บท 104: Say It Again, and I'll Push Your Head Into the Cauldron!
บรรณาธิการ: Atlas Studios
Did the Ministry not hire Dementors because they came free, year-round, and equipped with "torture devices"?
Ivan grumbled to himself, but decided to be magnanimous.
"Never mind, then. Let it rest for a day…we'll come back tomorrow."
It was enough for him to raise his Psionite Guard to Level 4. All he needed to do now was practice.
Doggett could see that Ivan was in a good mood, but given how long he had been fighting the Dementors, he offered his advice.
"It's fairly early. How about I show you around?"
Ivan nodded. He had been cooped up in the Dark Arts shop every day and couldn't go out.
Ivan had been trying to find out what Knockturn Alley looked like ever since he arrived, but he didn't have the courage to go out on his own, as he hadn't upgraded his Psalter to Level 4 yet.
"Come on, I think you'll like the place…" said Doggett mysteriously.
Yvonne was intrigued.
Doggett relocked the Dementor's case and placed protective enchantments around the empty room before leaving with Ivan.
"What if a patient comes later?" Yvonne asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"They'll sit tight and wait," said Doggett nonchalantly.
Those who were willing to come to the hospital were either special patients who had been injured for shady reasons, or Dark Wizards with criminal records.
No matter how long they had to wait!
It didn't take Ivan long to realise why Doggett had been so generous with his treatment. He wasn't afraid of rejection…
After about twenty minutes of walking, the path became more and more off-centre, and Ivan's brow furrowed.
Yvonne would have thought she was being trafficked if her memory hadn't told her that Douggart had known his mother for over ten years.
Within minutes, Ivan found himself surrounded by more pedestrians.
Further on, there was a large, dilapidated square, but it was very lively. On both sides of the square, many wizards sat on the ground with rags in front of them, on which were strange magical objects and materials…
"Is that what you're talking about?" Ivan asked, looking around curiously. He thought these wizards were like the street vendors at the night market in his previous life.
"I don't suppose your mother has brought you here yet, of course?" Dougett explained, glancing back at him.
"It's the Wizarding Market in Knockturn Alley. It's legal and illegal and everything. Everyone can find what they want there."
"No." Ivan shook his head, remembering that Alicia only took him to Diagon Alley occasionally.
"Did you buy your Dementors there?" Yvonne asked.
"In your dreams!" Dagget said, rolling his eyes. "It took me a lot of talking and a lot of gold Galleons to get that for a friend."
"You can't get them here, even if you wanted to," said Doggett haughtily, unaware that Ivan was muttering to himself.
What happened to selling everything? Liar!
"Take a look and see if there's anything you'd like… I'll pay for it, as a present," Dougart said, his eyes lighting up when he saw Ivan's face.
"Don't choose something too expensive…"
Yvonne ignored him and went to one of the stalls, where she knelt and picked up a bottle of blood.
It was a bottle of Thestrals Blood, accompanied by bottles labelled Dragon's Blood and Unicorn's Blood. Ivan was momentarily impressed by how easily he was able to purchase the items he had worked so hard for.
Upon contact, however, Ivan realised the difference.
[Blood of thestrals
Activity: extremely low
Description: This is the blood of an adult male Thestrals, containing the power of death.]
Ivan shook his head in disappointment when he saw the prompt in the system's toolbar. He put the bottle back. The blood was too weak and had been left there for too long to be used in the potion.
"A bottle of Dragon's Blood for 35 Galleons, 50 Galleons of Thestrals, 70 Galleons of Unicorns!"
The stall owner, an elderly witch with a pipe in her mouth, was wearing a pointy hat and blowing smoke out of her mouth. When she saw Ivan shaking his head, she leaned over and stared at him.
"But you look cute. How about I give you a thirty percent discount?"
Ivan leaned back quietly. He didn't know much about market prices, but he knew they were unusually high. A unicorn's horn in Diagon Alley was only twenty-one Galleons, but…
"Why is unicorn blood so much more expensive than the rest?" Ivan wondered.
"Have you ever heard of anyone owning a unicorn?" asked the elderly witch.
Yvonne understood. Dragons were bred in some places, and part of the Nightriders were tamed by wizards, so it was normal to charge a lower price.
"You haven't chosen yet?" Douggart asked as he came up to Ivan. He frowned when he saw the three bottles Ivan was looking at, then picked one up and placed some Galleons on the stall.
"Black market price, 11 Galleons worth of Nocturnal Blood. Let's buy this!"
The old witch's hand that was holding the cigarette shook violently. She raised her eyebrows and was about to curse, but when she looked up and saw who it was, she stopped and smacked her lips.
"Mad Dog Doggart?"
"Say that again and I'll put your head in a cauldron!" Douggart said, then threw down the money and dragged Ivan away from the stall.
"Why would you want to buy nocturnal blood? I'm just looking at it," Ivan said.
"Don't worry, it won't go to waste. Even if you don't need it, your mother will." Dougett winked at him.
Ivan's expression hardened, thinking that Doggett had discovered the secret of his blood fusion, but then he realised that Doggett was referring to the need for certain magical tools, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why did the old witch just call you that?"
"Well… sometimes having more intimidating nicknames can save you a lot of trouble…" Dougett explained casually with a twinkle in his eye.
Ivan didn't ask any more questions. After an afternoon together, he didn't see Doggett acting like a mad dog.
Could it be that he was drunk and enjoyed being drunk?
Yvonne looked at his drunken state and quietly moved away from him…
(P.S. The inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion was Belby's uncle Damocles Marcus, not Snape, as mentioned in Part VI of the book, as well as in the previous chapters. Also, as a comparison of prices, the horn, made from unicorn horn, was sold for 21 Galleons, and dragon liver was sold for 17 Sickles an ounce (28.350g).
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