Borgin and Burkes

Magnus was in a large yet dimly lit wizard's shop. There were plenty of items on display either hanging on the walls or in glass shelves. A withered hand in a glass case, a blood-stained pack of cards, evil looking masks and jar full of eyeballs- this shop had them all. There were even some medieval looking torture tools on display. Magnus wondered who's ever going to buy those. 'This shop is like a dream come true for a dark wizard. Damn, more than half of these items are cursed,' Magnus pitied the people who'd ever buy these cursed items. Just a surface check with [Identify] showed him plenty of cursed items that made him wary.

"Welcome to our humble shop. I am Mr. Borgin. How may I help you, young mister wizard? Would you like to buy a Hand of Glory that most adventurers desire? Or would you like our collection of necklaces for your lady friends?" a stooping man with greasy hair greeted Magnus from behind the counter and offered him goods one after the other. Perhaps another young wizard in Magnus's place might have been intimidated by the whole set up but Magnus showed no discomfort. He guessed the shop was laid out this way intentionally so as to intimidate the wary and the shopkeeper would then confuse them into buying things they wouldn't want at high prices. Magnus showed neither fear nor desire as he reached the counter.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Borgin. I have no need to see in the dark nor would I want my lady friends to be cursed, so no thank you. Perhaps some other day," Magnus replied boldly. The Hand of Glory can light your way in the dark if you place a candle in it. Only the bearer of the hand can see the light. Probably useful for a thief but Magnus saw no use for it. His Night Vision potion would do the trick just fine and at a cheaper price. Magnus didn't take a second glance at those necklaces that Borgin showed him. He can see the curses inlaid with the help of [Identify]. He guessed no woman would want her hair to fall out after wearing a necklace. That was the most benign of the curses they held.

"Ah, a knowledgeable one eh?" Borgin didn't comment anything about the cursed part.

"Do you have any books on Vanishing cabinets?" Magnus cut to the chase.

"Vanishing cabinets you say? They are very rare I'm afraid. Not many sold anymore and books on them are quite pricey. The-"

"I'm willing to pay," Magnus cut off the man before he could overexaggerate its value. Magnus surmised that Borgin was similar to Mundungus. Both of them are in the same trade and will take advantage of you if you give them any leeway. You have to be firm with people like them to get them to behave.

"Ah, I just remembered we have something like that in our stock," Borgin's tone changed immediately and he went to rummage somewhere deeper in the shop. Magnus meanwhile decided to take a look around to see if anything useful was lying around. And it was a good thing he did too as he saw a cabinet that suspiciously looked similar to the one he had seen in Hogwarts. It was another vanishing cabinet. Magnus went closer to take a look and he was right; it was the missing part of the pair. A quick divination and his focus crystal turned clockwise to indicate that his guess was correct. 'This one seems intact. It's a good thing I brought the other cabinet home with me this time. I will have another pair of cabinets to use once I fix it. Now, how to buy this one without tipping this guy off?'

Borgin soon returned with a bunch of books and placed them on the counter. He started introducing the books to Magnus one by one passionately. Magnus didn't believe all of what the man said. He could see with [Identify] that Borgin was only telling half-truths. The prices he quoted were also atrocious. None of them were below 100 galleons because they were "rare and priceless" according to Borgin. Magnus saw that there were only three books out of the lot that were really useful.

"May I?" Magnus gestured towards the books and Borgin let him touch the books and see for himself. When Magnus was about to turn the pages of the book to read Borgin objected.

"Now that wouldn't do young mister wizard. That knowledge is priceless. It's against our business policy to let you read before paying," Borgin said in a greasy tone. Magnus didn't read any further but just looked at the books' covers and checked the bindings. The books that were useful were actually handwritten notes about vanishing cabinets by someone from the company who made them. Unfortunately for Mr. Borgin, Magnus had a way to read books just by touching. After a generous application of [Instant Read] and by spending 180 points, Magnus learned all of the contents of the books.

"Hmm, these do not look so promising Mr. Borgin. Maybe I would buy them if they were cheap. How much would you say?" Magnus asked while he downplayed the books' use. Two can play this game.

"I assure you; these are the rarest that books you would never find anywhere else. They are highly valuable. The cheapest I can go is 90 galleons. We only sell quality items in our establishment," Borgin didn't back down.

"It's a pity then for them to go unpurchased. How about that cabinet over there? It seems old and barely functional. Maybe I can use it as a coat cabinet," Magnus offered nonchalantly.

"A coat cabinet? That is a highly valuable vanishing cabinet young sir. The only one that is still available in any shop here. Nothing less than 300 galleons," Borgin said with a tone of finality.

'Ah, so he does know it's a vanishing cabinet. Too bad, I thought I could get it for cheap,' Magnus thought wryly. But he didn't plan on giving up.

"It's a cabinet that is barely functioning. It also doesn't seem to have its pair so it's basically worthless unless you want to vanish your garbage. You wouldn't quote that much price just for a garbage-can would you now Mr. Borgin?" Magnus retorted. The duo argued and bargained back and forth till they eventually reached a consensus. Magnus got the price of the cabinet down to 50 galleons.

Borgin's face turned red and he looked like he was just about to pull out his wand and curse Magnus, but he refrained. The boy's clothes looked expensive and he didn't scare easy so he was probably related to some pureblood family. It wouldn't do well to attack one when it was still bright outside. Besides, there was something in the eyes of the boy that unsettled him. It was like the boy was just waiting for him to slip up. That made Borgin wary. He didn't last this long in this line of business without caution so he curbed his impulses. He would have to pay attention to this one in the future.

Magnus paid the man and turned to the cabinet. He pulled out his wand and shrunk the cabinet smoothly before placing it into his pocket. He made the whole thing look so easy. He gave a wave to Borgin before leaving the shop. Once he was gone, Borgin was glad for not acting on his impulses. The boy looked very talented. He would definitely be paying attention in the future.

Magnus left the shop with a spring in his steps. His goal for coming today was completed. 'Alright, the cabinet should be fixed soon. Where should I place them once they are done? Hmm, one should be at home. Should I place the other one at Hogwarts? Will that work? I heard apparition and other similar forms of transportation are blocked within Hogwarts by its wards. I don't know if they'll work. I'll check with divination once they are done, I guess. If that doesn't work then I can only test it manually. If only I could apparate! That would make travel so easy. Too bad it's too hard to do right now,' Magnus was lost in his thoughts. He tried to learn apparition before, but he couldn't get it to work for some reason. He can only wait to do it in the future. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw an acquaintance at a distance. It was Hagrid.