Volume 6: Summer at Spider's End Alley Chapter 427: Take Action If You Can
Lily's two counterattacks limited the trouble they might have encountered in Knockturn Alley to this one time.
The other people who were ready to make a move realized that this mother and son were not to be trifled with.
The Unforgivable Curse is definitely not a low-end magic. Not to mention that normal magic schools will not teach slightly higher-level black magic, the learning channel is a big problem. Even if there is a way to learn it, there are very few wizards who can successfully use it and exert its effects, and most of these people are concentrated among Voldemort's Death Eaters.
Lily cast two Cruciatus Curses without saying a word. Moreover, she was so bold as to bring her child to the notorious Knockturn Alley at such a young age. Even a fool could guess that she was a tough guy who was not easy to deal with.
After that, Jon and Lily did not encounter any more trouble in Knockturn Alley.
Until they came to the end of Knockturn Alley, and arrived at a section of the road that was as dirty and messy as the wooden shed area in front, but there were several shops open.
Lily chose the most inconspicuous store among them, which looked more like a simple wooden shed than a house.
She took Jon and lifted the rag that served as the door and walked in. Inside was a small room filled with all kinds of bottles, jars and strange things.
During his time at Durmstrang, Jon not only studied the three unforgivable curses, but also a lot of other knowledge related to the dark magic. Coupled with the influence of the many forbidden books in the ring, as soon as he entered the store, he could tell at a glance that 80% of the things displayed in this store were related to the dark magic.
The remaining 20% is not without problems, but with Jon's current level of knowledge, he can't recognize it.
As he came in, Jon saw the old woman sitting behind the counter. She was wearing a large pointed hat that covered her face, and she was leaning on a knotty cane, hunched over behind the tattered counter.
"What a rare guest... Really a rare guest..."
She seemed to see who the visitor was through the gap in the wide brim of her hat, and uttered an exclamation of admiration in that unpleasant voice.
"I never thought you would come to me at this time. You are so successful now, why do you want to take the risk to come to England? Or is the peace reached between Dumbledore and the current Lord of England after the Triwizard Tournament just a deception? Are you planning any new moves?"
Lily frowned, looked at the hunched old witch, and said in a cold voice.
"You'd better speak to me in your original voice and appearance, Tom. You should be able to see that I am in a bad mood now."
Hearing the name Tom, Jon couldn't help but look sideways.
In his impression, there are only two people named Tom mentioned in the original book. One is naturally "Tom Riddle" who hated the name left to him by his mother, and the other one, according to the normal world line, should be "Old Tom", the owner of the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley.
Hearing Lily's impolite words, the old witch laughed dryly twice, then she pulled a rope hanging from the ceiling beside her, and then the rag that served as a door seemed to be sucked by the door frame, blocking the only entrance and exit.
After doing all this, the old witch reached out and took off the pointed hat with a wide brim on her head, and at that moment the hat left her head.
The originally hunchbacked old witch instantly changed her form in front of Jon and Lily. A bald, thin but straight-backed old man stood up from behind the counter.
Sure enough, as Jon expected, Tom, who was disguised as an old witch and opened a shop in Knockturn Alley, was the former owner of the Leaky Cauldron.
The Leaky Cauldron is now under the rule of Voldemort. John went there with Dumbledore during the summer vacation of his first year. The owner there has become Borgin Burke, who was Voldemort's boss when he worked there in his youth. Old Tom, the former owner of the Leaky Cauldron, actually swapped places with Borgin Burke and came to Knockturn Alley. It is a bit sad to see the wonder of fate.
"Long time no see, Mrs. Potter. I heard you are doing well in France?"
Old Tom's face was full of flattering smiles, and his wrinkled face was as bright as a blooming chrysanthemum. At the same time, he turned to look at Jon.
"Who is this? I've never heard of anyone in the Order of the Phoenix bringing up a child this old?"
Jon stood behind Lily, holding the corner of her clothes with one hand, pretending to be a shy little boy.
From what we can see so far, this old Tom should have some relationship with the Order of the Phoenix, but the relationship is obviously not that deep.
Lily didn't have the slightest intention of greeting him or chatting about anything else. She just told him the purpose of her visit.
"Don't worry about who he is. Now help me find out how many people Apparated to Knockturn Alley between 9:20 and 9:30, and whether these people have left yet."
When Tom heard Lily's request, the smile on his face froze for a moment, but soon he smiled awkwardly again.
"Perhaps you don't understand. Ever since the end of the Triwizard Tournament and you won the competition, the British wizarding world has become somewhat uneasy. Just yesterday, Aurors came to Knockturn Alley for inspection. They also have a group of people stationed here. If I help you check, then..."
Lily just looked at him indifferently and interrupted him.
"Don't forget who helped you get a foothold here, and don't forget the promise you made back then. Or do you think some words can no longer count as time goes by?"
"No, no, no, of course that's not what I meant, but you have to consider my safety too, right?" Old Tom said quickly.
But Lily just stared at him.
"If you really want to be safe, you can go to France now. It may not be easy to go abroad from other places in the UK, but it is not that difficult in Knockturn Alley. You have been hiding here all this time, just thinking that the Dark Lord may not really rule all of Europe one day. You have always been fantasizing about submitting a proof of your bloodline, right?"
Tom seemed to have his true feelings revealed. His face showed embarrassment and a little fear. He looked at Lily with an almost pleading look.
"I've already come to this, Mrs. Potter, Professor Potter. I've lost my pub and my home. The reason why I'm still lingering here in the UK is that I want to take back what originally belonged to me. So proving that I'm a pureblood is the only way to fulfill my wish, not because I want to bully the Muggles or anyone else!"
