It’s no wonder it’s Black—giving away such a prime store location with no hesitation at all.
Kael leaned against the door, peering inside.
Due to long vacancy, the windows were filthy, and inside was a dim haze where nothing could be seen. Cleaning it up would likely be difficult.
To open for business, a proper refurbishment might be essential.
Luckily, he’d just earned a thousand Galleons, which should be sufficient.
As for staffing issues, Kael immediately thought of the House-elves in the school kitchen.
House-elves were great; they’d already helped out at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes before, proving they could absolutely handle this job.
Kael stroked his chin and started pondering the feasibility of this plan, feeling increasingly confident about it.
Placing items in the shop with clear price tags for sale not only solved the time-wasting issue but guaranteed prices wouldn’t fluctuate, and they might even be raised appropriately.
And considering his relationship with the Ministry of Magic…
Kael knew that soon he’d be leveraging Auror-exclusive magical communication devices to reach a preliminary collaboration with Minister Bones, although he’d been somewhat disadvantaged.
With this connection, further maneuvering could make it possible to showcase those ambiguously restricted trade items, such as Mobic Squid Ink.
This could work.
Kael’s eyes lit up, taking advantage of some free time; he was currently hiding out at No. 12 Grimmauld Place from Voldemort. As long as the Weasley Brothers and Cedric, who could access this location, didn’t discover him, he could appear in Diagon Alley with no issues.
While not opening for business immediately, clearing the place out should be achievable; later, it could directly operate, and he might even reside there temporarily—the Leaky Cauldron’s room rentals were quite costly, saving was wise.
But first, he had to find the Magic Contract, which had been tossed somewhere.
It should be in the Transfiguration Lizard Skin Bag, where he stored all his miscellaneous items for convenience.
As expected, the Magic Contract was indeed tucked in a corner of the bag, alongside several packs of Owl Snacks.
Kael took it out, ready to get to work when suddenly his suitcase started shaking.
Such a situation only pointed to one possibility—something was bumping against the room’s door inside the suitcase, and judging by the frequency of the shaking, it seemed rather urgent.
No choice, Kael had to temporarily set aside his shop plans and quickly return to his room at the Leaky Cauldron, stepping into the suitcase.
Upon opening the door, a massive scaly head expanded infinitely in his view; fortunately, Kael reacted swiftly, jumping to the side and narrowly avoiding Norbert’s headbutt.
“What’s wrong?” Kael asked with lingering fear.
Norbert appeared somewhat flustered, urgently calling out twice, his tail gently sweeping over two round eggs.
Dragon eggs?
Kael seemed to have guessed something, and upon closer inspection, he noticed that several cracks had mysteriously appeared.
Norbert whimpered nervously.
“It’s alright, it’s alright, you didn’t step on them.” Kael comforted Norbert, “If I’m not mistaken, the little ones are probably about to hatch.”
Kael felt a surge of excitement, throwing thoughts of opening a shop and making money to the back of his mind.
This involved a Fire Dragon… Could eggs really hatch so quickly? And simultaneously?
Kael felt uncertain; he pondered briefly, then left the suitcase, heading to Dorset with it.
Employing his memory, Kael swiftly located Newt’s cabin amid the endless forest, stepping forward to knock on the door.
With a creak, the door opened, revealing a slightly nervous head.
“Dobby, who’s here, Tina?” Newt’s voice called out, “Strange, isn’t she visiting Rolf at Ilvermorny?”
Rolf Scamander was Newt’s grandson, based at the United States’ Ilvermorny. Upon graduation, he took on a professorship, specializing in naturalistic studies.
“No, Mr. Scamander, it’s Mr. Kael here.” The excited tone of House-elf Dobby rang out.
“Kael?”
At this moment, Newt also approached, looking a bit surprised. “This is quite unexpected; I thought you were busy with Order of Phoenix matters.”
“It’s a long story.” Kael said naturally, stepping inside.
“Something happened?” Newt asked with some concern, “Is it about Godric’s Hollow? I heard seventy Death Eaters died there yesterday. Surely it wasn’t about you?”
“I was indeed involved.” Kael nodded and then shook his head, “But my visit this time isn’t about that.”
“That’s a relief.” Newt breathed out, picking up a cup, “Sit down, would you like something to eat? Tina left some grapefruit cookies on the plate.”
“I’ll pass on the cookies.” Kael said, “I came because two dragon eggs are about to hatch, yet I lack experience…”
Newt’s water abruptly sprayed out.
“Dragon eggs, did you say?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get dragon eggs?” Newt’s expression turned serious.
“I bought them, of course.” Kael replied, “Not just now; it was back in 1899.”
Newt blinked, momentarily unsure if Kael had fallen under Imperio. That was a century ago; how could he have bought them?
“This story is lengthy; take a look first, and I’ll explain later.” Kael opened the suitcase and jumped in.