https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-90-Returning-Home-and-Diagon-Alley/13439776/
Chapter 91: Conflict and the Scrutiny Eye
Chapter 91: Conflict and the Scrutiny Eye
When the light returned to his vision, Ivan found himself in a new place. It seemed to be a shop with poor lighting, making the surroundings appear quite dark. On the shelves, various transparent glass domes were placed.
The closest dome to Ivan contained a small, intricately treated skull with deep scratches on both sides.
The other glass domes housed a variety of bizarre items: a dried human hand, a bloodstained playing card, a jagged chandelier, each more peculiar than the last.
After a while, the blue flames in the fireplace rose again, and Aisia arrived, putting her wand back into her sleeve.
"Did you take action against them?" Ivan noticed this and guessed that Aisia might have gone to trouble the drunkards.
"What are you thinking? That's the Leaky Cauldron. If you cause trouble there, the Ministry of Magic will be on you in an instant." Aisia shook her head.
Ivan didn't believe her. A Dark Wizard targeting a few drunkards wouldn't make much noise.
However, those drunkards had brought it upon themselves. From his memory of Aisia's methods, they wouldn't die, but they would certainly suffer.
"Don't overthink it, follow me closely!" Aisia said with a warning tone, then moved ahead. Ivan quickly followed.
Ding dong,
As the two of them passed the shelves, a wind chime hanging on the door jingled. A hunched middle-aged Wizard, playing with a strange spherical object, spoke in a raspy voice from behind the counter.
"More visitors, who could it be this time?"
"Mr. Borgin, it's me." Aisia walked out from behind the shelves and said calmly.
"Ah, it's Mrs. Hals." The shop owner, Caractacus Burke, seemed uninterested, lazily leaning back in his chair.
"You keep coming and going, making my fireplace dirty. I might have to start charging next time."
"Or how about you relocate the Diagon Alley transit point to my place?" Aisia said with a smile.
"Let's not. That's not something to be moved around easily. A little dirt never hurt anyone." Borgin tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a gold tooth.
While the two were chatting, Ivan took the opportunity to observe the shop owner of Borgin and Burkes.
He looked to be in his forties or fifties, with greasy hair neatly combed. His long, withered hands were adorned with two dark rings, and he wore a common black Wizard robe. Apart from his constant hunched posture, he didn't seem much different from an ordinary Wizard. His voice was soft and harmless.
However, from both the original story and Ivan's memories, this was clearly no ordinary character.
After all, even the famous Dark Lord had once worked here in his youth.
Perhaps sensing Ivan's gaze, Borgin changed the subject and turned to him.
"So, this is young Hals? It's my first time meeting you. How about it? Have you seen anything you like in the shop?"
Borgin placed the strange spherical object he had been playing with in front of Ivan. Upon closer inspection, Ivan realized it was an eye, seemingly enchanted with some Magic. The black, beady eye freely rotated and locked onto Ivan's gaze.
The moment their eyes met, Ivan felt a faint dizziness. He instinctively activated his Occlumency, regaining his clarity.
Bang!
A blue beam of light flashed, and the eye was immediately knocked away, crashing into the door frame.
"What do you plan to do?" Aisia's face was grim, and she had already drawn her wand, pointing it at Burke's head. The tip of the wand glowed with a dark light, as if she was preparing some dark magic.
"Don't be angry, I was just joking. You should recognize the Scrutiny Eye", Burke used the Summoning Charm to retrieve the Scrutiny Eye, waving his hand apologetically, but showing no sign of panic despite the wand pointed at him. He gestured towards Ivan.
"Besides, young Mr. Hals is fine, isn't he?"
Aisia turned to look at Ivan, who shook his head with a relaxed expression. Only then did she put away her wand, her face still dark.
This was partly because Aisia understood the effects of the Scrutiny Eye. If it had been a lethal magical item, she would never have let it go so easily.
Ivan appeared calm on the surface, but he was inwardly terrified. Diagon Alley was more dangerous than he had imagined, and he had almost fallen for it, even with Aisia's protection.
If possible, Ivan would have loved to tear this place apart with Aisia.
However, engaging in a fight with the shop owner inside a dark magic shop was extremely unwise. No one knew how many trigger-based magical items the owner had placed in the shop, and Burke clearly had confidence in his own defenses. Therefore, Ivan pretended to be indifferent, stopping the conflict.
"As an apology, I can give this little gadget to young Mr. Hals." Burke's expression remained indifferent, but he showed some curiosity towards Ivan. There were not many Wizards who could resist the Scrutiny Eye, and he had only seen one so young.
"No, I'm not interested", Ivan shook his head.
"Put away your tricks", Aisia didn't give him a pleasant look, clearly not in the mood to stay any longer. She grabbed Ivan's wrist and headed for the door.
"What was that eye-like thing? It's called a Scrutiny Eye?" Ivan asked as they stepped outside.
At the same time, Ivan looked around, noticing that they were in a narrow alley. The walls on both sides were made of red bricks, but it was clear that the area lacked maintenance. Green moss grew on the bricks on the right side, and some of the red bricks were even corroded.
There were piles of garbage in the street corners, and the stench wafted over to them.
"The Scrutiny Eye can confuse the mind of anyone who looks into it, putting them into a dazed state where they will answer any questions asked", Aisia explained, glancing at Ivan for a moment.
A magical version of a truth serum?
Ivan envied it. The Scrutiny Eye seemed to work just by making eye contact, making it a great tool for trickery.
"What? Regretting not asking for it?" Aisia asked.
"No, I don't think Burke would be that kind", Ivan shook his head. He thought the item was useful, but he wasn't stupid enough to accept something from an unknown Dark Wizard, which might contain hidden traps.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
