Chapter 236: The Vanishing Cabinet

Seeing William here caught Lucius off guard, making him momentarily think he had entered the wrong place.

"What are you doing here?" he frowned.

"Shopping," William replied, narrowing his eyes at Lucius's overbearing tone, "Why? Is Borgin and Burkes a Malfoy family business?"

Though William was speaking to Lucius, his gaze shifted to Borgin himself.

Borgin gave a slight bow and said, "Mr. Stark is a regular customer. Mr. Malfoy, how can I assist you today?"

Lucius merely let out a disdainful hum and led his son towards the counter.

William didn't leave. Instead, he leisurely strolled around the shop, seemingly interested in making a purchase.

Lucius glanced at William, but the latter shamelessly ignored him and made no move to leave.

Draco, with his father present, didn't dare greet William. He lowered his head, standing like a lackey.

William's attention was caught by a withered arm displayed in the shop, and he stood there examining the label.

Borgin couldn't ask William to leave. He was a long-time patron and something of a technical expert. Borgin had no intention of displeasing him.

But it was clear that as long as William was here, the Malfoys wouldn't take out the item they intended to sell.

After about three minutes of tension, Borgin led the Malfoys to a back room.

Once they were out of sight, William finally spoke, "You can come out now, Harry. No need to hide."

The shop's unspoken rule was that no third party could watch while deals were being made.

William had no interest in what the Malfoys were selling.

He had only come to sell some dark artifacts, the kind that couldn't be openly displayed.

Apparently, Mr. Weasley's raids had put some pressure on him.

If he hadn't noticed Harry hiding, William would have left already. There was no need to linger.

Sure enough, as soon as William spoke, a large black cabinet creaked open, and Harry climbed out.

William raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Harry, you're really bold."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, brushing soot off his clothes.

"Borgin and Burkes is full of items even I wouldn't touch lightly, and yet you climbed into a random cabinet."

William couldn't decide whether Harry was brave or reckless.

Then again, being overly brave is often just another way of courting disaster.

"Is this cabinet dangerous?" Harry asked, confused.

The black cabinet looked utterly ordinary.

"This is a Vanishing Cabinet, a very rare magical item," William explained.

Vanishing Cabinets usually come in pairs, similar to two-way mirrors. Placing something in one cabinet would make it appear in the other. 

It's a valuable artifact for spatial transportation.

But the shop only had one cabinet, and its pair's location was unknown.

Climbing into it recklessly was incredibly dangerous. For all you knew, the other cabinet could be anywhere, even in Azkaban. Open the door, and you might find yourself being kissed by something horrifying.

To demonstrate, William pulled a Knut from his pocket and placed it inside the cabinet. He closed the door and reopened it. The Knut was gone.

Seeing this, Harry broke into a cold sweat. Luckily, he hadn't closed the door earlier; he had only left it ajar to eavesdrop. Otherwise, he might have disappeared entirely.

"What's this, then?" Harry pointed at the withered arm William had been examining.

"The Hand of Glory," William replied, picking it up.

"It's a dark magical artifact. When a candle is inserted into the hand, only the person holding it can see its light."

This light could even penetrate the darkness created by Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, a feat most illumination spells couldn't achieve.

It was a favored tool for thieves and grave robbers.

Gringotts goblins might even find it usefulm as they were ramping up their excavation efforts in the pyramids.

"How do you know so much about this?" Harry asked.

"Read more books, read more newspapers, eat fewer snacks, and get more sleep," William replied, placing the hand back where it belonged.

"Hogwarts has the largest library in the world. Anything you don't know can be found there, especially in the Restricted Section."

"But I thought students aren't allowed in the Restricted Section…"

"With a professor's permission, you can. Professor Flitwick always approves my requests," William said with a grin,"Come on, let's go. The Malfoys will be back soon, and I doubt you want them seeing you like this."

Harry, covered in soot and wearing broken glasses, looked quite disheveled.

As they exited the shop, William flicked his wand, cleaning the dirt off Harry and repairing his glasses.

"Thanks," Harry said, glancing around.

They were in a grimy alley lined with shops dealing in dark magic. The shop they'd just left, Borgin and Burkes, seemed to be the largest. Across the street, a window displayed shrunken heads in a macabre arrangement.

"Where are we, William?" Harry asked.

"Knockturn Alley. Don't come here alone," William warned.

William wasn't worried about Harry so much as he feared Harry's recklessness might lead him to bring Hermione here.

This was no place for young wizards.

"Speaking of which, why are you here alone? Where are Fred and George?" William asked.

"I don't know. I think I mispronounced the location when I used Floo Powder," Harry quickly explained.

He recounted how he had ended up in Knockturn Alley instead of Diagon Alley while traveling with the Weasleys.

As they neared the alley's exit, an old witch approached them, carrying a tray of what looked like fingernails.

She leered at them, her mossy teeth showing. "Hey there, handsome! Come have some fun!"

Harry stepped back, terrified.

"Scram!" William raised his wand, sending a burst of blazing purple flames onto the tray.

The old witch retreated hastily, cursing under her breath as she disappeared into a wooden door.

"Who was that?" Harry asked.

"A dark witch. Did you see what she was holding? Those fingernails were taken from live victims and enchanted with curses. She loves preying on lone children like you."

Harry shivered and decided never to return here.

William led Harry to Diagon Alley, where they found Hermione and Annie at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

The girls each had two strawberry sundaes.

"Alright, no more eating. Too much ice cream will make you sick," William chided.

Annie pouted but quickly quieted down when William handed her a roasted chestnut. Hermione, being more obedient, stopped eating, though she hesitated to waste the remainder. She handed it to William instead.

William sat beside her and finished the leftovers in a few bites.

Harry pulled up a chair and joined them.

"Harry, why are you here?" Hermione asked.

Harry quickly explained what had happened, then turned to William.

"What were the Malfoys selling?"

"Probably dark artifacts from their home," William replied, wiping his mouth.

"Why didn't you…?"

"Stop them? Report them? Call the Aurors?" William asked rhetorically.

Harry was speechless.

Of course, what could two young wizards do in a shop? Were they supposed to draw their wands and fight the Malfoys until the Ministry arrived?

"I think we could tell Mr. Weasley," Harry suggested.

"Sure, but it won't do much good," William replied, explaining how Mr. Weasley's earlier raids on Malfoy Manor had been largely ineffective.

The Malfoys were powerful, especially in their mastery of "Banknote Magic"