Chapter 208: The Chamber of Secrets in Knockturn Alley
Chapter 208: The Chamber of Secrets in Knockturn Alley
Sherlock left Gringotts and turned into a secluded alley.
Inside, he removed the mask from his face and then took out a vial of Polyjuice Potion he had obtained from Snape through various dubious means. He poured it onto his face, transforming into an ordinary-looking middle-aged wizard.
Next, he pulled out a set of loose black robes, put them on, and pulled the hood over his head, just as Silke often did, using the hood to cover most of his face.
Once everything was in place, Sherlock left the alley and wandered around Diagon Alley for a while to ensure no one was following him. Only then did he approach the wall at the end of Diagon Alley.
He walked straight ahead as if the wall didn't exist.
The moment Sherlock touched the wall, it rippled like the surface of water, and he vanished from sight.
In the next instant, he reappeared on a grim, gray street.
This was a magic street similar to Diagon Alley, but the environment was far worse.
Trash littered the sides of the road, and the buildings were covered in grime, just looking at them was enough to bring down one's mood.
A wooden signpost by the roadside indicated the name of this magic street—Knockturn Alley.
This street, far less famous than Diagon Alley, was known to almost every adult wizard.
All the shops here dealt in Dark Magic, and the wizards who frequented the area were mostly dangerous figures operating in the gray areas of the law.
Those who became Death Eaters were, without a doubt, dark wizards, but not every dark wizard was a Death Eater.
Diagon Alley was the gathering place for the majority of non-Death Eater dark wizards.
Sherlock ignored the shops displaying various severed limbs and withered heads in their windows and walked purposefully toward the depths of Knockturn Alley.
The street was sparsely populated, but almost everyone was dressed like Sherlock, and the few who dared to show their faces were clearly up to no good, old witches with suspicious intentions.
As he approached the end of Knockturn Alley, Sherlock stopped in front of a dilapidated house.
This was not a shop but a residence, a broken-down house he had bought a month ago.
Despite Knockturn Alley's seclusion and low foot traffic, the area was still considered prime real estate. Even in such a hidden place, a house smaller than twenty square meters cost him nearly a thousand galleons.
Sherlock pulled a special key from his pocket and unlocked the door of the house.
Inside, there was almost no furniture, and the walls and wooden floor were in a state of disrepair. It was clear the house was extremely old and would likely be considered an ancient relic in the Muggle world.
In the northwest corner of the room, a pile of junk was scattered. With a wave of his hand, Sherlock cleared away the old sofas, broken chairs, and damaged tables, leaving only an old but intact wooden cabinet.
He opened the third drawer from the top and tapped it with his wand. The entire cabinet split open, revealing a small Chamber of Secrets behind it.
After the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a jumble of items squeezed out.
The most noticeable among them was a skull with a crown on its head and a withered arm. Even though the other items might not look as terrifying as these two, they were still far from ordinary.
All of these items had been identified by Sherlock from the Lestrange Vault, and they were all treasures related to Dark Magic.
He had specifically separated these items from the normal treasures, purchasing this house solely for their storage. The other valuable gold, silver, and jewels were stored in Gringotts in France.
Sherlock had bought a vault in Gringotts in France under his true identity, specifically to store the wealth transferred from the Lestrange Vault.
However, these items related to Dark Magic were distinctly marked by their nature. For safety, he did not store them in the vault or sell them recklessly.
Instead, he kept them here, planning to sift through them later to find anything that might be useful, and destroy the rest.
After identifying the Dark Magic-related items from the treasures he had brought out and storing them in the Chamber of Secrets, Sherlock left the house.
He had set up thorough protective measures for the house, so he wasn't worried about anyone discovering anything here.
Once everything was arranged, he left Knockturn Alley with the other treasures, returned to Diagon Alley, and just as he was about to take off his black robes and remove his disguise, he ran into an acquaintance.
"Sherlock, I didn't expect to see you here."
Seeing Kingsley stop and greet him, Sherlock smiled.
"The school year is starting soon, and I came to buy some things I might need for the next semester."
Kingsley and Sherlock were old acquaintances. After working together on the Straw Golem attack case last year, their relationship had remained good.
Kingsley had even given Sherlock tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, which was about to be held in Britain.
Kingsley wasn't wearing his Auror Headquarters uniform today, clearly not on official business in Diagon Alley.
"Sometimes I really envy you", Kingsley said with a wry smile. "You get so many holidays, and it's much easier than being an Auror."
Sherlock raised an eyebrow and walked alongside him.
"Don't give me that, aren't you on vacation as well?"
"This month, I only have today off. The entire Auror Headquarters will be very busy in the coming days."
"Because of the Quidditch World Cup?"
Kingsley shook his head.
"It's more than that. The Daily Prophet hasn't reported on this, but it's not a secret within the Ministry of Magic. Bertha Jorkins, an employee of the Department of Magical Sports and Games, has gone missing. At first, we thought the woman, who is usually a bit dim and likes to meddle, had just gotten lost somewhere. But now that she hasn't shown up, it's clearly not right."
"During the Quidditch World Cup, we need to maintain security and order in the British Wizarding World, and we also need to investigate her disappearance. The department assigned this task to me, but so far, the only clue we have is that she was on vacation in Albania before she went missing."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
