Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 9 Successful Transaction
【Broken to pieces】

A faint blue beam of light burst out.

Melvin waved his wand, the tip of the wand against the spell.

The dark blue beam of light hit the center of the transparent light shield condensed by the Iron Armor Spell, making a dull metallic collision sound. In order to seize the initiative, the spell released was not strong. With a light flick of the tip of the wand, the Shattering Spell returned to its original path at a faster speed.

Melvin felt a slight shock on his wrist.

The moleskin-masked black wizard dodged hastily, and the other three quickly cast spells to attack.

[fainted to the ground]

【Total Petrochemicals】

"..."

Melvin easily faced the spells coming from both front and back.

Based on the previous conversation and the four people's spellcasting speed and skills, he quickly determined that the one wearing a moleskin mask was the leader, whose strength might be similar to that of the Aurors of the Magic Congress, while the others were just ordinary adult wizards, and some had failed the Defense Against the Dark Arts class in school.

This made Melvin feel a little emotional. The dark wizards who graduated from Hogwarts were also of varying quality.

But dealing with four dark wizards in this environment is still a bit tricky.

Being in a narrow alley, attacked from both sides, without even any cover to hide his body, spells were fired straight at him, and he had to rely on the Armor Charm to fight them off. It was more or less embarrassing that one wand could not defeat four wands.

However, Wizard Duel is not a turn-based game where you fight back and forth. The extreme environment imposes equal restrictions on both sides. Only by making full use of the environment can you gain the advantage. He happens to be a stage designer, and no one knows how to use the environment better than him!

Hidden magic spread along the brick walls on both sides.

"Boom boom..."

The brick wall was silently transformed. The walls on both sides began to wriggle, and the bricks grew rapidly like vines, blocking the top of the alley in an instant.

At the moment when the last ray of dim skylight was extinguished, the leader of the dark wizards wearing a moleskin mask saw Melvin's actions. He took out the remains of a withered hand from the box, with five fingers half-closed and a candle held in the shriveled palm.

Melvin blew a breath, and the flame suddenly rose up, and a pale light circle flashed by.

The shadow swallowed the entire alley, plunging everything into darkness.

The Dark Wizards quickly understood Melvin's strategy, but they didn't know how to respond or how to stop him.

The alley was only a few feet wide and almost straight, with no cover, but there was room to dodge. They were able to besiege Melvin just now when the vision was clear, but if they cast the spell rashly now, it was very likely that they would kill each other.

A black curtain enveloped the dark alley and also the hearts of the four dark wizards. The atmosphere gradually became solemn, and they could even hear the breathing of their companions... or the breathing of their enemies.

The leader of the dark wizards felt his throat tighten.

【Fluorescent flash】

A ray of silver light burst out. A famous dark wizard couldn't bear the panic and tried to use the illumination spell to see the surroundings clearly, but the silver light released by the wand at this time meant that he could not return to defend in time. Melvin was waiting for such an opportunity. Almost at the moment the silver light was lit, a silently cast repel spell suddenly attacked.

"boom."

The curse hit the chest, and the dark wizard who used the illumination spell was knocked away and hit the brick wall behind him with a dull sound.

The remaining three dark wizards held their breath. Because the spell was cast silently, they heard nothing and could not tell what the spell was. They only saw a flash of green light, and one of their companions was silent again.

Judging from the color of the spell, it could be a repulsive spell or an unforgivable curse.

"..."

The dark wizard leader took a deep breath, raised his wand, and cast the Shield Charm. He stared vigilantly at the darkness ahead and spoke with a weak voice, "Sir, we are willing to pay the price for our ignorance and offense, as long as we can ask for your forgiveness."

"boom."

There was another muffled sound, and there was no movement from the second companion not far away.

The leader of the dark wizards swallowed, his throat seemed to be tightened into a needle. He tried hard to say something, but could only squeeze out some hesitant sounds.

"Sir, we...you..."

"Click, click, click..."

Light footsteps were heard in the dark alley, as if coming from the front, and also from behind, as if death was slowly approaching.

"Huh...huh..."

The breathing of my companions beside me was clearly audible, but still steady.

Beads of sweat formed on the dark wizard leader's forehead. At this moment, a flash of inspiration suddenly occurred to him:
"Sir! Sir! We can provide maps of all wizarding villages in Britain, as well as those in Ireland, Belgium, Denmark... and more! There's a wizarding island in Norway, and we can find it too!"

