Chapter 773: A Meeting Gift at Knockturn Alley

Knockturn Alley is a favorite place for dark wizards and wandering wizards to gather. The streets here are dirty and shabby, and even the air is filled with a strange smell, which is very similar to the burnt smell given off after the potion has dried. , the environment is vastly different from that of Diagon Alley next door.

Kyle had been here before, but he had never observed it carefully. This time he went to look for werewolves with Newt, and he noticed that there were so many shops here.

Stretching from the entrance to the depths of Knockturn Alley, the number of shops is no less than that of Diagon Alley next door.

It's just that most of the shops here don't have signboards, and some will just hang something at the door. For example, a withered finger, a skull, or something like a tree root.

"These are to cope with the inspection by the Ministry of Magic." Seemingly seeing Kyle's doubts, Newt explained: "Withered fingers represent general dark magic items and stolen dirt, and skeletons represent poison and fatal curses. thing.

“However, most of these shops are fake or repackaged defective products, and even in half of the street, you can’t find a single genuine product.

"After all, integrity is the cheapest thing in Knockturn Alley."

"Won't the people who were deceived come to trouble them?" Kyle asked.

Anyway, if he bought a fake, he definitely wouldn't just let it go.

"I did it a long time ago." Newt said, "But those who can own a shop in Knockturn Alley basically have some special skills and buy the bottom of the box. It is difficult for ordinary wizards to take advantage.

"And the shopkeepers here have long been united. If you cause trouble for one person, you are causing trouble for all the shopkeepers. So even powerful wizards have to abide by the rules here."

"Rules? What rules?"

"There are many, but the most important thing is not to return anything," Newt said. "You have to think carefully before buying things here, and you can't regret it after you pay."

"Oh, that's right." Kyle nodded. He looked at Newt and couldn't help but feel a little confused... Didn't Newt always live in Dorset? Why are you so familiar with Knockturn Alley?

"Have you been here before?" he asked.

"I've been here a few times." Newt's eyes suddenly became wandering. "There are some things that you can't buy through normal channels. You can only try your luck here."

Looking at his appearance, Kyle could probably guess what was going on... It was nothing more than something from Newt's youth.

After being blocked by the Ministry of Magic in almost all countries, if he wanted to go anywhere, he could only do so through illegal portkeys or other irregular means.

And these things can only be found in places like Knockturn Alley.

So strictly speaking, Newt is considered a frequent visitor here.

But Kyle didn't point it out. He looked around and asked, "But didn't you just say that almost everything here is fake?"

"It's almost, but not all. If there isn't even one genuine item, we won't be able to open here." Newt coughed twice, "In fact, I have been deceived many times, on average, every five times." Only then can I buy a useful genuine product.”

"The probability is really low." Kyle curled his lips and looked at the surrounding shops again.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed that a figure suddenly flashed behind a certain window and disappeared again when he looked over.

"It seems we've been discovered," Kyle said.

"It has been discovered a long time ago." Newt said calmly, "The wizards living here have a special way of contacting them. They have known it since we came in."

The two walked forward for a while and came to the depths of Knockturn Alley.

The environment here is even worse, and there are other people on the road. Most of them wrap themselves tightly in shabby scarves and hoods, sit on the street corners and set up stalls, or walk in a hurry.

However, these people are not particularly large. It can be seen that after the Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley, the business here has also been greatly affected.

Here, Kyle and Newt, who were neatly dressed, became aliens. Although their faces could not be seen, it was not difficult to tell from the direction of their heads that everyone here was staring at them.

"Are we too high-profile?" Kyle asked in a low voice: "Should we hide ourselves properly?"

"It doesn't matter." Newt shook his head and said, "Knockturn Alley has its own mark. Every outsider here will be as obvious as the Moon-Crazy Beast in the Manticore. It can't be hidden at all, even if it's invisible. There’s no use for clothes.”

"Then how should we find the werewolf." Kyle frowned slightly.

Now their every move is being watched by people, both on the street and in the shops on both sides. It is almost like they are walking forward under a dozen searchlights. It is really difficult to find people in this situation.

"Well...people in Knockturn Alley rarely mind their own business." Newt said calmly, "Especially when this matter has nothing to do with them, at least when I came here."

The two of them continued walking forward, and the further inside they went, the more people there were.

At this time, Kyle gradually got used to the glances from around him. Just like Newt said, each of them was just looking at them. It had nothing to do with them, and no one had the intention to step forward to ask.

