After a long walk, Ivan arrived at the end of the corridor and lifted the trapdoor to find himself in a cellar full of note boxes.
Ivan realised that this must be Honeydukes Sweetshop in Hogsmeade.
Creak…
Ivan carefully pushed open the cellar door, but there was no sign of the crowd he had expected. Instead, the wide shopfront was empty.
True, it's not Christmas yet, and it's not the weekend, so young wizards and witches who are in their third year or above don't have much time to visit, Ivan thought.
Due to the lack of cover, Ivan was caught trying to sneak away.
The owner of Honeydukes was a good-natured wizard who always wore baggy robes, but he snapped at Ivan when he saw him wandering around his cellar.
"Just now. Maybe you didn't see it?" Yvonne said, teasing him.
Ivan's casual attitude convinced Honeydukes' boss that he was not here to steal the sweets, and his tone became much more pleasant.
"You must have sneaked out of Hogwarts, didn't you? Third year brats aren't nearly as short as you. No wonder I didn't see you earlier."
Ivan's mouth twitched, and he regretted not having learned a spell such as the Silencing Charm. He was considered quite high in his first year.
Ivan gloomily took a silver Sickle from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"So, you're not going to sell me sweets?"
"Of course it's for sale," said Honeydukes's boss, as he collected the silver Sickles at a speed that Ivan could not see.
"What are you going to get? Sizzling Honeybees? Chocolate Frogs? Bottling Beans? How about a cockroach pile? It's your headmistress's favourite."
Ivan bought some as well, and was curious enough to try Dumbledore's favourites, and had to admit that the pile of cockroaches was disgusting to look at.
Yvonne carefully pulled off the leg and tasted it, despite her disgust. It was sweet, apparently made of treacle, but crunchy to the teeth, as if she were actually chewing a worm.
"By the way, do you know any places in Hogsmeade where they sell potion ingredients?" Ivan asked casually, after trying a few more Chocolate Frogs and Bifuzzi Beans.
"There's only one potion shop in Hogsmeade," said Honeydukes's boss, his expression suddenly serious as he looked around.
Ivan's heart was racing, and he was wondering if he had said the wrong thing when his boss leaned down and lowered his voice.
"If you want to buy love potions, you'd better go to Diagon Alley. It's been very thorough lately, and old Rick doesn't sell contraband."
Love potions? Yvonne rolled her eyes. Why would he buy one?
He's only eleven years old. He's powerless even if he has a heart.
Ignoring the sly smile on the Honeydukes boss's face as he left, Ivan turned into the alley and saw a half-collapsed sign with the words "Potion" faintly visible on it, and a strange, foul-smelling potion inside.
Ivan entered the room with his hand over his nose. He could not see the owner of the place, but he could see a faint green smoke coming from the room at the end of the hall.
Yvonne was about to say something to get his attention when she heard a noise coming from the room.
"The basic potion ingredients are at the door, and the Polyjuice Potion and Booster are in the cupboard next to it… In addition, the Love Potion and Vitality Tonic are not for sale to young wizards and witches who have yet to graduate! No matter how much it costs!"
Yvonne could not be bothered to complain about the love potion any longer. How many young wizards had asked her about it?
Ivan self-consciously goes to where the potion ingredients are,
Fortunately, his Potioneering skills had been upgraded to Level 4, and he was able to quickly sort out the ingredients for the Bloodline Fusion Potion.
In order to prevent anyone from guessing the potion's recipe based on the ingredients he selected, Ivan also made some adjustments to the quantity of herbs that he did not need.
When Ivan opened the door, he was greeted by the pungent smell of a potion, which he had noticed earlier at the shop.
"What are you doing with all these ingredients?" Rick asked, expecting Ivan to be there to buy the Booster.
"Money…for practice." Ivan took out nine Galleons and placed them on the table.
Rick Sr. fell silent at once, quietly pocketed the money, and handed Ivan twelve Sickles.
"Where are the Bone-Attaching Herb and Hemolytic Herb?" Ivan asked, taking the rest of the silver Sickles.
Rick Senior's face changed. He leaned over and fixed his bloodshot eyes on Ivan.
"I don't know what strange recipes you found in the Hogwarts library, but I would advise you not to try them at random. Bone-Passing and Hemolytic are both prohibited ingredients, and only a few advanced potions are used."
"What if I offered you double the Galleons?" Ivan asked.
"An ounce of Bone-Attaching Grass is three Galleons… A ounce of Hemolytic Grass is two Galleons and seven Sickles…" Rick Senior's eyes were full of sarcasm.
"When it doubles?" Ivan frowned.
"No, before that…" Old Rick laughed.
Why don't you go rob a bank? Yvonne almost blurted out, knowing that seventeen Sickles an ounce in Diagon Alley was probably worth as much as dragon blood.
Even if it was because of the dragons' breeding, and the plummeting prices, it was still a top-notch material.
How could one Bone-Attaching Herb and Hemolytic Herb sell for so much money?
"Like I said, it's contraband. Every sale has to be recorded, and it's not sold anywhere to a young wizard like you." Rick Senior could tell that the young wizard in front of him didn't have as much Galleons as he had expected, and he immediately lost interest, but he still reminded him.
"And even if you pay me, I can't give it to you right now. It'll take a while."
Ivan sighed and dismissed the idea of purchasing Bone-Passing and Hemolytic Grasses.
Previously, he had earned a large sum of money by gambling. In addition to what he already had, he only had eleven Galleons in total. He was still quite a distance away from buying all the materials.
Ivan also considered using Floo Powder to teleport to Diagon Alley to confirm the price, in case he was tricked by Rick Senior.
But Diagon Alley is far more dangerous than Hogsmeade,
In any case, there were often third year wizards wandering around on their own, so both the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry kept a very close eye on the place.