But where did George and Fred acquire their knowledge?
Could it be in the Restricted Section at Hogwarts?
Yvonne thought it was likely. The Restricted Section was vast, and the number of books he had browsed through in his entire school year was perhaps less than one in ten thousand.
It is normal to have some books on ancient magical texts, as there is even knowledge of Horcruxes…
However, he did not waste his time these days. He created some ordinary magical tools, and with the ones created by Alicia, a quarter of the shelves in the shop were full.
At the same time, the shop was reopened.
This continued into the morning of the following week, when Ivan heard a bell ring outside his door while he was quietly practising his magic at the counter.
Ivan put the carving knife down. It would take the Ministry more than half a month to arrive. It seemed that they had guests…
Ivan looked up and said, "Hello, welcome to the strange magical items shop in Hales. How may I help you?"
Ivan was stunned for a moment. The person was wearing a black wizard's robe and had light golden hair. His face was frighteningly pale. When he entered the shop, the snake-shaped cane in his right hand hit the ground with a dull thud…
Lucius Malfoy!
Ivan's eyes narrowed as he tried to guess the identity of the visitor.
Was it the Wizarding Market?
No, from what Dougatt had told him, the Malfoys were not behind the Wizarding Market.
It could only be…
Yvonne was deep in thought when the visitor spoke.
"Is Mrs. Hales not in the shop?"
Lucius Malfoy's indifferent grey eyes swept around the shop, and he was sharp enough to see that there was something different about it than on his previous visits.
Most of the shop was empty except for a few magical objects.
"Present," Ivan said, before continuing.
"But now I'm the acting owner, Mr. Malfoy, and you can talk to me if you need anything."
Lucius Malfoy waved his hand impatiently. "Listen, son, I've got a big deal to discuss. Go get your mother." He had no interest in wasting time with a brat.
"Is Mr. Malfoy planning to sell some Dark Magic items?" Ivan asked bluntly.
Lucius hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Then my mother would never agree to it, and Mr Malfoy would probably know about the Ministry's latest big move, so we're not going to be buying any large quantities of Dark stuff for a while," Yvonne refused.
"Surely the Ministry of Magic doesn't go so far as to look up Knockturn Alley?" Lucius asked, dropping his contempt at Ivan's methodical manner.
"It would seem that Mr Malfoy does not know much about what goes on in Knockturn Alley." Ivan shook his head.
Lucius was silent. He had been too busy with the contraband in his house to care about Knockturn Alley.
Ivan didn't say much, other than that the Ministry of Magic might find out about Knockturn Alley, and that was why the shop had removed the inappropriate magical items.
Lucius grimaced. If Ivan was right, they were in trouble.
He had been to one of the three Dark Arts shops in Knockturn Alley, the one owned by the goblin, who had refused to help him deal with Dark objects.
The owner of Borgin and Burkes was difficult to deal with, and Lucius thought he might take advantage of the situation to lower the price.
That was why he had come here to give it a try. If it didn't work out, he would go there. However, Ivan told him that the Ministry of Magic would be patrolling Knockturn Alley.
Lucius, unaware that the Ministry would only check this particular Dark Arts shop, assumed that Fudge was planning to clean Knockturn Alley.
Lucius's face darkened as he prepared to leave, intending to find his old friends and see if he could leave it to them.
"Just a moment, Mr. Malfoy," said Ivan, his eyes resting briefly on the diary Lucius was holding in his left hand.
"What is it?" Lucius Malfoy stopped.
"We can't buy a lot of your stuff, but we'll be fine with a few more in stock," Ivan said in a cheerful tone, rather than keeping his usual calm expression.
"Especially if there are any new and interesting magical objects…"
Lucius shook his head to himself. He had thought this young wizard was very mature, and wished Draco were like this.
He did not expect that she was still a child and would be exposed after saying a few more words.
Lucius opened his mouth, intending to refuse, as he needed to sell them in bulk and did not have the time to sell them one by one.
Remembering the notebook in his hand, Lucius hesitated, suddenly realising that this was a good opportunity to deal with trouble.
"What do you think of this?" Lucius asked, turning and placing the diary he was clutching in his left hand on the table.
Yvonne looked him over carefully.
It did not look very thick, and the ink-stamped date on the cover was faded, indicating that it had been there for some time.
Ivan, however, knew that it was the diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle, the first Horcrux of Lord Voldemort.
If left unchecked, the Horcrux Diary would possess Ginny Weasley, release the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, and wreak havoc at Hogwarts until it was punished by Harry Potter, the Savior!
The events of the previous term clearly showed Ivan that many things had changed since he had joined them.
Therefore, Ivan did not think that things would be as coincidental as they had been in the original timeline, where a giant basilisk was able to attack the school several times without killing any of the students.
If several Hogwarts students died, the school would have to shut down immediately, not to mention the possibility that he would encounter a basilisk while he was at Hogwarts.
Now that he had the opportunity, Ivan wanted to get rid of the Horcrux problem once and for all, as long as he could learn how to use the Fire.
Also, Ivan remembered the missing copy of The Origin of the Bloodline, and he had some questions that he needed an insider to answer.
While at Hogwarts, Ivan considered touching another of Voldemort's Horcruxes, the Crown of Ravenclaw, but decided against it.
Voldemort was already very powerful when he created the diadem, and unless he destroyed it immediately after obtaining it, or gave it to Dumbledore directly, it would be impossible for him to keep it with him.
The diary, on the other hand, contains the memories and powers of Voldemort's fifth year, and is the most accessible of the many Horcruxes…