[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker":3,"chapter-hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-77":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Hogwarts: Don't Call Me a Wandmaker",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2292329,4482,"Chapter 77: The Trap of Knockturn Alley","hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-77",77,"\u003Cp>Silven and Garrick left the Romanian Dragon Preserve at five p.m., and minutes later, they appeared in a room within the Ministry of Magic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drawback of official Portkeys is this: whenever you return to Britain, you must first go to the Ministry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Romania, there are no such cumbersome rules—when we went there, we appeared directly at the preserve’s entrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five oh three, from the Romanian Dragon Preserve,” came a voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good afternoon, Basil,” Garrick said casually—he used Portkeys often and was thoroughly accustomed to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Ministry staff saw it was Garrick Ollivander, they didn’t even ask questions and let him pass immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank goodness it wasn’t Lambert—otherwise we’d have waited at least ten minutes before leaving,” Garrick said, clearly pleased, evidently satisfied with his haul from the Dragon Preserve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven learned for the first time that even his grandfather needed to “fight” to obtain high-quality dragon heartstrings and cardiac nerves from the preserve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Dumbledore’s help this time, he had clearly “taken” a good deal from his rivals; according to him, Gregorovitch and Arcayol left with faces as green as mold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two exited the room, passed through the bustling Ministry atrium, and returned to the Leaky Cauldron via the Floo Network.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, Garrick locked himself in his room again, and Silven did the same, occasionally stepping out to sit in the Leaky Cauldron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the wizard wearing the cowboy hat hadn’t shown up in days, the place never lacked drunken fools who bragged endlessly—there was always a new source of amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until late July, owls began appearing one after another in London’s sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, as dusk fell, Silven stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron as usual and, passing Knockturn Alley, instinctively glanced over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That glance made Silven freeze on the spot, his eyes locked onto something in the hands of an old witch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a dried lizard—nothing remarkable; such creatures were common in potions and magic alike. In some African wizarding tribes, dried lizards were even used as currency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this lizard was different—translucent as crystal, strikingly visible in the dim light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven’s feet moved involuntarily into the alley, just as they had before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he drew closer, he saw more clearly: along the creature’s spine ran natural runes, distinct on each side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Runed Chameleon Lizard, commonly known as the Shape-shifting Lizard, is not rare among magical creatures—but it is exceedingly difficult to catch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This lizard possesses the magical ability to alter its appearance to match its surroundings—its color, shape, even its size blending perfectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One moment it might be an unremarkable stone, the next a withered leaf, sometimes even a discarded lightbulb—you could never predict what form it would take next.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To capture one, the only method is to cast wide-area detection spells across forests where it might appear, sweeping every inch of ground like a net.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With luck, you might encounter one or two before traversing the entire forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knockturn Alley truly lived up to its reputation as a magical black market—beyond legal goods, you could find anything… The method of preparing this chameleon lizard was unmistakably North American—only they straightened the tail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, this thing was smuggled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But hadn’t this old witch been a poisoner? Didn’t she always carry nails or skulls? How had she suddenly taken up smuggling?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How much?” Silven frowned, cutting straight to the point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five hundred Galleons,” the witch grinned, revealing black-green teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with her straw-like dry hair and her faded, filthy robe of indeterminate color, she perfectly matched the witch archetype from Muggle fairy tales—those who peddled poisoned apples and frog soup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially now that night had fallen, even Silven felt a chill run down his spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too expensive,” he stepped back subtly, “This item’s price is one hundred Galleons—even in Knockturn Alley, it’s never this high.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No haggling,” the witch hissed. “But you can speak to the seller yourself—they’d be delighted to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, she burst into a strange laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tap, tap, tap…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sudden footsteps behind him made Silven realize something was wrong—but as he turned to flee Knockturn Alley, he froze in place. Two shadows had appeared behind him, unseen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning again, three more shadows emerged from the alley’s depths—plus the old witch, six people total.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven knew—he’d walked into a trap. The chameleon lizard had been bait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve got the wrong person,” Silven forced himself to stay calm. “I’m just an ordinary Hogwarts student.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re anything but ordinary, Silven Ollivander,” one shadow stepped forward, voice rasping as if from far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was entirely shrouded in a wide black hood; moonlight seemed swallowed by him, his outline blurred beyond recognition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his words sank into Silven’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were after him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No reason—he wasn’t Harry Potter, just an ordinary wandmaker…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I get it,” Silven suddenly realized, voice firm. “You’re after wands. You want Ollivander’s Wand Shop.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leader paused, then adopted a tone of keen interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did you know?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He admitted it—without even pretending to deny it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I guessed,” Silven shrugged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No rush—we can talk as we walk,” the man drew his wand, gesturing for Silven to move deeper into Knockturn Alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven had no choice but to comply, explaining as he went:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You knew my name and my habit of coming here—clearly you investigated. And that…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven pointed to the left, at the standard evil witch, “She’s been here about a month, replacing a stall I frequented—the vendor vanished afterward… You killed him, didn’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without waiting for an answer, Silven continued: “You learned from him that I’m interested in magical creatures—so a month later, I happened upon the chameleon lizard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven pieced it together himself—many things suddenly made sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder he’d noticed more unfamiliar faces in Knockturn Alley, and why such a rare creature hadn’t been snatched up immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",972,"2026-06-20T04:03:11.805Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","df052ebd0c127418f58a66170c10b52ac7d6334daff56c8dfdb608501ab87cf5","hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-78","hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-76",149,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-cover.jpg"]