After seeing the face of the person who entered, Mr. Borgin was surprised. He knew this person! It was the successful writer Gilderoy Lockhart, who had disappeared after being released by the Ministry of Magic! It was said that he had gone on a journey around the world, but he never imagined that he would be locked up here and turned into a priest.
Mr. Borgin was not a wizard who was unaware of the Muggle world; on the contrary, he knew a lot about it. Naturally, he understood what it meant to be a "priest" in the non-magical world. It was quite interesting that a wizard would become a priest in this day and age.
It's not that there weren't wizards who joined the church and devoted themselves to faith, but most of them lived in the Middle Ages. From the 20th century onwards, Borgin hadn't heard of any wizard who graduated and then became a priest.
Therefore, Borgin also clearly understood that Lockhart's task here was not to guide the lost sheep. The priest was just a facade.
What does this gentleman really want to do? Borgin, in his mind, silently speculated on Tom's psychology with the same seriousness as a student trying to understand the examiner's intentions when answering questions. This shrewd merchant, upon seeing Tom's power, finally decided to join him. He still didn't know Tom's name, so he continued to use "sir" to refer to his mysterious new boss.
Borgin was an intelligent person; you couldn't succeed without being intelligent. He had created his own territory in Knockturn Alley, a place filled with chaos. But when Moody took the dark magic items from the shop, Borgin realized that his career as an antiquarian was over because the losses in the shop were too great for him to bear.
However, after Tom approached and communicated with him, he felt that this seemed to be a good opportunity disguised as bad news. Although he couldn't do business in Knockturn Alley, it seemed like he had found a more valuable goal to serve.
He had high expectations for this emerging power. It had a powerful force, an extremely strong initial advantage, its own territory, and, most importantly, an ambitious leader.
This last characteristic was especially important. The lower limit of a power is determined by the first three elements, but the upper limit of a power depends on the quality of its leader.
In Borgin's mind, Tom was undoubtedly an ambitious individual. He controlled the Dementors and had reached an agreement with the Ministry of Magic, as evidenced by the surprise attack. Borgin didn't believe that there hadn't been communication and negotiations between the Ministry of Magic and the Dementors before the raid.
A few hours ago, the Dementors had obediently followed the Ministry of Magic officials to seal off Knockturn Alley, indicating that negotiations between the two parties had already concluded, and the Ministry of Magic officially recognized that power. That recognition was very important. Without official recognition, they would remain a marginal force, but once recognition was granted, even if only tacitly, that power could step onto the official stage.
Borgin hoped to use his understanding of Tom's psychology to secure a more important position in this power. He quietly analyzed in his mind. He had some questions that he needed to answer: What was Tom's position with respect to him? What role would he play in this power? Who were his competitors? What was the development direction of this power?
If he could answer these questions properly, his future in this place would be bright.
Firstly, the position Tom had assigned to him was to handle any problems that might arise in the prison, definitely not to provide instant noodles and sausages to the prisoners. The job actually involved taking care of Tom's most important point. If he did it well, he would play the role of a steward, and that would be great because only the most trusted ones could play that role, right?
As for his competitors, there was only one for now. Borgin hadn't even considered the Muggles, as for wizards, Muggles were simply tools and couldn't be a true supporting force. Currently, the only person who could really compete with him was this "priest." Tom had placed him here to balance each other out. But judging by the control he had over the right to use his wand, his position would definitely be higher than Lockhart's.
Borgin's quick calculations raced through his mind. He quickly resolved the first three questions he had posed, and now he only had the last question to answer.
In what direction would this power develop?
Tom already had firm control over the Dementors, and the new Azkaban had already been built. What would be his next step? Would he deepen cooperation with the Ministry of Magic while secretly recruiting talent? And then, at the right moment, would he directly overthrow Amelia's government and take her place?
It made sense!
After reaching this conclusion, Borgin felt stimulated by his own deduction. The source of this emotion was not fear or dread, but excitement: the secret plot to overthrow the Minister of Magic, which had occurred countless times in history and had resulted in astonishing rewards for those who succeeded.
Borgin believed that if his lord managed to become the next Minister of Magic or the true manipulator behind the Ministry of Magic, his position would rise. He would go from being a simple shop owner to becoming the "Chancellor of the Gray Robes," a position above all others, as long as he could earn his lord's favor and become useful within his power.
Borgin looked at Tom with admiration in his eyes. What an ambitious wizard he was! But that's perfect, I'm an old man with a bit of ambition and skill as well. We can work together and achieve something great...
Nonexistent ambitions swelled.
Tom had no idea how many plans were brewing in Borgin's mind. The main reason he had brought him to the White Dolphin Prison was for him to help take care of the prison. There weren't so many twists and complications.
As for overthrowing the Ministry of Magic and taking its place, Tom had no intentions of doing that. In the coming years, he preferred the Ministry of Magic to remain stable, and until Voldemort was completely defeated, Amelia would forever be his good friend.
While Borgin's brain was spinning rapidly, the priest Lockhart beside him gave him a Lockhart-style smile and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you; we will be colleagues from now on."
These words brought Mr. Borgin back to reality.
"Of course," Borgin replied, returning the smile in an extremely professional manner and shaking Lockhart's hand. For some reason, neither of them bothered to ask each other's names.
"You've come at the right time. My lord and I are organizing the magical items we brought from Knockturn Alley. I'm sure my partner must be very distressed right now," Borgin said as he greeted Lockhart. Then, he returned to his original work with a smile and informed Tom.
As he said these words, he could almost hear Burke's scream of fury. However, Borgin didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for his partner's fate. On the contrary, he relished in his misfortune.