"When you were kicked out of the Leaky Cauldron, your wand was broken and you were almost starving to death. It was Dumbledore who saved you. You didn't want to hang out with us, and it was he who helped you find a place to stay in Knockturn Alley. Why didn't you say that you just wanted to get your things back? Why did you promise that you would never refuse anyone in the Order of the Phoenix who needed your help in the future?"
Lily drew her wand and pointed it at Old Tom's forehead.
"Now you only have two choices, either you come, or I find a way from your brain, or I find it myself!"
Old Tom was frightened.
The pleading and crying look on his face disappeared at this moment. He originally thought that he had grasped the psychology of Dumbledore's people. These people were the typical ones who would only respond to soft words and not to hard ones. As long as he acted soft enough now, he would not have to take the risk again.
But it was obvious that Lily's current performance was completely beyond his expectations!
This "Mrs. Potter" didn't behave like a person of justice at all. Instead, she was more of a Death Eater than the Death Eaters. She turned against her husband right after a few words were spoken, and her wand was about to poke old Tom's forehead!
Old Tom could tell that the widow in front of him was not joking. She looked calm but also seemed to be suppressing something. It was not surprising that she would go crazy at any time!
"Don't get excited! I'm checking! I'm checking right now!"
He trembled, not daring to hesitate any longer, and reached out to rummage in the broken cabinet behind him, and took out a transparent ball.
The glass ball looked extremely dirty, with dust all over the surface. Some places seemed to have been chipped and covered with black mud.
Lily had not put down her wand yet, still pointing it at old Tom's head. She just stared at him stroking the dirty ball, and then the whole ball lit up with a gray light.
"Three. In those ten minutes, there were three people who used Apparition to reach Knockturn Alley..."
Before Old Tom could finish his words, a red light flashed from the tip of Lily's wand, and the next moment Old Tom's body went limp and he fell to the ground.
The glass ball in his hand also rolled down and rolled under the cabinet.
Jon blinked, not understanding for a moment why Lily took action when Old Tom was about to tell the locations of these three people. Then he saw Lily waving her wand again, her eyes fixed on Old Tom's greasy bald head.
"Lyrics."
The silver thread of memory followed Lily's wand as a bridge and appeared in her mind. All the information that old Tom had just obtained from the glass ball was obtained by her truthfully and accurately.
"If you can't trust someone, be suspicious of everything he says and does."
It was unclear whether Lily was teaching Jon or explaining her behavior. As she spoke, she turned and walked towards the street outside, as if she had already determined the location of all the people who had Apparated to Knockturn Alley during this time period.
Jon glanced at old Tom who was lying unconscious on the ground, then he quickly followed Lily's pace.
After coming out of Old Tom's shop, Lily turned around and cast a spell to block the entrance.
This approach is certainly not simply to protect the safety of the unconscious old Tom, but the greater purpose is to protect their own whereabouts.
Lily didn't say much to John. After getting the information about the landing point of the Apparition that appeared in Knockturn Alley during the time period when Snape escaped from France, she seemed to have made her own judgment in her mind and walked quickly in the other direction of the street with John.
Soon they crossed most of the street and came to an area that was obviously much cleaner and tidier than other places. This place was of course also part of Knockturn Alley, but the wizards who could open a shop here were obviously more capable or had better background than those in other places.
They came to a store with "Hancock" on it and pushed the door open and walked in.
This shop looked like it specialized in selling some banned potions. Jon even saw the price of the aphrodisiac clearly marked on a sign hidden in the corner.
The owner was a tall black man. As soon as Lily brought Jon in, he keenly noticed Lily's extraordinaryness.
"Good morning, this elegant and beautiful lady, what can I do for you?"
He had a rare courtesy that most wizards in Knockturn Alley lacked.
Even though Knockturn Alley had been reorganized and turned into a place for pure-blood families and some wealthy half-blood families to sell stolen goods and conduct some dirty deals, it is possible that not all people were served by these noble people. The owner of this potion shop had obviously seen the world. The way Lily dressed and bringing such a young child to such a street that could be regarded as the garbage dump of the wizarding world were obviously something that only some crazy pure-blood families could do.
"You can call me Mrs. Nott." Lily said in a cold and arrogant voice.
Jon also twisted his neck and pulled the bow that Lily had tied for him in front of him. He raised his head proudly, pretending to be a little scoundrel from a noble pure-blood family, no, a young master.
"Mom, it stinks here. It's making my nose and eyes dirty! When can we go home?"
Seeing that Lily was planning to take a roundabout approach, Jon understood what she meant and showed a face full of disgust and disdain.
"Shut up! I told you to keep your Nott upbringing!"
She lowered her head and yelled at Jon, then blinked and looked back at the black shop owner.
After hearing their conversation, the shop owner relaxed a little. He dealt with these pure-blood gentlemen all the time, so he naturally knew that they had such bad tempers.
"Ah, it turns out to be the wife and young master of the Nott family, you..."
"Everyone is petrified!"
The shopkeeper's attention was on Lily while he was talking, and he never thought that Jon, who looked only six years old, would suddenly take out a magic wand and cast a spell!
Not surprisingly, his eyes widened and he could no longer control his stiffened body.
After doing all this, Jon did not stop and immediately locked the shop door, while Lily had already begun to extract the owner's memories about the wizard who Apparated into the shop.
Obviously, the code of conduct that both Jon and Lily are following now is to never talk too much if they can take action, and to never cause themselves more trouble if something can be solved with magic!
