Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 120: Confirmed by his eyes, he is someone who cannot be offended
Knockturn Alley, Borgin Bock Store.

Mr. Borgin, with his greasy hair, was so excited that even his hunched body straightened a little.

He pointed to the star map and said to Sherlock:
"I said... I could recognize where it was."

"Tsk, I don't believe it."

"Mr. Sigurdsson, Borgin and Burke's is the largest shop in Knockturn Alley, and Mr. Borgin is the owner who knows this place best.

Even your friend Hagrid knows this, and you won't believe me?"

"Well, you'll never convince me of your words."

"Would you like to bet with me too?"

"Haha, it just makes you lose money because I know I'm right."

Sherlock said with a haughty look on his face, "But I'm still willing to bet you half a Galleon, just to teach you a lesson about being stubborn."

When he heard that the stakes were half a Galleon, a smile flashed across Mr. Borgin's face, and he pointed with his finger:
"Mr. Sigurdsson, this is the summer constellation chart for Ophiuchus!
I know it very well; it's painted on the dome of the Parthenon Black Market!"

"Really? I don't believe it!"

Even though Mr. Borgin had already given the answer, Sherlock still looked at him suspiciously.

"Are you in cahoots with Hagrid to deceive me? I've never heard of a black market in Knockturn Alley..."

Hagrid on the side kept shaking his hands, "I'm not, I didn't..."

“Haha, that’s because it’s only open one day a week, and only until 4pm!”

Mr. Burke smiled so happily that the wrinkles on his face were piled up. "Even Mr. Hagrid, a frequent visitor to Knockturn Alley, might not know."

"I really don't know..."

Hagrid muttered.

"It's okay, Mr. Hagrid. I've already earned five Galleons for you!"

Mr. Burke looked at Hagrid and then turned to Sherlock, "Mr. Sigerson, it seems you are overconfident."

"Stop talking to yourself there!"

Sherlock looked unconvinced:

"You said it's a black market? Do you have any evidence?"

He slammed the counter loudly, looking like someone who was angry and didn't want to admit his loss.

“Hahaha, Mr. Sigerson, why else did I say you were lucky?
Today happens to be the day when the Parthenon Black Market opens!"

"W-what?"

Sherlock was shocked. "Is it such a coincidence?"

"What a coincidence! Let me see, ah, it's already past four o'clock!"

Mr. Borgin said with a smile, "Last week the black market opened on Friday, but this week it opened on Monday.

I heard that those Nordic guys have been doing some kind of deal lately... Anyway, you can easily verify what I just said."

"Take us there immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Sherlock immediately put away the star map and said, "I still don't believe it - if it really is the same as what is drawn on this map, I will give you half a Galleon right away!"

"my pleasure!"

Mr. Borgin was overjoyed. He could get half a gold galleon just by making a trip. Why not?
He has now realized that this young wizard who calls himself Sigurdsson has a mine at home and cannot keep his composure when encountering problems.

Fortunately, he was lucky enough to make friends with Hagrid, otherwise, if a newcomer like this appeared in Knockturn Alley so brazenly, the dark wizards would never let him go so easily.

But...how can't such a person be my friend?
What a pity!
Next, Mr. Borgin quickly closed the shop and took Sherlock and Hagrid to the Parthenon Black Market.

Borgin and Burke's is indeed one of the larger stores in Knockturn Alley.

But compared with other stores, it is only slightly decent.

Across from it, a shop window displayed a grim display of shrunken human heads.

Across the two storefronts, there was a large cage filled with huge black spiders.

In a dark doorway nearby, two ragged wizards were whispering.

However, when he saw Hagrid's huge body, he immediately looked away.

The look in his eyes confirmed that he was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

Mr. Borgin led Sherlock and Hagrid westward until they turned the corner and stopped at a shop selling poison candles.

There was an old wooden sign in front of the store that said Knockturn Alley.

Sherlock took a second look.

A simple parody, Knockturn Alley comes from nocturnally.

It does fit the real environment and forms a sharp contrast with the bright Diagon Alley.

"Just go further south."

Mr. Bogin pointed ahead and led the two men around a corner, past three shops, and finally stopped in front of a dead end.

Knockturn Alley was originally a dark place, and this place seemed even darker.

If the tall Hagrid hadn't been right beside him, Sherlock would definitely not have come here alone.

Directly in front of them and to their right was a series of low shops. Mr. Borgin smiled again.

