Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure

Alex quickly rushes back to the meeting point, already spotting Hagrid in the distance.

“Alex, Jewel! Yer back. Did everything go smoothly?” the half-giant asks.

Alex hands him the small amount of experimental Niffler food and takes out the rest of the supplies for Hogwarts’ owls. Hagrid swiftly puts them into an enchanted bag, using his umbrella to clumsily make the items float so he can bag them.

“Settled your business and bought everything you need. Careful—the guy working at the Owl Emporium tried to skim a little off the top. I wouldn’t trust him,” Alex says.

“Heh, that fella did it again. Next time, I’ll personally pay him a visit,” Hagrid says, as if he was expecting something like that.

“Anyway, yer all did fine. Feel free to stay as long as yer want, but make sure to leave today, or ya risk getting into trouble with the Ministry. For 500 contribution points, you can buy another day pass if yer want,” Hagrid says, handing Rishi a small bag of Floo Powder for their return and quickly walking toward another fireplace.

“That’s that, huh? We all have stuff to do, but let’s rush to the meeting. Don’t want to keep someone like Lucius waiting—that’ll probably offend him right away, and we can’t use him anymore,” Alex suggests.

“Let’s go then. I want to order some special wand wood—can’t miss this opportunity. I’ve got my core already, thanks to you,” Tereza says with a big smile and hangs onto Alex’s shoulder.

“Then we better hurry so we can find the White Wyvern; we are cutting it close,” Rishi notes.

“We already know where it is. I’ll lead the way,” Alex says, swiftly guiding the group back to Knockturn Alley and to the large pub called the White Wyvern. They arrive just five minutes before the scheduled meeting time.

They enter and don’t spot anyone aside from a couple of wizards talking with each other while dining.

Alex approaches the man behind the bar counter and tells him, “We’re taking the largest table you’ve got. We have an important meeting scheduled.”

The man just shrugs, walks over to Alex, and takes them to a large table in the back, far away from the entrance.

As soon as Alex, Rishi, Tereza, and Menchi sit down, they spot a tall, blonde man with straight, long hair, clearly Lucius Malfoy, entering the pub and quickly walking toward their table. To their surprise, he’s followed by his wife, Narcissa. Like her husband and son, she has blond hair and is quite beautiful, although her expression is rather cold and not very inviting, despite trying to look calm and friendly.

“Give us a minute; we’ll order later,” Alex tells the waiter, who walks away, glancing at Lucius Malfoy with a slightly troubled expression.

Alex stands up and confidently walks toward Lucius, feeling almost invincible these days, his confidence steadily rising.

“Good day, Lucius Malfoy, right? It’s indeed an honor to meet you,” he says, shaking Lucius’s hand. Lucius smiles at him. “Your lovely wife, of course, too. Nice to meet you, I’m Alex Kerber, just a minor noble and Mercenary for hire, from the east,” Alex adds, kissing her hand and making her slightly blush.

“My son told me quite the tales about your exploits at Hogwarts. It’s nice to have the opportunity to get to know someone as talented as you. I have to say, the rumors about you made me quite curious,” Lucius says, getting straight to business.

Alex decides to introduce his friends, laying it on thick to try to impress Malfoy. He knows that Lucius is someone who judges people by their reputation, achievements, and connections, and looks down on Muggles and those without special abilities.

“Please, sit down. These here are my partners. Surely you don’t know them, as we’ve avoided Britain for business until recently. This is Rishi Sahay, one of India’s most promising wizards, widely regarded as a prodigy. Next to her is my partner, Tereza Řezník. She’s a prodigy in her own special brand of Transfiguration magic and is also studying your British magic system on the side. Now, the last young lady is Menchi. She’s not only a genius cook but a Potions prodigy, even acknowledged by the famous Severus Snape as perhaps the most talented Potioneer in history. She’s currently studying under him.”

“Before we sit down, I feel forced to point out that there’s a spider on your head. That’s rather odd,” Narcissa says, slightly confused.

“This is Jewel, a Mutated Thornback Queen. She’s very young but super well-behaved. She likes jewels, coins, and chicken. Don’t look down on her—she’s incredibly intelligent and can understand every single word we are speaking. She’s probably smarter than me. It won’t take more than a few years until she becomes world-famous. You’ll see,” Alex explains, half-joking.

“Interesting,” Lucius says, and he and his wife sit down at the table, nodding at the others, clearly at least somewhat intrigued.

“My son mentioned you were keen on meeting me. I’m all yours—always happy to connect with other talented wizards, be it from within or outside the country,” Lucius says.

Alex nods. “I have to thank him for that. He’s a great guy. Yeah, we have a bunch of requests, but these requests come with opportunities for you as well.

Alex raises his hand and the waiter quickly returns and everyone orders a drink, Lucius and Narcissa ordering tea while Tereza, Menchi and Alex order Butterbeer. Rishi orders his usual coffee, black, no sugar.

