After buying the wand, Lockhart sent Ron back to school.
He personally had Ron return through the fireplace in Ollivanders and even cautiously confirmed with Professor Sprout through the Floo connection that Ron had arrived safely.
After all, taking a second-year student off campus was already somewhat against the rules.
If he took the boy into Knockturn Alley, a place filled with Dark Wizards, then Professor McGonagall would definitely have opinions about it.
At Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, Lockhart purchased a black wizard robe with a large hood.
Then, while passing by a shop, he casually picked up one of the goofy masks being distributed for the shop’s anniversary celebration, stamped with a publisher’s “GG” logo.
Only then did he head towards the Leaky Cauldron at the mouth of the alley.
Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, provided certain lesser-known services, such as temporarily lending guests a room in which to change clothes.
Such things were quite common in this tavern, which was positioned between Knockturn Alley, Diagon Alley, and the Muggle world outside.
Lockhart merely gave Tom a subtle nod, and the man immediately understood.
Carrying an oil lamp with practiced familiarity, Tom led Lockhart through the dim hallway behind the guest rooms and opened a small room on the second floor.
After Lockhart had changed his clothes, Tom guided him down another staircase that led directly into Knockturn Alley.
Far too many people recognized the internationally famous author, Lockhart.
Some desperate and impoverished Dark Wizards would not hesitate to seek ‘fortune’ from him.
Moreover, his public identity wasn’t suitable for him to appear openly in such a place, so he often disguised himself as a Dark Wizard before coming here.
Covering oneself completely from head to toe was an extremely common sight in Knockturn Alley.
He quickly arrived at Borgin and Burkes.
It was impossible to miss.
Occupying the best location in Knockturn Alley, this shop was the largest establishment there.
It was a standalone building with two bright, protruding glass display windows.
It openly displayed precious magical artifacts for the sinister Dark Wizards roaming the streets to see, without the slightest fear of robbery.
When he arrived, an elegant and beautiful young noblewoman was selecting antique jewelry inside.
She was none other than the pure-blood fangirl who had previously sent Lockhart photos of her in a swimsuit.
Receiving that letter on the day of his transmigration had greatly stimulated him and instantly ignited his yearning for the wizarding world.
Lockhart did not approach her to greet her.
Instead, he waited patiently nearby.
He slipped a hand into his robes to calm the restless Golden Retriever within.
The moment it entered the jewelery shop, it became as excited as a dog falling into a dung heap.
As powerful as it was, it showed no fear of the protective curses that Mr.
Borgin had placed on the merchandise, but this was clearly not the time.
Finally, once the young noblewoman had left, satisfied with her jewelry, Lockhart stepped towards the counter from beside the shelves.
Before he could get close, however, the gilded mummy sarcophagus displayed beside the counter suddenly began to shake violently.
Mr.
Borgin’s expression changed instantly.
He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Lockhart.
“Stop right there!
What are you trying to do?” Lockhart’s expression stiffened as he looked at the wand aimed directly at him.
This was completely different from dealing with people like Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall.
The Dark Wizards of Knockturn Alley might very well attack first and ask questions later.
In his current state, he was completely incapable of fighting.
In fact, he didn’t possess any strength at all.
Basically, he was a Muggle.
Even the slightest probing spell would instantly expose him.
It felt like entering a criminal gang hideout full of armed killers while completely barehanded, naturally filling him with unease.
But precisely because of that, he absolutely couldn’t show any weakness!
“Pointing a wand at me is hardly polite.” He said.
Lockhart snorted coldly.
He deliberately patted the pocket of his robe to calm the Golden Retriever.
Clearly, this Dark Creature had triggered the shop’s defensive magical artifacts.
“It’s me, Mr.
Borgin.” As he spoke, he removed his mask, facing away from the shop entrance.
Once Mr.
Borgin recognized him, he put the mask back on immediately.
“I don’t know what’s in your pocket, but keep it under control.” Mr.
Borgin tapped the mummy sarcophagus with his wand, calming it down.
Then he pulled a box down from the shelf behind him.
Inside was a crystal skull with a long, pointed beak.
Excluding the beak itself, it was slightly larger than an adult human skull.
“What is this?” Even a well-informed man like Lockhart hadn’t seen everything before.
