The morning was bright and bustling. Viktor and Hermione stood before the shabby brick wall behind the Leaky Cauldron pub. Viktor casually tapped the correct bricks three times. The wall silently parted, revealing Diagon Alley, full of clamor, bright colors, and the smells of old potion and sweets.
Hermione was practically glowing with excitement, clutching his sleeve.
— Come on, I want to see what new books Flourish and Blotts has since last year, — an energetic Hermione pulled Viktor forward.
Viktor smiled cheerfully, letting her drag him along.
— You know, when Muggle-born kids come here, they go, I don't know, to look at flying brooms or other magical things. But you immediately head for the books.
— All that is interesting to me, too, it's just that Daphne wrote that she heard from her mother: this year we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and he has a collection of exciting books. So I got curious.
Viktor blinked in surprise, his smile slowly fading.
— What? My Daphne writes to you? And she didn't write a word to me! And I'm her favorite boss, she could have at least sent a word: "Hi" or "I miss you." I am so sad.
Hermione stopped and, frowning, looked at him.
— Her letters are lying at your house; I personally brought them to you! It's just that you were so busy that you didn't even listen when I told you about it.
— Really? — Viktor asked with surprise, then wiped an invisible tear and whispered to the sky: — She still hasn't forgotten about me. I am so touched.
Hermione scoffed at his antics and, frowning, asked a question that had been bothering her for a long time:
— I've asked you before, but you probably don't remember: why does she write to you through me?
Viktor smiled softly and gently tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, which instantly made Hermione blush.
— It's not time yet. You will find out everything yourself one day.
Hermione sharply flinched, pulling away from his touch, and quickly walked ahead.
— Actually, we're the same age! — she muttered indignantly under her breath.
Viktor, who was following her, just continued to smile silently, enjoying how easily she could be embarrassed.
Entering Flourish and Blotts, they looked around the store. Viktor quickly found Gilderoy Lockhart's thick, bright pink books. Without hesitation, he took a whole stack and bought them for Hermione. As for himself, although he knew these books would be used as textbooks for Defense Against the Dark Arts, he didn't buy them. He knew perfectly well that everything written in them was stolen exploits, and he wasn't going to spend money on that.
When they left, Hermione was about to drag him further, but Viktor stopped her, holding her by the elbow.
— Listen, I have some things to take care of, and it might take a while. You can wander around alone and look around while I finish, or you can come with me.
Hermione pouted a little, but, thinking about having to roam alone among unfamiliar wizards, she immediately decided: she didn't want to walk alone.
— I'll go with you, — she answered curtly.
First, they went to Gringotts, where he withdrew a substantial amount of Galleons from his vault.
After that, they went to the Apothecary. While Hermione looked around, Viktor approached the counter.
— Excuse me, do you have albino triton eyes? — he asked the shopkeeper.
The old wizard in an apron looked up at him in surprise.
— Boy, why do you need that? It's a very rare and extremely toxic ingredient. And, I might add, very expensive!
Viktor stared at the shopkeeper and replied:
— I want to dry them and eat them with beer. I hear it's simply a wonderful combination.
The wizard frowned but didn't ask any more questions.
Leaving the apothecary, Viktor frowned. He needed experimental material for his project, and he decided that to create special eyes, he needed equally rare eyes. But by buying those triton eyes, he practically spent all the Galleons he had taken out for purchasing essential alchemical ingredients. He realized that for the realization of his "Sharingan" project, he was critically lacking not only knowledge but also funds.
— Where to next? — Hermione inquired.
Viktor sighed, his usual sparkle slightly dimmed.
— Wherever you want. I think I severely overestimated my itinerary.
And so they continued to wander without a specific goal, browsing shop after shop.
Reaching the gloomy pet store, the Magical Menagerie, Viktor leaned in and whispered in Hermione's ear:
— Look around here for a bit. I'll be along shortly.
— Where are you going? — Hermione asked, but Viktor had already dived into the crowd and disappeared.
She shrugged and entered the store.
Somewhere around the corner, in a stuffy and dirty alley where the sunlight of Diagon Alley did not reach, a wizard in a dirty, worn robe heavily sighed to himself:
— Damn, I lost him! — Hissing, he frantically scanned the crowd of wizards walking through Diagon Alley, failing to find his target, then turned around and hurried into the narrow, dark space between two shops.
— Doesn't matter, — he smirked, rubbing his dirty hands. — I know where he is, and if I report it, I'll make a good profit. Heh-heh-heh, how lucky I decided to drop by...
