Hogwarts: This wizard wants to make progress too much

“Think carefully before you speak.”

A second hand landed on Ethan’s shoulder, completely immobilizing him.

Lowering his head, Ethan said in an almost inaudible voice, “I need your help!”

Only in this shadow did none of the three notice the faint smile that tugged at the corner of Ethan's lips.

You want to catch me and attack me? Coincidentally, I have the same idea.

“That’s right. Come with me, I’ll take you out.”

The wizard from the beginning grabbed Ethan's sleeve and pulled him deeper into Diagon Alley.

In their eyes, this young wizard was as good as caught.

This little wizard, looking like a second-year student at Hogwarts at most, probably doesn't even know many spells. How could he possibly cause any trouble?

The surrounding wizards were used to seeing this scene and turned a blind eye, minding their own business.

After walking about fifty meters, Ethan and the three adult wizards stopped.

Pulling back his sleeve, Ethan asked in a cold voice, “Where are we going?”

“To our base in Knockturn Alley!”

“How many people are there in the base?”

“One person staying behind.”

“Take me there.”

Chapter 10: The Imperius Curse and the Killing Curse

Soon, led by the three wizards, Ethan arrived at a dilapidated two-story building.

One of them stepped forward and rhythmically tapped a mossy brick on the right side of the wall with his wand.

After tapping, about half a minute passed before a voice came from inside: “Dennis, is that you?”

“Yeah, open the door quickly!”

The wizard named Dennis stepped forward and replied.

This small building had several protective spells cast on it.

For example, the door had protective magic cast on it, so it couldn't be opened from the outside unless brute force was used.

And the moment someone touched the door from the outside, the wizard inside would receive a warning, giving them a chance to use a Portkey to escape.

Only by correctly tapping the brick would the person inside receive a different warning, prompting them to come and check the situation and open the door from the inside.

Such caution was also because they weren't doing any legal business.

Smuggling and selling magical creatures, including those classified as XXXXX, had caused an accident not long ago, and there was still a wanted poster up.

They were in a state of being constantly pursued by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and once caught, a lifetime ticket to Azkaban was inevitable.

“Did you find a buyer so quickly?”

The wizard inside was still a bit cautious and didn't open the door directly.

“Kippling, open the door! We caught a little lamb.”

Another wizard also stepped forward and said bluntly.

“Coming!”

Now the wizard named Kippling inside no longer suspected anything. Catching a little lamb meant catching a young wizard, which fully explained why they were back so quickly.

Young wizards were worth at least several hundred Galleons and were never hard to sell, definitely a hot commodity among dark wizards.

They were much more useful than lab rats or magical creatures for experimenting with new potions and spells.

Wizards were even more of a necessity for creating magical items with curses, which required magic and strong negative emotions.

As the door opened, a middle-aged wizard with slicked-back hair and wearing a black robe appeared before everyone.

“So this is the lamb you caught today, not bad quality!”

Kippling looked at Ethan with a smile on his face.

A strong young wizard like this was always worth more than a skinny one.

Creak!

The dark wizard beside Ethan closed the door as soon as everyone entered.

“By the way, what happened to you… ”

“Avada Kedavra!”

Before Kippling could finish speaking, he seemed to hear something he shouldn't have, and then his eyes were filled with green light.

Before he could react, he silently collapsed to the ground.

“Sure enough, you have to shout out the Unforgivable Curses to have momentum.”

Ethan took two steps forward, preparing to see what the wizard who died from the Killing Curse was like.

Previously, Ethan's practice targets were all lab rats, and this was the first time he used it on a person.

He saw that the person's pupils were dilated, and his face was full of panic and confusion, completely freezing the expression before death on his face.

The three didn't show any reaction to Ethan killing their companion.

After all, from the moment they kidnapped Ethan, Ethan had secretly cast the Imperius Curse, turning them all into his puppets one by one.

It's not that they weren't cautious, but they really didn't think that a young wizard could pose any threat without even taking out his wand.

There's also one more thing.

The Imperius Curse, like the Cruciatus Curse, is a silent spell that doesn't bring any special effects.

After being hit, one would only feel a blank in their mind, and all thoughts and responsibilities would disappear. Then, they would only feel endless happiness and joy. During this process, any of Ethan's orders would be carried out, even if it meant committing suicide.

Of course, the Imperius Curse can also be resisted. The more it is cast, the higher the resistance becomes.

Regardless of whether they had resistance or not, it was useless. Ethan's max-level Imperius Curse was not so easy to resist.

All of these adjustments gave Ethan a chance to strike one by one. They were all hit between turning their heads and raising their eyes, without alarming anyone in the process.

“What's the deal with this base, and what are your identities?”

Ethan didn't want to ask too many questions outside earlier.

Listening to Dennis's explanation, Ethan also learned the identities of these people.

They were all members of the international magical creature smuggling organization, Slythe. The organization had a clear division of labor, and members were scattered all over the world.

A professional team captured magical creatures, and then transported them all over the world in boxes with Undetectable Extension Charms. Finally, members like Dennis sold them in various black market taverns.

Some time ago, the members responsible for capturing magical creatures made a mistake.

