"Selling something?"
Hearing Lewis's words, the old man's face immediately lit up with interest.
"Aren't you Muggle-born? Where'd you get something to sell? Don't tell me there's Muggle junk in there—I don't take that."
"You know who I am, so don't worry." Lewis casually patted his chest. "I'm a regular here. I know your rules. Everything inside is from the magical world."
"As for where it came from… well, I follow the rules, so you should too."
"Yeah, yeah, don't ask about the source," Strackey waved his cigarette dismissively and muttered, "Fine, don't tell me. I can figure it out myself."
He stepped forward and reached for the box—
Then suddenly stopped.
"Well now, didn't expect this. The box itself is quite the treasure."
The old man examined it closely, running his fingers over its surface.
"The style, the craftsmanship, the aged leather, the marks of time… wait a second—these scratches are fresh! A handcrafted Victorian-era leather trunk, and you've been knocking it around like this?!"
Halfway through inspecting it, Strackey grew visibly annoyed at Lewis's careless handling of the antique and glared at him.
Lewis, however, didn't care at all. He replied casually, "If you treasure antiques that much, then hurry up and buy it before it gets ruined in my hands."
"Hmph! Of course I'll buy it," the old man snorted. "But first, let me see what kind of goods you've packed inside something like this."
He carefully unlatched the trunk and opened it.
Inside was a neatly arranged stack of old books.
Leather covers made from cowhide and sheepskin, glue- and thread-bound pages, worn and chipped paper, classic printed and handwritten text—
As Strackey flipped through them one by one, his expression gradually shifted to surprise.
Nearly every book was over a hundred years old.
Magical Fungi and Where to Find Them, Oh No, I Deformed My Foot, Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey Cried, Chadwick's Charms (Volumes I–VII), A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, Jiggery Pokery and Hocus Pocus, Hogwarts: A History…
All wizarding books—and most of them were century-old Hogwarts textbooks, complete with handwritten student notes in the margins.
These books, along with the Victorian-era trunk, had all been carefully selected by Lewis from the Room of Requirement using Appraisal.
The trunk was simply for carrying them.
As for why he chose books—
Because selling books was the safest and most efficient option.
Looking at the massive junk pile in the Room of Requirement, it was filled with all sorts of discarded items.
If Lewis wanted to move valuable goods without attracting attention, he needed something that offered the highest value with the least space and weight.
That narrowed things down quickly.
Magical items were naturally more valuable than ordinary ones—
But Repair Charm could only fix mundane objects. Repairing magical items required mastery of runes and alchemy, which he didn't yet possess.
So he had to settle for the next best thing: valuable ordinary items.
That ruled out furniture and bulky objects—they were hard to transport and difficult to sell.
The best options were jewelry and luxury goods, or books.
But jewelry was risky. Selling it could easily raise suspicion of theft.
Antique books, on the other hand, were perfect.
They were common enough not to draw suspicion, easy to sell, and in the wizarding world, books weren't cheap to begin with.
Plus, with his vast knowledge and copying techniques, even damaged books could be restored.
Standing at the shop entrance, Strackey examined the books from beginning to end, then again from end to beginning.
After several rounds, and just as Lewis was starting to get impatient, the old man finally looked up at him with admiration.
"Well, I have to admit—you've got real skill with repair magic."
After a pause, he continued, "Since we're familiar with each other, I'll be honest. These books are well restored, but most of them are outdated textbooks, so the market is limited."
"So, I'll give you eight Galleons per book. The trunk—fifty Galleons. What do you think?"
Eight Galleons?
Lewis considered the price carefully.
That was roughly the price of a new textbook—a fifth-year Potions book, for example, cost around nine Galleons.
If sold as used books, this was a high price.
If sold as antiques, it was a bit low.
But considering he was selling in bulk, and the questionable origin of the goods…
A slight price cut was acceptable.
