Borgin and Burkes

Knockturn Alley was always quiet at night. Voldemort, who had drunk Polyjuice Potion, walked cautiously down the narrow street, cloaked and wearing a hat.

The dimly lit shops on either side of the street stirred memories in the Remnant Soul—most of them pleasant ones. It had to be said that Voldemort had once enjoyed this time spent wandering in the dark.

"This has to be the most respectable job I've ever had, right?"

Standing outside Borgin and Burkes, Voldemort couldn't help muttering to himself.

Then he stepped into the antique shop where he had once worked.

"Ding-a-ling..."

The bell rang, and Mr. Borgin, behind the counter, looked coldly at the unexpected visitor.

After their gazes met briefly, Voldemort began surveying the wares in the shop—

As always, the place was steeped in an aura of evil. Rows of human bones were neatly arranged in the display cases, with labels below describing their origins and special properties. If you believed those labels, death would be one step closer.

The neighboring case held bloodstained playing cards and glass eyeballs that stared blankly, along with even more things that simply looked evil.

Voldemort had no interest in any of those. His gaze soon shifted to the middle of the shop, where several large items were displayed.

Finally, his eyes settled on a large black cabinet. It was the ultimate goal of his visit, and a fallback plan he had prepared for himself.

"How much for this, Mr. Borgin?"

Voldemort made no attempt to hide what he wanted. He knew this would tempt Borgin to overcharge him, but the problem was...

Even if Borgin sold it for a fair price, Voldemort still couldn't afford it.

Quirrell wasn't a wealthy man, and the money he'd gotten from Muggles using magic had no special purchasing power here, either.

"Nine thousand Galleons. Not a Knut less," Mr. Borgin said coldly.

Voldemort nodded. That was a fair price. Back when he'd worked here, the cabinet had often been offered at that price.

It seemed Mr. Borgin wanted to get rid of it. After all, the cabinet needed a pair to work, and this one was single!

"It's broken," Voldemort said, examining the cabinet.

"If it worked, it wouldn't be this price." Mr. Borgin still didn't leave the counter, watching Voldemort from a distance.

"Can you fix it?" Voldemort asked.

"Of course. But this one isn't broken. It's the other half that must be damaged," Mr. Borgin said.

Voldemort nodded and circled the cabinet a few times, thinking that if Malfoy could repair one with Borgin's help, then he could surely do it, too.

"The price is fine, but I need to know how to repair it."

Mr. Borgin's eyes lit up at Voldemort's words. He asked eagerly, "You know where the other cabinet is?"

Voldemort turned to look at him, feigning confusion.

"Oh, sorry. I know the rules, it's just... how did you know they were a pair? I'm so curious. You see, this cabinet has been here with me..."

"I'm not here to give you a lesson, Mr. Borgin."

Voldemort cut him off. "I just need to know whether you'll share the method for repairing the Vanishing Cabinet for nine thousand Galleons."

"So you do know what it is."

Mr. Borgin grew excited. He came around the counter, walked over, and ran a hand over the Vanishing Cabinet before looking at Voldemort. "Of course I'm willing. No... I mean, if you bring me the other cabinet, I can—"

"No. You won't see the other one."

Voldemort refused him outright. He couldn't get his hands on the other cabinet, and he wouldn't bring it here. "I only need this cabinet, and the way to repair it."

Borgin fell silent. After thinking it over, he named an outrageous price. "Twenty thousand Galleons. Then you can have everything you want."

Voldemort nodded, took a silver box from his waist, and carefully opened it. Inside lay a small piece of broken silver bone.

"Would you take this in exchange?" Voldemort asked.

"Of course not. Twenty thousand Galleons, not a Knut—"

"The bone of a Unicorn King. I think plenty of people would pay a high price for it." Voldemort cut him off again.

It was a gift from Danylis, given as a token of their love, but Voldemort clearly didn't treasure it. Once he'd confirmed it was of no use to him, he'd thought of trading it for the Vanishing Cabinet.

Without this fragment of the Unicorn King's bone, he might have waited longer before figuring out how to get the cabinet.

"The bone of a Unicorn King... Are you sure?"

As Mr. Borgin spoke, he reached for the silver box, but Voldemort didn't let him take it.

"The answer is yes. Now I need your answer."

"Trade or not?"

As the negotiations began, Voldemort felt the urge to use Legilimency stirring inside him.

It was an instinct belonging to Voldemort's Soul Fragment, while Lin Zuo's instinct was to resist it. He wasn't the Voldemort of old. He wasn't crazy, and he didn't want to make enemies of everyone.

"You know that even if it's real, it isn't worth twenty thousand Galleons."

"A Vanishing Cabinet and the repair method aren't worth twenty thousand Galleons, either."

"But you have the other Vanishing Cabinet. This one is essential to you."

"You could search all of Knockturn Alley and never find another piece of a Unicorn King's bone. It's hard currency."

The two of them reached an impasse. Neither wanted to give ground.

"Add more money, and I'll—"

"Impossible."

Voldemort refused without hesitation. The cabinet was useless to Borgin, and Voldemort didn't want to lose the negotiation. Besides, he didn't have that much money to pay him.

Mr. Borgin hesitated.

He wanted the Unicorn King's bone. Those wealthy Pure-bloods would surely pay a fortune for it...

But he also had a chance to fleece this strange dark wizard, since he had the other Vanishing Cabinet...

"Looks like you're not going to agree to this deal."

Voldemort shook his head regretfully, closed the silver box, and tucked it back into his robes.

Mr. Borgin didn't stop him, but inside, he kept screaming:

He'll stop. He'll stop...

Voldemort resolutely turned to leave. He was almost out the door when Mr. Borgin finally couldn't take it anymore. "Damn it, wait!"

Voldemort stopped and turned around with a victorious smile—

He truly wasn't afraid that the other man would refuse. Even if he did, the Vanishing Cabinet would still be here. Voldemort would have another chance to take it.

As for the other man...

Aside from him, perhaps Malfoy would come by a few years later, but he wouldn't bring Galleons or a Unicorn King's bone.

The Vanishing Cabinet wasn't anything special. Apparition, a Portkey, or Floo Powder could all replace it.

Besides, this was the single one of the pair.

"I'll trade, including the repair instructions for the Vanishing Cabinet. But I want to examine the Unicorn King's bone first."

Mr. Borgin said this indignantly, then asked in displeasure, "You're in the same line of work as me, aren't you?"

Voldemort smiled and said nothing. He simply handed over the silver box containing the Unicorn King's bone.

Once everything had been verified, Voldemort gave him the delivery instructions.

To Mr. Borgin's surprise, the dark wizard before him didn't ask him to deliver the cabinet to an estate or a wizard's residence. Instead, he wanted it delivered at a set time to a certain street corner in London...

Though he was full of questions, he didn't ask anything further, in keeping with Knockturn Alley's rules of trade.

At any rate, the unsellable cabinet had been exchanged for something valuable, hadn't it?