in his chair.
"You're going in and out of the house and you're making my fireplace dirty. I'll have to charge you next time."
"Why don't you put the interchange at Knockturn Alley with me?" Alicia suggested with a smile.
"Forget it. That's not something you can just touch. A little dirt and you're dirty." Burke's lips twitched, revealing a gold tooth in his mouth.
While they were chatting, Ivan studied the owner of Borgin and Burkes.
He appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties, with well-groomed, greasy hair, two dark rings on his thin, withered fingers, and a very common black wizard's robe. Apart from his bent back, he looked no different from any other wizard, and his voice was soft and harmless.
However, from both the book and the memories in Ivan's mind, this was clearly not an ordinary character.
Even the famous Dark Lord worked here in his youth…
Perhaps sensing Ivan's attention, Burke did not pursue the previous topic.
"This must be young Hals? This is the first time I've seen…how is it? Did you see anything you liked in the shop…"
Burke placed the strange sphere in front of Ivan, and when he got closer, Ivan could see that it was an eye. It seemed to have been enchanted, as the black eyes moved freely and met Ivan's gaze.
The moment they looked at each other, Ivan felt a little dizzy, and then he subconsciously used Occlumency to regain consciousness.
BANG!
There was a flash of blue light and the eye was knocked out of its socket and smashed against the door frame.
"What are you going to do?" asked Isiah, her face grim. She had pulled out her wand and was pointing it at Burke's head. The tip of the wand glowed with a dark light, as if it were brewing some kind of dark magic.
"Don't be angry. I was only joking. You should know the Scouting Eye." Burke used the Summoning Charm to summon the Eye back to him. He waved his hand apologetically, but did not look the least bit flustered at having his wand pointed at him. He pointed at Ivan.
"Besides, isn't Mr. Harris Junior all right?"
Alicia turned to Ivan and saw his relaxed expression as he shook his head at her. Grimly, she put her wand away.
It also had to do with Alicia's understanding of the effects of the Scouring Eye. If it had been a lethal magical tool, she would never have fallen for it.
Ivan appeared relaxed, but he was terrified. Knockturn Alley seemed more dangerous than he had imagined, and he had almost been caught in it, under the protection of Alicia.
Ivan would have torn the place down with Alicia if he could.
However, it was extremely unwise to engage in combat with a shop owner in a Dark Arts shop. No one knew how many trigger-type magical items the other party had placed in the shop, not to mention that Burke was completely fearless. Therefore, Ivan took the initiative to pretend that he did not care and stopped the conflict.
"As an apology, I'll give this to young Hulse," Burke offered, looking disinterested from beginning to end, but curious about Ivan. There were many wizards who could resist the Eye, but he had only seen one so young.
"Nah, I'm not interested," Ivan said, shaking his head.
"Keep your tricks to yourself." Alicia was not in a good mood either. She grabbed Ivan's wrist and walked out the door.
"What's the use of that eye-like thing? Is it called a Probing Eye?" Yvonne asked once they were outside.
At the same time, Ivan looked around and saw that they were in a narrow alley. The walls were made of red brick, but it was clear that there was a lack of care. There was green moss on the bricks on the right, and some of the red bricks were corroded.
One could vaguely see some rubbish piled up in the corners of the street, and a foul smell even wafted over.
"The Eye of Exploration can confuse the beholder and send them into a trance. They will answer any question that the questioner asks," Alicia explained after looking askance at Ivan.
A magical prop version of Veritaserum?
Ivan was envious for a while, and his Probing Eye could be activated just by looking at it.
"Why? Are you regretting not having asked for it?" Alicia asked.
"No, I don't think Burke would be so kind." Ivan shook his head. He thought it was nice, but he wasn't stupid enough to accept something from an unknown Dark-Hunter. There might be a trap in there somewhere.
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