"Whether you accept it or not is your business. My price is what it is," Mundungus said with complete indifference.
In truth, Mundungus was not indifferent at all. He was only putting on a show. If he could bluff them into accepting it, all the better. And if not, he could always lower the price a little. Either way, he was not about to take a loss.
These two students were cash cows to him. For some reason, they had suddenly dropped him and stopped doing business with him before, but now that they had finally come back, he was absolutely going to fleece them for all he could.
And the results had been excellent. The last few deals had earned him a fortune, and at the same time had let Mundungus slowly probe the twins' limits.
George and Fred were both clever, but in front of a seasoned old hustler like Mundungus, they were still outmatched.
Mundungus had quickly figured it out. The twins were in trouble and urgently needed a batch of contraband materials, so each time he quoted them a higher price than before.
As for whether the goods would sell at all, Mundungus did not care. At worst, he could just sell them more cheaply to someone else. But if the twins wanted them, then this was the price.
"Looks like there's nothing left to discuss. Fine then, forget it," George said coldly. "Fred, let's go."
The two turned and walked away without a shred of reluctance. Mundungus watched them go. There was some reluctance in his eyes, but he never called them back.
In business, once you showed weakness, you ended up getting led around by the nose.
Mundungus understood that perfectly. So even if it meant losing the deal, he still would not call out to stop them.
Just as George and Fred were about to leave, George suddenly turned back and said to Mundungus, "Mr. Mundungus, our money isn't that easy to earn. If you take what you shouldn't take, be careful not to get cursed."
"Hah. You think I scare that easily?" Mundungus dismissed George's threatening words with utter contempt.
George let out a cold snort and turned away. Just then, a shining gold coin rolled out of his pocket and landed on the stone pavement.
That crisp, familiar sound made Mundungus's ears twitch involuntarily, and his sharp eyes instantly locked onto the adorable little thing that had made it.
Aha. A gleaming gold Galleon.
"Huh? What was that sound? Did I drop some money?" George suddenly said, patting his pocket. "Fred, help me look for it."
"I'm looking. Where did it go?" Fred lowered his head and pretended to search.
Mundungus stared at the Galleon rolling toward him and, with lightning speed, planted his foot on it, all while keeping up an expression of complete innocence.
George and Fred had seen the whole thing. They both looked at Mundungus suspiciously.
"Mundungus, what did you just do?" George demanded.
"What's it to you?" Mundungus shot back with a sideways glare. "Get lost, you little brats."
"You..." Fred rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to punch him.
"Oh? You want to start something?" Mundungus got excited at once and casually pulled out his wand.
Of course, he was only trying to scare the twins. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never actually make a move.
After all, attacking Hogwarts students in Hogsmeade was no small matter. The village depended on Hogwarts to exist. Otherwise, it would never have been so easy to establish a purely wizarding settlement there.
"Forget it, Fred." George cast a wary look at the eager Mundungus and dragged his brother away from the Hog's Head.
"Hah. Picking a fight with me, are they?" Mundungus spat contemptuously on the ground as he watched them leave. Then, just as he bent to pick up the coin, his movement suddenly stopped.
He stared at the Galleon, then pulled out a cracked glass sphere from inside his robes. Inside it, green light flickered.
It was a cheap magical detection device. The original version could detect large-scale hostile magic or enemies bearing malice toward its holder. This one was only a shoddy imitation, and its range was small, but in some cases it actually worked better.
For example, it was perfect for checking whether the Galleon in front of him had been cursed. After all, that boy George had just threatened to curse him, and right afterward he had conveniently dropped a Galleon. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed deliberate.
Mundungus was no fool. Fools had a hard time surviving in the grey market.
He did not really believe two students could put together any particularly vicious dark magic, but as a rat who lived by scurrying through the grey areas, Mundungus could be extremely cautious when he wanted to be.
Better to check first. And if there was a problem, then... well, throwing it away would be a waste. Better to put on dragon-hide gloves and spend it somewhere.
Or use it to set someone else up.
The color inside the glass sphere did not turn red, which meant there was no malice or curse directed at him nearby.
Mundungus let out a breath of relief, then eagerly bent down and picked up the shining Galleon.
The moment it touched his hand, it felt as though a gust of wind had brushed past him, and Mundungus shivered involuntarily.
"Strange. Why does it suddenly feel a bit cold?" Mundungus looked up at the sun overhead and scratched his head in confusion.
Forget it. Probably just his imagination. His luck was good today. He had gotten a free Galleon.
Mundungus flipped the coin up and down in his hand, watching it spin and catch the sunlight, flashing that intoxicating golden gleam. He was in an excellent mood.
Then suddenly, his palm jolted.
The glass sphere, which had been glowing a reassuring green, now flared an ominous red.
Danger nearby.
Mundungus went pale. Years of experience kicked in at once. He shoved the Galleon into his money pouch, hid it close to his body, then spun around in confusion, searching for whatever danger might be approaching.
A hand landed silently on his shoulder.
"Mundungus... if I remember correctly, I told you that you were not allowed inside my pub."
An old, icy voice spoke behind him.
Mundungus whirled around and found himself staring into the face of an old man with blue eyes, white hair, and a white beard, his expression dark.
Aberforth, the owner of the Hog's Head.
"Don't misunderstand, Aberforth. I didn't go into your pub. I was standing outside, perfectly well-behaved," Mundungus hurriedly explained.
This old man was no ordinary person. No one really knew what his background was, but he possessed frightening strength. Mundungus had once seen him put down a dozen troublemaking wizards in an instant.
So Mundungus did not dare provoke him. When the old man had banned him from the pub for stealing from other drinkers, he had obediently complied, terrified of getting taught a lesson.
"Is that so?" Aberforth's gaze rested on Mundungus's face. "Good. Then we'll set that aside for the moment. Let me ask you something. What were you doing just now?"
"Nothing much. Just teasing a couple of little brats." Seeing that Aberforth was still being reasonable, Mundungus relaxed a little and answered carelessly.