Who Bargains Like That?

Ancient Magic: Shield

The scene from when he had first encountered the Runespoor seemed to appear before Wizet's eyes.

Silver-blue light spread over his entire body, and a spherical barrier appeared, enveloping him and Hagrid within it.

"That reporter clearly wasn't really there." Wizet spoke softly, then pulled his pressed-together index finger and thumb outward.

The barrier immediately expanded outward, stopping just short of the Black-Robed Wizard.

Wizet smiled coldly and said in a clear voice, "I forced the Runespoor into a dead end and used this magic to crush it bit by bit... Want to try it?"

"Of course, you can also try resisting. Right now, I can still control my own power. If I trigger the Obscurus... what exactly will happen is really hard to say!"

He looked around. "This spot is really good. It's basically just one straight line. Here, the Obscurus would definitely perform wonderfully."

It was not only the Black-Robed Wizard whose forehead was beading with sweat; his three accomplices were also breaking out in cold sweat.

"Boss... this magic isn't that powerful, right?"

"Let's go at them! Are the four of us really unable to beat the two of them?"

"Is he trying to scare us? The Obscurial thing is fake, right? I've never even heard of this thing!"

The racket from his accomplices annoyed the Black-Robed Wizard to no end.

He shouted sharply, "Shut up! Even if the Obscurial identity is fake, is wandless casting fake too? How many little brats... children have you seen who can cast without a wand?"

He flung the newspaper to his companions. "Read it yourselves! Don't go thinking only about charging in when you don't know anything!"

He regretted it deeply now. He should have chased this Obscurial away; otherwise, he would not have ended up facing this situation.

The silver-blue shield magic was still continuing, and the Black-Robed Wizard could only grit his teeth and ask, extremely unwillingly, "What exactly do you want?"

Wizet chuckled and took two steps forward. "I just want to go home, that's all. A very simple wish."

The Black-Robed Wizard and the others immediately retreated more than ten steps, their backs pressed tightly against the still-sleeping Three-headed Dog.

Judging from their reactions, they already knew what an Obscurial was, and they also knew what Wizet had done before.

Thanks to Rita Skeeter, this absurd report in an official publication meant Wizet did not need to explain too much to achieve the effect he wanted.

"Oh, right. And this Three-headed Dog. How much were you planning to sell it to Hagrid for again?"

"You're still willing to buy it?" the Black-Robed Wizard said in surprise. "Four hundred Galleons! This Three-headed Dog is a cub. Its eyes haven't even opened yet!"

Wizet looked to the side. "Hagrid, is a Three-headed Dog cub worth that price?"

His knowledge of Three-headed Dogs mainly came from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The book mainly mentioned precautions regarding Three-headed Dogs. As for matters like price, he still had to rely on this Hogwarts gamekeeper.

Hagrid nodded repeatedly. "Of course it's worth it! More than worth it! When I was traveling in Greece, I never saw such a good price!"

"See!" The Black-Robed Wizard breathed a sigh of relief. "We'll stick to this price. We absolutely won't raise it!"

Wizet looked at Hagrid, a little speechless. Right now, they had the advantage, so they ought to be acting more forcefully.

Was it because wizards in the magical world were all relatively simple?

Or was it just Hagrid who was relatively simple?

Four hundred Galleons was no small sum. Wizet's instinct for careful calculation kicked in. "This price is clearly unreasonable. This isn't Greece."

The Black-Robed Wizard immediately looked at him and asked nervously, "What are you trying to say?"

Wizet said with an old-hand air, "As far as I know, the Three-headed Dog is a dangerous and rare fantastic beast. Buying a Three-headed Dog is very troublesome!"

"Besides the purchase price, you also need to handle all kinds of procedures. If you go through the normal purchasing process, it takes quite a bit of effort too... do you understand?"

This was from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which gave a simple introduction to adopting Three-headed Dogs.

"Uh..." The Black-Robed Wizard intended to play dumb to the end and shook his head repeatedly. "I don't know! This price is really very favorable!"

