Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard

Chapter 1193 -834: Maybe They’re Just Tired

Compared to the daytime, Diagon Alley at night was nowhere near as pleasant, especially after the shops on both sides had closed. The cold moonlight tangled with the flickering yellow lamps, and out of nowhere the place picked up an extra layer of chill.

Hokuriken and his group strode quickly down the street, two in front, three behind, subtly boxing Kael into the middle as if trying to keep him from running.

Kael had also noticed their intentions, of course, but he put on an expression like he knew nothing at all, even impatiently urging them on.

“Why is it so far? Aren’t we there yet?”

“We’re almost there.” Hokuriken glanced back and said.

He turned a corner and led them into a narrow alley.

Kael stopped where he was, hesitating a little. “You sure this is still within Diagon Alley?”

“Of course. I guarantee it.” Hokuriken lowered his voice and said, “This is Diagon Alley’s back street, also called Knockturn Alley.”

“Then how come I’ve never heard of it?”

“Because… well, this is where the shopkeepers rest.” Hokuriken explained, “During the day they’re in their shops, and at night they come back here to sleep. There’s nothing worth strolling around, so no one bothered to tell you about it.”

Knockturn Alley is the shopkeepers’ dormitory?

Kael let out a cold little laugh… with an excuse that ridiculous, did they really think he’d buy it?

The others probably thought the excuse was ridiculous too; they shifted instinctively, closing the distance between themselves and Kael.

“I see.”

The next second, Kael nodded and walked in of his own accord. “Come on, don’t waste time.”

“No problem.” Hokuriken showed a cold, success-of-the-plot kind of smirk and moved to the front again to lead the way.

Knockturn Alley at this time was filthier than it would be a hundred years later. Bones or bone-like oddities littered the ground, and the air was saturated with a suffocating stench of rot.

“This really is where the shopkeepers rest?” Kael couldn’t help casting a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, and asked again.

This time, though, he didn’t get an answer.

They’d already come to an even more grim and clogged-up side alley. Hokuriken stopped, and the others moved in with perfect coordination, circling Kael in the middle.

“Took some work to lure you all the way out here.” Hokuriken turned around, fixing Kael with an icy stare.

“Lure me… What’s that supposed to mean?” Kael’s voice came out somewhat muffled. “You’re not afraid I’ll hire those shopkeepers to kill you?”

“Afraid? Sure, of course I’m afraid.” Hokuriken said, but his eyes were full of sarcasm and mockery. “But they don’t dare come in here. Knockturn Alley is our turf. Those bastards might love their greed, but they know full well which is more important between Gold Coins and their own lives.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kael narrowed his eyes. “Forget it. Hurry up and take out the Black Dragon Egg. This place is disgusting.”

“Ha… hahaha…” Hokuriken suddenly burst into laughter. “No problem. Here you go…”

He casually picked up a stone from the ground and offered it to Kael. “Except we’ve decided on a little price hike. You’ll need to pay us ten thousand Galleon.”

“Are you insane… A rock?”

“No, this is the Dragon Egg.”

“And if I refuse?”

“That’s fine. Once we’ve killed you, we can slowly search you for it.” Hokuriken and the Wizards around him pressed in on Kael again.

Maybe they thought victory was already in the bag, or maybe they simply felt Kael posed no threat. Either way, they didn’t draw their Wands right away. They just surrounded him with smug faces… like hunters toying with prey already in the snare.

“You’re planning to kill me?”

“Bright boy. Why else do you think we lured you out here? You really thought we were going to make a real deal with you?” Hokuriken’s grin grew wider. “Why don’t you scream? Try getting someone to come save you.”

“Ah, help… someone…” Kael muttered two half-hearted calls.

But that little performance only enraged Hokuriken.

“Be afraid. Why aren’t you afraid!”

“I hate your type the most. Always looking so high and mighty.” He roared, whipping out his Wand. “Doesn’t matter. I’m going to see whether, under the torture of the Crucio Curse, you can still keep that… disgusting expression on your face.”

“What a shame.” Kael sighed.

“For you, it’s certainly a shame.”

“No, what I mean is, I thought I’d be walking away with another Dragon Egg.” Kael shook his head. “Total waste of time. Well then—goodbye.”

“Ha, you think you’re still walking out of—”

Thud!

Before Hokuriken could finish his sentence, a jagged Stone Cone suddenly punched straight through his chest.

The Stone Cone had extended out from the wall beside them, and it wasn’t alone—there were five of them, perfectly aligned, one for each of the men.

Luckily for them, the Stone Cones hadn’t hit anything vital. They were still alive.

“Transfiguration Spell…” Hokuriken spat a mouthful of blood. “You clearly… didn’t have a Wand out… when…”

“Just a simple Transfiguration

Technique. Why would I need a Wand for that?” Kael said casually.

“Seems I underestimated you…” Hokuriken lunged forward a step, tearing himself free from the Stone Cone’s hold. “But too bad for you—you should have aimed for our hearts.”

“Do it!” he snarled, leveling his Wand at Kael. “Avada—”

No one echoed him. Hokuriken suddenly realized that, at some point, Kael’s trunk had come open.

Must’ve been when the Stone Cones skewered them. Before that, after all, Kael had been carrying the trunk in his hand the whole time.

As one of their primary targets, Hokuriken had been keeping a close eye on that trunk, so he remembered it very clearly.

Then he saw a pair of orange eyes.

“Thump… thump…”