“First, we’d be interested in knowing if you’d like to buy these—let’s call them resources—from us,” Alex says, presenting almost 30 vials of [Acromantula Poison], while Tereza takes out her no longer needed [Basilisk Horn].

“My… the founder’s favorite wand core, a Basilisk Horn. It’s large enough to create quite a few wands out of it. It’s a rare treasure indeed; you’ve come to the right person. Only people like me with… certain standards and a noble lineage will value such a highly rare and traditional wand core,” Lucius says with a smug grin and a glint of excitement and curiosity in his eyes.

His curious look instantly changes to one of greed as he spots the huge amount of Acromantula Poison, immediately willing to buy everything Alex has to offer. “I also see a large amount of Acromantula Poison… I’ll buy everything you’ve got, no questions asked. I have quite a few Potion stores, which are always, and I mean always, in dire need of it. I have numerous contracts with the Ministry on hold because of a lack of ingredients.”

“Quite impressive. My son praised you in his letters, calling you a foreign magic swordsman who’s cleansing the currently corrupted Forbidden Forest almost single-handedly. I think, considering this amount of Acromantula Poison, he might be right,” Narcissa says, clearly impressed.

“That’s nothing. Hogwarts doesn’t need more poison. We’ve already sold quite a bit to the castle; as you know, this poison is rare and especially useful for various potions. Anyway, these are just a few things you might be interested in. Of course, we also have plenty of Galleons. We have a few requests and would be very interested if you could help us,” Alex says diplomatically, not trying to sell themselves short and maintaining an air of mystery, danger, and risk-taking.

With a wide smile, Lucius, sensing a huge business opportunity, asks, “How can I help you?”

Alex nods at Rishi, signaling that his request takes precedence.

“Well, Mr. Malfoy, to tell you the truth, Dumbledore is not very effective as headmaster. Under his leadership, Hogwarts is about to be swallowed up by Corruption. Dangerous Acromantulas, other corrupted beasts—including trolls, wolves, and Centaurs—are raging around practically in Hogwarts’ backyard. We’re even suspecting a few of the teachers and our fellow mercenary friends have been infected. To combat this dangerous situation, we require Veritaserum. Of course, we know it’s strictly controlled by the Ministry, but without it, I foresee a dark future. We’d only need a small amount to at least check the other mercenaries.” Rishi skillfully lies.

“Hmm, it’s strictly controlled by the Ministry. Even Severus wouldn’t dare to openly brew it without a proper reason. It’s taught in the 7th year only under strict supervision and in connection with the antidote to it. However, the version he teaches is not as potent as the one the Ministry uses,” Lucius explains with a smug smile.

Yeah, keep acting. Hearing him brag is so obvious and such a cheap haggling strategy. He’ll now mention all the troubles he has to go through to obtain it and then tell us it requires a lot of money. It’s honestly a bit pathetic to keep this up. We all know how this is gonna go.

“I, of course, would be more than willing to help you, but it would cost me quite a few coins to get a few of my contacts to pitch in and help us on this endeavor.”

Soulmate smart! Jewel impressed! Like you said!

You’ll learn this as well, Jewel. People lie, cheat, and steal, even if they are not called Eddie Guerrero. This is such an obvious deception, we all anticipated it. Anyway, despite knowing he’s ripping us off, we need it, so we’re going along—to some degree, at least.

Eddie Guerrero?

“Of course, whatever it takes. It sounds like this would be doable for someone blessed with many connections, like you, however?” Rishi smiles, trying to act friendly.

“For the right price and for future friends… of course!” Lucius says with a smile, mirroring Rishi’s expression. “What else is there you may need my humble assistance with?”

“I practice an ancient martial art, blending mostly elemental spells with swordsmanship and archery. I’ve stumbled upon a broken Runic Bow. These runes are ancient—the most complicated ones I’ve ever seen. Hell they are probably as old as Merlin, I’m not kidding! Any advice on how I’ll get the goblins to help out? Besides Galleons, of course,” Alex says.

“Most wouldn’t be interested. However, if these runes are indeed as old and ancient as you claim, I know a few goblins who might even be willing to pay you if they get to study them. I’ll gladly refer you to a few contacts,” Lucius answers politely, not even needing to think about such a request. He immediately writes a small letter and hands it to Alex saying: “A small gift.”

“You are indeed as connected and noble as your reputation paints you. I’m quite impressed, thank you very much,” Alex says bagging the small introductory letter, exactly what he needed.

“Now, I can already see this beautiful lady next to you has a request as well. If you’d indulge an older gentleman like me, I’d gladly be willing to serve you, milady,” he says with a hint of interest, clearly eyeing Tereza.

“Oh my, what a gentleman,” Tereza says. Alex notes her struggling to hold herself back, clearly not the type to put up with bullshit like this.

Despite her obvious disgust for people like Malfoy, Tereza holds back and finally makes her request.