"Oh?"

The gentleman's voice rang out in his ears, and a pale candlelight appeared out of nowhere, reflecting Melvin's curious expression: "What's the price this time?"

The candlelight also illuminated the alley, blurring the dim corners of vision. An unconscious companion fell to the ground, his life or death unknown.

The companions I thought were always by my side have long been replaced by enemies wandering in the darkness.

The pupils of the dark wizard leader suddenly contracted, and he was so frightened that his heart almost stopped. He stood beside Melvin, looked down at his companion, and moved his lips, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.

Melvin remained calm. He picked up the wooden box and put the Hand of Glory back. "Tell me, what's the price of your map?"

The leader of the dark wizards opened his mouth and gritted his teeth: "As long as you are willing to let me take them away, sir, the map will be given to you for free."

"I'm not in the business of trafficking wizards..."

Melvin shook his head. "How about this? It's still 12 Galleons, but I need you to mark the area and population size of these wizarding settlements. It would be even better if you could also count the ratio of pure-bloods to half-bloods, housing prices, and per capita income."

"what?"

The dark wizard was a little confused.

"I can prepay the goods. Just have an owl deliver the map to the Savoy Hotel..."

Melvin approached with his wand in hand and placed the tip of his wand against his arm. "But in order to ensure the smooth progress of this transaction, we must sign a contract."

A few minutes later, dim light once again filled the alley.

The leader of the dark wizards, wearing a moleskin head, stood at the entrance of the alley, holding a wallet. At his feet lay his three companions, sleeping soundly. Each of them had a part of his left sleeve lifted up, and on his arm was branded a blue seal, a one-stroke Ouroboros.

The figure who left their mark on them had already walked out of the alley.

Melvin kept walking as he recalled what he had seen and heard today.

Although there were some twists and turns in the process, the deal was successfully completed. Business is all about bargaining.

That seal is not the Dark Mark. There is a small curse inside it. It just looks scary.

Walk out of the alley and look back.

Occasionally, a dark shadow would leap from a dark corner, making a rustling sound. Sometimes it was an earless black cat or neko, sometimes a house elf carrying a wooden box. The nearest exit to Knockturn Alley was a pharmacy, with a row of glass jars in the window, and eyeballs soaked in purple potion floating up and down.

The whole street was like a dank, abandoned intestine of Diagon Alley, curled up in the cracks of London's brick walls.

……

Half an hour later, at the Leaky Cauldron.

Now is the busiest time of the day in the tavern. Wizards holding beer mugs are gathered around the bar, talking enthusiastically about what happened during the day. The noise is so loud that it hurts the ears.

Old Tom sat quietly in the corner holding the Daily Prophet, pretending to read it seriously.

Melvin ordered a butterbeer and, looking at him, couldn't help but wonder, "Old Tom, why aren't you greeting the guests up front? What are you doing hiding here?" "I'm in the midst of deep sorrow."

"..."

Melvin was silent for a while. He had been here for almost two weeks, but he was still not used to the way British wizards chatted.

"Why are you sad?"

"Daily Prophet."

"What? The newspaper is going to close down?"

"That's not the case..." Old Tom shook his head, holding the newspaper. "The Daily Prophet has a history as old as the Leaky Cauldron. As long as there are wizards in this land, the newspaper will remain open."

"What's that? Is there an obituary for one of your old classmates or friends on it?"

"No, they don't have to run a bar, so they should live longer than me."

"If it's not the obituary of someone your age, then it's an elder in the family? A professor from your student days? Or the girl next door you had a crush on?" Melvin was more interested in the last item.

"Uh……"

Seeing his speculation going off the deep end, Old Tom quickly said, "I'm worried because the newspaper clearly has something about me, but it doesn't mention my name."

Melvin immediately became interested and took the newspaper to check it out. The first headline that caught his eye was:

Report on the Gringotts Break-in Incident

"The investigation into this afternoon's break-in at Gringotts is ongoing. It is widely believed to be the work of unknown dark wizards and witches. Gringotts goblins reiterated today that nothing was stolen. The vault searched by the intruders had in fact been emptied earlier this morning. A Gringotts goblin spokesperson stated this afternoon that they have no comment on the contents of the vault and urge refrain from interfering in the matter."

Melvin stared at the newspaper, then looked at Old Tom, pondered for a moment, and showed a thoughtful expression.

Old Tom felt something was wrong: "Hey, that's not what I'm talking about! It's the news on page two!"