Kyle turned a corner and stopped in front of a fork in the road. On the left side of the intersection, there was a shop with fangs hanging on it. Although it was also shabby, it could be regarded as the largest shop around.

Newt glanced up. "I thought we could ask for directions."

Kyle also looked over, "Teeth, what kind of store is this?"

Just as he was wondering, two unkempt and dirty wizards came out.

"Leave here, wizards, this is not the place for you." One of them said, his voice was hoarse, as if squeezed out of his throat.

This familiar voice and the conspicuous yellow long nails made Kyle react immediately.

Werewolf... Yes, Lupin said before that Fenrir Greyback had high standards. He would only choose those young and strong werewolves to join, and the old and weak werewolves that he looked down on could only gather in Knockturn Alley.

Thinking of this, Kyle stepped forward and said politely: "Don't get me wrong, I'm here to find someone."

"This has nothing to do with us." One of the werewolves shouted: "Leave here!"

"Don't say that, if you are willing to provide clues, I can pay you." Kyle took out a handful of gold coins.

"You have something hanging on your door, so you must be running some kind of business. So, tell me what I want to know, and all of this will be yours."

Looking at the golden Galleons in Kyle's hand, the werewolf wizard's eyes widened instantly.

He looked at Kyle's clean and tidy clothes and his slightly childish face, and a trace of greed flashed across his face.

At this time, stimulated by the gold coins, the other people around also moved, and surrounded Kyle and Newt.

The werewolf wizard asked quickly: "Let me make it clear first, this amount of money is not enough to get information."

"No problem." Kyle said with a smile, as if he had not noticed his current situation, "As long as it is reasonable, any amount of money is fine."

"What do you want to ask?"

"A few months ago, a werewolf from outside came to Knockturn Alley. It should be called...Toru, it seems to be this name." Kyle said, "Where is he?"

As soon as Kyle finished speaking, the werewolf wizard opposite immediately changed his face and asked in a deep voice: "What do you want to do with him!"

"It's like this." Kyle said calmly, "We just came from the Black Forest, and his friend asked me to come and give him a few words."

Hearing the Black Forest, the werewolf wizard's face became even uglier.

"Wizard, what do you mean by this, do you think we are all fools?" He stared at Kyle fiercely.

At the same time, more werewolf wizards came out and surrounded Kyle and Newt.

"You shouldn't say that." Newt walked to Kyle's side. "After being abandoned by stronger werewolves, the Black Forest is their shame. You are tearing open their scars."

"Is that so." Kyle suddenly realized, and then said: "Well, if I apologize, will you feel better?"

"Apologize? Okay." The leading werewolf wizard said viciously, "One hundred Galleons, I will accept your apology."

"No problem." Kyle agreed very readily and took out a big bag.

"Here is exactly one hundred Galleons, can you tell me now?"

The bag made a crisp and pleasant sound when it shook, and when Kyle opened the bag, there was a sound of inhalation around.

These werewolf wizards had never seen so much money, and the golden light almost dazzled their eyes.

"How about it, can you tell me where Toru is now?" Kyle asked again.

"No." The werewolf wizard grinned, revealing sharp teeth.

"This hundred Galleons is your apology. If you want to get the news, you must pay another hundred... no, five hundred Galleons!"

"It seems that you are not sincere." Kyle raised his eyebrows, "Five hundred Galleons, you really dare to ask for it!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Another werewolf wizard roared, "It's not up to you now. Either you take out another five hundred Galleons and get out, or we will find it ourselves! But by then, I can't guarantee what you will do."

He stared at Kyle's neck and couldn't help licking his lips.

It was at this time that Kyle realized that the werewolves here were not as innocent as Lupin said. The reason why they did not participate in the war was not because they didn't want to, but because no one wanted them.

Whether it was the Death Eaters or Fenrir Greyback, they looked down on them.

Kyle turned his head to look at Newt on the side and asked, "What should we do now? They don't seem to be sincere."

"I don't know either." Newt pretended to be helpless and spread his hands, "Do it your own way."

"My own way?" Kyle glanced at the wand in his hand.

The werewolves around him immediately became nervous. Some of them raised their wands, while others bent their backs, showing their fangs, ready to pounce on Kyle at any time.

The next second, Kyle put down his wand and picked up the box in his other hand.

Seeing this, the werewolves thought Kyle had compromised and was ready to buy peace with Galleons, and they all laughed harshly.

