#154 - Flying Crow

Mrs. Pernel reacted quickly, immediately greeting him with a smile, "So that's how it is. I was just wondering how I could have never seen such a handsome young wizard. What kind of potion are you looking to prepare for your family? Is it to eliminate those little facial annoyances, remove wrinkles, or simply for beauty and to maintain their appearance?"

Listening to Mrs. Pernel's flattery, Anduin originally had no expression on his face, but after thinking about it, he felt he should give some feedback, so he forced a smile and said, "My aunt is getting older and has a lot on her mind every day, so she's been looking a little haggard lately. Do you have any suitable potions you can recommend?"

Before he could finish speaking, Mrs. Pernel immediately interjected, "In that case, I recommend our shop's secret 'Primm Revitalizing Potion'. Apply it to the face once in the morning and once at night to tighten the skin, delay aging, and improve complexion. It's one of our best-selling products."

As she spoke, Mrs. Pernel led Anduin to a display case, took out a beautifully packaged potion bottle to show him, and even applied some to the back of her hand, slowly spreading it. The effect of the potion was very obvious; the area where the potion was applied did indeed become smooth and firm.

Anduin took the potion bottle, brought it to his nose, and sniffed it slightly, then frowned. This seemed to be a diluted 'Beautification Potion'. He had made some before to earn extra money, so he knew a bit about the properties of this potion.

The recipe for this potion was uncommon, and it was a bit troublesome to prepare, but the materials weren't expensive. However, the production cycle wasn't short, and it didn't sell for much, which was why he didn't make much money from this potion.

He looked down at the price tag. Good heavens, two gold Galleons for a bottle! This thing had been diluted by at least half. So shady? Is it really that easy to make money off women?

However, considering he was here to gather information, Anduin still nodded with a smile. "Not bad, I'll take a bottle. Please wrap it up for me."

Seeing that the young wizard in front of her was so agreeable, Mrs. Pernel was even happier and quickly wrapped up the potion for him.

At this moment, Anduin pretended to be casually chatting and asked, "By the way, do you know who owns the house next door? My family has recently been considering opening a shop in Diagon Alley, and the location next door is quite good, and it doesn't seem like they're doing any business."

"Oh, opening a shop? What kind of shop is your family planning to open?" Mrs. Pernel asked somewhat警惕ly. She didn't doubt the young wizard's identity too much. Anduin was dressed neatly and spent money freely, looking like an heir from a wealthy family. What she was concerned about was whether he was a competitor trying to steal business.

"It should be a magical item shop. There's only one boutique in Diagon Alley that specializes in Quidditch supplies, and there aren't many places that sell magical items," Anduin explained, seeing Mrs. Pernel's concerns.

"I see." Mrs. Pernel breathed a sigh of relief. "If you're interested in the shop next door, it might be a little troublesome to rent it."

"Oh, why?"

"That house hasn't had a business in it for a long time, and almost no one knows who the property actually belongs to. The owner of that house is very mysterious." Mrs. Pernel paused, as if recalling something. "However, I occasionally saw Yulia Malfoy entering and exiting the house some time ago. Oh no, she should be called Yulia Travers now. I always forget that she has married into the Travers family. You might be able to ask the Travers family about it."

Travers? Hearing this name, Anduin instantly understood. It seemed that enemies were destined to meet. He inwardly grumbled.

Seeing Anduin lower his head, not knowing what he was thinking, Mrs. Pernel continued, "I advise you not to open a magical item shop. Those fussy magical items aren't very popular in Britain. It's hard to repair them after they break. Aren't those little gadgets all Egyptian specialties? There used to be a magical item shop in Diagon Alley, but the goods they sold weren't popular at all, and they quickly went bankrupt. If your family is really interested, you might as well open another bar. Tom at the entrance is full of people every day. Opening a bar would definitely be good business."

Ignoring Mrs. Pernel's rambling, Anduin smiled, paid, and, after putting away the potion, walked out of the shop without looking back, ignoring the witch owner's enthusiastic greetings.

After leaving the shop, Anduin immediately put on his cloak, then looked at the beautifully packaged inferior potion in his hand. The bottle was quite nice, though. He shouldn't throw it away. He could pour out the potion and use it to store other potions.

After putting away his things, Anduin went to the owl post office, sent a quick letter to Augusta, saying that he would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron for one night, catching up with the owner Tom, and that she didn't need to wait for him. He also opened 'Shunfeng's' cage and asked him to come over.

After doing all this, Anduin, still wearing his cloak, squatted in a narrow alley opposite the house.

"If there are no accidents, the Travers family is sheltering Yaxley. The problem now is how to catch them all in one fell swoop. The Aurors of the Ministry of Magic, due to procedural justice or the status of the Travers family head as a council member, will definitely not break into the house to search."

Anduin looked at the quiet, seemingly empty house and pondered.

"Moreover, there are likely traps or alarm devices set up inside. There must also be a fireplace in the house. Rushing in rashly is likely to alarm them. At that time, these guys will most likely escape through the Floo Network or Apparition. This may be another reason why the Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix have not tried. If they rush in and find the place empty, it is easy to become politically passive, and this is Diagon Alley. If a battle breaks out, it is easy to cause collateral damage. It seems that we must first figure out the situation inside before we can act."

"First of all, we have to do some reconnaissance work," Anduin thought.

He gently lifted the corner of his cloak, and a raven with black feathers flew out, heading straight for the house.

"It's not like there haven't been any gains from studying bloodline magic for so long. At least the shared vision technology of the flock of birds has been developed in time. Unfortunately, the current operating range is only about 100 meters, which is barely usable."

Anduin gently closed one eye, and then the vision of the raven appeared in his mind.

After flying out, the little raven crossed the small path of Diagon Alley and flew to the top of the house. First, it circled a few times in the air, and then landed on a windowsill on the third floor.