Disguised as the gaunt, red-haired man, Damian's eyes were cold and sinister.
He expressionlessly reached into his robes, bypassing the fabric to access a pouch woven with an Undetectable Extension Charm. He pulled out twenty vials of swirling purple liquid.
"Twenty vials of Stupefying Draught," Damian said, his voice raspy and unrecognizable. "You can check the goods."
The short, fat wizard rubbed his grubby hands together. "This isn't our first trade. I trust you, Gelman!"
Still, Mundungus Fletcher eagerly took the potions. He popped the cork off one vial and took a deep sniff, a highly satisfied expression spreading across his face.
Mundungus often used these highly potent sleeping draughts to silently knock out his targets before making off with their valuables.
He pulled a heavy, clinking bag of Galleons from his battered coat and handed it over. "Settled!"
Just as Damian finished mentally weighing the coins, the shadows around them shifted. Six wizards in ragged black cloaks stepped out of the gloom, surrounding the pair in a tight semi-circle.
Their eyes locked greedily onto the bag of Galleons in Damian's hand.
However, the one-eyed wizard leading the pack pointed his wand directly at Mundungus. "Fletcher! I've finally cornered you, you little rat!"
Mundungus trembled violently at the sound of the voice, absolute terror crossing his face. He immediately turned to flee, but the secluded, dead-end corner he had chosen for their illegal deal now entirely blocked his escape.
Realizing he was trapped, Mundungus plastered on a fawning, desperate smile. "Raynor! I don't recall ever offending you. Why, we were just drinking together the other night!"
The one-eyed wizard sneered. "Don't remember? Then let me help jog your memory. "Crucio!"
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Mundungus collapsed to the filthy cobblestones. He screamed in pure agony, his body violently thrashing as if he were being sliced open by a thousand burning blades.
The pain was mind-shattering. He could do nothing but writhe and roll through the sewage and muck.
Raynor shouted over the screams, "Starting to remember now? "Crucio!"
Another bolt of unforgiving red light struck the thief. The extreme, blinding pain caused Mundungus's mind to completely shut down; his body merely twitched on pure, agonizing instinct.
The one-eyed wizard seemed to thoroughly enjoy the process, a cruel, ugly smile spreading across his scarred face.
"Fletcher bought those Stupefying Draughts from you, didn't he? We saw the whole exchange!" Raynor's tone shifted as he snapped his wand toward Damian. "He stole a lot of valuable merchandise from me last time. It's only fair you compensate me, too."
With a nearly imperceptible flick of his right wrist, Damian's wand slid silently from his sleeve into his waiting palm.
"What he does with the potions is none of my business," Damian said in a low, dangerous voice. "Our transaction is already finished."
Raynor saw the wand, but a flash of sheer disdain crossed his lone eye. He looked greedily at Damian. "There are six of us, boy! If you don't want a taste of the Cruciatus yourself, hand over the Galleons!"
Seeing that Damian remained completely unmoved, the impatient wizard slashed his wand through the air. "Crucio!"
Damian moved faster than a striking snake. He flicked his wand, wordlessly casting a powerful Summoning Charm.
The most conspicuous, heavily-built wizard of the group was violently yanked forward, acting as a fleshy shield. He absorbed the brilliant red light meant for Damian.
"Aaaaaah!!!" Just like Mundungus, the wizard couldn't withstand the Unforgivable Curse and began convulsing uncontrollably.
Damian flicked his wand again, magically banishing the twitching man forward. The heavy wizard crashed directly into Raynor.
The one-eyed leader was knocked flat on his back, heavily winded and pinned down by his own thrashing comrade.
"Damn it! Kill him!" the other four wizards roared. Faces twisted in rage, they drew their wands and began firing.
A barrage of lethal, brightly colored spells shot toward Damian.
Damian pointed his wand at the cobblestones. The damp street instantly transfigured into a massive, thick stone wall, absorbing the incoming magic with a series of deafening cracks.
Before the attackers could readjust, the boulder levitated into the air and violently shattered. A localized meteor shower of jagged rocks pelted the four men!
The dark wizards hurriedly threw up Shield Charms.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The heavy impact of the stones against the magical shields kicked up a thick cloud of dust and debris, momentarily blinding everyone in the alley.
