Shops in Knockturn Alley

Needless to say, what happened next was that he was busy with his life-or-death duel with Yunus and burned down the entire Ministry of Magic. In the meantime, he had no energy to make money.

So, after the First World War with the Ministry of Magic, although he gained the entire Azkaban as his territory, he had no money.

He couldn't possibly demand a share from the prisoners under his command, could he? Otherwise, would he even be able to lead his own group?

So, although Lester is very powerful, he only has 90 Galleon. This was only given to him by the lecherous old man Leona in exchange for a medical parole. Otherwise, he wouldn't have a single penny.

Lester had originally planned to sneak in and loot Gringotts when Quirrell infiltrated, but now it seemed unnecessary.

"Your land deed is in that location in Diagon Alley, right?" Lester asked in a friendly tone, trying his best to appear approachable.

The pureblood said tremblingly, "No, not in Diagon Alley, it's in Knockturn Alley."

Lester: "..."

He said that this good-for-nothing pureblood didn't know where he got the land deed; it turned out to be a house in Knockturn Alley.

Although these two blocks are separated by only a wall, the property prices on the two sides are worlds apart.

Diagon Alley is a commercial street; even a small, unassuming shop can cost 100 Galleon in rent per month, and that's only if there are no buyers.

But Knockturn Alley is completely different; it's a residential area, and a slum at that.

Lester didn't need to look to guess that the land deed this pureblood was talking about was nothing more than a dilapidated bungalow on the outskirts of Knockturn Alley, just like the ones he had seen before.

Those houses can be bought for a single Galleon. What would he want with them? He might as well go back to Azkaban.

"No, no, no, no," the pureblood hurriedly explained, seemingly sensing Lester's impatience. "My lord, that's my ancestral home, located in the commercial district of Knockturn Alley."

Upon hearing this, Lester stopped casting a spell and began to think about it with great interest.

While most of the wizards in Knockturn Alley were down-on-their-luck Muggle-born, he was known as a dark wizard.

Lester had previously learned from his fellow inmates that several powerful Pure-blood families still inhabited the central area of Knockturn Alley.

They often run a shop and are responsible for engaging in illegal transactions.

For example, the Abbott family and the Bloggers are Pure-blood families mentioned in the original work.

Both families are members of the pure-blooded 28 families, and their main family residence is in Knockturn Alley. Most of the businesses they run are illegal.

However, in recent centuries, the Abbott family has gradually cleaned up their act and started running legitimate businesses. With the Leaky Cauldron as their brand, the Abbott family has also begun to expand into other fields and has broken away from the category of a dark wizard family.

However, the Borgin Family continues to engage in illegal business and serves as a bridge between the surface world and the underworld.

If the spheres of influence in Diagon Alley are complex and intertwined, then the division of power in Knockturn Alley is quite clear and straightforward.

Several powerful Pure-blood families divided Knockturn Alley into two parts: a slum for Muggle-born and a commercial district where their dark wizards roamed. However, unlike Diagon Alley, the commercial district of Knockturn Alley traded only illegal magical items.

"Bring me the land deed," Lester said coldly.

In order to save his life, the pureblood immediately took out the land deed he always carried with him and placed it respectfully in his hands.

Lester waved his hand, and the land deed flew directly into his hand.

It was clear that this land deed was quite old. Carefully stroking the edges of the deed, Lester could tell that it was made of parchment.

The land deed was covered with dense text, which essentially stated that the land belonged to the Pucey Family, was protected by the laws of the Ministry of Magic, and was sacred and inviolable.

The shop's address, including the house number and location, is thoughtfully written at the bottom of the land deed.

"Are you really willing to give this to me?" Lester waved the land deed in his hand at the pureblood, who nodded frantically in response.

"My lord, if you spare my life, I will go with you to the Ministry of Magic to transfer this land deed," the Pure-blood wizard said without hesitation.

Especially when he talked about transferring the land title, a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.

"There's definitely something wrong with that shop!" Lester noticed the odd look in the pureblood's eyes and his heart skipped a beat.

He just looked at the land deed; it's clearly written there, so it shouldn't be fake.

So the problem isn't with the land title; the problem must be with the shop itself.

A shop located in the Knockturn Alley commercial district could fetch at least 500 Galleon, enough to keep them happy for several years.

But instead of doing so, they left the land deed behind. If you say they were being filial and unwilling to sell their ancestral home, Lester would never believe it.

Therefore, there must be something wrong with that shop; either it's haunted or it's being threatened.

It's easy to understand: if a shop is haunted, the property value will definitely be lower, and living there would be life-threatening, so exchanging a haunted shop for one's life is a worthwhile trade.

But this is the Wizarding World. What kind of ghost could be so ferocious that it could make even a dark wizard unable to stay here? This isn't Muggle's house. Wizards, being extraordinary beings, are not afraid of ghosts.

So now there's only one reason: someone threatened him, trying to force him to buy his shop at a low price, and coincidentally, he was caught by him today. So he wants to save his own life while shifting the blame to himself.

When the time comes, those dark wizards who threatened him will definitely come looking for trouble for the sake of their shops. If he is just an ordinary wizard with slightly stronger abilities, he might not be able to defeat them.

At that time, my life might even be in danger.

After weighing the pros and cons, Lester smiled.

Just like some unscrupulous developers in later generations who forcibly demolished properties, those dark wizards who wanted to acquire shops had power, influence, and underworld connections, so they could bully ordinary wizards like this down-on-his-luck pureblood.

But if we're really talking about criminal forces, then Lester's Azkaban Syndicate is currently the biggest criminal organization in the entire Wizarding World.

If those dark wizards dare to try and force me to buy something, they're really asking for trouble.

So, under the expectant gaze of this pureblood, Lester nodded firmly, and then set them all on fire.

As I said before, the laws of the Wizarding World are made for the weak.

He'll just take the land deed and have Hafiz go to the relevant department to complete the transfer procedures. He doesn't believe that pure-blooded official would dare to disrespect Hafiz.