He looked at the object curiously.
“Friend, you came at a terrible time.
The family responsible for crafting Pensieves is currently in the middle of a massive inheritance dispute.
Nobody has time to make Pensieves right now.
As for the American channels, the Aurors are watching them too closely, so nothing can be shipped over at the moment.’ Mr.
Borgin removed the skull from the box, flipped it upside down onto the table, and opened the lower beak to reveal the inside of the skull.
Its shape resembled an ancient bronze wine vessel from Lockhart’s previous life.
“This one’s used,” Mr.
Borgin admitted openly.
“But I had someone cleanse the remaining memories inside using potions.
If you don’t mind, you can treat it as a brand-new Pensieve.” Toward a regular customer and supplier like Lockhart, Mr.
Borgin didn’t bother hiding this information.
“What an unusual design!” Lockhart lifted the crystal skull and held it in his hands, noting that it wasn’t particularly heavy.
“It’s made from the skull of an Occamy,” Mr.
Borgin explained regretfully.
“The oldest Egyptian technique for crafting skeletal crystal Pensieves.
Its value is extraordinarily high…” He sighed.
“Using an Occamy’s properties to create a Pensieve like this is truly top-tier craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, something went wrong during the transaction, and the previous owner, who knew the controlling incantation, died.” “Something went wrong?” Lockhart scoffed inwardly.
It was more likely that they had simply robbed and murdered the owner.
Naturally, a dead man couldn’t reveal the password to his magical safe.
Occamies were fascinating magical creatures capable of changing size at will.
At their largest, they could exceed the size of dragons.
At their smallest, they could slip effortlessly into a tiny teapot.
Clearly, the craftsman who created this Pensieve had exploited this property to make it portable.
Unfortunately, nobody knew the incantation needed to control its size anymore.
This feature was therefore useless.
“Fortunately, it can still work together with this.” Mr.
Borgin pulled a tiny cloth bag from beneath the counter.
It was made of coarse burlap and looked rather poorly crafted.
Holding the bag in one hand and the crystal Occamy skull in the other, he laboriously stuffed the large magical artefact inside.
To Lockhart’s surprise, the massive crystal skull disappeared easily into the palm-sized pouch.
“A bag enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm…” Lockhart was tempted.
Items like this were extremely rare.
Under orders from the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards, the use of this spell was heavily restricted.
Aurors investigated such items very aggressively, making them difficult to find even on the black market.
Nevertheless, he showed no interest.
Instead, he glanced disdainfully at the crude-looking sack, curling his lip as he did so.
“Mr.
Borgin, do you really think this is equivalent?” Mr.
Borgin tossed the bag onto the table and spread his hands.
“I think it’s close enough.” Heh.
Lockhart couldn’t be bothered to argue.
He simply asked: “How much?” Mr.
Borgin narrowed his eyes, revealing the greasy smile unique to unscrupulous merchants as he rubbed his hands together eagerly.
“The batch of goods you asked me to handle last time?
The price matches perfectly.
We’re even.” Oh?
Lockhart hadn’t expected that the previous Lockhart still had a shipment stored with Borgin.
Searching quickly through his memories, his expression immediately darkened.
“Matches perfectly?
Mr.
Borgin, that’s not appropriate.” Motherf…
You profiteering crook!
At this point, he no longer cared about appearing weak.
He slammed both hands onto the counter, leaned forward aggressively, and glared down at the old man.
Mr.
Borgin was clearly intimidated by his presence.
After all, he had no idea that Lockhart was bluffing.
In his memory, Lockhart was a ruthless individual who could always acquire high-quality illicit goods.
Borgin subconsciously shrank back and swallowed nervously before weakly explaining, “Ordinary Pensieves would naturally be cheaper, but this is a top-tier Pensieve!
Not one of those crude mud or stone Pensieves.
Just the alchemical process required to crystallize an Occamy skull is extraordinarily rare and extremely expensive.” Lockhart listened to the entire speech with a cold smile before casually interrupting.
“It’s secondhand.” “Hey!
You can use it as if it were brand new!
It doesn’t affect functionality at all!” Mr.
Borgin protested anxiously.
“The Occamy skull itself is precious, but it has lost its unique properties.
