Fred and George looked at him seriously. "Sorry, sir, but I don't think we need..."
"These aren't things a young wizard could get hold of," the man in black robes interrupted. "I imagine you need them very much, don't you?"
"I'd bet I'm the only one in Hogsmeade who can get you what you're looking for."
Harry spoke up. "Where's the merchandise?"
The man in black robes shook his head. "Those are contraband, my dear young sir. I couldn't possibly carry them on me, especially the Ashwinder Eggs. Those little things are a real nuisance."
"How much?" Harry asked.
The man's face was hidden beneath his cloak, but the greed in his voice was enough to imagine the look on it. "How much can you offer?"
"I can offer ten Galleons." Harry thought for a moment before answering.
The man in black robes shook his head. "No, no, these things are very hard to come by. Twenty Galleons."
"Take me to see your merchandise first." Harry waved a hand. "If it's in good condition, I don't mind paying you that much."
The man in black robes sounded delighted. "Of course. Follow me."
Harry took a step, but before he could take another, Fred grabbed him.
"Harry, you can't go with him." He lowered his voice. "My father said people like this are very likely to be Dark wizards."
"Don't worry, he's safe." Harry patted Fred's hand.
Safe?
The Weasley brothers stared at him in surprise.
The man was completely shrouded in black robes. He looked like the textbook definition of a dangerous person.
How had Harry decided he was safe?
Fred didn't let go, and George tugged at Harry's sleeve.
"He feels less dangerous than a Troll." Harry raised a hand and lowered his sunglasses, revealing his eyes. "Trust me. Nothing will happen."
"If you're worried, you can wait here."
Harry brushed their hands aside and followed the black-robed wizard toward a corner of the village.
Fred and George hesitated for a moment, then gritted their teeth and followed. No matter what, they couldn't leave Harry alone.
The black-robed wizard led them farther and farther away, almost to the edge of the village. He rounded a corner and finally stopped.
"I hid them right here. Wait while I get them." The man spoke gently to Harry, then slowly crouched and felt around the corner.
Suddenly, his wrist flicked. A wand slid from his sleeve, and with a turn of his fingers, he pointed it at Harry.
"Stupefy!"
A flash of red light shot out.
Harry had been ready. He dodged to the side, and the spell missed.
The black-robed wizard froze for a moment, spat, then waved his wand again. The bricks and stones in the corner rumbled, and in the blink of an eye, they formed a stone figure as tall as a man.
"Are we not doing business anymore?" Harry reached into his robe and drew the Sword of Gryffindor. "What a shame."
The black-robed wizard froze.
A sword...
A wizard who used a sword?
Before he could think about it any further, he waved his wand. One stone figure lunged at Harry, while the other charged toward the Weasley brothers.
Harry raised a hand and cast the Quen Sign around himself.
He rolled aside, avoiding the stone figure's attack.
Then he waved his wand again. Some of the loose stones transformed into strange shapes. Harry still couldn't precisely transform several objects at once, so they didn't look very good, but they were useful. They clung to the stone figure's legs and rooted themselves to the ground, making it hard for the figure to move.
The black-robed wizard was clearly starting to panic.
He waved his wand and cast spell after spell.
But the kid in front of him was too agile!
He couldn't hit him at all.
Harry closed in and swung his sword. The black-robed wizard's wand hand was easily severed and fell to the ground with a slap.
His magic was cut off.
The two hollow stone figures crashed to the ground, crumbling back into loose stones.
Harry showed no mercy. He swung again and cut off the wizard's other arm.
The Weasley brothers froze.
They stared blankly at Harry, finally understanding why he'd called the wizard "safe" earlier. He really was safe!
In a single exchange, the wizard had lost the hands he relied on most.
"You're weak." Harry frowned. "If you hadn't cast spells, I'd have had a hard time believing you were a wizard."
The black-robed wizard trembled and curled up in the snow. His hood fell back, revealing a face filled with terror.
How was this possible?
The kid looked no older than a third- or fourth-year, yet he was so strong.
"You demon!" the black-robed wizard said weakly. "You're a wizard, yet you use a sword."
Harry slowly crouched, lifted his robe, and took something out. "I'm a Gryffindor. Isn't it perfectly normal to use a sword?"
The Weasley brothers looked as if they wanted to say something. No, that wasn't normal at all!
"Do you know what this is?" Harry held it up for the black-robed wizard to see.
The black-robed wizard didn't answer. He stared at Harry's robe in astonishment. When Harry had lifted it just now, he'd caught a glimpse of something that terrified him.
Seven or eight bottles of potion.
Judging by their murky color, they definitely weren't for healing.
What was going on in this young wizard's head? Why was he so cautious? He was only going to Hogsmeade, yet he'd brought so many weapons with him...
