The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

Julien instinctively took a step back and pulled the bottle Aberforth had given him from his pocket. "Look," he said, "a friend asked me to show this to you, saying it can get your help."

"Oh, it's Aberforth, that old geezer, always causing me trouble." The woman deflated instantly upon seeing the flower petals in the bottle, her smile vanishing. But the sense of danger also disappeared.

"Say it, what do you want?" The woman stopped what she was doing and impatiently lit a cigarette, a rare sight in the wizarding world.

"I need at least fifteen drops of the 'Silent Lotus' juice," Julien said after a moment's thought. "And some dragon's blood thinner and moonlight extract as well."

"Ugh! These are all rare items. The old man always makes me do deals that lose money," the woman muttered, seemingly very dissatisfied.

"I have Galleons," Julien quickly explained.

"Golden Galleons are just an admission ticket here." The woman curled her lip dismissively. "Wait a moment." Then she went down a staircase behind the counter to the basement.

A moment later, she brought up a crystal bottle from below. The liquid inside the bottle displayed impossible colors—both purple and black at the same time, both flowing and solidified.

"Did you buy this for your family? Why aren't your parents here?" The woman handed over the bottle, but didn't let go. Her fingers were pale, but her nails were unusually clean and neatly trimmed.

"Oh, I use it myself," Julien replied casually.

"You're using it yourself?" The woman took the bottle back and looked at Julien again in disbelief.

"I really need it urgently," Julien explained. "Please believe me, I know what I'm doing." After thinking for a moment, Julien added, "Aberforth also believes me, otherwise he wouldn't have shown me the way."

"Yes, of course I'll give it to you." The woman looked at him seriously, "But the real question is: do you know the price?"

"What price?"

"The Silent Lotus grows on the cursed mountain in Romania," he said. "The soil there is soaked in otherworldly energy, and the plants there... remember. Every drop of sap carries the memory of the mountain, the screams of wizards who tried to control it but were instead consumed by its power."

She leaned forward, her specimen-like eyes staring directly at Julien: "When you use it, you will hear those sounds. You will see those images. If your will is not strong enough—"

The witch's lips twisted in a grimace. "You will become another soul recorded in the sap, forever screaming, forever struggling, forever... waiting for the next buyer."

Julien's fingers tightened, but he still spoke firmly.

"I want it."

The witch released her grip, and the bottle hummed softly on the counter, as if freed from its restraints.

"Adding the other two potions, it totals 100 Galleons." The witch's voice was slightly weary. "Or you can tell me..."

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she looked at Julien again, which made Julien secretly glad that he had taken the face-changing candy.

"By the way. The Rozier family should be waiting for you, right? I was wondering why no other strange people came. I didn't expect the Rozier family to be making a deal with a student."

Julien's face gradually stiffened; this witch really knew a lot.

"She's my friend's grandmother," he said, his voice steady, "that's all."

"That's all? You seem unaware of the Rozier family's influence." She exhaled a smoke ring and said slowly, "Here's a bonus warning: Knockturn Alley has been turbulent lately. It's likely that more than just the Rozier family will be waiting for you."

"The two people at the door?" Julien subconsciously looked towards the door, but didn't see anything through the glass window.

"Those two are nothing but two rats that can't stand the light of day," the witch sneered. "That's not something you need to worry about. The moss by the door has already taken care of them."

Julien then remembered that there was indeed a layer of moss that shimmered with a green fluorescent light on the steps he had just entered.

"Then there are others I need to worry about?"

"The Moonshadow Council," the witch said, stubbing out her cigarette. "They're looking for someone, and no other strangers have been here."

"Then don't they need to worry about the Rozier family? Or even the people behind the Rozier family..." Julien asked tentatively.

"Grindelwald?" The witch didn't shy away, only letting out a soft chuckle, a chuckle devoid of warmth: "Grindelwald is the past, they're searching for the future. And you…," she leaned forward again, her voice extremely low, "you smell like the future."

"Thank you again." Julien picked up the package and the crystal bottle and put them into his backpack, the gold coins making a crisp sound on the counter.

He turned and walked towards the door, making no other requests. The witch had no obligation to help him in any other way. The witch's voice rang out again:

"By the way, you've got a tail following you. It started at the Leaky Cauldron. Hope you still have sweet dreams in your Hogwarts bed tonight." He then winked at him.

The door slammed shut behind him with a dull thud. The light in Knockturn Alley grew even dimmer, like some kind of flame dying out.

Julien hurried along the street, turning into a narrower alley, then another, then a third. Faint footsteps echoed behind him, like some deliberate, playful chase.

The maze-like layout here is a natural defense for Knockdown Alley, and also the barrier he needs now. But he seems to be a little lost.

At the end of the fourth alley is a wall.

dead end.

There was no one there; there weren't even any shops on either side, just low stone walls. But that was enough to shield everything.

Julien turned around, the wand already in his palm.

Shadows surged in from the alleyway entrance. Three human figures, draped in dark gray cloaks that blended seamlessly into Knockdown Alley. The leader was burly, and the grotesque scar on his left cheek resembled a writhing centipede in the dim light.

"You little brat, it's you again." Wolfgang's voice was even hoarser than he remembered, like sandpaper rubbing against rusty iron. "It's a pity that idiot Balthazar didn't take you down back in Fonzari. But you won't be getting away today."

Julien tightened his grip on his wand. He remembered Fonzali's carriage and Wolfgang's comical way of awkwardly waving his wand and repeatedly chanting "Dieter Tor Latibro."

But now, the man standing before him no longer held the wand inlaid with black ore. He held a bone staff.

The pale, curved bone staff looked as if it had been carved directly from the ribs of some large creature. The staff was wrapped with the same mark as Lockhart's wrist—a crescent moon entwined with thorns—but it looked fresher, as if it had been branded on not long ago.

"Looks like you've leveled up," Julien said, his voice steady, "from an informant for the Moonshadow Council to... a more loyal lackey?"

Wolfgang's scars twisted, perhaps a smile: "What do you know? The Parliament gave me power. Real power."

He raised his bone staff, the tip pointing at Julien, which emitted a murky, stagnant green light.

"Tell me honestly, what tricks have you been up to at Hogwarts lately! And what did the Rosier family give you today? Hand it over!"

"I don't understand what you're talking about," Julien shrugged.

"The Room of Requirement, should I remind you? Haha."

Julien's blood ran cold. Could there be a mole among the students? Elizabeth? Impossible. Liria? Even less likely.

But what about the others? Kayson? Edgar? His two roommates are the ones who know his movements best, so it's unlikely.

Or... someone he's never paid attention to?

"Who? Who told you?" he blurted out, then realized his lapse in composure.

Wolfgang laughed, the sound echoing through the narrow alleyway with a cruel glee: "You thought I'd tell you? No, you little brat. If you don't cooperate, you'll find that death is actually a kind of happiness! When you're lying on the ground, unable to live, unable to die; when you—"