Acromantula Venom, Dragon Heart, Lucky Day!

By night, the bustling liveliness of Diagon Alley had faded away, replaced by silence and desolation.

On the street, the Middle-aged Dark Wizard led Charle to the entrance of a nearby alley.

The signs and warnings at the entrance had temporarily been erased. At first glance, it looked like any one of countless ordinary alleys, except it seemed especially deep and gloomy.

But if any experienced wizard came here, the sight of this alley would likely make their face change.

This was Knockturn Alley, a place where all kinds of illegal transactions took place in the Wizarding World and where Dark Wizards frequently appeared.

Some wizards who wandered in by mistake left safely without seeing anything. Others escaped after a scare.

But some simply vanished from the world entirely.

At that moment, the Middle-aged Dark Wizard had brought Charle here and was doing his utmost to persuade him to enter.

"Mr. Charle, my family is still waiting for these Galleons so I can buy my daughter a Wand and Robe."

"You wouldn't want to see your future classmate, a sweet little girl, going to school in an old Robe everyone mocks, would you?"

Charle merely shrugged and said quietly, "Is it possible that I'll be one of the people mocking her in the future?"

The Middle-aged Dark Wizard froze, then laughed awkwardly. "How could that be? Mr. Charle is kind-hearted. You're a good person."

Only then did Charle nod in satisfaction.

"You do have a good eye."

"Since you've put it that way, fine. I'll take a loss and accept your things."

Charle then drew his Wand.

The Middle-aged Dark Wizard's heart skipped a beat. "Mr. Charle, why are you taking out your Wand?"

With a soft laugh, Charle recited the spell.

"Luminosity Flicker."

A shimmering glow burst from the tip of his Wand, lighting up the road ahead.

He smiled. "It's so dark up ahead. I'm just using a Lumos spell to light the way."

"I'm willing to follow you into an alley like this. You aren't scared of a little wizard like me, are you?"

The Middle-aged Dark Wizard thought about it and realized that was true.

A little wizard who had not even entered Hogwarts yet could at most cast a Lumos spell. How could he possibly be a match for a vicious Dark Wizard like him?

The moment this little wizard heard the words "Dark Wizard," he would probably piss himself in fear.

So he grinned and flattered Charle. "As expected of someone from a distinguished family, Mr. Charle. You can use a Lumos spell so skillfully before even enrolling. Your future is limitless."

Then he led Charle step by step into Knockturn Alley.

At the same time, Tonks watched from the shadows not far away. Having heard Charle's conversation with the Dark Wizard, anxiety surged in her heart.

She was a Trainee Auror, after all. Of course she knew what kind of place the alley Charle had entered was.

That was Knockturn Alley, a place that struck fear into the hearts of most wizards in the Wizarding World.

It was also the result of a compromise between the Ministry of Magic and the Dark Wizards. The Dark Wizards were allowed a place to trade, and Anti-Detection Magic existed within it. Even if Dark Wizards robbed and murdered each other inside, it did not matter.

As long as they did not use the Unforgivable Curses or carry out any horrific experiments, the Ministry of Magic would turn a blind eye and pretend nothing had happened.

After all, Dark Wizards had always existed in the Wizarding World and could never be completely eradicated.

If they were cut off entirely and left without any place to trade or make a living, all those Dark Wizards would scatter across Britain. The Ministry of Magic simply did not have enough manpower to deal with them all.

Therefore, once Charle entered Knockturn Alley, the Anti-Detection Magic would make it difficult to find him if those Dark Wizards kidnapped him.

And since those Dark Wizards had gone to such lengths to trick Charle here, their intentions could not possibly be innocent.

Thinking of this, whether for the sake of her mission or her innate sense of justice, Tonks could not just stand by and watch.

Tonks immediately drew her Wand and prepared to rush into Knockturn Alley to rescue Charle.

But in the next instant, a Binding Spell shot toward Tonks from behind and struck her before she could react.

The Dark Wizard who had been following Tonks all along sneered as he looked at her lying on the ground.

"Idiot. You're still this green, and you think you can stake out a place?"

"Guess today's your unlucky day!"

With a wave of his Wand, Tonks's Wand flew aside, and ropes wrapped themselves around her body.

Regret filled Tonks's face.

She had never imagined that she had been discovered long ago and that a Dark Wizard had been secretly tailing her.

Now it was over. Forget rescuing Charle—she might end up getting dragged into this herself!

Meanwhile, Charle, who had entered first, found his retreat blocked by the Middle-aged Dark Wizard behind him, while two more Black-robed Wizards appeared ahead.

A strange look entered his eyes as he asked quietly, "Did you bring the things I came to collect?"

