Saying goodbye to Dumbledore, Aiden Apparated directly into Knockturn Alley.
The alley was a chaotic tapestry of dark wizards in black robes of all shapes and sizes, some merely loitering, others collapsed on the roadside. A figure as pure and beautiful as Aiden stepping into such a place instantly drew the attention of every wizard present. Greed, resentment, malice, and tyranny spread through the air as the inhabitants of Knockturn Alley quickly surrounded him.
Unfortunately for them, they were not encircling a defenseless rabbit. On the contrary, the dragon at the center of the storm was already poised to strike.
"Bedlam."
The power of Bedlam, an ability from his Dream Walker Sequence, impacted the mind-bodies of the surrounding wizards. The malice they carried was detonated within themselves by Aiden's hand. The dark wizards began to collapse row by row, the effect spreading outward from the center like a ripple.
"Oh, a great harvest." Aiden took out a box with an Undetectable Extension Charm and began collecting the unconscious forms, tossing them in one by one. As he worked, he deliberately raised his nose and sniffed the air. "This poor and sour smell... it's someone from the Borgin family, isn't it?"
Aiden's beautiful eyes looked over, and a wizard with greasy hair and wearing a tattered robe walked out from the shadows.
"Hmph," Borgin sneered, a mocking expression on his face. "Is someone from the Prewett family joining the ranks of the Dark Wizards? Your ancestors must be weeping, boy."
"Perfect," Aiden said. "Since you've shown your face, join them." Aiden stomped on the ground with force, creating a shallow pit, and his figure instantly blurred from the spot.
Borgin felt only a flicker of motion before his eyes. The next second, a pair of dazzling heterochromatic pupils appeared before him. Borgin saw the person in front of him raising a fist, and the protective alchemical items on his body unfolded. Several layers of shields appeared around him. Borgin originally intended to elegantly take out his wand, but in the blink of an eye, a crisp cracking sound rang out, and all the protective tools on Borgin's hands and neck exploded. A white fist was already close at hand, and Borgin could no longer react except for his pupils constricting in terror.
With a "bang," a large bump swelled on Borgin's head, and his last thought before falling into a baby-like sleep was: "So strong..."
Aiden looked at the unconscious Borgin, patted the dust off his clothes, walked over, picked him up, and stuffed him into the box.
After packing up all the dark wizards, Aiden picked up the box and said, "Professor, how long are you planning to watch?"
"Well, good children shouldn't run outside of school to fight." Accompanied by an aged voice, Dumbledore emerged from the void.
"We have to make some arrangements, otherwise, we'll just watch him organize his forces?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"Well, anyway, the old man is just a headmaster and can't control students running outside of school." Dumbledore walked out with a licorice wand in his mouth.
Aiden picked up the box and walked into Borgin's alchemical shop. He waved his wand, and the shop's door closed tightly, the curtains of the display window lowering. Then, Aiden switched his short wand for his long staff. The crystal stone at its tip emitted light, and the space around the shop began to twist and slowly expand.
After setting up a huge and wide venue in the expanded space, Aiden dumped the wizards from the box. There were about thirty-five wizards in the impromptu arena. Some with strong willpower had already begun to wake up, but with the intervention of the Dream Walker's powerful mind control ability, the wizards present were all quickly subdued and controlled.
"Ahem." Aiden cleared his throat.
"Repeat after me."
"Repeat after me." The chorus of thirty-five voices echoed back.
Aiden: "..."
"An outsider not belonging to this world..." Aiden recited the oath, and the surrounding wizards followed him, the atmosphere in the shop resembling a bizarre ritual site.
"An outsider not belonging to this world, the great master of the sea of consciousness, the gray-white dragon who controls the mind, I voluntarily join the secret assembly, adhere to the truth, and strive tirelessly for the coexistence of wizards and ordinary people." The thirty-five voices repeated in unison.
'Finally, let's implant an activation command for them,' Aiden thought. He spoke aloud, "When someone says the command to you, you need to unconditionally help that person. The command is 'Daydream Dragon'."
"Daydream Dragon." Thirty-five voices repeated the command.
[Heh, voluntarily.] The System sent a message of ironic consolation.
'Hmph, you're just jealous,' Aiden thought, reaching out and scratching the gem hanging on his neck.
[Don't forget who is processing your oaths for you and who is diligently helping you transform the oath-takers into anchors.] The System said proudly.
"Alright, alright, it's all my fault." Aiden began to coax his System.
[By the way, are you really planning to let these people maintain peace?] the System asked.
"How is that possible?" Aiden scoffed. "Expecting a group of Dark Wizards to maintain peace is impossible. The only purpose of me acting in advance is to ensure that the forces organized after that guy is resurrected are under my control."
Aiden waved his wand, released the collective hypnosis, and then skillfully hid himself in a conscious blind spot. The awakened dark wizards seemed very confused as to why they had fallen in this strange place. Some sharp-eyed people recognized it as Borgin's shop.
"Damn Borgin!"
"Do you want to be our enemy?"
"Let us out quickly, or you'll be sorry!"
Borgin also woke up from the crowd, and he hurriedly went to open the shop's door. After the wizards squeezed out, Borgin looked at his now empty shop and felt a nagging sense that he had missed something important.
Outside Knockturn Alley, Aiden was scouting around. The dark wizards and Knockturn Alley had formed a unique symbiotic system. Knockturn Alley provided a place for the dark wizards to live, and the dark wizards, in turn, would stand up to resist the Ministry's purges when Knockturn Alley came under threat. As a result, more and more dark wizards settled there, and it became a lawless zone. Then, as a gray area beyond the reach of the law, it naturally attracted gray businesses, which revitalized the local economy.
"Perhaps I can go back and write a socio-ecological investigation report on Knockturn Alley?" Aiden thought, stroking his chin.
[And then add bricks and tiles to your Dark Lord's road, right?] The System rolled its eyes, which Aiden, of course, couldn't see.
Crossing the intersection of Knockturn Alley, Aiden returned to Diagon Alley. Although both were "alleys," the atmosphere was starkly different. Walking into the Leaky Cauldron, Aiden saw Hagrid drinking butterbeer, with two Aurors following him like shadows.
"Aiden, what are you doing here?" Hagrid asked, surprised.
"Came out to exonerate you." Aiden winked at Hagrid.
"Oh, you don't have to do all this for me, Aiden," Hagrid said, his eyes a little downcast.
"Alright, since you're already out, lower your head." Aiden took out his wand and commanded.
[Want to give him a buff?] The System complained.
'Running errands,' Aiden mentally glared at the System.
Then, Aiden extracted a strand of memory from Hagrid's head, dating back fifty years. It recorded that the animals Hagrid cultivated fifty years ago were Acromantulas and that he knew nothing about Myrtle. After putting the extracted memory in a glass bottle, Aiden left the Leaky Cauldron.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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