ALL NOVEL Knockturn
Getting off the Hogwarts Express, Ben found himself clutched in a bear hug.
"Mam, you're not letting me breathe," Ben managed to say with the final bit of air in his lungs, Thea was a lot stronger than she looked.
"Oh look at you, you haven't been eating proper, have you?"
"I've been eating plenty Mum."
"Do I not have eyes, let's go, I've baked lots for you," Thea said as she dragged Ben out of the station.
***
After eating a day's worth of food in one sitting, Ben could not help but fall asleep as soon as he hit the bed. He woke up to Aquila nibbling on his ear just before midnight.
"Aren't you punctual?" He said, giving her a scratch on the beak. Ben had learned by now that she did not like getting her feathers ruffled.
Ben had managed to train Aquila to wake him up at midnight by giving her treats at the same time every day. Now Aquila was his alarm bird.
Ben opened his window and got out on an old broomstick he found in the Room of Hidden things. It looked like an old Nimbus but it was in pretty bad shape, it didn't even have the cushioning charm on it and Ben had to fashion an actual seat to sit on it.
Even though Ben wanted to fly to Leaky Cauldron, he didn't want to be seen by muggles. The Brown Cottage in Upminster was surrounded by Muggles on all sides. This made things a lot harder for him, he slowly landed on the lawn and put away his broom. He swigged the muddy potion from a porcelain bottle and grew into his baggy clothes.
He got out of the muggle-repelling wards and raised his wand arm to hail the Knight Bus after walking for a few blocks.
Although he could take the muggle transportation, it would take more than an hour by the Tube to reach Charing Cross Road, and Ben did not have any muggle money.
A few minutes later, Ben was standing outside the leaky cauldron.
"Hello, Professor, out for some late-night shopping?" Ben just nodded at Tom and made his way towards the back.
Before getting off the Bus, Ben had checked to make sure that Snape was not in Diagon Alley by using [Clairvoyance].
Ignoring the fairly deserted Diagon Alley, Ben headed towards the eerie Knockturn Alley. It was a lot more crowded during the night and a lot of shady witches and wizards could be seen hanging around the stores.
Putting on a mean face, Ben made his way towards the Borgin and Burkes.
*Cling*
Ben entered the store and looked around the store for his target, a black cabinet sitting in the left corner of the cramped store.
"Ah, Professor Snape, it's been quite some time." said a stopping man with greasy hair as he approached the counter.
"Mr Borgin, I have come across a few precious trinkets recently, I was wondering if you'd be interested in a trade." He said.
"Trinkets you say, interesting, let's have a look shall we?"
Ben placed several rings and necklaces made of gold and silver on the counter.
"Curious, they look surprisingly alike, you don't mind me checking for the doubling charm, do you?"
The items in the shop were pretty much perfect copies of each other, it was inevitable to arouse suspicion.
"You may check till your heart's content. I promise you, they are as real as you and me," said Ben.
As Borgin brought out his wand, Ben couldn't help but feel tense. The man checked the jewellery for its authenticity and only stopped after casting multiple counter charms.
"Well?" Ben said raising his eyebrow.
"Well, this is a surprise, to say the least. They do not seem real. What would you like to trade them for?"
"I'm looking for an invisibility cloak, one woven from Demiguise hair."
"Demiguise hair? A great choice, but I'm afraid this won't be enough, Demiguise is a rare creature after all," he said pointing at the gold and silver jewellery.
"Will this be enough?" Ben said slamming a bigger pile of gold necklaces and rings on the counter.
He could see the shock on Borgin's face, all the rings and necklaces were identical to each other.
".."
"You can take your time confirming their authenticity."
"Don't mind if I do Professor, one can never be too careful." said the old man.
When he was almost done with the gold jewellery, Ben placed a small pile of gems on the counter. It contained mostly Garnet and Amethyst with a few other gems that he had found while sorting through the Room of Hidden Things.
"Did you break into Gringotts, Severus? I don't want any trouble with the goblins," he said staring intensely at Severus.
"Are you suggesting that I, Severus Snape, a potions Master have resorted to thievery? Perhaps I should take my business elsewhere," Ben replied returning the stare.
"Forgive my insolence, Professor. I didn't mean to offend you. What would you like to trade for these beauties?"
"That cabinet, I have been curious about its workings for quite some while," Ben pointed at the black cabinet in the corner.
"I must say, Professor, I am reluctant to part with it. It has been part of this store for a very long time."
"Everything has a price," Ben said, placing a big ruby on the counter, "I'll take the cabinet."
Ben could see the growing greed in Borgin's eyes.
"Don't push your luck Borgin, greed can lead to ruin," he said with a sharp tone.
"You've got yourself a deal Professor, it is always a pleasure doing business with you."
Ben could only curse the man in his heart, he had faced a huge loss in this deal, all because he couldn't buy gold ingots in-store and had to buy Jewellery instead, which was a lot more expensive for him.
He could not wait to learn [Transmute] and start turning iron into gold.
Shaking his head, he shrunk the cabinet and stored it in his bag along with the Demiguise cloak and swiftly left the store.
After taking another swig of the bitter potion, Ben bought a batch of boomslang skin and a few books on Vanishing Cabinets. After that, he made his way back to the Brown Cottage, this time on a broomstick, covered by an invisibility cape. It took him a lot longer since he flew very slow, trying not to let the cloak slip away.