As darkness fell and the streetlights illuminated the streets, Diagon Alley seemed to be bathed in a warm, amber glow, creating a pleasantly tipsy atmosphere.
Vizette left the apothecary and, following the potion master's directions, turned into a dark alley.
The lights in Diagon Alley dimmed instantly, and the air circulating in the alleyway became cold and damp.
The brick walls on both sides were crooked and twisted, with spots of fluorescent moss growing on them, emitting a cold, eerie green light, giving off a ghostly feeling.
The path ended in darkness, like the entrance to hell, giving one the illusion of no return.
Even someone with the least sensitive senses could detect that something was amiss with this path.
At the end of the path, Hagrid's roar echoed.
"Let me go! I'm not buying it! Don't touch me!"
A cocky voice chuckled, "What are you talking about? Didn't we already agree? We've already brought the dog... You don't want us to slaughter this dog, do you?"
Hagrid's roar grew louder, "Please don't do this! The little cutie hasn't even opened her eyes yet! You suddenly raised the price, I don't have that much money with me! Give me one more day!"
The arrogant voice continued, "Give you another day? This is a hot potato! Let us search you. If you really don't have that much money, I'll sell it to you at the original price!"
Hagrid roared firmly, "No! That's all the money I have on me!"
Vizette realized that Hagrid had gotten into a conflict with another group of people.
Now was not the time to play the hero or watch the spectacle; going back to Diagon Alley to call for help was the right thing to do.
Just as he was about to turn back, a chilling voice sounded behind him, "Bringing a brand new cauldron? And an owl?"
"Looks like a freshman..." A wizard shrouded in black robes appeared, his wand held high, its tip emitting a pale white light. "Kid, what are you doing here?"
Vizette instinctively lowered his head and shielded his eyes with his hand to avoid being blinded by the bright light.
The black-robed wizard continued, "What luck today! Two fat fish... Come with me!"
Vizette reached into his pocket, where he found a gift from Ollivander—a fist-sized iron plaque, a magical item with defensive properties.
The method of use was also extremely simple. One only needed to touch the iron plate three times to trigger the Iron Armor Spell contained within it.
Vizette vaguely understood the value of the iron plaque, but the situation was urgent, and it seemed that he could only rely on this magical item to escape.
He followed the black-robed wizard deep into the path and saw a strange sight at the end of the road.
A Greek-style melody filled the air;
The tall Hagrid leaned against the corner of the wall, his fists clenched and his eyes wide with anger;
There were also three ragged men who looked like hungry wolves, who, despite only reaching Hagrid's waist, surrounded the giant.
"Vizette… how did you get here?" Hagrid asked in surprise, then roared, "You dare to take a child hostage!"
"So you two know each other. Well, he's just unlucky."
The black-robed wizard gave Vizette a push, and together with the other three, they surrounded Vizette and Hagrid.
Vizette wasn't as excited as Hagrid. He looked behind the four of them, where a giant beast was fast asleep.
The behemoth looked like a pug magnified countless times; just lying on the ground sleeping, it was already as tall as him.
What was most peculiar was the dog's appearance; it had three heads, and when it smacked its lips, sticky drool dripped out.
Cerberus, a XXXX level magical creature, originated from Greece, had a sweet tooth, and possessed a size comparable to a dragon and magic resistance...
According to the ratings in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", XXXX was the most dangerous level. These magical creatures were extremely dangerous and very difficult to tame.
Based on Vizette's understanding of Hagrid, for Hagrid to refer to a magical creature as "cute," being large and dangerous were essential attributes.
"Hagrid, do you want to buy it?" Vizette asked.
Hagrid nodded angrily. "I brought enough money, but they still tried to rip me off, raising the price to six hundred Galleons!"
The black-robed wizard said, "One of our brothers was captured in order to bring this big guy here, so of course we have to pay extra! He's one of our closest relatives..."
"That's no excuse for your dishonesty!" Hagrid spat, interrupting the black-robed wizard.
"Broken promise? Absolutely! Breaking promises is what I do!" The black-robed wizard cackled. "Now that another child knows our secret, I'll have to add more money!"
"Now that there's an extra child, you can go back and get the money! If you don't bring a thousand Galleons tomorrow... the ghost of this child will come looking for you!"
"Huh!" Hagrid exclaimed in surprise, waving his hands frantically. "You can't do this! You absolutely can't do this!"
Seeing this, Vizette couldn't help but rub his temples.
Vizette's past life in an orphanage taught him that he couldn't back down in such situations; backing down would only embolden the wicked.
To deal with such unreasonable villains, one needed to make them feel afraid.
"Hehehehehe... Of course we have to do it!" The four men opposite laughed maliciously. "You can go back and raise the money now. Whether this child lives or dies depends on you!"
Vizette cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, none of you asked for my opinion before making all these decisions on your own?"
"My family is waiting for me, and they will worry if I go back late... So I'm sorry, I can't stay here overnight."
The four people opposite were stunned for a moment, then laughed even more wildly.
"Did I hear that right? He's threatening us? I'm so scared!"
"A freshman carrying a cauldron, probably only bought a wand today? What can he do? Lumos?"
"Judging from your clothes, you don't seem like a child from a wealthy pure-blood family... If you were, that would be great, then we could ask for two thousand Galleons!"
Vizette calmly replied, "Do you know the Obscurial? Or do you have a habit of reading newspapers?"
The four people opposite him were getting impatient. "What 'Obscurus'? Stop talking nonsense! Big guy, get the money ready!"
"Alright…" Vizette sighed. "Hagrid, I remember you brought the Daily Prophet with you, do you still have it?"
"Oh...it's still here!" Hagrid immediately rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a crumpled newspaper.
Vizette took the newspaper and handed it to the four people opposite him, saying, "You can take a look."
Only the black-robed wizard spread out the newspaper; the other three remained vigilant.
Soon, the black-robed wizard's expression changed from suspicion to surprise.
He raised his wand, the tip of which emitted a warm white light that shone on Vizette's face.
The black-robed wizard's expression changed rapidly, from surprise to fear, and beads of sweat gradually covered his forehead.
"A born dark wizard, a walking powder keg, an extremely dangerous individual." Vizette pointed to himself. "That's me… I'm an Obscurial."
The black-robed wizard wiped the sweat from his brow, forcing himself to remain calm, and shouted, "You say it is? Who knows if the reporter took the wrong photo... or if the content is just made up!"
"That's Vizette!" Hagrid said angrily. "He's gotten the cold shoulder from quite a few people today because of this!"
"Perhaps you need some evidence?" Vizette smiled and rolled up his sleeves, each gesture executed with remarkable fluidity…