"?????"
The black-robed wizard's eyes went wide.
Damn.
You've got Blessing Potion, and so much Truth Serum, and you came to rob a black market merchant like me? Has the Ministry of Magic already gotten wind that I've stashed a bunch of good stuff?!
"I'll talk! I'll talk!"
The black-robed wizard saw Aurora walking over with a kettle, his face changed dramatically, wanting to confess, but Aurora finally had a chance to test the potion; how could she let him go?
"Glug glug glug~"
The black-robed wizard was force-fed several mouthfuls straight away.
The next moment.
His brain started to fog up, and he couldn't help but pour out all his secrets—including how he once coveted his real brother's wife and even had a custom-made doll for that purpose.
The effects of Truth Serum are this terrifying.
This is a magical potion that makes people confess the truth—just three drops and you'll spill your deepest secrets, though most of the time you need to slip it to someone when they're off guard.
After all, some wizards pretend their throat is blocked, or enchant their own throat with magic transformation—but in front of a well-prepared Aurora, none of that matters.
She shoved a giant tube straight into the black-robed wizard's stomach to administer the potion—a move you only see when slaughtering pigs. Even Ian nearby was shocked and started calling her a real Living Yama.
"Where's your real treasure?"
Clearly, Ian cared little about the black-robed wizard's feelings.
"In my teeth—magically altered, my real brother fixed them for me. He's also a Dark Wizard, but he already owns three shops in Knockturn Alley."
"My sister-in-law only wanted his money. I swear, I'll definitely find a way to poison him, so I can get his inheritance and become my sister-in-law's new husband!"
The black-robed wizard's urge to spill his guts shot through the roof.
"Good, good, good, we definitely got the right guy!" Ian hated scum like this the most in his whole life. He pried the black-robed wizard's mouth open and ripped out all his teeth.
Leaving the black wizard with a mouthful of blood, Ian immediately dragged Aurora off and got the hell out of there.
"No!"
A good while later, the black wizard came back to his senses, and on the icy surface of the lake, saw his toothless mouth. He let out a guttural, soul-crushing howl.
"I'm going to turn myself in to the Wizard Shoe Association! Report them to the Ministry of Magic! Report their Glowing Robe Inspection Team!" Utterly stripped of everything, the black wizard was ready to go nuclear and burn it all down.
He'd probably just had a real awakening.
And at that very moment—
Ian and Aurora had finished dividing the loot, returned to Hogwarts through the secret passage, not only seizing piles of forbidden items, but each pocketing a Dragon Egg.
The real treasures hidden in the black-robed wizard's teeth.
Even though Ian already had a Big Bone Dragon and didn't care for modern mixed-blood dragons, he still knew the value of dragon eggs—these things are priceless, even on the black market.
If you took them to Hagrid—
God only knows how crazy Hagrid would be for a dragon egg, how much Forbidden Forest material he'd reward little wizards!
"The Blessing Potion wasn't wasted!"
Ian was pretty pleased.
At this point, both he and Aurora had reverted to their child forms because the Aging Potion had worn off.
"When's our next hero mission?" Aurora clearly hadn't had enough; she felt like she'd fallen in love with being a 'hero of justice.'
This was way more promising than being a Dark Wizard!
"You don't get lucky every time, but I bet if we robbed some Death Eaters over the holidays it'd be a blast." Ian dangled a big carrot for Aurora. Dinner time was just around the corner, so they wrapped up the loot and got ready to head back to their own Houses for a rest.
"Where's my Christmas present?"
The Ravenclaw door knocker had really gained sentience.
"Here!"
Ian was well prepared—he crowned the knocker with a specially made colourful tiara, delicate and shiny, making the bronze eagle head beam and strut with delight. This guy finally stopped hassling Ian, asked a simple question, and let him into the lounge.
"Do you know what I've got on my head?"
Later, a little wizard wanted to get in.
The door knocker even started showing off to the little wizards whenever it got the chance to ask questions.
Ian didn't care.
He went back to his quiet dorm, washed up, and laid out today's haul—the dragon egg and a much smaller Phoenix Egg—on his desk.
"I have two eggs I can't eat, twelve eggs I can, and three invisible beast pelts…" Ian was just trying to count his assets.
But then—
Halfway through sorting,
He looked up and saw his Phoenix Egg glowing—a few deep crimson threads spilling from it, weaving like a giant net right over the Giant Dragon Egg.
The surface color of the Giant Dragon Egg was fading, and the Phoenix Egg was also changing—slowly shifting from deep red to a mysterious dark purple.
"Are my eggs about to hatch?!"
Ian quickly arranged all the eggs in front of the Phoenix Egg.
The next moment—
The Phoenix Egg welcomed them all.
The threads wrapped around every single egg.
Life force—
Started draining rapidly from all the eggs…