Without the controlling incantation, the Occamy aspect is meaningless.” Lockhart’s tone dripped with disdain as he spoke.
People who criticize merchandise are the real buyers.
Those who aren’t interested simply walk away.
Mr.
Borgin clearly understood this.
He braced both hands on the counter, rose onto his toes, and glared fiercely with his aged eyes.
“You need to learn how to appreciate quality!” ‘Appreciate quality?’ Of course Lockhart appreciated quality.
His eyes swept rapidly across the shop.
There were many items here whose names and histories he could easily identify: The shriveled hand inside the glass case was the Hand of Glory.
It had been crafted from the hand of a greedy gambler.
If a lit candle was placed inside it, only the holder of the Hand of Glory could see the candlelight.
The grotesque wooden mask hanging on the wall had no official name.
Masks like this were generally used by tribal wizards and shamans in Africa.
They carried a twisted evil force capable of inducing fear and mental distortion in those who looked upon them.
The large black cabinet was the matching Vanishing Cabinet, connected to the one hidden inside Hogwarts.
In the original story, it was repaired by Draco Malfoy.
The opal necklace was covered in malicious curses.
This elegant piece of jewellry naturally possessed a fairy-tale-like atmosphere due to its deadly curses.
Mr.
Borgin displayed it so solemnly because it had already killed nineteen Muggles, granting it the mystique of a dark legend.
There were simply too many such items.
Lockhart could recount the stories behind many of the artifacts inside Borgin and Burkes.
After quickly sorting through the original Lockhart’s memories and his own memories of the story, he picked up a glass jar from one of the shelves.
Inside was an eyeball, rolling around constantly.
He placed it beside the cloth bag.
“Add this too, and we’ll call it even.” Mr.
Borgin shouted immediately: “Absolutely not!” “I know you’ll still make a profit, you greedy swindler!” Lockhart shot back.
“I risked my life obtaining that shipment.
Don’t forget that!” “You damned author, you are greedier than I am!” Mr.
Borgin slammed his fist on the counter angrily.
“Do you have any idea how valuable this magical eye is?
Alastor Moody has one just like it.
That’s how he achieved such legendary accomplishments!” “Oh?
Is that so?” Lockhart crossed his arms and sneered down at him.
“I imagine Moody knows exactly where his magical eye came from.
But I don’t know the origin of this one.” “It’s said that magical eyes like this were originally created in pairs.
For all I know, the other eye might not have been destroyed or lost, it could be in someone’s hands, waiting to be used to curse whoever possesses this eye.” Mr.
Borgin stared at him with a sinister fake smile.
“If you know that, then why do you still want to buy it?” But his smile quickly vanished.
Lockhart suddenly reached into his robe pocket and lifted out the golden retriever by the back of its neck.
Although it obediently refrained from attacking, simply looking at it caused a primal terror to rise from the depths of a person’s soul.
Mr.
Borgin screamed in horror.
“A Three-Legged Creature?!
Get that monster away from me!
Take it away!” Lockhart chuckled darkly.
“Of course I dare buy it.
This magical eye is just a toy that I’m buying for it.” The golden retriever stared excitedly at the eyeball inside the glass jar, its eyes shining brightly as it chirped pleadingly at Lockhart.
“See?
It likes it very much.” Lockhart raised an eyebrow at Mr.
Borgin.
“I’m losing money on this deal…” Mr Borgin instinctively backed away from the powerful dark creature, pressing himself tightly against the mummy sarcophagus.
Even that failed to provide any sense of safety.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded irritably, as though shooing away flies.
“Take it, take it!
But if you bring that monster here again next time, don’t even think about entering my shop!” The transaction was completed happily by both sides.
The reason Lockhart intentionally revealed the Golden Retriever was naturally to let Mr.
Borgin know the magical eye would end up in the creature’s possession.
Heh.
If Borgin truly intended to use some hidden curse through the rumored second eye, he’d better not blame anyone if the backlash killed him instead.
Of course, this wasn’t merely a toy for the Golden Retriever.
Lockhart remembered very clearly what would happen at Hogwarts during this year… The Basilisk hidden within the Chamber of Secrets would begin appearing.
This magical eye would grant him the ability to look directly at the Basilisk.
Danger was approaching.
Naturally, preparations had to be made in advance.