A Web Of Magic - Volume 1 Chapter 76 Deal And Supplies
Magnus visited the Weasleys a few days later. They tried to act normal but he could see the dull atmosphere between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Bill was in Egypt for his work at Gringotts and Charlie went to Romania to work with Dragons like he always wanted to. Percy was locked up in his room doing something. So, there were only the twins along with Ron and Ginny. The latter two seemed oblivious to their parents’ plight while Fred and George seemed to have some inclination of what might have happened.
His thoughts were proven true later on when they pulled him to the side and told him about the course of events. Apparently, Mr. Weasley tried to bring in some law about possession of dark artefacts. This didn’t sit well with those rich pureblood families as they had plenty of such possessions. Thus, Mr. Weasley was put under some pressure in the Ministry. While Mr. Weasley had some friends at the Ministry, it didn’t look like they were of much help. Magnus now had an inkling about what brought about that letter. He probably got caught up in this mess as someone wanted to cut off the Weasleys’ earnings. ‘Such a mess,’ Magnus just shook his head in annoyance at the ministry as he returned home.
Magnus put the thoughts about the letter out of his head. There’s not much he could do until he found out who cut off his funds. There’s no point in wasting time until then. Thus, he went back to his own studies. The knowledge from Slytherin and Merlin could take years to digest completely. He had plenty to do on his plate.
Magnus went to his greenhouse today. He tested out his new potion a week ago and it was time to see the results. It was supposed to make magical plants grow better and faster. He tested it out on two plants, Dittany and Mandrake. He looked closely at the Dittany first. The plant seemed more vibrant and its green leaves were bigger and brighter than before. [Identify] showed that the plant can now heal more effectively and can grow faster. It’ll only take them a month to mature now as opposed to two and a half months from before. ‘Nice I can brew better healing potions now,’ he thought gleefully as he shifted his attention to the other plant.
The Mandrake leaves looked older from before. While they didn’t grow any bigger or vibrant on the outside, Magnus was sure they had changed somehow. ‘Only one way to find out,’ he pulled out his wand as he cast a Silencing spell on the plant. He then held it by its stem as he pulled it out. He noticed the weight immediately. The Mandrake has gotten heavier. It also had more wrinkles on it than it had before a week. It looked bigger and started screaming as it was pulled out. It was a good thing that he silenced it as the Mandrake was close to maturity and its scream could be fatal.
He used [Identify] on the plant to see what changed. It was no longer called Mandrake now. It now showed as Elder Mandrake. Magnus recalled reading about Elder Mandrakes in a book in Hogwarts library. They were supposedly a potent variety of Mandrakes that a Mandrake had a chance to grow into. They are what Mandrakes could become if they grew for decades as compared to their usual maturity time of a year or two. But they were only ever found in the wild and even that was a rare event. They had never been grown in a greenhouse until now as far as he knew. If they were, it was never publicized. Such was the wizarding world as most people kept the good stuff for themselves. It was understandable from an individual point of view, but when they died out without any descendants, the knowledge died out with them. Magnus could only sigh in pity for such lost knowledge.
The Elder Mandrake is vastly superior in its restorative properties when compared to its regular counterpart. But that wasn’t the only change. Its scream also got deadlier as its range and potency increased. It can now easily kill people with its scream even in its adolescence. The growth time is still the same as the old plant which is just over a year.
‘Hmm, these plants should mature soon. What to do with them? I don’t need these many for the potions. Should I sell them? They do fetch a good price. That was the original purpose of me planting them anyway. The Dittany while good, shouldn’t make too many waves, but I should be careful when I sell the Elder Mandrake,’ Magnus decided. He pulled out a parchment as he began to pen a letter to Horace Slughorn. Slughorn asked him to send a letter if he ever had any rare ingredient to sell. Magnus could have gone to Slug and Jiggers himself but he didn’t like that Morty so he decided to contact Slughorn directly. The man had a good reputation and was professional in his dealings.
Once he finished the letter, he places small samples of the newly enhanced plants in it as he set out to the nearly Owl post office. There was one in Devon close by. He didn’t want to use the Weasleys’ owl even if they don’t mind. That owl is just one step from the grave and he didn’t want to risk his letter. Besides, he didn’t like depending on them too much. He could stand on his own now. The letter was soon posted and he returned back to the house. He got the reply from Slughorn a few days later. Slughorn was very interested in the new plants, especially the Elder Mandrake. He was willing to buy them directly at a good price without having to go through the shop. He even offered to buy the method to grow them, but Magnus decided to keep that to himself for now.
They soon reached a deal and Magnus found himself another 300 galleons richer. He could have gained more but he kept some plants for himself. The high price is because Mandrakes have more demand than supply and all of their parts are useful for a variety of potions. Magnus would have liked to sell them regularly and earn plenty of money, but they take more than a year to mature so he can only wait.
Magnus met Slughorn in secret in the Leaky Cauldron and passed him the plants as promised. Slughorn paid him the agreed amount and said,” I had a good feeling about you my boy. I wasnt disappointed. I wish I was still teaching at Hogwarts but alas I’m retired. Keep up the good work Magnus. Send me an owl if you have any more interesting items to sell.” The two parted on a happy note.
Magnus decided to complete his school shopping in Diagon Alley since he was already here. Diagon Alley was full of people this time of the year. It was the time of school shopping after all. He could see young wizards moving about in groups or with their parents looking for their school supplies. He purchased all the required items as well as extras whenever he found something interesting. He even bought another trunk and some good pouches. He was confident in charming them with the Undetectable Extension Charm before school started. He was close to Lv5 now with Charms and soon he would be able to do the spell properly.
Once his shopping was done, Magnus decided to look for the books on repairing Vanishing Cabinets. He had been planning on it for a while now but kept putting it off. There were no related books in Hogwarts even in the Room of Requirement. Thus, Diagon Alley is his only hope now. He visited all the book shops first but had no luck. He then visited the shops selling enchanted items and enquired the shopkeepers where he could find them. They weren’t very helpful as they stopped selling vanishing cabinets a decade ago after the manufacturer stopped supplying them suddenly. There were very few books about them as a result.
There was one final shop that Magnus decided to visit- Borgin and Burkes. He didn’t want to visit there owing to the shop’s bad reputation and due to what he read in Gregory Webb’s diary. Borgin and Burkes played a part in their family losing their wealth. But he didn’t want to deal with them right now. Anyone who can deal with dark magic items safely for over a century probably had plenty of tricks up their sleeves. A head on confrontation with them is not a good idea. ‘Alright, this is not the time for conflict. I’ll just look for any books about the cabinets and leave,’ Magnus decided to play it safe. He soon reached number 13B down in Knockturn Alley. There lay the dirty looking shop Borgin and Burkes. It was an antique shop that was infamous even among the shops in Knockturn Alley. Magnus entered the establishment while keeping an eye out on his focus crystal for changes. One can never be careful in shops like this.