After dealing with the Dark wizard, Victor continued through Knockturn Alley.
Unlike Diagon Alley, where most brooms followed Ministry regulations, Knockturn Alley catered to different customers. If someone wanted a broom modified beyond legal limits, this was the place to find it.
Victor walked past several shops displaying cursed artifacts and illegal potions.
As he turned into a narrower street, an old witch suddenly stepped in front of him. Before he could move around her, a bony hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hey, little guy," the witch said with a smile that looked more predatory than friendly. "Did you lose your way?" Her eyes moved over him. "Come with me. I'll get you something to eat."
Victor slowly lowered his gaze to the hand on his shoulder. Then he looked back at her.
"Remove your hand."
The witch's smile remained. "I was only trying to—"
"Remove your filthy hand." The temperature in his voice dropped noticeably.
The witch finally seemed to notice something was wrong. Most children looked scared in Knockturn Alley. Most adults did too. Victor looked neither. He looked at her the same way someone might look at a dead rat lying in the street.
Her smile weakened slightly.
"Unless you want to discover exactly how much pain a human body can experience before it stops functioning."
The witch's instincts screamed at her. Years spent surviving in Knockturn Alley had taught her how to recognize predators. The boy in front of her wasn't afraid — and more importantly, he wasn't pretending.
Slowly, she removed her hand.
"Good choice," Victor said. Then he walked past her without another glance.
The witch remained where she was. Only after Victor disappeared around the corner did she realize her heart was racing.
"What a creepy kid," the old witch muttered.
She had lived in Knockturn Alley for decades and dealt with murderers, Dark wizards, escaped criminals, and worse.
Very few had ever triggered the instinctive danger that boy had. When Victor looked at her, every survival instinct she possessed had screamed at her to back away.
Shaking her head, she quickly left.
Victor paid her no further attention.
A few minutes later he arrived at the broom shop he had been searching for. The interior was dimly lit and crowded with many things hanging from walls and ceiling among them was brooms.
Most looked heavily modified, and a few looked dangerous enough that Victor suspected they had been banned somewhere.
Behind the counter sat a hunched wizard reading a newspaper. He lowered it when Victor entered, eyes narrowing immediately.
"What do you want, kid?"
Victor looked around the shop before answering. "I want a broom. The fastest one available — not something that'll fall apart after a few months. Fast and well-made."
The wizard studied him for a few seconds, then leaned back in his chair. "That'll cost 15 Galleons." His gaze moved over Victor's appearance. "Do you even have that kind of money, kid?"
Victor reached into his robes and produced a heavy pouch. The sound of gold hitting the counter immediately changed the wizard's expression.
The old wizard opened the pouch slightly and saw enough to make him stop talking.
"If you're thinking about scamming me because of my age, don't." Victor's expression remained completely indifferent. "This little kid can be considerably crueler than most grown wizards."
The wizard stared at him for several moments, then slowly closed the pouch and stood up. "Fair enough."
He disappeared into the back room without another word. Several minutes later he returned carrying a broom wrapped in dark cloth.
The moment Victor saw it, he could tell it wasn't a normal model.
The shopkeeper watched Victor inspect the broom before crossing his arms.
"I'm telling you, kid, this is the fastest broom you're going to find. You won't get anything better in Diagon Alley."
Victor gave a small nod. From what he could tell, the old man wasn't lying. The broom was heavily modified, the enchantments were stable, and the craftsmanship was far above what he expected from a shop hidden in Knockturn Alley.
The old wizard continued staring at him. "But why would a kid need something like this?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "A broom like this isn't for school Quidditch."
Victor slowly lifted his gaze from the handle. "Didn't you already get your money?"
The shopkeeper blinked.
"Then don't put your nose where it doesn't belong."
The old wizard was silent for a moment.
Victor placed a hand on the counter. "People who ask unnecessary questions usually fall into one of two categories."
The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. "And those are?"
"The curious." Victor picked up the broom. "The dead."
The shop fell silent.
Then the old wizard barked out a laugh. "Fair enough." Unlike the witch from earlier, he wasn't offended. If anything, the answer sounded perfectly reasonable by Knockturn Alley standards.
He counted the gold quickly and pushed the broom fully across the counter. "Pleasure doing business with you, kid."
Victor took the broom. As he turned toward the door, the old wizard called after him.
"Whatever you're planning, try not to get yourself killed."
Victor paused briefly. "That advice would be more useful if directed at everyone else."
The shopkeeper watched the boy disappear into the crowd, then slowly shook his head.
"Bloody kids these days," the old wizard muttered. "Not as gullible as they used to be."
He pocketed the gold and left it at that. He'd gotten his money, and he wasn't stupid enough to push further. Whatever family raised a child like that, he had no desire to find out how messed up they were — or what would happen if he offended them.
*****
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