The Slytherin Magus

AUTHOR'S NOTE

i noticed a lot of concerned comments with the recent chapter and i have to admit that i set myself up for failure by including the system from the start because to be brutally honest, i have no inkling of how it works. not to mention, a world like harry potter is a difficult world to include something like a game-type system. but it has already happened and unless i plan to rend the book apart, i have to see it till the end. it is why as the book progresses i make briefer and briefer mentions of the system which has grown to become a large plothole i can't escape from.

however, the process of writing this book and the readers have taught me a lot and i hope to improve further the more i write.

thanks for reading.

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"... And you are?" I cocked a brow at the newcomer.

"Lloyd, sir." He bowed lower, placing his right hand over his heart. "At your service."

I studied him intently, there was a chance that he was a low-level thug scouting out a possible big name in other to grow on my turf as I did. There was also a chance that he had been sent to me by Leland Blackburn, as a spy no less.

Ji-hun remained quiet as he tended to do which made me have no qualms with taking him anywhere because regardless of his personal opinions, he waited till I made a decision before making a move.

"And what service do you think you can provide me?" I took another sip of the fine red wine.

Lloyd was smart to not invite himself to take a seat without my permission, the Wizarding Underworld was a cruel place and only the ruthless made it to the top and stayed there. It made me wonder why Leland Blackburn hadn't tried to take back his pound of flesh, he would have been justified if he did.

It would have forced me to make an impromptu escape which would greatly damage my reputation. I was grateful that it didn't come to that but I wasn't going to pass it off as me having incredible luck, if anything, I believed that I had one of the worst lucks out there.

Lloyd kept his respectful position. "Information, sir."

My eye widened slightly at this, that was quite an interesting offer which meant that it set my mental alarms off. Blackmore Alley was a place where getting information if you were the wrong person was next to impossible. It was why even if the Ministry got in, they wouldn't be able to get any tangible evidence. To begin with, they wouldn't even be able to get in because the existence of Blackmore Alley itself was tightly kept under wraps.

Just like with Lloyd's approach, there were two feasible reasons why he would offer information to me. One would be that Leland Blackburn's visit had certified me as someone worth offering information, and the second would be that Lloyd specifically came to me to feed me false information.

"Take a seat, Lloyd." I gestured a hand in his direction. "I'll listen to what you have to say."

One of the first things I had to learn about Blackmore Alley was that 'Legilimency' was practically useless on the people that hung around here. For starters, unless you were a highly skilled Legilimens, the average Maj in Blackmore Alley would instantly be able to able to tell if you were trying to breach their thoughts and immediately block you out.

Legilimency was a stealth skill, if the person's head you're trying to get into was aware of it, it defeated the entire purpose of it. It was also a criminal offense to try and get into people's heads randomly and could get a Maj killed if they tried it.

Information was a key currency in Blackmore Alley so there were a lot of things that people wanted to hide. Occlumency was also a common skill here, not as a magical skill but as a survival skill.

"First, I reckon the young Master Albeline, has no idea who was it that walked up to your table." Lloyd got comfortable right away and started to talk.

I stayed silent and listened to him, even though I could probably force my way into his head, breaking past his Occlumency, doing that broke a lot of unspoken rules of Blackmore Alley. So, I let him say whatever it was he wanted, I wasn't so dumb to believe everything he said and run with it.

"No." I said curtly. "And, I should add, Lloyd… I hate liars." I said bluntly, staring right through him.

Lloyd's languid and casual manner immediately disappeared, and the lanky man immediately straightened up on his chair. "O-Of course, I wouldn't deign to lie to you, sir."

I said nothing to this, waiting with a bland expression for him to continue from where he left off.

"W-Well…" Lloyd stuttered further, his confidence crumbling like crusty bread. "... The man that spoke to the young Master is known as Master Leland Blackburn, one of the Dark Lords." Lloyd's voice dropped to a near whisper and he looked around like he was giving out state secrets.

My brows dropped low on my head. "Dark Lords?" I prodded.

"Yes, sir." He dipped his head slightly. "They are the most powerful and important figures in the Wizarding Underworld."

"How many are they?"

Lloyd seemed to weigh his answer. "There is no fixed number but there is usually three at a time, currently, there is Master Leland Blackburn, Master Rowan Roberts, and Madame Elaina Dufort."

My brow furrowed at the names that had been provided, something niggled at the back of my mind, something important that I just couldn't seem to remember.

"You will meet Madame Elania Dufort soon, she is the one in charge of the auctions," Lloyd explained in simple terms. "Master Rowan Roberts is an American that moved within the last decade to Britain but he quickly rose up the ranks being one with a lot of money and important connections, then there's Master Leland Blackburn that you have already met."

I mentally filed the information given to me away for later, it sounded like basic information that frequenters of Blackmore Alley were well aware of.

"Tell me, is Rowan Roberts coming to the auction?" I asked. It would be to my advantage if I met them all on the same night.

Lloyd's muddy eyes shone at this. "Well, you see… Master Rowan Roberts is hardly seen in Blackmore Alley. Word is that he comes to Nox occasionally but we hardly ever see him out here."

It meant that it would be difficult to get a hold of the man but not impossible, the lights were starting to dim and Lloyd looked around frantically.

"S-Sir?" He shot to his feet, bowing slightly. He left his question open-ended but I already picked up on what he was asking for.

There was a third reason why Lloyd would do something drastic as approaching me to offer information, and it was money. Giving him a generous amount would encourage more people to do the same and so that was what I did.

It was finally 8 pm. The auction was about to begin.

A bright spotlight clicked on over the stage, the luminous golden light flickering over the center of the stage. From behind the tall black curtains at the back of the stage, a figure appeared in between the slightly parted curtains.

Silence fell on the auction hall as the person stepped forward, the hollow sound of heels clicking filling the hall. The person stepped into the spotlight to reveal a large woman who had a body-hugging dress on, an impressive animal coat hung over her flabby shoulders.

She had no neck and I could see how tightly her chubby feet were compressed in her expensive purple heels. She wore a purple dress as well, a large and ridiculous-looking purple hat on her head.

Fanfare music started to play when she stepped into the spotlight, the entire hall cheering at her appearance. The woman who I assumed to be Madame Dufort lifted her fat arms slightly to encourage the crowd.

"Good evening, my lovelies and welcome to another auction night, the place of money wars…"

I tuned out the rest of her words and studied her instead. After seeing Leland Blackburn, I had really high hopes for the rest of the Dark Lords but Madame Elaina Dufort was nothing special.

Merely looking at her, I could tell that physically she was at rock bottom, her magical ability though was above average but that was all that it was. Ji-hun could easily take her out in a fight all by himself.

I could easily guess that Rowan Roberts was the same, it made me all the more wary of Leland Blackburn. To get to my current strength, I had used the cheat I was given when I transmigrated, not to mention, I had to also undergo gruesome training that would have killed most people.

How did Leland Blackburn attain so much power? It had me curious but I doubted it was something I could just ask. I glanced at the seat that Lloyd deserted immediately after Ji-hun paid him off, I doubted that even money would get me that answer.

To begin with, I doubted the population even knew how Leland Blackburn got so powerful. If I wanted to know, I would have to find it out myself.