"Oh, you don't know." Harry clicked his tongue. "It seems your Transfiguration is terrible, and you're not much good at Herbology, either."
"Dittany is a magical plant. Applying it to your wounds will stop the bleeding."
"Now I'll ask the questions, and you'll answer. You might still survive. Understand?"
The black-robed wizard trembled and nodded. Blood loss had already begun to turn his face pale.
"Where are the potion ingredients I asked for?" Harry asked.
The black-robed wizard shook his head. "I don't have any contraband."
Harry's gaze turned dangerous. "Are you trying to fool me?"
"No, oh... yes." The black-robed wizard struggled. "I just saw that you had money, so I lured you over to rob you."
Harry looked back at the Weasley brothers.
George nodded. "I've heard of that happening. Some deranged wizards rob young wizards of their pocket money in Hogsmeade."
Fred shrugged, speaking without a trace of embarrassment. "You know, apart from us Weasleys, young wizards are usually pretty rich."
Harry clicked his tongue, looking at the black-robed wizard with contempt. "Well, aren't you something? Robbing children for their money."
"I swear I won't do it again. Please, help me." The black wizard began to beg. "I feel like I'm going to die."
Harry raised a hand.
"Axii!"
The Sign took hold.
"Was everything you said just now true?" Harry asked.
The black-robed wizard was dazed. He nodded. "Yes, it was all true."
"What's your name, and what school did you attend?" Harry continued.
"Abner Smith. The School of Magical Stagecraft..." As he spoke, the bewildered look on his face suddenly gave way to alarm. He stared at Harry. "Oh, no. What did you do to me?"
"The Imperius Curse?"
Eleven seconds.
An adult wizard who was nowhere near as powerful as Professor McGonagall—and who was badly injured, to boot—had only been affected for this long.
Magic really was fascinating.
Harry ignored him and looked at the Weasley brothers, silently asking them for an explanation.
Fred filled him in. "It's a little-known school that teaches magical tricks, unlike Hogwarts, where they teach real magic."
"It was set up specifically for performances. They usually admitted young wizards whose magical abilities awakened after their eleventh birthdays, or wizards who hadn't earned even a single certificate."
Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"Please, help me. I only wanted to rob you. I didn't mean to hurt you." The black-robed wizard continued begging. "I only used Stunning Spells."
Harry picked up the Dittany. As soon as he saw the wounds on the wizard's arms, he noticed traces of Blade Oil still on them. He paused before continuing to apply the Dittany.
Once he had finished, Harry got to his feet briskly. "Let's go."
The black wizard begged, "Wait! You can't leave me here. No..."
Harry ignored him.
"Are we really going to leave him here? He could die." Fred felt sorry for him and kept looking back. That only made the black-robed wizard wail louder.
Harry's expression didn't change. "I cut off his hands, not his legs."
"I've already gone easy on him."
"Do you know what would've happened if his Stunning Spell had hit us?"
The Weasley brothers froze.
"We'd have been left here in the freezing snow," Harry continued. "If we were lucky, someone might find us. If not, what would happen if we spent a night asleep in this weather?"
Harry would be fine.
But the Weasley brothers might not be.
Of course...the castle's contract wouldn't let anything happen to them so easily.
The Weasley brothers immediately stopped feeling sorry for the man. They followed Harry away with light steps, and it wasn't until they climbed through the mirror that they seemed to finally process what had happened.
"George, the two of us just beat an adult wizard!" Fred clenched his fist, excitement in his voice.
George high-fived him. "We're amazing! If we study hard, we can earn twelve certificates, just like Bill!"
"No, I don't think that's a good idea." The moment studying came up, Fred immediately calmed down.
George nodded in agreement.
Harry shook his head. "You only dealt with a stone figure, and you didn't even win."
"We." Fred gestured in a circle, including all three of them.
George shook his head. "It was still something an adult wizard had Transfigured. An ordinary young wizard..."
"He was weak, even weaker than a Troll." Harry shook his head again.
Fred put on a serious expression. "Oh, Harry, you may be so good that you've got the wrong idea. A Troll isn't easy to deal with."
"Didn't you say sixth- and seventh-years could handle one?" Harry asked.
George replied, "That's students like Percy, who are exceptionally good. Most students only get one or two 'O's or 'E's in their O.W.L. Examinations, enough to qualify for advanced study in the sixth and seventh years. If they don't earn the qualifications, fifth year is the end of the road."
"Even at Hogwarts, most young wizards can only reach about the level of the man you just beat by the time they're adults."
"Of course, you're different." Fred looked excitedly at Harry's waist, imagining a huge, sturdy sword there. "If Hogwarts offered fencing, you'd definitely get an 'O' in your N.E.W.T.s."
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