But Damian didn't stop. Relying entirely on his spatial memory, he slashed his wand repeatedly into the dust cloud.
"Diffindo!" Sharp whistles sliced the air as four localized, crescent-shaped Severing Charms swept forward. A chorus of wet, agonizing screams immediately followed.
As the dust slowly settled, three of the wizards lay bleeding heavily on the ground, groaning in pain. Besides Damian, only one wizard remained standing.
Damian walked toward him expressionlessly. With every step he took, a wordless Stunner erupted from his wand, striking the downed wizards and putting them entirely out of commission.
The last standing wizard stared at Damian in absolute, pants-wetting terror. The hand gripping his wand shook so violently he could barely hold it straight.
He tried to raise his arm to cast, but his muscles simply wouldn't obey. He could only back away, shouting in a trembling voice, "Don't come any closer!!!"
A final flash of blue light ended his panic. Now, Damian was the only one left standing in the secluded corner of Knockturn Alley.
"Avada Kedavra!!!"
Raynor, the one-eyed wizard who had been the first to fall, had regained his footing! Propped up against the wall, he roared the incantation, firing the Killing Curse directly at Damian's back.
But Damian hadn't let his guard down for a second. He reflexively dove hard to the left. The sickly green beam of death streaked past his right shoulder, missing him by mere inches.
Even as he dove, Damian snapped his wand around, firing a brutal, wordless counter-spell.
A transparent Severing Charm whipped across the alley and cleanly struck the one-eyed wizard's neck.
Raynor's eyes bulged, and he instantly went silent, collapsing to the cobblestones for the last time.
"So poor," Damian muttered, dusting off his robes.
After a quick search of the bodies, he only found a few dozen Sickles and Galleons on the six wizards. Fortunately, there were also six untraceable wands, which would fetch a decent price on the black market.
He hadn't actually wanted to get involved in a street brawl. He didn't care about Mundungus Fletcher in the slightest. But those six wizards had been blinded by greed, and as an innocent bystander, he'd been forced to clean up their mess.
Mundungus was now sitting slumped against the damp brick wall, his body still twitching with violent aftershocks. The lingering nerve damage of enduring two consecutive Cruciatus Curses had not yet passed.
He opened his mouth to speak, but only a dry rasp came out.
Damian casually pulled two small vials from his magically extended pocket. "A Calming Draught and a potent Pain-Relief Potion. These will help soothe your nervous system."
Once Mundungus snatched the vials, Damian offered a gentle, entirely business-like smile. "That will be one hundred Galleons total. Thank you for your continued patronage."
Mundungus's face twitched—this time from the sheer pain of the extortionate price. Still, having just watched the boy butcher a six-man hit squad, he nodded frantically and downed both potions.
His pallid complexion improved almost immediately. After resting for a moment to catch his breath, he frantically fumbled through his coat pockets. But even after emptying them, he only scraped together about fifty Galleons.
Desperate, he pulled out a square, wooden music box. "This... this is damaged, but it's dark alchemy. It can slightly interfere with a wizard's magical flow. Can this cover the remaining fifty?"
Damian took the music box and examined it closely. It was only about the size of his palm and exquisitely carved with runic symbols, though there was a significant, jagged crack down its side. He could feel a faint, chaotic ripple of magic pulsing within the wood.
Seeing Damian's interest, Mundungus swallowed hard. "Try it out. Just turn the winding key on the side."
Damian slowly wound the tarnished brass key. The slightly protruding cylinder inside began to rotate at a steady speed. Because of the damage, the haunting, metallic melody it produced was intermittent and slightly distorted.
The moment the notes hit his ears, Damian felt the magic within his own core stutter. The steady flow of his magical energy became suddenly uneven and difficult to grasp.
However, as long as he actively concentrated on circulating his magic, he could easily overpower the interference.
Still, while the disruption was slight, a sudden, unexpected stutter in an opponent's magical flow during a high-stakes duel could be a fatal advantage.
Damian silenced the box and slipped it into his pocket with a satisfied nod. "This will cover the fifty Galleons."
Every 100 stones = 1 EXTRA CHAPTER