"Hehe, I didn't expect you to be a coward. Hurry up, don't..."

"Roar!"

A roar drowned out their subsequent words.

At some point, a huge fire dragon suddenly appeared in front of them.

The fire dragon spread its wings, almost covering the entire street.

Norbert looked at the narrow street in front of him, snorted with some dissatisfaction, and two flames spurted out of his nose.

Then, before anyone could react, he swung his thick tail violently and lashed the werewolf wizard who had just threatened Kyle, directly whipping him out and smashing through a wall like a cannonball.

The entire Knockturn Alley fell silent instantly. Now, no one doubted the authenticity of the fire dragon.

After everyone recovered from the shock, the wizard who had gathered around to take advantage of the situation turned around and ran away, disappearing into the dark streets in the blink of an eye.

There were also rustling sounds in the surrounding shops, and soon there was no movement. I don't know if he hid or ran away from another exit.

The werewolf wizards also wanted to run, but they couldn't. As the main target of the fire dragon, they had already expended all their energy just standing there.

"Can you tell me now?" Kyle stepped out from under Noble and asked word by word: "Where is the werewolf, Tolu!"

Norbert also lowered his head in time and opened his mouth, and a strong smell of sulfur hit his face.

The werewolf wizard who he asked collapsed immediately, rolled his eyes and fainted.

Kyle looked at the other werewolf again. Although the other were not much better, because he was not facing Norbert, he could still raise his hand tremblingly and point to the house behind him.

At this time, a black shadow suddenly jumped out from the door and ran towards the distance without looking back.

Although he moved quickly, Kyle could still see his appearance clearly. He was the man he met at the door of Borgin-Bock when he went to investigate the disappearing cabinet.

"What a lucky guy," Kyle said with a smile, and then he held out his hand, ready for Norbert to chase.

But there was someone faster than him.

More than a dozen magic spells flew from different directions, some were red and some were green, and they all landed on Tolu like fireworks.

That Tolu fell to the ground and became motionless.

"This is our meeting ceremony." A man came out of the shadows.

It was the shopkeeper of Borgin-Bock. He was leaning on a skull crutch and stood beside a path looking at the two people.

"Long time no see, Mr. Scamander. I really didn't expect to see you again in Knockturn Alley."

"Are you Herbert Burke's son?" Newt asked.

"That's right, it's a shame that you still remember me." Old Bojin said, "I think you should still remember the rules of Knockturn Alley. Do you want to start a war with us by mobilizing troops like this?

"Although the fire dragon is very powerful, there are also many of us."

As soon as he finished speaking, more people came out of the shops on both sides.

Although the people in Knockturn Alley never mind their own business and don't care about the life and death of others, the fire dragon is so destructive that if it really moves, it will destroy at least half of the street.

When it concerns their own interests, they can't accept it, so they take action collectively to take the lead in getting rid of the werewolf who may become the target of the fire dragon.

"Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of starting a war." Newt said calmly, "And this fire dragon is not mine."

Apparently, old Borgin didn't believe it.

After all, who else but Newt Scamander can summon an adult fire dragon anytime and anywhere? Do you really think he is stupid?

But he didn't care. He just looked at Newt and said, "In that case, please leave. Knockturn Alley is not a place for people like you."

Newt didn't rush to answer, but looked at Kyle.

Kyle nodded. He could clearly feel that there was a killing curse in the curse just now, and there were more than one.

Unless that werewolf wizard is called Torubot, he's dead.

Kyle opened the box, and Norbert whimpered with dissatisfaction, but went back anyway.

When he saw the box, Old Borgin was even more sure of his guess... The person who set off the fire dragon was definitely Newt Scamander, and this old guy still didn't admit it!

"Leave." Old Borgin said again: "You are not welcome in Knockturn Alley."

"Of course, believe me, we wouldn't be here if we didn't have to," Kyle said.

"It couldn't be better."

Kyle and Newt retraced their steps toward the entrance of Knockturn Alley. This time, more people were watching them than when they came.

Kyle seemed to be walking in front calmly, but his hand was holding the wand tightly and he did not dare to relax for a moment.

Fortunately, the people in Knockturn Alley didn't do anything unwise. Until Kyle and Newt stood on the streets of Diagon Alley again, no one chose to attack them from behind.

When Kyle turned to look towards Knockturn Alley again, all the people who had followed them disappeared, as if they had never appeared.

…