Knockturn Alley

Old Wizard never stayed in one place for long. This little cabin had originally belonged to a reclusive lumberjack.

With a single spell from Old Wizard, it swiftly collapsed.

"Caw, caw, caw." Old Wizard laughed wickedly. "Let's go."

Anton curled his lip. If they did not plan to come back, there was no need to tear down the house. He really was a natural-born villain.

He struggled to drag the enormous trunk behind him. The battered brown leather trunk was even bigger than his young body.

The trunk had been placed under an Undetectable Extension Charm. It contained all of Old Wizard's research materials and belongings, as well as an Iron Cage holding a Werewolf.

The trunk was not heavy, but Anton had been suspended in midair earlier, and the tearing pain in his wrists forced him to stop after every step.

Old Wizard turned back and frowned at him before finally waving his wand.

"Strength Amplification!"

Anton felt his heart pounding furiously. He could even feel a blood vessel behind his ear throbbing.

An icy sensation flowed through his body, and the trunk in his hand suddenly became as light as a box of cookies.

As for the pain in his wrists, it was only healed by the tiniest amount.

"Since you can carry it, walk faster!" Old Wizard said impatiently. Anton hurried to catch up.

Walking behind him, Anton stared at Old Wizard's back and frowned in thought. Based on the Harry Potter books he had read, Old Wizard had had many options for the spell he had just cast.

For example, Heal to Perfection could have healed his wrists, or a Levitation Charm could have made the trunk float.

So why had he not used them?

Anton had a bold guess. Could it be that this self-taught wizard had never received instruction from the Academy Faction and simply did not know how to cast either spell?

This was far too interesting.

He decided to keep watching.

He wanted to see whether this wizard really was self-taught. If he was, did that mean he did not understand the most advanced Wandless Casting?

He did not dare jump to conclusions and kept reminding himself to be cautious—then even more cautious.

He had only one chance. If Old Wizard discovered that he intended to resist, he would definitely kill him on the spot.

After walking a mile along the mountain path, they finally reached a broad concrete road.

Before long, a vintage-looking emerald-green sedan stopped in front of them, then soon set off again.

They sped along the highway and eventually stopped outside a large bookstore on Charing Cross Road in London's Westminster district.

The owner of the car looked around in confusion, as though he had just awakened from a dream, then anxiously grabbed his phone.

"Hello, darling, I wasn't late on purpose. Something incredible happened—I somehow ended up back in the city. No, no, it's not that I never set off. Darling, let me explain. Hello? Hello?"

Beside him, Old Wizard pushed open the car door and got out. Anton lifted the trunk from the boot and followed behind him.

The two silently headed toward a shabby little pub beside the bookstore.

Their strange clothing drew no attention at all. A middle-aged man on the phone even nearly walked straight into Anton.

It was as if no one could see him.

The Leaky Cauldron. Those words were written on the weathered sign.

Old Wizard had not come to drink. Ignoring the greeting from Tom, the Shopkeeper, he went straight to the small courtyard behind the pub and tapped a brick in the wall with his wand.

As though enhanced by elaborate special effects, the brick wall rolled aside to reveal an opening. Looking through it, Anton saw crowds moving along the street outside.

Old Wizard lightly kicked a rubbish bin, shifting it slightly, then casually walked in.

Under the normal procedure, one had to count three bricks up from the brick above the rubbish bin, then two across, and tap the wall three times with a wand. That brick would tremble, a small hole would appear, and the hole would finally become an archway leading to Diagon Alley.

But what if the rubbish bin had been moved?

Even if this wizard did not practice Dark Magic, he was certainly the sort of person everyone hated.

Anton rolled his eyes behind him and followed with the trunk.

Old Wizard clearly did not dare linger in Diagon Alley. He quickly headed into a dark alleyway at the corner.

The atmosphere changed abruptly here. Even the sky seemed darker, while crooked-looking wizards leaned against the walls on either side of the road. It was obvious—they had entered Knockturn Alley.

"Wait here!"

Old Wizard snatched the trunk from his hand. His aged body strained as he dragged it toward the first shop at the entrance to the alley.

Anton raised an eyebrow.

He could not use the Levitation Charm!

That was his first thought.

How was that possible?

That was his second thought.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Just then, a group of chattering children stopped in Diagon Alley outside the entrance to Knockturn Alley.

Every one of them had rare red hair.

A pair of Twins were earnestly trying to persuade their mother. "Mum, maybe you could go have a nice afternoon tea. We can buy our own robes at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and we can buy our own wands too."

Their mother was clearly tempted. After hesitating for a moment, she still could not bring herself to trust the two of them. "No, I have to keep an eye on you!"

Behind them was a little boy about Anton's age. His freckled face was wide-eyed as he blankly stared at Anton inside the alley.

Sunlight fell over the little boy's red hair and the colorful lollipop in his hand.

"Damn it!" Their mother suddenly cried out. She glanced toward the entrance to Knockturn Alley, where malicious gazes were everywhere. "How could we have stopped here?"

She urged the children to leave quickly and grabbed the freckled little boy's hand. "Ron, hurry up. What are you staring at?"

Ron blinked, curiously looking at the Young Wizard in the dark alley before hurriedly following along.

"Ron Weasley." Anton's lips curved upward as he took a step back and disappeared into the darkness of Knockturn Alley.

He now knew the exact time.

This was one of the three protagonists of the Harry Potter novels, and his two Twin brothers were two years older than him.

Anton had heard the Twins clamoring about buying their own wands.

That meant it was two years before Harry Potter started school!

He now had the best possible way to escape Old Wizard's clutches: rush out, grab Ron's mother, and tell her that he was a child captured by a Dark Wizard.

Molly, whose sense of justice and strength both overflowed, would definitely save him.

But he had one doubt.

Old Wizard knew he might run away, yet had casually left him waiting outside the shop. Anton simply did not dare take the risk.

Anton gently rubbed his wrist and silently stared at the complex tattoo there.

It was a pattern of several curves combined with a square, along with several runes in a script he could not understand.

He did not know whether this was it.

His memories of the original owner of this body were vague. Other than the almost instinctive memory of language, he remembered virtually nothing else.

How old he was, what his name was, where he had come from, and how he had fallen into Old Wizard's hands—he remembered none of it.

He did not know what precautions Old Wizard had taken against him.

But he knew that only a dead Old Wizard would no longer threaten him!

Before long, Old Wizard came out. Anton immediately stepped forward with a smile and took the trunk from him.

"Come on. I'll take you to buy a wand."

??? Damn it! Where did you, a Broke Person, get the money?

With his plan ruined, Anton silently followed behind, patiently waiting for Old Wizard's next opening.