https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-203-Heading-to-French-Magic-Street-Second-Update-/13459840/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-205-Jerry-s-Undercover-Operation-Fourth-Update-/13459842/
Chapter 204: The Expensive House-Elf (Third Update)
Chapter 204: The Expensive House-Elf (Third Update)
After passing through the Dark Magical Items trading area, Jerry, leaning on his cane, made his way to the other regions he hadn't explored before.
However, after a thorough search, he didn't find any stalls selling Fantastic Beasts or Fantastic Beast eggs. It seemed this black market didn't offer such services.
Jerry didn't give up. Since Quirrell had managed to buy a dragon egg to trick Hagrid, it was clear that the black market definitely sold prohibited Fantastic Beasts. He just hadn't found the right channel yet.
A thought crossed his mind, and Jerry slowly approached a slightly secluded stall in the far corner. He pointed at the middle-aged stall owner, who had a scruffy beard, and quietly cast the Imperius Curse.
"Do you know where in the black market they sell prohibited Fantastic Beasts?"
"Buy Fantastic Beasts from Hedon."
The middle-aged stall owner looked blissfully happy under the Imperius Curse.
"Which Hedon?"
Jerry continued to ask.
"Hedon, the male wizard standing by the staircase."
Hearing the stall owner's explanation, Jerry got a general idea of what was going on.
It turned out that the black market for prohibited Fantastic Beasts wasn't here but in a secret location in the suburbs of Paris. After all, many Fantastic Beasts were quite large and highly aggressive, making them very problematic if anything went wrong.
The Ministry of Magic might turn a blind eye to prohibited items in the bar, but they would never allow dangerous Fantastic Beasts on Magic Street.
So, to get there, one either needed to know the location or find the male wizard named Hedon at the entrance.
"Obliviate!"
Jerry lifted the Imperius Curse and used Obliviate to erase the stall owner's recent memory. Then, he walked toward the male wizard named Hedon standing by the staircase.
"I want to buy some Fantastic Beasts. Can you take me there?"
This time, Jerry didn't use the Imperius Curse or Confusion Charm. Instead, he pulled out a bag of shiny Galleons.
The stall owner had mentioned that as long as one demonstrated sufficient wealth, the male wizard named Hedon wouldn't care about Jerry's identity and would take him directly there.
Sure enough, although the wizard was a bit puzzled about when Jerry had entered the underground black market, seeing the hundreds of Galleons immediately made him smile and lead Jerry to a private room behind the bar.
"Sir, grab this bottle, and it will take you to the place you want to go!"
"Thank you!"
Jerry glanced at the bottle, knowing it was definitely a Portkey to the suburbs of Paris. Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed it.
The space distorted, and his body was instantly sucked into the bottle, disappearing.
When he landed again, he was no longer in the bar on the Magic Street in France but inside a massive tent.
This super-sized tent, like his Box Space, had been expanded with a Traceless Extension Charm and was as large as five or six football fields.
Inside, various Fantastic Beasts were kept in enclosures, and witches, wearing hoods to hide their identities, were walking back and forth.
"Snidget, Snidget, a nearly extinct rare bird, highest bidder wins!"
"Troll, a young Mountain Troll, a great choice for a security guard when trained!"
"Acromantula, one for sale, raise your own endless supply of venom!"
The tent was filled with the continuous calls of black-market witches selling their wares.
Seeing this, Jerry didn't waste any time and began carefully searching the tent.
Unfortunately, after browsing through most of the tent, he didn't find any suitable Fantastic Beasts.
So far, most of the Fantastic Beasts he had seen were either XX or Xxx level. Beasts of the Xxxx level were rare, and Xxxxx level ones were even rarer.
Given his current strength, the number of Fantastic Beasts he could bind was limited, so he needed to choose those that would be most beneficial to him.
Take the Snidget, for example. While it was undeniably cute and fluffy, it was entirely useless to him.
Trolls, on the other hand, were quite powerful but had very low intelligence, making them a poor investment. If he needed more in the future, he could always visit a forest where Trolls gathered and capture an entire tribe, rather than buying one individually.
Acromantulas, however, were quite impressive. Their intelligence rivaled that of humans, and their venom was extremely valuable.
However, the Forbidden Forest was teeming with Acromantulas. Why should he spend a fortune here when he could simply capture a couple after the school year started?
Other creatures like Imps, Ashwinders, and Banshees were either useless or had a poor cost-to-benefit ratio, making them not worth the investment.
It wasn't until he reached the back of the tent that he finally found what he was looking for.
This was the largest Fantastic Beast selling area in the entire tent, occupying nearly a tenth of the space.
Unlike other stalls, which were manned by one or two black witches, this one had over twenty black witches working together in a well-organized team.
The Fantastic Beasts sold here were clearly of a much higher caliber than those at other stalls.
The giant Merhorses in large tanks, the three-headed Runespoors, and the snow-white Yetis standing over five meters tall were all highly dangerous and aggressively inclined.
However, these were not what Jerry valued most. What he was most interested in were the four trembling house-elves with large bat-like ears.
House-elves, magical creatures of the witch world, were the most loyal servants of witches.
Despite their seemingly frail appearance, every house-elf possessed significant magical abilities.
They were experts in elf magic, which, while not powerful in terms of offensive spells, excelled in household chores, invisibility, and Apparition. They could even Apparate within Hogwarts.
Currently, Jerry's greatest weakness was his family—Has and Aisha, with Teacher Berry being a half.
If he could assign a house-elf to each of them, his only vulnerability would be significantly reduced.
House-elves could become invisible, so they wouldn't be noticed even if they followed Has and the others.
They could handle ordinary enemies with their elf magic, and if faced with a powerful foe, they could Apparate away with their charges, ensuring their safety.
This would greatly enhance their security.
However, when Jerry inquired about the price, he was taken aback.
A single house-elf cost a staggering ten thousand Galleons, more than all his savings combined.
No wonder only ancient witch families could afford house-elves. It was clear that the average witch couldn't afford one.
In the witch world, a typical witch earned only a few dozen Galleons a month, and even a well-paying job, such as a Ministry of Magic Auror, paid only around a hundred Galleons a month.
An average witch would need to work without spending a penny for over a decade to save up ten thousand Galleons.
(End of Chapter)
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