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Chapter 834: The Deal
Chapter 834: The Deal
To be honest, the shop owner's eyes lit up with greed when he saw the bag of money Kyle had brought out.
The cost of obtaining a single dragon egg was around fifty galleons. As long as he could get it back safely without being discovered, he would make a hefty profit of one hundred and fifty galleons.
In 1899, one hundred and fifty galleons was an incredibly large sum. Most shops in Diagon Alley wouldn't earn that much in half a year. Now, all he had to do was figure out a way to get a dragon egg, and the money would be his… It was a tempting proposition.
"Come in," the shop owner said, glancing around furtively. He grabbed Kyle's arm and pulled him into the shop, then promptly locked the door behind them.
"What's this about?" Kyle asked calmly, his hand tightening around his wand.
"There are a lot of people outside. If someone reports this to the Ministry of Magic, it could spell trouble for you, couldn't it?" The owner said with a smile, pouring Kyle a cup of the shop's finest tea.
"As you know, the International Confederation of Wizards is planning to establish a fire dragon reserve. The Ministry has been stricter than ever when it comes to inspecting items related to fire dragons, especially dragon eggs. If a transaction like this is discovered, it won't just be a matter of confiscation… I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy a stay in Azkaban."
"So you don't want to do this deal?" Kyle asked.
"No, no, no," the owner shook his head. "It's normal to have some risk when there's money to be made. As it happens, I know someone who has a dragon egg and is willing to sell. But…"
He paused, leaving the sentence hanging.
"What is it?" Kyle prompted.
"That person is not in Britain. I'll have to go there myself, which undoubtedly increases the risk. And if I leave, I'll have to close the shop. It's the holidays for Hogwarts students, so I'd be losing out on a lot of business."
Kyle understood. The shop owner wanted more money.
Did he really think Kyle was some naive, rich kid who could be taken advantage of?
Two hundred galleons were already a generous offer, even by the standards of a century later. Was he still not satisfied?
Kyle reached into the bag and pulled out a handful of galleons. "Then make it one hundred and ninety galleons."
"Wait, no, we agreed on two hundred before…"
"One hundred and eighty," Kyle narrowed his eyes, setting down his teacup. "I'm sure that even if I lowered it to one hundred and fifty, there would still be plenty of people willing to bring me a dragon egg for a trade."
Seeing Kyle's determination, the shop owner's face twitched with annoyance. He had to admit that Kyle was right. Not only would people be willing to do the deal for one hundred and fifty galleons, but they might even settle for less.
He had thought to make a hefty profit, but now he was losing out on twenty galleons for no reason.
"Fine, one hundred and eighty," the owner said hastily, stepping forward to block Kyle's path. "I'll bear all the risks."
"Of course," Kyle said, looking the owner in the eye. "And if you're caught by the Aurors from the Ministry, I won't admit to any dealings with you. This was all your idea."
The last glimmer of hope faded from the owner's face.
"Don't worry, I understand the rules of the game," he said.
"Also…" Kyle began stacking the gold coins on the table one by one. "If you can meet two small requests of mine, we can still do the deal at two hundred galleons…"
"Name it, sir. Don't mention two, even ten requests would be fine!" the owner said, patting his chest.
"It's not that much," Kyle smiled. "First, it can't take too long."
"Rest assured on that front," the owner said. "The holidays at Hogwarts are the busiest time for Diagon Alley shops. I don't want to miss out on that."
"Good," Kyle continued. "And secondly, the type of fire dragon matters. If you try to pass off a Welsh Green dragon egg to me, we'll have to renegotiate the price."
Although they were both fire dragons, there were distinctions among the different breeds. The Welsh Green dragon was the smallest in size and the most numerous. It was also the only breed that could be domesticated. Most of the dragon blood and dragon liver ingredients on the market came from this species.
The shop owner's face twitched with embarrassment. "Rest assured, I'll get you a dragon egg that's worth two hundred galleons."
He was now certain that Kyle was no naive rich kid.
"It's not about helping me. You're the one who wants to make the deal," Kyle reminded him. With that, he stood up to leave.
However, the twenty gold coins on the table remained.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, the shop owner understood that this was his down payment.
"Mister, please wait a moment," the owner said quickly, scooping up the gold coins. "There's something I need to tell you. When we were talking outside, Holken was nearby. He's the one in the black robe with a limp… He might have overheard our conversation."
"Oh…" Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Is he from the Ministry?"