After a moment, Lewis countered, "How about this? Sixty-seven books total, ten Galleons each. Add the trunk, make it seven hundred Galleons."
"Ten Galleons per book? Why don't you just rob me?" Strackey snapped.
"Eight Galleons per book? You're the one doing the robbing," Lewis shot back without hesitation.
The two glared at each other for a while before Lewis spoke again.
"Think about it, Mr. Abraham. If this deal goes through, I'll bring you more business in the future."
"More business?" Strackey's eyes lit up.
After a moment of calculation, he nodded.
"Fine. Deal. You little brat—you're getting the better end of this one."
"Whatever you say."
Lewis took the dragonhide pouch filled with seven hundred Galleons and turned to leave.
Since the deal was done, he didn't mind letting the old man have the last word.
"See you next time, Strackey. And Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, kid!"
Only after walking a full hundred steps away did Lewis finally let a satisfied smile spread across his face.
Now, he was truly rich.
Whether in the Muggle world or the wizarding world, money was essential.
He had no intention of going back to the kind of tight, struggling life he'd lived over the summer.
Even if he personally didn't care much for material things, magic research was expensive.
Having money made both life and research far easier.
The first thing Lewis did was upgrade all his equipment.
Wizard robes, cauldrons, experimental tools—everything was replaced with new ones.
He even bought Homer a brand-new cage and a bag of dried mice, which the Scottish Round-Faced Owl found delicious.
Next came Christmas.
And now that he had money—
Homer, who had been idle for half a term, would finally have some work to do.
Over the following days, Lewis wandered through Diagon Alley, gathering information about the key ingredients for permanent attribute potions.
Re'em blood, kneazle claw powder, nine-tailed fox tail hair, griffin beak powder, bear paws, and owlbeast head feathers.
In the end, it was a few familiar faces who provided useful leads.
Miss Hayden from the magical creature shop, and the two owners of Slug & Jiggers Apothecary.
As the largest magical creature shop in Diagon Alley, Hayden's shop inevitably had connections with poachers.
She revealed that in the East, several groups were searching for the elusive nine-tailed fox, claiming to have reliable information.
She didn't believe they could actually catch one.
Nine-tailed foxes could sacrifice a tail to cast mysterious magic and escape any situation.
Even if they lost a tail, it would regrow over decades.
But if poachers could push one that far, obtaining some tail hair wouldn't be difficult.
Lewis left fifty Galleons with Hayden, asking her to keep an eye out for any news.
As for Slug & Jiggers, they had information on Re'em blood.
Though rare, they had access to reliable sources.
After all, they had connections.
Arsenius Jigger, author of Magical Drafts and Potions, and Horace Slughorn, who had taught Potions at Hogwarts for fifty years.
Lewis left a deposit of one hundred Galleons, securing a supply of Re'em blood by the summer.
Obtaining leads on two rare ingredients in one go put him in a great mood.
But the remaining four were far more difficult.
Owlbeast feathers were essentially impossible—owlbeasts weren't native to this world.
Kneazles were American magical creatures.
They could walk upright, move faster than arrows, and were said to possess hypnotic and mind-reading abilities.
Their fur was used as wand cores in Ilvermorny.
Claws weren't common potion ingredients, but if American wizards could obtain fur, claws might also be possible.
That would have to wait for a future trip to America.
The bear-like creature came from the East—a monstrous being resembling a giant bear.
Also out of reach for now.
That left the griffin.
Also known as the griffon, it was a magical creature native to Greece.
With the forelimbs, wings, and head of an eagle, and the body and hind legs of a lion, it was fierce and carnivorous.
Once widespread across Europe, griffins were now rarely seen.
Their descendants—the hippogriffs—were bred widely as substitutes.
But substitutes were not enough.
Hippogriffs could replace griffins as mounts—
But not as potion ingredients.
Compared to the others, griffins were at least native to this world.
So Lewis decided—
He would begin his search with them.
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