Julien took an instinctive half-step back and pulled the dusty bottle Aberforth had given him from his pocket. "Look, a friend sent me here with this. He said it would get me your help."
"Oh, Aberforth. That cranky old bastard—always dragging me into his messes." The moment the woman saw the dried petals inside the bottle, the flirtatious smile dropped off her face like it had never existed. The dangerous edge in the air vanished with it.
"Fine. What do you want?" She set aside the beaker she'd been mixing and lit a cigarette—one of the rare wizard-made kind—with an impatient flick of her wand.
"Silenced Lotus sap. At least fifteen drops." Julien thought for a second and added, "Plus some diluted dragon's blood and moonlight extract."
"Ha! Nothing but rare stuff. The old goat always sticks me with the money-losing jobs." She muttered under her breath, clearly annoyed, but she still turned and disappeared down the narrow staircase behind the counter that led into the basement.
A minute later she came back up carrying a crystal vial. The liquid inside had an impossible color—purple and black at the same time, somehow both flowing and solid.
"You buying this for someone at home? Why didn't the grown-up come themselves?" She held the vial out but didn't let go. Her fingers were pale, nails spotless and neatly trimmed.
"Oh, it's for me," Julien said casually.
"For you?" She pulled the vial back, staring at him again like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"I really need it," he explained. "Trust me—I know what I'm doing." He paused, then added, "Aberforth trusted me enough to send me here, or he wouldn't have given me the introduction."
"Yes, of course I'll sell it to you." Her voice turned serious as she studied him. "But the real question is—do you know the price?"
"What price?"
"Silenced Lotus grows on the Cursed Mountains in Romania," she said. "The soil there is soaked in energy from another world. The plants… they remember. Every single drop carries the mountain's memory, along with the screams of the wizards who tried to master it and got devoured instead."
She leaned across the counter. Those specimen-like eyes bored straight into his. "When you use it, you'll hear the voices. You'll see the images. If your will isn't strong enough—"
The witch's mouth twisted. "—you'll become another soul recorded inside the sap. Screaming forever. Struggling forever. Just… waiting for the next buyer."
Julien's fingers tightened, but his voice stayed steady.
"I'll take it."
She let go. The vial settled onto the counter with a soft, almost living hum, as if relieved to be free.
"Plus the other two potions—that'll be a hundred Galleons." Her voice sounded tired now. "Or you can tell me…"
She suddenly seemed to remember something and gave him another long, appraising look. Julien silently thanked the Weasley twins' candy again.
"Oh, right. The Rosier family's waiting for you, aren't they? That explains why no other weirdos showed up. Never thought I'd see the Rosiers doing business with a student."
Julien's face went stiff. This witch knew way more than she should.
"She's my friend's grandmother," he said evenly. "That's all."
"That's all?" She blew a slow smoke ring. "You clearly don't understand how heavy the Rosier name is." She leaned in again, voice low. "Here's a free warning: Knockturn Alley's been restless lately. The people waiting for you aren't just from the Rosier side."
"The two guys at the door?" Julien glanced toward the entrance. Through the grimy window he saw nothing.
"Those two? Just a couple of sewer rats." The witch gave a cold laugh. "You don't need to worry about them. The moss on the front steps already took care of it."
Julien remembered the faintly glowing green moss on the steps when he'd walked in.
"So there's someone else I should worry about?"
"The Lunar Shadow Council." She crushed out her cigarette. "They're looking for someone, and no other strangers have come through here lately."
"They're not afraid of the Rosiers? Or what's behind them…?" Julien probed carefully.
"Grindelwald?" She didn't flinch at the name, just let out a short, humorless laugh. "Grindelwald is the past. They're hunting the future. And you…" She leaned even closer, voice dropping to a whisper. "You smell like the future."
"Thanks again." Julien picked up the wrapped package and the crystal vial, sliding both into his bag. The gold coins clinked sharply on the counter.
He turned toward the door. No more questions. The witch didn't owe him anything else. But her voice followed him anyway.
"By the way, you've had a tail since you left the Leaky Cauldron. Sweet dreams tonight—hope you still wake up in your Hogwarts bed." She gave him a quick wink.
The door shut behind him with a heavy thud. The light in Knockturn Alley seemed even dimmer now, like a flame slowly dying.
Julien moved fast, cutting down one narrow lane after another. Footsteps echoed behind him—deliberate, almost playful, like someone was toying with their prey.
The maze-like layout of Knockturn Alley was its natural defense, and right now it was the only shield he had. But he was starting to lose his bearings.
The fourth alley ended at a blank wall.
Dead end.
No one around. No shops on either side, just low stone walls—enough to block everything.
Julien spun, wand already in his hand.
Three figures poured out of the shadows at the alley mouth, wrapped in deep-gray cloaks that blended perfectly with Knockturn Alley. The leader was thickset, a jagged scar twisting across his left cheek like a writhing centipede in the dim light.
"Little shit. It really is you again." Wolfgang's voice was raspier than Julien remembered, like sandpaper scraping rust off iron. "Too bad that idiot Balthazar didn't finish you off back in Funsali. But you're not getting away this time."
Julien's grip tightened on his wand. He remembered the carriage in Funsali. He remembered Wolfgang clumsily waving his wand and botching the same detection spell over and over.
But the man standing in front of him now wasn't holding the old wand with the black stone inlay. He held a bone wand.
Pale, curved, carved straight from what looked like a large creature's rib. The shaft was wrapped with the same thorny crescent-moon mark Julien had seen on Lockhart's wrist—only fresher, like it had been branded recently.
"Looks like you got promoted," Julien said, voice steady. "From Lunar Shadow Council informant to… loyal lapdog?"
Wolfgang's scar twisted—maybe a smile. "You wouldn't understand, kid. The Council gave me real power."
He raised the bone wand. The tip glowed with a murky, rotten green light.
"Talk. What have you been up to at Hogwarts lately? And what exactly did the Rosiers just give you? Hand it over—now!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Julien shrugged.
"The Room of Requirement. Want me to jog your memory? Haha."
Julien's blood ran cold. A spy among the students? Elizabeth? Impossible. Liriya? Even less likely.
But what about the others? Casen? Edgar? His roommates knew his schedule better than anyone, yet they didn't seem the type.
Or… someone he'd never even noticed?
"Who told you?" The question slipped out before he could stop it. He instantly regretted it.
Wolfgang laughed. The sound bounced off the narrow walls, full of cruel delight. "You think I'm going to tell you? No, little brat. If you don't cooperate, you'll find out death is actually a mercy. When you're lying there, begging to live and begging to die, when you—"