"It turns out this is the gold belt for murder and arson!"
Turning the box over and pouring everything inside it, Carl couldn't help but sigh.
"Deadly Black Magic… Alchemy: Refining Cursed Items… Muggle Dissection Experiment Guide… Eighteen Deadly Poison Formulas."
Ignoring the roughly 300 gold Galleons, he carefully put aside all the magic books that were unavailable on the market.
"Hey… this is a diary."
Among the dozen or so magic books, Carl came across a somewhat worn diary.
He opened it and skimmed through its pages. It turned out to be a collection of the old wizard's memories. Although the entries were scattered, they provided a clear picture of who this dark wizard was.
The old wizard's name was Manu Angel. His mother was a witch, and his father was a Muggle. His mother fell in love with his father because of his charming appearance.
But due to the Statute of Secrecy, she chose to give up her ability to perform magic and live as a Muggle alongside him.
However, when his father eventually discovered the truth — that his wife was a witch — fear overtook him. He teamed up with nearby Muggles to try and burn her and her young son alive.
As a witch, she was unharmed by the flames. She escaped with little Manu through Apparition. But for using magic in the presence of Muggles, she was later captured and imprisoned, where she fell into depression and died.
Manu was raised by his uncle and entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His painful past filled him with a deep resentment toward Muggles and a growing curiosity about black magic.
After graduation, he committed numerous crimes against Muggles, killing more than a hundred and taking the lives of a dozen wizards in the process.
Having heard of Grindelwald's rise, and agreeing with his ideology, Manu was planning to sell some of his poisons in Knockturn Alley and then travel to France to find him.
But in the end, he fell into the hands of Carl — a young wizard with less experience than himself — in a way nobody could have predicted.
Who could have guessed that at 3 a.m. in Knockturn Alley, a man was hiding in a wall, waiting to attack?
The key was not the magic. If Carl had tried to disarm him, the veteran dark wizard would surely have noticed and fought back.
Who could have expected him to dart forward and physically grab the wand away?
The force of the grab was so strong it stripped a layer of skin from Manu's hand, and without his wand, he was powerless.
Carl put away the diary, the magic books, the Galleons, and all the other spoils into his pouch, then walked back down into the basement.
He wanted a proper conversation with the old wizard.
If he tried to learn black magic and alchemy on his own, it would take years — years he didn't have. But with a proficient dark wizard to guide him, his progress could be much faster.
"Tom Foley… it's you!"
In the basement, the bound Manu recognized Carl immediately.
The last of the Foley family — a Sacred Twenty-Eight clan — was not entirely unknown in the British wizarding world. Although Carl's power was not remarkable, his name was fairly well recognized.
"It seems you know me."
Carl's face remained kind, nearly gentle.
Old Manu glared at the small creature, Barry, standing beside him and demanded, "I hadn't crossed you… Why attack me and bring me here in chains?"
"It's true we hadn't crossed paths."
Carl nodded casually.
"To be frank, you were a convenient candidate. I need a teacher who can guide me in the dark arts."
"Teacher?"
Manu fell silent in disbelief.
He'd expected revenge from an injured family, or the Ministry of Magic tying up a loose end — not… this.
Who would kidnap a dark wizard simply to learn from him?
"Mr. Manu, you will stay here for the foreseeable future. Your job is to answer all my questions about black magic honestly.
Don't try to escape. Barry will be watching you.
If you attempt it, I'll kill you immediately and find someone else in Knockturn Alley.
You have to realize there are plenty of dark wizards there. You aren't the only one."
Carl kept smiling, but the killing intent beneath his words made Manu tremble.
He felt that this young wizard was more dangerous than many dark wizards in the alley — and more decisive, too.
"If I answer all your questions… will you let me go?"
Manu pressed quietly.
Carl nodded.
"Don't worry. I swear in the name of the Foley family that if you sincerely teach me black magic and related knowledge, I'll let you go safely."
Of course, this vow was a formality.
Carl wasn't a true Foley; it meant nothing to him.
And even if he did let Manu go, it would be after casting a powerful Forgetfulness Charm to erase all knowledge of their encounter.
"Alright… I promise."
Reluctantly, Manu nodded.
In the wizarding world, a vow made in a pure-blood family's name is a serious matter — nearly unbreakable — which made him believe there might be a way out alive.
"But I must warn you… If you don't teach me properly, or I learn slowly… then I'll kill you anyway."
As Carl finished speaking, with a casual wave of his wand, a cutting curse fell upon a man in a suit who was tied to a nearby wooden cross. His head fell in an instant, and blood spurted across the basement floor.
The few people left alive screamed in fear.
Manu remained unfazed — a veteran dark wizard, not easily unsettled by death — but inwardly, a curse crossed his mind:
"Merlin's pants… If you learn slowly, you'll blame me and kill me for it!"
He kept these thoughts to himself, however.
He recognized the reality of his situation.
He was powerless now; resistance meant death.
He could only hope this young monster was true to his word in the end — although trusting him seemed a dangerous gamble.