Chapter 26: Let’s Bypass the Middleman

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Leonard ordered lunch at the counter and then returned to his room. While waiting for the food, he sat quietly, lost in thought.

"An order from Knockturn Alley… Could it be Midgard?" Leonard considered, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Urgent orders like that wasted a lot of money, so it couldn't be just for stockpiling. Buying such a large amount of Essence of Dittany on short notice meant there were a lot of injuries.

The only major event in Knockturn Alley recently had to be the Fenrir affair, right?

Did Midgard lead her gang to take Fenrir down? Maybe even subdue his followers in the process? If both sides were injured in the fight, then it would make sense they needed a rush order of effective Essence of Dittany.

But why wouldn't Midgard just come straight to me?

Then it hit him—he'd never actually told Midgard that the Essence of Dittany he had was his own brew.

"I'll write her a letter."

Taking advantage of the time before his meal arrived, Leonard quickly drafted a note. He explained that he'd heard someone was buying high-quality Essence of Dittany and asked if it was her who needed it.

When he finished, Leonard pulled out a handful of nuts and fed them to Gray. Once the owl had eaten, he tied the letter to its leg.

"To Midgard Greyback, the werewolf wizard in Knockturn Alley." He spoke the address clearly to avoid any mistakes.

Gray tilted its head, gave a soft hoot, then flew off with the envelope in its beak.

Looks like it understood.

Leonard couldn't help but marvel again at how reliable owls were.

After lunch, once his arms had regained some strength, Leonard set about brewing the Essence of Dittany.

With Jigger's guidance this time, he carefully controlled the exact moment to add wormwood and the number of stirs. At last, he managed to brew a batch of clear, transparent Essence of Dittany.

He poured the potion into crystal bottles—five vials in total.

Then, after washing out the cauldron, he prepared to attempt an Invigoration Draught.

This potion was much harder than the Essence of Dittany, largely because it required Horklump juice, an ingredient from a magical fungus.

More precisely, it came from a strange blue mushroom that wriggled like it was alive. Whether mushrooms counted as magical creatures or magical plants was still debatable.

In any case, the Invigoration Draught was a potion that truly involved magical creature ingredients, demanding far more time and energy.

Half an hour later...

"It really shows how important experience is in potion brewing. These damn recipes in the potions book are less reliable than a cookbook—they don't even mention how many times to stir or when to add the ingredients." Leonard sighed, staring at the cauldron foaming black.

He had wasted a dose of Horklump juice and a set of dittany leaves.

The moment he thought of experience, Leonard immediately recalled the Half-Blood Prince's potions textbook.

It was the sixth-year potions textbook from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Advanced Potion-Making, filled with Professor Severus Snape's insights and even some spells of his own creation.

That book was like a legendary secret manual hidden away in an ancient monastery—utterly priceless.

If he could get his hands on it, Leonard was certain his potion-making skills would soar.

But it wasn't something he could obtain this early. Leonard guessed that the book was only left in the Potions classroom cupboard after Snape became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Otherwise, it would have been taken long ago.

Wait six years just to look for that book? That was ridiculous.

"Or maybe I should try to get on Snape's good side and see if there's a chance I can get it directly from him." Leonard considered the possibilities, but his thoughts were cut short when Gray swooped in through the window and dropped a letter onto his desk.

It had to be Midgard's reply.

Leonard tore open the envelope. Inside was a letter scrawled in crooked handwriting.

Ugly penmanship, clumsy grammar—it took Leonard a full ten minutes to read it through.

It was indeed from Midgard. She admitted she had sent someone to Diagon Alley to purchase Essence of Dittany. Having experienced the effects of Leonard's potion herself, she assumed there was a potions master selling faulty batches and intended to "buy some at a low price."

That so-called low price was ten Galleons—cheaper than what was sold in Knockturn Alley's black market, but still far higher than Diagon Alley's usual market rate.

"Jigger's buying price was only two Galleons. That's a crazy markup," Leonard muttered.

But after learning from Leonard's letter that the Essence of Dittany was his own brew, Midgard dropped Jigger without hesitation and invited Leonard to Knockturn Alley that evening for a direct trade.

She promised to have someone waiting at the designated spot where Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley met to escort him.

"Mr. Jigger, my apologies. Looks like you won't be pocketing that profit after all—your client is mine now."

Leonard finished the letter with a grin and carefully packed away the five vials of Essence of Dittany.

Cutting out the middleman felt damn good.