"This is the Parthenon Black Market, an industry created by a group of guys from Northern Europe - look over there, Mr. Sigurdsson, you can see it if you look up."

Looking in the direction Mr. Borgin pointed, Sherlock and Hagrid saw the Ophiuchus constellation painted on the dome. Not only Ophiuchus, but also Serpens, which was connected to it.

"Well, Mr. Sigurdsson? Do you have anything to say now?"

Seeing this scene, Sherlock immediately became dejected and looked very annoyed.

He reluctantly counted out eight silver Sickles from his pocket and handed them to Mr. Borgin with an expression of inexpressible and unfathomable disgust.

"Take the money I give you and get out of my sight right now!"

Mr. Borgin was startled. "Sir, wasn't it half a Galleon?"

1 Galleon = 17 Sickles = 493 Knuts.

Strictly speaking, half a Galleon should be equal to 8.5 Silver Sickles.

"Asshole, do you still want me to round you off?"

Seeing Sherlock's furious expression, the little doubt Mr. Borgin had previously had disappeared completely.

He immediately stopped while he was ahead. "Okay, okay, Mr. Hagrid, Mr. Sigurdsson, if something like this happens again next time, remember to come to Borgin and Burke's!"

"Go away! Seeing you brings bad luck! I lost five and a half Galleons for nothing!"

Sherlock waved his hand impatiently, then turned to Hagrid and said, "Come on, since we're here, let's go take a look!

If you find anything suitable, I'll just give you the bet!"

Mr. Borgin, who was leaving, couldn't help laughing when he heard Sherlock and Hagrid talking to each other.

It is called a black market, but in fact it is just something those guys created to gild their own reputation.

Although they have some special products that I don't have, but the price, wow...

After suffering a few losses, this guy knew that Borgin and Burke were the best choice!

After making sure Borgin had completely left, Sherlock withdrew his gaze and snorted coldly:
"Look, Hagrid, it's hard to get secrets out of a guy like that.

I dare say that even if I put a hundred Galleons in front of him, he would not tell us the truth like he just did because of his doubts.

To deal with this kind of guy, betting is actually the most cost-effective way.

This is much more convenient than us looking for clues in a big way, and it won’t arouse suspicion.”

After saying this, Sherlock found Hagrid looking at him in confusion. He sighed and simply stated his judgment:
"Hagrid, I think we're nearing the end of our investigation."

"What? So fast?"

This time Hagrid understood, and his eyes widened in surprise.

“This was also something I didn’t expect.”

Sherlock's face was solemn. "I didn't expect the black market to open on Monday this week, so we must act quickly—otherwise, our translator friend might be in danger."

"What did you say?"

Hagrid's eyes were as big as bells.

"There's no doubt that the guy who calls himself Smith always chooses 4 p.m. to use the portkey, hoping to use the flow of people when the black market is open to cover up the portkey's magical fluctuations.

The light coming through the gaps in the curtains of the room where Musgrave was imprisoned formed equidistant spots of light, which indeed came from the Ophiuchus star map here.

Add to that the Icelandic lichen spores mixed in with the yew wood chips, and the Nordic background of the black market...

All these taken together are enough to indicate that this is where Musgrave was imprisoned.

But since the black market is open today, Smith must have taken the translator away again!

Damn, that was my oversight - his friends clearly weren't doing a good job of protecting him.

If my guess is correct, after today's translation work, our translator friend might be killed for leaking the information."

When Sherlock said this, his face became very serious.

Hagrid's eyes couldn't get any wider, "What should we do now?"

"We must first find where he is imprisoned... Got it!"

Sherlock did not stand still when he was talking to Hagrid just now, but walked forward quickly, looking up from time to time.

Occasionally, people who noticed them looked away when they saw Hagrid.

The look in his eyes confirmed that he was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

Fortunately, his destination was some distance away from the actual trading location of the black market.

Sherlock stopped in front of a room. "Judging from the arrangement of the light spots, this is where Musgrave is imprisoned."

“This looks like a warehouse.”

Hagrid said as he looked around.

Sherlock nodded.

The most dangerous place is the safest place.

Smith wanted to use the flow of people in the black market to cover up the magical traces brought by the door key, but at the same time he was worried that these people would discover his secret, so he simply did this.

That makes sense.

Hagrid looked at Sherlock hesitantly, "Do you want to open it?"

"Let's do it, this is it."

Hagrid took a deep breath, exerted a little force with both hands, and pushed the warehouse door open.

(End of this chapter)