Amosta the Shrewd

Amosta had no idea that Harry, whom he had yet to meet, had already learned all about his "glorious achievements" at school from Hagrid. But even if he had known, he probably would have only laughed it off.

At the first hint of dawn, he was already up, despite having fallen asleep after two in the morning. That was perhaps one of the benefits of being a wizard: wizards with exceptional memory and powerful magic had far more energy than Muggles.

Over the past three years or so, Amosta had grown accustomed to a wandering life.

More often than not, in order to handle assignments for his employers, he had to spend more than ten days at a time in remote wildernesses far from civilization, primeval forests, or ancient ruins buried deep underground. Sleeping rough and living off the land had become commonplace. Being able to lie in a warm bed for a few peaceful hours was already a rare luxury to him.

Though the weather had cleared, the dawn air was still bitterly cold. The snow on the lawn showed no signs of melting, and the ice sealing the Black Lake was as hard as Snakewood.

Amosta, who had been jogging along the lakeshore, stopped beneath a willow tree to rest briefly. From afar, he spotted a dark figure rapidly approaching from the castle.

"Dumbledore asked me to give this to you."

Pale gold sunlight tinged with faint pink fell upon Snape's face, softening his cold, rigid features slightly. From several steps away, he tossed a black money pouch to Amosta.

"How much is there?"

Amosta weighed the heavy pouch in his hand and asked with interest,

"Two thousand Gold Galleons. Dumbledore was generous enough to add another two hundred Galleons on top of what you requested. Hmph, Minerva didn't look too pleased. Oh, and Minerva only just learned that you had returned to Hogwarts. She wants to speak with you alone about your plans going forward."

"Tut, tut!"

Meeting the strict deputy headmistress did not trouble Amosta in the slightest. He untied the pouch and peered inside. The dazzling golden gleam instantly lifted his spirits.

"Tell me, what would happen if I took this money and ran right now?"

"Unless you can flee to the moon, I wouldn't recommend doing something so stupid."

Snape replied flatly. He watched Amosta lower his head and pick up a gold coin, rolling it between his fingers. His gaze settled on Amosta's gleaming eyes.

"There's something else I need to remind you of, Amosta. I don't know, nor do I particularly care, why your eye color has changed so dramatically since your school days. But Dumbledore seems very interested in it. He asked me to sound you out if I had the chance. Generally speaking, whenever something catches his interest, he will do everything he can to get to the bottom of it. So I suggest you prepare yourself."

Amosta's fingers suddenly stiffened. After a brief silence, he recovered and let out a meaningful sigh.

"Hah, what an extraordinary wizard."

Compared to the rapidly changing Muggle world, wizarding society, where mainstream opinion revered tradition, progressed at an appallingly slow pace.

Although calls for reform had continued in private over recent years, those faint voices were still like seeds buried beneath frozen earth, waiting for moisture. Only when the right opportunity arose would they have a chance to take root and sprout.

Hogsmeade, the British wizarding world's only remaining all-wizard village, was basically unchanged from when he had attended Hogwarts. The few changes were probably limited to Zonko's Joke Shop and Honeydukes putting out a few new products on their signs.

Amosta even suspected that if a medieval wizard accidentally traveled to the modern age, he probably would not get lost in Hogsmeade.

It was still the Christmas holiday, and Hogsmeade's streets were quiet and nearly deserted. The occasional local who passed by also wore a hurried expression, busy with their own affairs.

Amosta walked deeper into the village and stood against the north wind in front of a shop with a grimy glass display window.

Dervish-Bans Magical Supplies. This was Amosta's destination.

Jingle, jingle, jingle—

The brass bell above the door rang crisply as Amosta pushed it open and entered the shop.

The dim magical supplies store was crammed with more than a dozen shelves stretching all the way to the ceiling. On the old shelves sat Pensieves, Memory Orbs, Boggart Repellent, Broomstick Care Kits, Quidditch Match Equipment Cases, and many other magical supplies and Alchemical Devices.

Mr. Bans, who was slightly balding, apparently had not expected a customer so early in the day and looked rather startled. But once he came to his senses, he immediately hurried out from behind the counter and ran up to Amosta with an attentive smile.

"Honored customer, what would you like to purchase? Dervish-Bans Magical Supplies has everything you could need. I can show you around."

"Oh, thank you."

Amosta, who was looking up at the towering shelves, nodded in thanks. "Um, do you have Panoramic Telescopes here?"

"If you mean the Panoramic Telescopes commonly used to watch Quidditch matches."

Mr. Bans jogged over to a shelf near the inner wall, jumped up, and fished a dust-covered pair of binoculars from a pile of clutter. While the customer's view was blocked, he hurriedly wiped off the dust on his robes, then returned to Amosta with a beaming smile.

"This is one. It comes from my family's alchemy workshop, and the quality is guaranteed. Only nine Galleons and seven Sickles each!"

Amosta took it. He was very familiar with these Panoramic Telescopes, which could serve many purposes with a few modifications. After deftly adjusting the knobs, he set it on the bridge of his nose and pressed it close to his eye sockets, carefully examining the image.

"No, no."

Before long, Amosta lowered the telescope, disappointment evident in his voice.

"What I need is the Seeker 190 Model. Its image is clearer, and it can replay a longer period of time. This is the Model 185, which doesn't quite meet my needs."

Mr. Bans's heart sank. He knew he had encountered an expert.

"My apologies, sir. The high-precision Seeker 190 is generally only produced during the World Cup. Normally, this is what we sell. If you are willing to buy it, I can give you a discount!"

"How much of a discount?"

Amosta looked reluctant, as though he did not wish to settle. Transforming into a shrewd buyer, he began to haggle.

"No nonsense, nine Galleons. That's the cost price. Since you are my first customer today, that's all I'll ask!"

Mr. Bans looked pained.

"—What if I wanted a lot of them?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is already the best price. Even if you wanted more, I could only—"

"I need three hundred Panoramic Telescopes." Amosta smiled and stated his terms bluntly. "Mr. Bans, you have one more chance to name a price. If I'm not satisfied, I can go have a look in Diagon Alley."

"Three hundred?!"

Mr. Bans's eyes widened as he cried out. But he immediately realized that his reaction was extremely unfavorable for the coming negotiation, so he quickly composed himself and coughed twice.

"Indeed. Cough, cough. I mean, that is indeed quite a number. It certainly warrants a further discount."

Mr. Bans carefully studied the smiling Amosta.

"Honored sir, if you truly intend to buy so many... I believe eight Galleons and ten Silver Sickles would be a fine—"

Amosta furrowed his brows, seeming dissatisfied.

The shrewd Mr. Bans immediately cut himself off and said decisively,

"Seven Galleons and ten Silver Sickles. You are a knowledgeable wizard, sir. You should know what that price means!"

Amos truly was knowledgeable, so he turned and left without another word, pushing open the door and walking out without the slightest hesitation.

Two.

Jingle, jingle!

Before Amosta could even finish silently counting to one, the frantic ringing of the brass bell sounded behind him. Mr. Bans chased after him in a fluster.

"How about seven Galleons, sir? That's already fair enough!"

Amosta did not turn around. He drew his wand and prepared to Apparate.

"Damn it!"

Mr. Bans cried out.

"Fine, fine, six, just six! Come back, sir! You are the shrewdest customer I've met this year!"

Amosta lowered his wand, turned around, and smiled happily once more.

"Very well, Mr. Bans. Now let's discuss the delivery time in detail!"