He also desperately winked at Hagrid. "Big guy! Say something! It's a cub! Don't you want to become the owner of this little... little cutie?"

"Oh..." Hagrid let out a long snore, but did not answer. He lowered his head to look at Wizet, wearing an expression that said, "I'll listen to him."

Wizet made a scissors sign. "Two hundred Galleons. That's the highest price we're offering."

"Two hundred Galleons!" the Black-Robed Wizard screeched. "You might as well kill us! How is that price possible!"

"Good idea!" Wizet rubbed his chin, seeming to consider the question seriously. "An alley this dark... really is quite suitable for that sort of thing."

"Wizet!" Hagrid was frightened. "You must stay calm! You're a good kid!"

The Black-Robed Wizard was also badly frightened. "That's right! The big guy is right! You have to stay calm! We can discuss it some more!"

Wizet waved the scissors sign. "Two hundred Galleons."

"Three hundred and ninety Galleons! That's our bottom line!"

"One hundred and ninety Galleons. If you had a bottom line, you wouldn't have held me hostage in the first place."

"You..." The Black-Robed Wizard regretted it even more now and lowered the price weakly. "Three hundred and eighty Galleons. It can't go any lower!"

Wizet smiled calmly. "One hundred and seventy Galleons. Judging from the way you're dressed, you've probably been sleeping rough for a long time, haven't you?"

"Did you get into trouble in Greece? Is that why you brought the Three-headed Dog here to hide? Once you get this money, it should be enough for you to live on for a while, right?"

"Besides... Hagrid is the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Only a place as big as the grounds there can let a Three-headed Dog live happily. Understand?"

The Black-Robed Wizard seemed to have been struck where it hurt. His voice turned shrill, like chalk scraping across glass. "You still can't keep lowering it! Who haggles like you?"

"One hundred and fifty Galleons!" Wizet remained calm. "I told you, the bottom line can be lowered... especially when dealing with people like you."

By the time the moon hung high in the sky, Hagrid, grinning from ear to ear, carried the Three-headed Dog on his shoulder and led Wizet back to Diagon Alley.

"Wizet, thank you so much for today! If you hadn't been there, I might not have made it out of Knockturn Alley!"

He fumbled in his pocket and took out an exquisitely embroidered cloth pouch. "Scared me half to death, that did! They even wanted to search me. I didn't want them taking this!"

That was why Hagrid had firmly refused to let those people search him—Wizet had temporarily entrusted his wallet to him.

The Runespoor had been brought over by Hagrid. If Hagrid had harbored selfish intentions, Wizet would not have gotten the five hundred Galleons either.

At least in terms of character, Hagrid was someone worth trusting.

Not only that, but Hagrid's smock had magical resistance and could withstand ordinary theft magic. Keeping the money on him also made Wizet feel more at ease.

Seeing Wizet take the wallet back, Hagrid let out a breath of relief and asked in a relaxed tone, "What do you reckon this little cutie should be called?"

Wizet looked at the still-drowsing Three-headed Dog and shrugged. "No idea... I'm not very good at naming things, but looking at how fluffy it is, it really is... cute, I suppose?"

Hagrid's eyes lit up. "Yeah! A fluffy little cutie. How about calling him Fluffy?"

He reached out and stroked the Three-headed Dog's back, his voice full of fondness. "Fluffy, what do you think?"

Perhaps Hagrid's call had worked, because the Three-headed Dog, Fluffy, snorted and slowly opened his eyes. "Woof?"

However, as Fluffy was being carried on Hagrid's shoulder, the first person who came into view was not Hagrid, but Wizet, following behind and pulling the small cart by hand.

"Hagrid... your Fluffy is awake."

In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Three-headed Dog's English name is Fluffy. When the publisher translated it, they used a transliteration, so it became "Lu Wei";

I am also following the publisher's translation here and calling him Lu Wei. Thank you for understanding;

If translated by meaning, it could also be rendered as "Maomao," since Fluffy itself means furry.