Under the effects of the Polyjuice Potion, Damian's eyes were cold and sinister. Expressionless, he reached into a pocket expanded by an Undetectable Extension Charm and pulled out twenty vials of purple liquid.
"Twenty vials of Sleeping Draught. Check the goods."
The short, squat wizard rubbed his hands together excitedly. "This isn't our first trade. I trust you, Gelman!"
Mundungus Fletcher took the vials, popped a cork, and took a deep sniff. A satisfied grin spread across his grubby face. He pulled a jingling bag of Galleons from his tattered robes and tossed it to Damian. "Settled!"
Mundungus was a notorious thief who had bought many batches of Sleeping Draught from Damian. He regularly used the potion to quietly knock out his targets before making off with their valuables.
Just as Damian finished counting the gold, six wizards in heavy black robes stepped out of the shadows. They formed a tight semi-circle, cutting off the alleyway.
They eyed the Galleons in Damian's hand with open greed. However, the one-eyed wizard leading the pack pointed his wand squarely at Mundungus.
"Mundungus! I've finally cornered you!"
Mundungus trembled violently at the sound of the voice, sheer terror crossing his face. He immediately spun around to flee. Unfortunately, the dead-end corner he had specifically chosen to avoid prying eyes now completely blocked his escape.
Realizing he was trapped, Mundungus plastered on a fawning, desperate smile. "Raynor, mate! I don't recall ever offending you. Why, we were just drinking together the other week!"
The one-eyed wizard sneered. "Don't remember? Then let me help you jog your memory. Crucio!"
"Aaaaaah!" Mundungus collapsed to the cobblestones. He screamed in agony, his body convulsing as if he were being sliced apart by a thousand invisible blades. The excruciating pain made it impossible for him to do anything but writhe and thrash in the filth.
Raynor laughed cruelly. "Starting to remember now? Crucio!"
Another bolt of vicious red light struck the thief. The extreme pain overloaded Mundungus's senses, leaving his body twitching involuntarily on the ground.
The one-eyed wizard's cruel smile widened as he shifted his wand toward Damian. "Mundungus just bought his knockout draughts from you, didn't he? We saw the gold. He stole a lot of merchandise from me last time, so you're going to compensate me for my losses."
With a subtle flick of his right wrist, the wand hidden in Damian's sleeve slid smoothly into his palm. "What he does with the potions is none of my business," he said in a low, cold voice. "Our transaction is finished."
Raynor spotted the wand, but a flash of disdain crossed his good eye. He looked greedily at Damian's coin pouch. "There are six of us, boy! If you don't want a taste of the Cruciatus Curse yourself, hand over the Galleons!"
When Damian remained completely unmoved, the impatient wizard slashed his wand downward. "Crucio!"
Damian moved like lightning. With a sharp jab of his wand, he cast a Summoning Charm—"Accio robes!"—pulling the nearest bald wizard directly into the path of the brilliant red light to act as a meat shield.
"Aaaaaah!" The bald wizard shrieked.
Unable to withstand the Unforgivable Curse, he began twitching uncontrollably, his momentum sending him crashing heavily into Raynor. Both men tumbled to the filthy ground in a tangle of limbs, pinning the one-eyed wizard beneath his convulsing comrade.
"Get him!" the remaining four wizards roared in rage. They raised their wands, firing a volley of dark curses straight at Damian.
Damian didn't blink. He pointed his wand at the alley floor. The cobblestones surged upward, transfiguring into a massive, solid granite boulder that absorbed every incoming spell.
With another flick, he banished the massive rock forward. It exploded mid-air into a storm of heavy, jagged shrapnel, pelting the four attackers!
The wizards hurriedly threw up Shield Charms. Bang! Bang! Bang! The heavy stones battered their magical barriers, kicking up a thick cloud of dust and debris that completely obscured the dead-end corner.
Damian didn't stop. Relying purely on memory and spatial awareness, he slashed his wand repeatedly through the dust cloud.
"Diffindo! Diffindo!" The sharp whistles of overpowered Severing Charms sliced through the air, instantly followed by panicked screams.
As the dust slowly settled, three wizards lay bleeding and groaning on the ground. Besides Damian, only one attacker remained standing.
Damian walked forward expressionlessly. With every step, his wand emitted a sharp bolt of blue light—Petrificus Totalus—striking the groaning wizards and locking their bodies in rigid Full Body-Binds so they couldn't retaliate.
The last standing wizard stared at Damian in absolute terror. His wand hand trembled so violently he couldn't even manage to raise it. "Don't come any closer!" he shrieked, backing away.
Another flash of blue light struck him square in the chest, and he toppled over backward, stiff as a board.
Now, Damian was the only wizard left standing in the alley.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Raynor, the one-eyed wizard who had been crushed earlier, had regained consciousness! Propped up on his elbows from the dirt, he aimed his wand and fired the Killing Curse directly at Damian's back.
But Damian hadn't let his guard down for a second. Reflexively diving to the left, he felt the sickening chill of the green beam as it streaked just inches past his right shoulder.
As he hit the ground, Damian fired a lethal counter-curse. A brutal Severing Charm sliced through the dark, cutting cleanly across the one-eyed wizard's neck. Raynor instantly went silent, collapsing back into the muck.
"Pathetic," Damian muttered. After looting the bodies, he only found a few dozen Galleons between the six of them. Fortunately, he also collected six unregistered wands, which were always useful.
Damian hadn't actually wanted to get involved. He didn't care about Mundungus Fletcher in the slightest. But those six thugs had been blinded by greed, dragging an innocent potion seller into their mess.
Mundungus was now slumped against the brick wall, his body still trembling violently. The nerve damage from enduring two consecutive Cruciatus Curses had not yet passed. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a dry rasp came out.
Damian pulled two more vials from his pocket. "A Calming Draught and a Pain-Relieving Potion. These will counteract the aftereffects of the Crucio."
Once Mundungus snatched and downed both potions, Damian offered him a chillingly polite smile. "That'll be one hundred Galleons total. Thank you for your continued business."
Mundungus's face twitched at the exorbitant price, but he couldn't argue. As the potions took effect, his pale complexion significantly improved. After catching his breath, he frantically fumbled through his many pockets. Even after emptying them completely, he only managed to scrape together about fifty Galleons.
Desperate, he pulled out a square, wooden Music Box. "Look, this Music Box is damaged, but it's a cursed artifact. It slightly interferes with a wizard's magic flow in the vicinity. Can this cover the other fifty Galleons?"
Damian took the box and examined it closely. It was only about the size of his palm and exquisitely crafted, despite a significant crack along the side. It was clearly an alchemical item; he could feel a faint, chaotic ripple of magic emanating from it the moment it touched his skin.
Seeing Damian's interest, Mundungus urged, "Try it out. Just turn the winding key on the side."
Damian turned the small brass key. The slightly protruding cylinder began to rotate at a steady speed. Because of the damage, the haunting melody it produced was intermittent and warped.
As the twisted music played, Damian immediately felt the magic within his own body being slightly disrupted, its flow becoming jagged and uneven. However, by simply concentrating and forcing his magic to circulate, he could easily negate the interference.
Still, though the disruption was slight, causing a sudden stutter during an enemy's spellcasting could result in disastrous backfires.
Damian pocketed the Music Box with a satisfied nod. "This will cover the remaining fifty Galleons."
[75 STONES] - Unlock1 Bonus Chapter
[150 STONES] - Unlock 2 Bonus Chapters
[300 STONES] - Unlock 3 Bonus Chapters