https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-106-Matters-in-Knockturn-Alley-are-often-discussed-after-the-fighting-is-over-/13440551/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-108-You-Know-My-Patronus-Is-a-Bit-Special/13440553/
Chapter 107: Past Events
Chapter 107: Past Events
Ding Ling Ling
As Ivan walked in, the pleasant chime of the doorbell rang.
Inside the Dark Magic Shop, Aisia propped her cheek with her hand and sat leisurely behind the counter, reading a notebook. Noticing Ivan’s somewhat grim expression, she finally spoke with a teasing tone.
“So, did you get scared by the Dementor?”
Since Ivan was not injured, only a bit dusty from climbing the attic, Aisia didn’t notice anything unusual.
“No, I think it might have been scared of me,” Ivan rolled his eyes. A good Dementor, now hiding in the crate and refusing to come out.
“Is that so? Just don’t have nightmares tonight.” Aisia smiled, not believing him for a second. She imagined how terrified Ivan must have looked when he first saw the Dementor. It would have been quite amusing, but unfortunately, she didn’t see it.
“By the way, Mom, do you know anything about Dean Dugard’s past?” Ivan didn’t linger on this topic and quickly changed the subject.
He had received the money and was still hesitant about revealing the details of the battle, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t ask about other things.
“When did you start being so interested in him? You used to dislike Dean Dugard so much,” Aisia closed the notebook on the table and asked suspiciously.
“I just heard someone call him ‘Mad Dog’ and was a bit surprised, that’s all,” Ivan said.
“Was he very angry?” Aisia wasn’t surprised, just smiled.
“Pretty much,” Ivan thought about the Old Witch who sold him the Thestral Blood, and how Douglas almost shoved her head into the cauldron because of that remark.
As for the conflict with the Goblin, Ivan couldn’t quite figure it out. He didn’t have enough information to know if it was because of the final insult of being called a coward, or because he was cheated out of a lot of Galleons during a card game with the Goblin Vendor.
Aisia thought for a moment and then said,
“I’m not entirely sure about the details, but I know he was dismissed from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries over a decade ago because of some incident.”
“Later, Douglas came to Knockturn Alley, and because of a minor issue, he used a spell to break a Wizard’s arm, causing a lot of trouble. That’s when people started calling him that.”
Over ten years ago, Douglas must have been around thirty, and already the deputy head at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?
Ivan was amazed. Thinking about the photos and medals he saw at Douglas’s house, it was hard to imagine how this guy had fallen to his current state.
Ivan then tried to pry more information about Douglas, but he only learned that Douglas had been disowned by his family, along with some trivial details.
Seeing that he wasn’t getting much more information, Ivan changed the topic to some gossip,
“Mom, how did you and Dean Dugard get to know each other? I think he seems to really like you.”
“He likes himself more than he likes me!” Aisia said irritably, then gave Ivan a suspicious look at the potion bag in his hand.
“How much did he pay you today?”
Aisia’s gaze grew more dangerous as she realized Ivan wasn’t coming back empty-handed.
“Just borrowed a few dozen Galleons,” Ivan said guiltily, then, before Aisia could react, he showed her the Bracelet on his left hand.
“I think this might be useful, so I bought it from the Wizard Market for thirty-five Galleons. It seems to have some Ancient Runes on it. Can you see if you can repair it or figure out what they mean?”
Aisia took the Bracelet off Ivan's left wrist and examined it closely, unable to look away.
"How about it? I didn't lose out, did I?" Ivan had been harboring a grudge over this, suspecting that he had been cheated because the short wizard at the stall had been smiling broadly when they left.
"This Bracelet will only last one more use before it breaks", Aisia quickly figured out, and continued, "However, some of the Runes on it are not even recorded in my collection, making it highly valuable for research. Once we decipher the meaning of these Runes, we might be able to repair it."
"Thirty-five Galleons to buy it, which means you had pretty good luck", Aisia praised him.
"Rune Arrangement? What's that?" Ivan recalled his Wand and the Storage Box containing the Dementor, both of which had Runes arranged in a specific way.
Aisia didn't hide anything and began to explain.
In general, the foundation of a magic item shop lies in the number of Runes it has deciphered and the formulas for Rune arrangements it understands.
The former is the basis of everything, but to release Magic Power, it still relies on specific Rune arrangement methods.
Typically, magic items are made by inscribing Runes inside the object, and any attempt to decipher them could result in damage.
After all, every new Rune formula is the result of the creator's painstaking research and is highly valuable.
However, there are exceptions. For magic items that are modified later, such as Wand alterations, it's not possible to disassemble the Wand. Instead, the Runes are inscribed on the surface, with the arrangement being encrypted to some extent to increase the difficulty of cracking.
Obtaining some new Runes, Aisia was in a good mood and didn't mind that Ivan had borrowed money to buy a lot of things.
After a reasonably sumptuous dinner, Aisia immediately took the Bracelet back to the work area to decipher the meaning of the Runes, telling Ivan that he could start preparing to learn some basic Rune arrangement knowledge over the next two days.
Returning to his room alone, Ivan put away the potions he had bought and continued practicing his Guardian Summon.
In the previous two battles, Ivan had discovered that this Bloodline Magic consumed a lot of Magic Power, especially when materializing and recovering after taking heavy damage.
This meant that during a battle, he could only use it a few times. Ivan could only hope that once the level of his Guardian Summon increased, the Magic Power consumption would decrease.
However, after practicing for a while, Ivan found that his proficiency was barely increasing, indicating that he needed to practice with Dementors.
Ivan also remembered that the Storage Box containing the Dementor at Douglas's place had some ancient Runes on it, which he could study later.
At the same time, Ivan was hesitant about whether to tell Aisia about what happened at the Wizard Market, as he felt that Douglas wasn't very reliable.
But how should he bring it up?
Fortunately, Ivan didn't have to worry about this for long because within a day or two, Douglas's exploits had already spread throughout Knockturn Alley. Even Aisia, who spent most of her time in the work area researching new Runes, had heard the news.
(End of Chapter)
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