After Sherlock left Gringotts, he turned and walked into a secluded alleyway.
Inside, he took off the mask from his face, then pulled out a bottle of Disguise Potion he had swindled from Snape, poured it over his face, and moulded it into the features of an ordinary middle-aged Wizard.
Then he took out a set of loose black robes, put them on, and pulled up the hood, covering most of his face just as Hilke usually did.
After everything was ready, Sherlock stepped out of the alley. He first wandered around Diagon Alley for a while, and only after ensuring he wasn't being followed did he arrive at a wall at the end of Diagon Alley.
He walked straight ahead as if the wall didn't exist.
The moment Sherlock touched the wall, the entire surface rippled like water being splashed, and Sherlock vanished from the spot.
The next moment, his figure reappeared on a filthy, grey street.
This was a magical street similar to Diagon Alley, but the environment was particularly terrible.
Garbage was scattered everywhere on both sides of the road, and the surrounding buildings were dusty and grey; just looking at them made one feel depressed.
A wooden signpost by the road marked the name of this magical street—Knockturn Alley.
This was a street far less famous than Diagon Alley in the Wizarding World, yet one that almost every adult Wizard knew about.
The shops here all dealt in businesses related to the Dark Arts, and the Wizards who loitered here year-round were mostly dangerous individuals from the grey areas of society.
It could be said that all those who could become Death Eaters were Dark Wizards, but not every Dark Wizard was a Death Eater.
Diagon Alley was the gathering place for most of these non-Death Eater Dark Wizards.
Sherlock ignored the shops with windows displaying various severed limbs and hands or withered heads, walking with a clear purpose deep into Knockturn Alley.
Pedestrians on this street were few, but almost everyone was dressed like Sherlock. The few who showed their faces were all ill-intentioned.
Near the end of Knockturn Alley, Sherlock stopped in front of a dilapidated house.
This wasn't a shop but rather looked like a residence; it was a broken-down house that Sherlock had bought a month ago.
Despite Knockturn Alley's remote location and low foot traffic, the land here was still extremely valuable. Even for such a hidden spot, a house covering less than twenty square metres had cost him nearly a thousand Galleons.
Pulling a specially made key from his pocket, Sherlock opened the door to the house.
There was almost no furniture inside, and the walls and wooden floors were in tatters. It was clear that the house had a very long history; if it were in the Muggle world, it would probably be considered a historical monument.
A pile of junk was stacked in the north-west corner of the room. With a wave of his hand, Sherlock tossed aside the mess of old sofas, broken chairs, and ruined tables, leaving only an old but intact wooden cabinet in its place.
Opening the third drawer from the top of the wooden cabinet, he drew his wand and tapped lightly inside. The entire cabinet automatically split apart, revealing a small Secret Cabinet behind it.
After the Secret Cabinet was opened, a large pile of cluttered items spilled out.
The most prominent among them were a skull wearing a crown and a withered arm. Even if the other items didn't look as frightening as these two, they still didn't seem like simple objects.
All of these were treasures related to the Dark Arts that Sherlock had sorted out from the Lestrange Family vault.
He had specifically separated these items from the normal treasures and bought this house specifically to store them. As for the others—gold and silver jewellery that were equally priceless—they were stored in Gringotts in France.
Sherlock had used his real identity to buy a vault at Gringotts in France, specifically to store the wealth transferred from the Lestrange Family vault.
However, these items related to the Dark Arts had very distinct characteristics. For safety's sake, he didn't simply store them in a vault or sell them off.
Instead, he kept them here separately, planning to pick out potentially useful items at some point and destroy the rest.
After sorting out the Dark Arts-related items from the treasures he brought this time and storing them in the Secret Cabinet, Sherlock left the house.
He had set up very thorough protective measures for this house and wasn't afraid of anyone discovering anything here.
Just as he had arranged everything and left Knockturn Alley with the other treasures, returning to Diagon Alley, he had just taken off his black robes and removed his disguise when he ran into an acquaintance.
"Sherlock, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Seeing Kingsley stop to greet him, a smile appeared on Sherlock's face.
"It's not long before the school term starts. I'm here to purchase some things I might need for next semester."
Kingsley and Sherlock were old acquaintances. After investigating the straw man attack case together last year, their relationship had been very good.
This included the tickets for the Quidditch World Cup, which was about to be held in Britain, which he had given to Sherlock.
Kingsley wasn't wearing his Auror Office uniform today; his visit to Diagon Alley clearly wasn't for official business.
"Sometimes I really envy you," Kingsley said with a wry smile. "You have so many holidays every year; it's much more relaxed than being an Auror."
Sherlock raised an eyebrow and walked side-by-side with him.
"Come off it, aren't you on holiday right now as well?"
"This is the only day I get to rest this month. From now on, not just me, but the entire Auror Office will be extremely busy."
"Because of the upcoming Quidditch World Cup?"
Kingsley shook his head.
"It's not just that. The Daily Prophet hasn't reported it yet, but it's not exactly a secret. Within the Ministry of Magic, an employee of the Department of Magical Games and Sports named Bertha Jorkins has gone missing. At first, we just thought she, who is usually a bit silly and likes to meddle, had gotten lost somewhere, but it's concerning that she still hasn't shown up."
"During the Quidditch World Cup, besides maintaining safety and order within the British Wizarding World, we also have to investigate her disappearance. The Ministry assigned this task to me, but so far, other than knowing she went to Albania for a holiday before she disappeared, there aren't any other clues."