An American collector wanted a specimen of a Hebridean Black dragon and commissioned Slughorn to procure a well-proportioned adult Hebridean Black. This was a big deal.

Upon receiving the order, the poaching members immediately took action, smuggling themselves to the Hebrides of Great Britain as quickly as possible. However, they encountered Newt Scamander in the Hebridean nature reserve.

Although the poachers were numerous, they were no match for Newt Scamander, especially Newt Scamander with his suitcase.

Of the dozen or so heavily armed wizards, only five escaped, and they were seriously injured. Burns, bites, poisoning, and other injuries made for a truly gruesome sight.

Those poachers who were caught by Newt couldn't withstand the pressure during the Ministry of Magic's interrogation and confessed. This led to Slughorn's magical creature smuggling organization being wanted, not only in Great Britain but also in other countries.

As for Dennis and his crew, they were hiding in their hideout deep in Knockturn Alley, keeping a low profile. For a long time, they had only been able to scrape by doing small, sporadic deals in Knockturn Alley.

Chapter 11: The Lethifold and the Streeler

Following Dennis and his group's directions, Ethan arrived at their most important, and only, piece of property.

A small, coffee-colored suitcase, which looked no different from a Muggle suitcase.

At Ethan's instruction, Dennis and the others opened the suitcase and carried Kipling's corpse inside.

After confirming that there were no surprises, Ethan then entered.

The area was truly large. Using a soccer field as a unit of measurement, the area was probably the size of three soccer fields.

It was just a bit crude, with only a small pond, a few large iron cages, a square stone house, and the rest was all mud.

Led by Dennis, the group arrived in front of the stone house. After seeing the situation inside, Ethan's expression immediately changed.

Inside were creatures similar to rats, not particularly large, but each rat had an anemone-like tumor growing on its back, giving a feeling of discomfort. And there were a lot of rats.

At first glance, Ethan knew what they were. They were in the book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", a magical creature native to Britain: the Murtlap.

Classified by the Ministry of Magic as: XX

The Murtlap's back tumor is also a good thing. When pickled and eaten, it can temporarily increase resistance to curses and jinxes.

The magical creature levels are classified into five categories by the Ministry of Magic.

X, Boring.

XX, Harmless or can be domesticated.

XXX, Capable wizards can handle.

XXXX, Dangerous, requires specialized knowledge, only skilled wizards can handle.

XXXXX, Known to have killed wizards, impossible to train or tame (Newt: You're full of it!).

"What are you raising so many Murtlaps for?"

Ethan asked curiously. Although the tumor on its back has some value, it is not very expensive.

Because they are numerous and reproduce quickly, you can grab a handful in their native habitat, so the price is not high at all.

"These Murtlaps die soon after their back tumors are removed. While they are still alive, they can be used as food for other animals. Some magical creatures only eat live food."

What a great idea!

Murtlaps have a strong ability to reproduce and are omnivores that eat everything. After cutting off the back tumor, the tumor can be sold, and the rats that are about to die are directly used as feed, completing the waste utilization.

Leaving the stone house, which is the Murtlap farm.

What came into view were huge iron cages. No, there was one that was different, it looked like it was completely enclosed in plastic, but the specific material was unknown.

Inside, a pile of black stuff was spread on the ground, looking like discarded garbage.

"This is?"

Ethan found that he didn't recognize this thing.

"This is a Lethifold, but it's not in good condition. We haven't found a suitable buyer, and we don't know the Patronus Charm, so we can only keep it locked up like this. It seems to be starving to death."

Dennis explained softly from the side. They didn't dare to leave Knockturn Alley, so naturally they didn't dare to do business in those wizarding pubs. It's a ghost if a Lethifold can be sold in Knockturn Alley. Who would want this thing if they didn't know the Patronus Charm?

Forgive Ethan for his lack of knowledge. The Lethifold didn't appear in the movies, and this black thing on the ground doesn't look like a cloak!

But if it's about to starve to death, Ethan can't do anything about it. Without the Patronus Charm, he really wouldn't dare to open the cage.

"This is a Streeler, but this one is not yet an adult."

Dennis took the initiative to introduce as he led Ethan to the next cage.

Before the accident, a member of the Flint family was interested in this Streeler, but the price wasn't agreed upon during the transaction.

Streeler, Ethan knew this, like a combination of a butterfly and a bat, all blue-green, likes to eat brains, the venom is very dangerous, but can erase memories after dilution.

I have to say, the Streeler looks quite pretty.

This one is not yet an adult, maybe it can be tamed. As for the Ministry of Magic saying that the XXXXX level cannot be tamed, just treat it as fart.

"Bring some food for the Streeler."

Ethan wanted to feed it himself to see if he could cultivate some feelings.

Upon receiving Ethan's order, Dennis came to the edge of the Murtlap farm, skillfully summoned a Murtlap with the Summoning Charm, and then used a spell to cut off the tumor on its back. The whole process was completed in one go.

After processing more than a dozen of them, Dennis came to Ethan.

He pinched the tail of the Murtlap with a look of disgust and threw them one by one into the cage holding the Streeler.

The Streeler, receiving the food, tightly grasped the Murtlap with its claws and bit into its head in the next moment, sucking it up.