Chapter 106 Black Sin Square
Chapter 106
Black Sin Square is neither a shop nor a commercial street; it is essentially an open-air auction platform.
However, the items auctioned here are of a profoundly evil nature, things that cannot even be openly sold in a Borgin and Burkes shop.
The interests involved in Black Sin Square are enormous, and even among officials of the Ministry of Magic, there are customers who partake, which has made it impossible for the justice-driven Aurors to gain access to it.
The origins of Black Sin Square are long forgotten; no one remembers when it was established, but it has certainly been around for no less than five centuries. According to the most exaggerated rumors, it was established even before Hogwarts.
The mastermind behind it has always remained a mystery, with more than 50 rumored figures associated with it. The only thing that can be certain is that Black Sin Square has close ties with most pure-blood families, and to participate in this auction, one must certainly go through the recommendation of these pure-blood families.
Not everyone can attend the auction.
The auction is conducted in an extremely confidential manner, and all participants must wear specially made masks to conceal their identities.
The auction does not take place every day but is held intermittently, with the dates and times being communicated through secret channels. Only those who have been granted participation qualifications will know the exact dates and times. This way, even the Ministry of Magic cannot obtain any leads or evidence. If someone comes here at other times, it is merely an unguarded auction platform.
The method to gain eligibility to participate is also a closely guarded secret. However, one must first obtain the recommendation of several heads of pure-blood families; this alone is enough to exclude most people, not to mention that there are further steps to scrutinize the qualifications of those who are recommended.
Soren's never been here, as evidenced by his ignorance of even how to pass through that wall.
But he knows of the place's existence.
He is certain that Lucius also knows about this location.
Although Lucius has never mentioned it in front of his family, Soren has seen the products of Black Sin Square in the family's secret room, marked with the symbol of Black Sin Square. It was a bright red crystal stone, more vivid than the color of a magical stone, and standing near it one could faintly hear a disturbing whisper that made one uneasy.
Soren learned about the origins of that item from a dark magic book; it was a crystal stone crafted from the blood of 777 seven-year-old children. This is not merely about collecting blood like the Muggle Red Cross but entails the cruel sacrificial ritual of all those children through magical means. When Soren discovered the truth behind that stone, he was left with an unsettled heart for a long time.
Of course, the one in the family secret room may not have necessarily been purchased by Lucius; it could have been passed down by some ancestor.
The red crystal contains immense magical power. Although this power cannot be absorbed by a human body due to the accompanying strong resentment, it is suitable to be used as an energy source for magical arrays. Soren suspects that various protective and shielding arrays in Malfoy Manor rely on it as an energy source.
From the brutal and evil nature of this crystal, it is not hard to deduce what kinds of items are auctioned at Black Sin Square.
Although the methods of production are cruel and malevolent, it cannot be denied that there is indeed a demand for these products, which is why Black Sin Square has managed to gain protection from various circles and continues to stand firm.
At this moment, Black Sin Square is not holding an auction.
Strangely, two people appeared to be guarding at the entrance of the storage room behind the auction platform. Soren immediately recognized these two guards as the same two kidnappers displayed on the crystal ball.
"Something's off," Scrimgeour frowned and said quietly, "Normally, there aren't any guards stationed here; the storage room is empty, and it's only used to temporarily store auction items on the day of the auction."
Soren used the spell "Divination Vision" to confirm that there were no other people around; it was just these two men standing guard.
The two men likely had the magical ability of a junior Auror, enough to deal with ordinary intruders. However, Scrimgeour and Robaz were elite members of the Auror force, rivaling the four heads of Hogwarts.
Very confident, indeed! It seems that no matter who is in charge, they don't believe anyone would dare to break in here which is why they only deployed such a minimal number of personnel. Another possibility is that they have intelligence sources within the Ministry of Magic; if the Ministry made any moves, they are confident they could receive advance warning and make a retreat before the Aurors arrive. With the existence of Apparition, the Floo Network, and Space Bags in the magical world, moving even a hundred elephants wouldn't pose much difficulty.
The two men on the other side seemed to recognize Scrimgeour. His appearance was hard to miss; that thick hair and sharp eyes resembled a lion, almost a trademark of his.
Under Soren's supernatural gaze, the two appeared slightly tense, but there wasn't much fear. It was not the first time the Aurors had searched here; although Scrimgeour was formidable, the fact that he only brought one Auror and a child led them to believe he wasn't there to cause trouble.
When they reached the storeroom entrance, Scrimgeour and Robaz revealed their identities, requesting cooperation for the investigation and wanting access to search the storeroom. The other side, however, refused to cooperate on the grounds of lacking a search warrant.
No wonder they were so fearless; it seems they were quite familiar with the Aurors' law enforcement procedures.
Moreover, they could confidently determine that Scrimgeour and the others didn't possess a search warrant, indicating their intelligence capabilities were not to be underestimated.
Scrimgeour indeed had no search warrant; this was a secret operation he was conducting on his own, as he didn't want to leak information like last time, allowing the kidnappers to escape ahead of time. Although he sensed something was off about them, his position made it inconvenient for him to forcefully barge in. Seeing the other party's overconfident demeanor, Scrimgeour could only grit his teeth and endure.
Soren was different from the two Aurors; he didn't have as many reservations. He was not an employee of the Ministry of Magic and had no internal concerns or restrictions derived from it. Furthermore, he had witnessed the illusion in the crystal ball, clearly identifying the two in front of him as kidnappers. This was different from Scrimgeour, who had only heard Soren's one-sided account, leaving him unable to confidently act against the two guards. What if the information was wrong? Offending the forces behind the Black Sin Square was no trivial matter.
Soren, having confirmed their identities as kidnappers, knew he wasn't going to mistakenly accuse the wrong people.
Most importantly, he had his own considerations.
The primary goal of this operation was to rescue Griffith and do a favor for Devril, Slughorn, and Scrimgeour along the way.
Now that he learned it was tied to the Black Sin Square, things suddenly got more interesting — there were many vague and complicated relationships between the Black Sin Square and pure-blood families. If he could escalate the situation, he might take advantage of the chaos for personal gain; at the very least, it could weaken the influence of the pure-blood families.
As the four argued, Soren said nothing and, taking advantage of their distraction, directly cast two Stunning Spells, swiftly taking down both men, leaving Scrimgeour and Robaz wide-eyed in shock.
"Soren, you!" Scrimgeour was at a loss for words; how had this boy become so reckless? He was clearly a standard Slytherin! Soren ignored the dropped jaws of Scrimgeour and Robaz and walked straight to the storeroom door — it was locked.
"Sesame, open!" Soren guessed that the lock was likely protected by a Counter-Spell against Alohomora, so he opted for the "Blasting Curse" to blow the door open. The entire door collapsed backward, crashing to the ground with a loud bang
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