Melvin turned the page.

The Savior of the Wizarding World Arrives! Harry Potter Appears in Diagon Alley Buying Back-to-School Supplies

"London: This morning, Harry Potter, the savior of the world, accompanied by Hogwarts gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid, entered Diagon Alley for the first time to do his back-to-school shopping. The "Boy-Who-Lived," who defeated You-Know-Who as a baby, officially entered wizarding society on his eleventh birthday. At 11:10 a.m., a commotion broke out in the Leaky Cauldron..."

Old Tom sighed and muttered wistfully, "We've mentioned the Leaky Cauldron, but why didn't you mention that I was the first to recognize the lightning scar on his head and the first to shake his hand and congratulate him?"

"Should we also mention Kodoli, who shook hands second, and Di Ge, who shook hands third?"

"How do you know?" Old Tom looked puzzled. "I remember you weren't in the bar at the time."

"The whole bar is talking about this, and my ears are callused from hearing it."

"That's Harry Potter, the boy who defeated You-Know-Who. Who can resist being overwhelmed with emotion when hearing his name and seeing his face again?"

"That's true. The tavern business is much better than usual."

“It’s mainly because school is about to start.”

"Yeah, school is about to start."

Melvin took a sip of his beer, salty and sweet.

A new professor of Muggle Studies is also coming.

For the next month, the newspapers continued to report on the Gringotts robbery on their front pages, but there was no conclusion to the case.

The supplement page introduces the legendary story of Harry Potter. Rita Skeeter dug up some information about the Potters from somewhere and found several experts in the field of black magic to try to restore the truth of what happened that night.

The plot is full of ups and downs, and one even suspects that the Potters have an unknown emotional entanglement with a mysterious person.

Old Tom was sitting at the bar. When he picked up the newspaper, he saw that the article did not dare to call the man's name directly, but dared to make up his story. He inexplicably admired the reporter Skeeter. His courage was worthy of admiration.

Melvin lived in Charing Cross Road and wandered around Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, looking for goods that might be useful and collecting information of interest.

Drinkers rarely mentioned Professor Lewinter who had appeared in the newspapers, but students and parents who were buying stationery with their back-to-school lists would always mention this name, and Melvin could feel the magic slowly growing.

Although he still hasn't figured out the principle, it doesn't prevent him from benefiting from it.

……

Late August, morning.

In a room on the second floor of the Savoy Hotel.

"For small-format photos, use 4 ounces..."

Melvin stared at the developing solution and photos on the table, feeling a little confused.

How small is small format?

Do different qualities of developer require the same dosage?

"Never mind. It's always better to pour more."

Melvin gave up his hesitation, unscrewed the cork, poured the clear developing solution into the tray, then immersed the photos he received in the solution. All that was left was to wait patiently.

He put the tray aside and then picked up the map information next to it and started flipping through it page by page.

“West Overton in Wiltshire;

“The town of Dingworth in Cornwall;

“Upper Flagley in Yorkshire;

"..."

There are so many wizarding communities in Britain.

These are all small places, not counting the major wizarding villages such as Hogsmeade and Godric.

Melvin put down his sloppily hand-drawn map and flipped through the accompanying data.

The small pile of parchment was all copied by hand. The handwriting was neat and there were no ink clumps, but there was no paragraphing at all, not to mention organizing it into statistical charts. It seemed a bit troublesome to extract numbers from long paragraphs of words.

Although the four dark wizards have limited abilities, their attitudes are still correct.

Melvin didn't spend too much time organizing the data in the materials into a table and displaying it in the notebook next to him.

He looked at the data table, tapping the paper lightly with his fingers, and muttered softly, "Who said there are only 3,000 wizards in the UK? Do you understand the magical world?"

Not only are there more wizard settlements than expected, the population size is also larger than expected. These small places are hiding hundreds of wizards, and if the wizards' family members and relatives are included, the number is even larger.

It is indeed an old wizarding country.

The color of the photo immersed in the developing solution was slightly blurred, the edges were a little fuzzy, the rough edges trembled briefly, and the figures on it began to move.

The pedestrians on the street are wearing strange styles, medieval robes, steampunk blouses, Victorian dresses. Residents from different eras are walking on the same street. The shops on both sides of the road also seem to be from different eras, some with new signs and some with old signs.

Honeydukes Candy Shop

Mrs. Puddifoot's Tea House

"..."

(End of this chapter)