Faced with this realisation—
The black marketeer became utterly convinced: these two were undercover agents, collecting dark money and sweeping up the filth that festered beneath the wizarding world's surface.
"I swear, I was only dealing in non-lethal items!"
The man had just started to protest when Ian pulled a twisted, runic puppet from his robes—a cursed object used for dark enchantments.
"Non-lethal, was it?"
The wizard immediately changed his tone, suddenly sheepish and evasive.
"Surely there's more than just this rubbish?" Ian wasn't actually worried about whether the goods were legal or not—he was more annoyed by how unimpressive the haul was. Dozens of emptied pockets, and still nothing worth writing home about.
"That's all I've got, mate! If I had real gold, I'd be running a shop in Knockturn Alley, wouldn't I? I wouldn't be flogging goods behind a pub!"
The cloaked man pulled the most pitiful expression he could muster.
Ian, no stranger to faking sympathy, wasn't buying it for a second.
"I used Felix Felicis to track you, remember?"
He grinned, then turned to Aurora. "Did you finish brewing that Veritaserum? Think we could spare a touch for our friend here?"
Aurora nodded briskly.
"Of course. Just a little, right?"
With that, she pulled out a very large flask.
"??????"
The black market wizard's eyes went wide.
What in Merlin's name...?
You've got Felix Felicis and a stash of Veritaserum, and this is what you use it for—shaking down a black market peddler? Did the Ministry of Magic tip you off that I was hoarding something priceless?
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"
The black-cloaked wizard, watching Aurora approach with the enormous flask, panicked and instantly changed his mind. He tried to confess on the spot, but Aurora wasn't about to let this golden opportunity to test her potion go to waste.
"Glug glug, hoot hoot~"
The wizard was force-fed several mouthfuls of the potion without ceremony.
Moments later, his eyes glazed over, and his mind spiraled; he couldn't stop himself from blurting out every thought, from criminal dealings to the rather revolting confession that he'd once lusted after his elder brother's wife and had even commissioned a cursed puppet to charm her affection.
The effect of Veritaserum was nothing short of terrifying.
Just three drops could force someone to spill their most deeply buried truths, but for best results, it was often administered subtly, before the target even realised. Otherwise, some clever witches or wizards might fake a choking fit or transfigure their vocal cords to resist its effects, but with Aurora's preparation, none of that mattered.
She used a large enchanted feeding tube, slipping it down the wizard's throat and directly into his stomach— a method more common when slaughtering magical livestock, which made Ian wince and mutter that she looked more like an executioner than a student.
"What about your real stash?"
Ian was far more interested in treasure than in tales of twisted romance.
"It's in my teeth! Enchanted! My brother modified them for me— he's a dark wizard too, but he's already got three full shops in Knockturn Alley!"
"My sister-in-law only loves his Galleons, I swear I'll poison the bloke and marry her myself once I'm rid of him!"
The black-cloaked wizard was in full confession mode now, incapable of holding anything back.
"Right then. No doubt we caught the right man," Ian muttered grimly. He couldn't stand this kind of person. He pried open the man's jaw and shattered every enchanted tooth with a well-aimed curse.
As the man slumped down, blood dribbling from his gums, Ian and Aurora turned on their heels and vanished into the night without another word.
"Nooo!"
Not long after, the dazed black marketeer stirred and caught a glimpse of himself reflected in the frozen lake, his mouth bloodied and toothless. The scream he let out echoed for miles, raw and agonised.
"I'll report this! I'll go straight to the Aurors and turn myself in! I'll tell the Ministry! Report that whole black-robed patrol squad!"
Now that he had nothing left, his contraband gone, his enchanted teeth destroyed, the man was ready to blow the whistle, even if it meant dragging himself down in the process.
It seemed he truly had been scared straight.
By that time, Ian and Aurora had already made it back through the hidden passage into Hogwarts. Not only had they confiscated crates of banned magical artefacts, but each of them had also managed to secure a dragon egg.
That had been the real prize hidden inside the man's enchanted molars.
Even though Ian already owned a massive skeletal bone dragon and had little regard for the modern crossbred dragons, he still knew the market value of a dragon egg. In the wizarding black market, they were rare, they were coveted and often fought over.
And if he handed it over to Hagrid—
Merlin knew how much the gamekeeper would adore it, and how many rare ingredients from the Forbidden Forest he'd offer in return as thanks!
"Felix Felicis was worth every drop," Ian grinned, more pleased than ever.
By now, both he and Aurora had returned to their younger, student forms— the aging potion they had used had finally worn off.
"When are we going out next to fight evil and defend the innocent?" Aurora beamed. The whole evening had left her flushed with excitement, she'd taken a real liking to this vigilante act.
Far better than following the path of some dark, brooding witch.
This, this had promise.
"Not every outing will yield such a haul," Ian admitted with a sly grin, "but I daresay it could be rather fun to hunt down a few Death Eaters over the holidays." He was painting an ambitious picture for Aurora, one filled with danger and daring but clearly, he found it thrilling.
As the dinner hour crept closer, they tucked away their spoils and prepared to return to their respective common rooms to rest.
"What about my Christmas present?"
The Ravenclaw door knocker, shaped like a grand bronze eagle, appeared to rouse itself with theatrical flair.
"Here you are!"
Ian had already anticipated this and came prepared. He gently placed a specially crafted little crown atop the knocker's head. The crown shimmered with enchanted colours and intricate detailing, and the bronze eagle looked positively chuffed. This time, the door knocker didn't try to stump Ian with any riddles. After a single, rather simple question, it permitted him entrance to the common room without a fuss.
"Do you know what I'm wearing on my head?"
As more Ravenclaws approached behind him, the enchanted knocker couldn't resist preening a bit, boasting proudly and turning its head this way and that to show off its festive adornment.
Ian ignored its showmanship.
He made his way quietly to his dormitory, washed up, and took out the day's most valuable acquisitions. He placed a large dragon egg, which is still warm to the touch, on his desk, followed by a much smaller, gleaming phoenix egg.
"I've got two eggs I can't eat, twelve I can, and three Demiguise pelts…" Ian muttered, speaking to no one in particular as he began sorting through his loot. He had meant only to take stock of what he'd acquired.
However—
Halfway through his organizing, something caught his eye. The phoenix egg was glowing, softly at first, then steadily brighter. Fine threads of crimson silk began to seep from within, stretching outward like delicate tendrils. The glowing strands extended toward the dragon egg, wrapping around it like an enchanted net.
The dragon egg's brilliant hue started to fade, its shimmer dulling slowly, while the phoenix egg's colour deepened, transforming from its natural fiery red into a rich, mystical purple.
"My phoenix egg... is about to hatch!?"
Ian quickly gathered the rest of the eggs he'd been cataloguing and positioned them in front of the phoenix egg.
And then—
The phoenix egg welcomed them all.
Thread by thread, silk wrapped around the entire collection, weaving through them with astonishing precision.
There was life— warm, pulsing, undeniable life—
—flowing from egg to egg, radiating outward in waves, as if answering a silent magical call from the heart of the phoenix.
(End of this chapter)
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