When she opened the door, Ivan was surprised to see Burke sitting in the corner eating a few shortbreads. He looked better than before, at least not as skinny as before.
Burke, of course, was aware that someone had entered the room, but he ignored it and continued eating. When he was finished, he looked up at Ivan and spoke casually.
"Looks like I'm going to die. Did you come to kill me this time?"
Ivan was surprised at Burke's casual attitude. A few days ago, he was determined to fight to the death, but now he seemed completely at ease.
"No, I'm only here to ask you some questions!"
Despite his surprise, Ivan didn't seem too bothered by Burke's unusual behaviour. He sat down and took out a few books on alchemy.
"You think I'm going to tell you?" Burke asked, catching Ivan's drift and laughing.
Although he had thought things through over the past few days and was no longer deliberately starving himself to death, this did not mean that he would help Ivan, the man who had cost him everything!
Without a word, Ivan produced a bottle of truth serum.
Burke's sardonic smile faltered and his expression turned sour, knowing that Ivan was threatening him.
If he answered truthfully, he would be able to decide what to say and what not to say. However, if he drank the Veritaserum, everything would be out of his control.
Burke didn't say anything for a while, but eventually relented and gave in.
"What exactly are you asking?"
"I read in this book an interesting technique for setting up a secret door in a magical object." Ivan took out one of the books and turned to page thirty-seven.
Burke looked at the name of the book,
The Mysteries of Alchemy — Seventy Shady Techniques You Don't Know
Burke immediately understood. It was one of the most frequently read books of his early years, and he knew its contents by heart.
"I ran into some trouble trying it out myself, as per the instructions in the book. For example, I tried to modify a protective prop to make it ineffective against a certain type of magic, but failed repeatedly…"
Ivan went on and on about his problems with his research and learning.
The last time he almost got caught in Lockhart's trap, Ivan came up with the idea of setting up some secret doors to prevent others from using his creations against him.
It was a pity that Alicia didn't know much about the subject, so Ivan was left stranded until he found a copy of the book in Borgin and Burkes.
Burke listened to Ivan's question, hesitated for a moment, then decided it wasn't a difficult question. Even if he didn't ask, Ivan would eventually figure it out.
"Your ideas and methods are too extreme. It is very difficult to get a protective prop to open the back door to a specific type of magic, even for me.
"So you might want to change your way of thinking so that the prop will automatically break upon sensing a magical fluctuation, or even explode on its own to kill the holder!"
Ivan's eyes lit up at this. Burke was indeed a master of the art of manipulation. This was a much more brilliant idea than Ivan's, and much easier to create.
It did not take long for Ivan and Burke to discuss the details of how to modify the protective props.
At first, Burke answered Ivan's questions passively, but Ivan kept coming up with wicked ideas that soon made Burke's heart itch. Eventually, he couldn't hold it in any longer and said a few more words…
As they talked, Ivan thought of something and asked, "By the way, Mr. Borgin, has the secret door you set up been discovered?"
"That's impossible!" Burke scoffed. If he were so easy to spot, he would not be alive today.
Of course, he wouldn't do this to every magical item on sale. It would be too tiring, and it would go wrong if he ran into a knowledgeable customer.
Burke hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Who are you selling this to?"
"What if I decide to sell it to the Ministry? What are the chances they'll find out?" Ivan hesitated, but did not try to hide the fact that Burke's life was in his hands, and he could not afford to reveal it.
Burke would probably know something about what he wanted to know, so asking him was the quickest way to find out.
Although the Ministry of Magic was the official body of the wizarding community, Ivan had to be wary of it.
He recalled that during the Second Wizarding War, the Ministry of Magic was once under Lord Voldemort's control, and the Minister became a puppet to hunt down Harry and the others.
Though the plot has long since changed and Voldemort may not come back to life, the Ministry is still a threat, and preparations must be made.
As soon as Ivan spoke, Burke seemed to have thought of something and his pupils contracted.
"You're going to leave a trapdoor in the protective props you sell to the Ministry?"
"Right," said Ivan.
Burke looked at the young wizard and felt a chill run down his spine.
Due to his involvement in the planning of the attack, he had carefully studied the movements of the Ministry of Magic, and was aware of their collaboration last year.
It is also known that the Ministry of Magic purchased many protective props for Aurors to use, leading to an unusually smooth cleaning operation last year.
Burke had been wondering why Alicia had suddenly decided to work with the Ministry of Magic, and had been so thoughtful as to provide repair services for protective props.
From the looks of it, this was the next big move!
They've been plotting against the Ministry since then!
Burke wondered what would happen one day to the Aurors who purchased the Protective Rings.
Burke shuddered at the mere thought.
However, as an opponent for many years, he knew Alicia well enough to know that she would not want to take control of the wizarding community. Otherwise, she would not have stayed in Knockturn Alley for more than ten years.
Then it could only be…
Burke looked at Ivan with his cloudy eyes and gasped. He could not believe that Ivan had been planning to plot against the Ministry of Magic and had been so bold as to set up this trap last year!
'How old was he?'
However, Burke soon remembered that the young wizard in front of him could not be judged by common sense, and that he was far superior to his peers in both speech and skill.
He was also impressed by the extraordinary explosive magic and the special white Patronus…
"Impressive! I didn't lose for nothing…" Burke sighed with a bitter smile. He thought that he was obsessed with the petty profits in Knockturn Alley, but he did not expect the other party to think nothing of him…