Chapter 133, Chapter 131. A Transaction That Shouldn't Have Existed
. The green flames flickered.
Quirrell, his face hidden under his hood, spoke in a different tone, sharper and more shrill.
"Your price is too high,"
the hunchbacked old man said impatiently.
"Is 30,000 Galleons really that high? This stuff is different from others."
Quirrell's voice was flat, as if reciting a script.
"I've never heard of anyone who could avoid a unicorn's curse by consuming its blood. You can't provide evidence, nor can you prove your words, so why should I pay such a high price, far exceeding the market value, for something whose authenticity is unknown?"
"Then you can simply not buy it," the hunchbacked old man said without hesitation.
"You're not the only one who wants this vial of blood. I've only talked to you for so long because you seem sincere, but if you continue to drag this out, I can't guarantee this vial of blood will still be in my possession tomorrow."
Quirrell remained silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought or communicating with his master.
After a moment, he spoke as if resigning.
"The location for the transaction is still the same as before, the Hog's Head Tavern in Hogsmeade. You decide the time."
A smile appeared on the hunchbacked old man's ugly face.
"Then I'll head to Hogsmeade now. The transaction will be held three days from now, at dusk. I've come with sufficient sincerity, so I also hope that our transaction will proceed without any mishaps."
"As long as the item matches your description, there shouldn't be any unforeseen problems."
"I hope so."
Their conversation ended, the green flames gradually died down, and the empty classroom returned to darkness.
Lynn witnessed the entire conversation. After confirming it was over, he didn't linger, but gently flapped his wings and flew out of the castle.
He flew to the door of the Slytherin common room, wand in hand, before transforming back into human form.
"Blood is thicker than water,"
he said, giving his password for the day, before hurrying back to his room.
Lynn was soaking wet. Although he had used a waterproof charm on himself before leaving, it was no longer effective after he turned into a raven.
However, Lynn had no interest in washing himself again. He changed out of his wet clothes, quickly dried himself, and lay down on his bed, pondering the conversation he had just witnessed.
From the conversation, it was very clear that Quirrell, or rather Voldemort, intended to purchase a vial of unicorn blood through unofficial channels.
Lynn, having read the original books, might not remember some details clearly, but he remembered some important things very well.
Before officially stealing the Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort had indeed chosen to use unicorn blood to prolong his life.
But he hadn't bought it; he had directly infiltrated the Forbidden Forest, killed a live unicorn, and drank the fresh blood on the spot.
Now, with Lynn witnessing it firsthand, the plot has clearly deviated from its original course.
He didn't even know why this deviation had occurred.
Lynn didn't actually mind if future events deviated from the original story, because his plan was to solve everything once and for all, hoping to have a grand finale during Harry Potter's first year.
But the premise was that the plot had to follow the original story before his plan was officially implemented. He had to wait, until Voldemort was at his weakest, most impatient, and when he himself was most confident, before he could make his move.
However, now Voldemort had suddenly changed his mind; he didn't intend to fleece Hogwarts by sucking the blood of the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest.
The mighty Dark Lord, instead of stealing or cheating, was going to humbly buy it with money!
Lynn lay on the bed, trying his best to recall every detail of the conversation between Quirrell and the hunchbacked old man.
There was also a crucial piece of information.
In their conversation, this vial of unicorn blood seemed very unusual. Quirrell said that this was blood given voluntarily by the unicorn, unlike blood obtained through violent killing; blood obtained in this way might not inflict a curse on the consumer.
It's just a possibility, because Lynn doesn't know for sure if it's true. Even Voldemort, the buyer, doesn't seem to know if it's real.
So, is that what tempted Voldemort?
A vial of potentially uncursed, perfect unicorn blood is certainly enough to tempt Voldemort in his current weakened state.
But the key question is, did tonight's event actually happen in the original story?
If it did, it means something went wrong in the deal, forcing Voldemort to risk entering the Forbidden Forest to kill a live unicorn to survive.
But if this transaction never happened in the original story, it means Lynn's arrival created a butterfly effect, giving Voldemort another option.
Following tonight's script, if their transaction goes smoothly three days later, whether Voldemort reluctantly pays for it or the Dark Lord steals it by force,
once the vial of blood is in his hands, regardless of whether the curse truly exists, as long as Voldemort drinks it, he will definitely regain some of his strength ahead of time.
This situation meant Lynn's long-awaited opportunity was gone. Even if he tried to forcefully implement his initial plan, it would introduce extremely high uncertainty, making it far too dangerous.
In this plan, he not only had to ensure his own safety but also the safety of Cedric and Ian.
Lynn tossed and turned in bed all night, unable to sleep.
After a night of contemplation, he realized one thing:
he couldn't sit idly by and wait for his fate; he had to verify whether this deal was truly caused by him.
If it was indeed due to his appearance that this turn of events occurred, then he had to find a way to disrupt the deal!
Here, I'll briefly explain why the wand didn't transform along with the protagonist's Animagus form.
I found the Animagus transformation method on an encyclopedia, which clearly states that after the initial Animagus transformation, one must properly dispose of their wand to avoid losing it after reverting to human form.
Furthermore, it emphasizes that once the Animagus is proficient, they no longer need a wand or spells.
Considering that neither the novels nor the films explicitly show any special treatment of the wand during Professor McGonagall's transformations, could this be interpreted as follows:
When wizards first learn Animagus, they still need a wand and spells to transform into animals. At this stage, the wand is still required, so it cannot become part of the transformed animal. However, after mastering Animagus, transformation can be performed without a wand or spells. The wand is no longer essential for transformation, so it can become integrated into the Animagus's transformation, similar to Professor McGonagall's glasses.
I think this is the most appropriate understanding. If you have any better guesses or explanations, please leave a comment here, and I will revise the previous text accordingly.
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(End of Chapter)