As he walked contentedly through the dark, wet alley, he suddenly froze. Right in front of him, he saw a dark silhouette blocking his path.
— Get out of the way if you don't want trouble, — the wizard growled threateningly, trying to add weight to his voice.
— Leaving already? Aren't you going to get an autograph? I thought you were my fan—following me all day.
Peering through the gloom, the wizard recognized the child he had been following with horror.
— You... — His words were cut off in his throat by a hoarse groan. He doubled over in a terrible, piercing pain, collapsed onto the dirty ground, and began to twitch convulsively, as if his body had been hit by a powerful electric current.
Viktor approached him with an unhurried, calm step and pulled out the wizard's wand, which was sticking out from under his robe. Not taking his eyes off him, his usually blue eyes now glowed with a menacing red light.
Taking the wand, he stepped back, and instantly the red light faded, his eyes returning to their original color.
The wizard, who finally stopped convulsing, leaned heavily against the cold, damp wall and looked at Viktor with fear.
— Kid, do you realize what you just did? — the wizard croaked, trying to speak firmly but trembling. — With that spell, you've signed yourself a direct ticket to Azkaban!
Viktor smiled, and his eyes began to pulse again with an alarming red light.
— No! Don't! Please! I won't tell anyone! — the wizard screamed, curling up and covering his head with his hands, awaiting a new wave of pain.
But nothing happened. He looked up and saw Viktor playing indifferently with his wand, twirling it carelessly between his fingers.
— Please, let me go! I promise I won't tell anyone! — the wizard pleaded desperately.
— Don't worry, it will all be over soon, — Viktor said sweetly, almost soothingly, casually tossing the wizard's wand aside. — Just tell me, who sent you?
— No one! I swear, no one! I just saw a notice! — the wizard blurted out hastily.
— A notice?
— Yes, there's a bounty posted in a busy alley for information on your location.
— Seriously? A bounty? — Viktor said in surprise. — Is it a big one?
— Yes! — the wizard confirmed, seeing that the topic had captivated Viktor. — Damn it, it's the first time I've seen such a huge bounty just for information on some kid's whereabouts!
A wide, proud smirk blossomed on Viktor's face. He felt a rush of unconcealed vanity. Now he finally understood why the characters in One Piece were so grandly proud of their bounties. And instead of fear, he was incredibly proud that he had earned a huge price tag on his head at the age of eleven.
— Please, let me go! I don't know anything else, anything! — the wizard begged, pressing himself against the wall.
Viktor calmly looked at the trembling man, who was still sitting on the dirty ground.
— Of course, you are free, — he said sweetly. His eyes flashed again, but now with a cold, unnatural green color. The wizard instantly froze, his eyes glazed over with horror, and then he helplessly began to slide down the wall until he completely collapsed onto the ground.
Viktor felt dizzy and immediately stopped the spell. He felt something warm and wet flow from his nose. Wiping it with his hand, he saw blood and frowned.
— Even with my strong soul, using Avada Kedavra without a wand is difficult.
Just as Viktor was about to leave, his sharp hearing made him freeze abruptly: he caught a barely audible, broken breath. Checking the wizard, he realized that he was still alive.
Frowning, he crouched down next to him.
— Not enough strength, but it's still ahead of me, — He slowly raised his hand, which began to transform horrifyingly: it stretched unnaturally, and long, razor-sharp black claws grew out of his fingertips, tearing through the skin.
— You should be proud, — Viktor whispered, — Because you are the first wizard on whom I will test this technique.
With a swift, ruthless strike, he plunged his claws directly into the wizard's chest, piercing the ribs and reaching the heart.
Standing up, he looked at the blood dripping from his hand and smiled.
— Well, now I can go get One Piece... Damn, I mean go to Hermione, — correcting himself, he headed towards the exit. His hand burst into flame, which incinerated all the blood in a second. When the flame went out, his hand returned to normal, and Viktor vanished, dissolving into the shadow, as if he had never been there.
Entering the stuffy and noisy store with magical animals, he immediately saw Hermione, who was struggling to hold a huge, ginger, extremely fluffy cat.
— Where did you disappear to?! — Hermione immediately complained. — I was starting to worry!
— Just met an acquaintance. Well, I think it's time for us to go back. Put the cat down and let's go.
But Hermione didn't move.
Viktor looked at her and asked:
— What?
She hugged the ginger animal, which purred contentedly, tighter to her chest.
— Viktor, can you please buy him for me? — she asked, looking at him with a pleading gaze.
Viktor stared at her in silence, then cast an evaluating look at the cat, which was shamelessly basking in her arms, and sighed wearily.