"No," the owner shook his head. "But he's a notorious Dark Wizard. The reason I brought you inside was also because he was eyeing your money greedily."
"You think he might come after me?" Kyle asked, intrigued.
"They don't dare to interfere. Holken is backed by some influential people, and the Ministry doesn't want to bring trouble upon themselves," the owner explained.
"Is that so? That's truly terrifying." Kyle remarked, "But aren't you worried that this person will come after you for telling me all this?"
"Of course, I'm afraid, but your safety is more important," the owner said sincerely.
Kyle let out a laugh, knowing full well that the other man was only concerned about ensuring he received the remainder of his payment.
However, he didn't mind. He exited the shop and made his way back into Diagon Alley.
It was nearing midday, and Kyle decided to stop by the Leaky Cauldron for a quick lunch before renting a long-term room there.
As for searching for Dumbledore in Godric's Hollow, there was no rush; he had plenty of time.
Besides, he needed a place to stay, and he certainly couldn't keep living in the abandoned barn that Grindelwald had mentioned.
After tidying up, Kyle once again ventured into Diagon Alley in the afternoon, resuming his treasure-hunting journey. However, he did not encounter the so-called Holken, and everything remained peaceful.
Several days passed, and Kyle's reputation in Diagon Alley grew. Wherever he went, shop owners greeted him enthusiastically and offered him free snacks and drinks.
However, Kyle had already visited most of these shops, and in the past few days, he had covered almost all of Diagon Alley. He had bought most of what he needed, so he didn't feel the need to enter the same stores again.
Most importantly, he had embarrassingly realized during a midday inspection of his trunk that he was running low on money. While the prices were extremely low at this time, it still didn't account for the bulk purchases he had made.
This made Kyle regret not borrowing some money from Sirius before coming here. He now realized that half of the pile of golden Galleons in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, had been replaced with various items. While there were still quite a few Galleons left, Kyle did not intend to spend them on shopping anymore...
At that moment, he was sitting at a table in the Leaky Cauldron, sipping Butterbeer while using an Extendable Ear to eavesdrop on the conversation of two wizards sitting in the corner.
They were likely employees of the Ministry of Magic, taking a lunch break and sneaking away from work for a while.
As Kyle walked past them earlier, he had caught a snippet of their interesting topic and discreetly dropped one of his Extendable Ears on the ground, disguised to avoid detection.
Now, it was proving to be quite useful.
Kyle sat with his back to them and hung one end of the Extendable Ear on his clothes so he could listen in.
"This is such a nuisance..." one of the wizards complained, "I've been pulling double shifts for two days straight just to keep an eye on those damn beasts. Why can't the Ministry assign more people to our department?"
"Keep your voice down, this is confidential," the other wizard said, glancing around nervously.
Kyle feigned nonchalance and pretended to be engrossed in reading the Prophet.
"I suppose they don't see it as necessary," the first wizard continued.
After a while, Kyle heard the wizard's voice, lowered even further.
"After all, once the Fire Dragon Reserve is established, our department will be disbanded."
"Speaking of which, it infuriates me that the International Confederation of Wizards passed that bill years ago, and yet there's still no progress on the Fire Dragon Reserve."
"What else could be the reason but money?"
"Many capable wizards have been profiting from the fire dragon trade. Once the reserve is established, this lucrative business will come to an end."
"The bill clearly states that all fire dragon-related items and potion ingredients will be handed over to the reserve, and private trading will be illegal. They don't want to give up this cash cow, so of course, they won't donate, and the Ministry and the International Confederation of Wizards don't have the funds to make it happen. Hence, the project is stalled."
"But won't they get a share of the donations? I recall the Chief Wizard mentioning that it won't be a one-way contribution."
"That's a small portion. Most of the funds will be used for maintaining the reserve, and the remainder will be distributed according to the donation plan outlined in the bill. A rough estimate suggests it will take a century just to break even. Who would give up the opportunity to make more by running their own operations?"
"And if the plan for the Fire Dragon Reserve falls through, their donations will go down the drain. It's no surprise that people are hesitant."
"So, we're at a stalemate? I was hoping to transfer to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement soon."
"There's nothing we can do about it. It's not a decision we can make... Come on, let's head back before Babbley starts yelling at us again."
The two wizards quickly finished their bread and left the Leaky Cauldron.
