The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 173 Overturned Alley

Chapter 173 Overturned Alley

The days off passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, Loila had already been holed up in the office for a month.

For the past month, she has been focusing on creating the magic array props, but even so, she hasn't finished—

It wasn't that the magic array was particularly complex this time, but rather that the materials were lacking.

Many materials are unavailable in Hogsmeade for various reasons, such as lack of stock, extreme rarity, or illegality.

Hmm—if I want to buy some things that aren't entirely legal, it seems like I'll have to go to the trolley alley.

And so, on this somewhat gloomy day, Loila, wrapped in a robe and wearing a mask, arrived at Knockdown Alley.

Perhaps because of the weather, there weren't many people here, and even those who were there mostly came and went in a hurry.

That would be for the best — Loila pursed her lips, carefully avoiding several wizards walking towards her, and then gripped the wand in her sleeve.

She had heard plenty from Hagrid about how dangerous this place was—wicked dark wizards, sneaky pickpockets, and even Death Eaters lurking around—

They'd be furious if they knew they'd defeated Voldemort, wouldn't they?

Loila swallowed hard, then lifted her boots and stepped over the ditch in front of her.

If only I had known—if only I had called Hagrid too—Loila looked around blankly, momentarily bewildered.

Besides the fact that she has a bad sense of direction, it might also be because she doesn't know where to buy materials.

The last time I bought materials was last year! Before I became a professor —

Loila couldn't help but recall Hagrid's earlier advice—go left at the intersection, then right, and then turn right again after seeing an open trash can—

Loila looked at the messy and narrow road and felt even more confused—was there some kind of spell to help her find her way?

Loila wandered aimlessly through the alley like a headless fly.

Where am I? — This place looks familiar. Have I been here before?

Loila felt a sense of déjà vu in every place she saw, as if they were all old acquaintances.

Ah—wait—I feel like I've really been here before—Loila looked up and stared blankly at the shop name in front of her.

Bokinboke —

Ah—it's the shop of the man who used the Killing Curse on her before! Although Loila didn't remember his name, she still had a vague impression of this place.

For example, this stone brick—it seems that's where that gentleman was knocked down—

"Clatter".

The shop door was suddenly pushed open, and Loila jumped, quickly pulling her hood tighter—if that gentleman recognized her again—it would be too dangerous—

I don't want to use magic to defeat him again.

It wasn't Mr. Bock, the owner of Bock & Bock, who walked out of the shop, but a middle-aged man with long blond hair. He walked out of the shop with a grim face, and his cane tapped on the steps with a "thump, thump" sound.

He was Lucius Malfoy, a "highly respected" pure-blood wizard, and this dilapidated place was indeed somewhat out of character for him—but only out of character on the surface.

"Damn it—" He seemed to have encountered something bad in the shop, muttered under his breath, shook his head, and took a step forward.

"Bang!"

"Hmm!"

He clutched his chest and took a few steps back, raising his impatient face. Who was this blind fool who dared to bump into me? He was about to explode when he saw the figure crouching down, clutching his head.

The Hamilton family —

He recognized the person in front of him in the next second, not only because he had dealt with that tattered diary on her before, but also because he had heard her name frequently at the board meetings.

Sending Hamilton Galleons and telling her to rest—is she Dumbledore's new pet?

Lucius gave a curt snort and said, "Good afternoon, Miss Hamilton."

"Ah—you—hello!"

A slightly trembling voice came through, making Lucius sneer. Could it be that she didn't even remember his own name?

Feeling humiliated, Lucius tapped his cane and said, "Miss Hamilton, I wonder why you've come here?"

"Is it because they can't find your mansion?"

"Huh?" Loila, who was wearing a hood, looked up in confusion. She didn't quite understand what the person in front of her was saying—or rather, did she know him?

Loila had no recollection of him whatsoever—but why did he seem to know her?

Could it be... Durmstrang's classmate? Loira instinctively felt a little scared, but she raised her head slightly to look at the person and felt it was unlikely, since Durmstrang's classmates should be over sixty years old now, right?

He still looks quite young.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Lucius Malfoy, the head of the Malfoy family—" Lucius coughed and said, "I am also a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors."

"The Board of Directors?" Loila was completely oblivious to the previous topic; she was quite surprised to hear about the Board of Directors.

So you're the kind person who sent me Galonnaise!

Loila really wanted to give him a hug—ah—looking at his somewhat cold face, Loila thought about it and decided against it.

"Hmm." Lucius raised an eyebrow and said, "The work of the Board of Trustees is just something I do casually."

"I'd rather remind you as a pure-blood," he said, lowering his voice, "Do you enjoy being Dumbledore's pet?"

"Huh?!" Loila's eyes widened suddenly, not knowing for a moment what this Mr. Malfoy was talking about—what—Dumbledore's pet?

Do we seem to have a good relationship?

And why—why is he so hostile towards me—is it because of Dumbledore? How can you, old man, harm me even when he's not around?

"Um, me and—and Dumbledore—" Loila was about to explain when she saw the door of Borginborough Stores behind Mr. Malfoy be pushed open.

"Ah—Mr. Malfoy, I thought you had already left." The person who came out of the door was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He had short brown hair and looked very refined.

Unlike Lucius, he wasn't dressed in fancy clothes; instead, he wore a simple black cloak.

"Heh." Hearing his voice, Lucius snorted and turned his head away. "Nothing."

"I just ran into someone from your Hamilton family. We were catching up," he said, shrugging, his voice laced with sarcasm. "And I never expected that the Hamilton family would have—"

"Dumbledore's men."

"Huh?" The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Lucius—don't say that. Headmaster Dumbledore is the leader of the wizarding world now."

"Respecting him is natural—but what you said about him as a person—"

"We Hamilton family have always been—alone people."

His words made Lucius shake his head with a cold laugh, and then he left.

Loila, who was standing still, felt a little confused.

What do you mean by "we are the Hamilton family"? — Aren't I Hamilton? Could it be — could it be that I'm not actually Hamilton?

Or is it that there are two Hamilton families?!

"Let me introduce myself, sir," the middle-aged man said with a slight bow, "I am Peterson Hamilton."

"May I ask who you are?"

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