The Middle-aged Dark Wizard behind him sneered. He had not expected Charle to still fail to understand the situation and continue thinking about collecting his things.

The two Black-robed Wizards laughed as well.

"We brought them, we brought them. Young Master Charle, please have a look."

The two Black-robed Wizards then took out two parcels.

One contained a glass bottle filled with green liquid.

The other contained a shriveled, persimmon-shaped object roughly the size of a football.

Charle narrowed his eyes and recognized the two items. An uncontrollable heat appeared on his face.

That glass bottle contained Acromantula venom, and quite a lot of it at that. It was an extremely rare magical material.

The football-sized, persimmon-shaped object was a shriveled Dragon Heart.

Although it had clearly been dead for a long time and was no longer fresh, meaning not a single drop of Dragon Blood remained, a Dragon Heart was still incredibly valuable.

These were precious materials that were difficult to buy through normal channels. Aside from Knockturn Alley, one could probably search all of Diagon Alley and still fail to find them!

Charle licked his lips. "A bottle of unidentified spider blood? Pretty disgusting. I'll give you twelve Sickles for it."

"And that thing—tch, dried-up animal innards. You actually brought that here and expect me to buy it?"

"Fine. Since I'm kind-hearted, I'll offer one Galleon."

"Two items together. I'll round it up for you—two Galleons, and I'll take them all."

As he spoke, Charle took out two Galleons and smiled.

"You don't need to thank me. Helping people in need is what I should do."

This time, aside from the Middle-aged Dark Wizard who had already seen Charle's true colors, the other two Dark Wizards were dumbfounded as well.

"Fuck, that's Acromantula venom! How did it become unidentified spider blood?"

"Twelve silver Sickles? Do you fucking know how many Galleons a pint of this costs?!"

"And that's a Dragon Heart! How do you have the nerve to call it dried-up animal innards?"

"Two Galleons for both? How can someone so young be this black-hearted?"

Charle spread his hands. "How is that black-hearted? I'm warning you, you're insulting my character."

"If someone else insulted me like that, I'd definitely pursue the matter to the end and demand compensation for emotional damages."

"But you people are already struggling. If I did that to you, would I still be human?"

"I'm a kind-hearted person. I won't ask for compensation. Just leave the things behind."

Silence echoed through Knockturn Alley.

The three Dark Wizards stared at Charle, gritting their teeth as though ten thousand wild horses were stampeding through their hearts.

This was called kind-hearted?

This was practically robbery!

The Middle-aged Dark Wizard who had brought Charle here could no longer endure it. He drew his Wand and roared.

"You damned little wizard! You parasite, you bloodsucker! You dare call yourself kind-hearted? I've put up with you for long enough!"

"Let me tell you the truth. This is Knockturn Alley. Heh, we went out of our way to trick you here. Did you really think we were here to deliver things to you?"

"Just wait and see how I deal with you!"

Just then, Tonks was dragged into Knockturn Alley by the Dark Wizard who had been tailing her, her body tightly bound in ropes.

The Dark Wizard said disdainfully, "I took care of this idiot. When I knocked her down, she still had a completely confused look on her face!"

Seeing the four Dark Wizards in Knockturn Alley, despair deepened in Tonks's eyes. She could no longer maintain her Metamorphmagus appearance and reverted to her original looks.

Her pink hair and youthful, beautiful face stood out sharply in Knockturn Alley.

The four Dark Wizards froze for a moment when they saw Tonks's true appearance, then all began to laugh.

"Wonderful. We thought it was a man, but it's actually a witch?"

Several greedy gazes roamed over Tonks's body.

"She's so young and tender. Did she just graduate from Hogwarts?"

"Tsk, tsk. She must taste wonderful. Once we've had our fun, the parts of her body will still fetch quite a few Galleons."

"Merlin above, you've truly favored us. Today really is our lucky day!"

Listening to their horrifying words, terror inevitably appeared in Tonks's eyes.

If she truly ended up in that situation, she would rather be struck by a Killing Curse!

Yet just as the Dark Wizards could not help laughing triumphantly, Charle looked at Tonks's changing hair color and appearance as though he had discovered something that delighted him.

Those traits meant she was undoubtedly a Metamorphmagus.

This was an important material indicated by the Deep Blue System, one that could greatly reduce the points required for subsequent deductions of Animagus Transformation!

Charle had originally planned to look for Tonks later. Who would have thought that, by a twist of fate, Tonks would be right here?

He could not help laughing out loud.

"First a Unicorn Horn, then Acromantula venom and a Dragon Heart, and now a Metamorphmagus?"

"Merlin above, I don't know whether today is your lucky day, but it's definitely mine!"