Kyle took another sip of his Butterbeer and stood up, casually dropping a Sickle as he bent down to pick it up, retrieving half of his Extendable Ear in the process. He then left the pub nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened.
He returned to the shop he had visited before, and it was still closed, with a 'Closed' sign hanging on the door. Apparently, the owner had not returned yet.
Since the other party hadn't returned, he could only continue to wait. Kyle adjusted his robe and prepared to head back to the Leaky Cauldron.
By now, the sky had completely darkened, and the once bustling Diagon Alley had quieted down. There wasn't a soul in sight.
Unconsciously quickening his pace, Kyle pondered how much he should deduct from the payment for the inconvenience.
However, he soon realized that his path seemed to be blocked, though he didn't pay it much mind and simply decided to detour to the left.
The group of people moved simultaneously, blocking his path once more.
This time, Kyle sensed that something was amiss and looked up... There were five of them, all wearing black hoods that obscured their faces.
"So, you're the wealthy wizard, am I right?" The leader of the group, a wizard with a limp, stepped forward when he saw that Kyle had stopped.
"What do you want?" Kyle asked in a low voice, showing no sign of fear.
"This is Diagon Alley, you know. I bet if I shouted right now, all the shop owners would come running."
"I believe you." The leader said, "They've made quite a profit off of you, so of course, they wouldn't stand by and watch you in danger."
This was Kyle's trump card. He had been spending money like water in Diagon Alley, so the people there would instinctively protect him because doing so meant they could make another hefty profit. Anyone who dared to cross Kyle would be crossing all of Diagon Alley, and no amount of status would help them then.
"Since you know that, get out of my way." Kyle said indifferently, "Otherwise, I can't guarantee that an angry mob won't tear you to shreds."
"I think someone must have been bad-mouthing me and giving you the wrong idea." The leader limped forward another two steps.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Holken, a wizard who specializes in the grey market."
"So, you want to do business with me?" Kyle was curious, "Money is no object, but the question is, what do you have that would interest me?"
"Of course, it's this." Holken lifted his robe and took out a round object.
"A dragon egg!" Kyle immediately recognized what it was and frowned, "Did you take it from that shop owner...?"
"No need to jump to conclusions." Holken shook his head, "I did consider it, but old man Willy Tom is too cunning. I lost him, and I got this through my own means."
"You don't need to explain so much to me. I don't care whose dragon egg it is." Kyle said, "Since you found me, it means you overheard our conversation back then. My offer still stands: one hundred galleons, cash on delivery."
"But I heard it was two hundred." Holken said, "Or do you look down on us Wanderer Mages?"
"No, no, no. I need to confirm the type of dragon egg before deciding whether to increase the price."
"Rest assured, we are the most trustworthy." Holken lifted his head, revealing a face scarred by old wounds.
Kyle involuntarily took half a step back.
"Sorry, did my appearance scare you?" Holken said, but there was a hint of pride in his tone.
He lifted his hand, and the dragon egg floated over to Kyle.
The dragon egg was warm to the touch. It was blue, with spikes on the top and striations on the shell, resembling an oversized blue pineapple, and it was definitely more than a circle larger than a typical dragon egg.
"Ukrainian Ironbelly?" Kyle was surprised, "That's quite rare."
"Impressive." Holken was equally surprised that Kyle had identified the dragon egg so quickly.
"You must be from one of the pure-blood families, am I right?"
Kyle didn't answer but instead reached into his bag and pulled out a pouch, tossing it to Holken.
"I'm very pleased with the dragon egg. There are two hundred galleons in here."
"Wonderful, I love doing business with someone as direct as you." Holken said with a smile, "I have another fire dragon egg, and it's an even rarer species from the Hebridean Black Islands."
"You can get your hands on a black dragon egg?" Kyle was skeptical.
"Seeing is believing." Holken said, "But I don't have it on me, and it's not something I can carry around openly. We'd be hunted down if it was exposed, so if you want to see it, you'll have to come with us to our base."
Kyle hesitated.
"Don't worry, it's not far from here, and it's still within Diagon Alley." Holken said quietly, "Here, would you be afraid of us doing something to you? If we dared to lay a finger on you, the shop owners would tear us limb from limb."
"Who's scared?" Kyle seemed convinced and stuck out his neck, "Where's your base? Take me there now. If it really is a black dragon egg, I'll pay an extra fifty galleons."
"Please, this way." Holken offered his arm politely, "It's not far from here."
(End of Chapter)
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