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On that note, we left Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron and entered the regular part of town. There I already saw the Grangers car parked nearby, and we headed towards it.
"Well, how was your shopping?" asked Hermione's mom when her father started to move.
"Quite good."
Hermione began to talk about what we saw, what we bought, and so on while I was in the back seat unloading the girl's purchases from my backpack. At my request, I was dropped off at the bus stop.
Should I go to Knockturn alley? Maybe not worth it? Does life teach me nothing? Perhaps I will learn a lesson from my trip to Paris and will not look for trouble for myself? Judging by the fact that my legs carried me in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron, I'm still a bit of a fool. I'm in Gryffindor, after all. But the possibility of finding a book on occlumency outweighs the theoretical danger.
I got back to the Cauldron quickly, and, having thrown on my robe right on the way to the backyard, I waited with some adrenaline anticipation for the opening of the passage. Too long - a full five seconds.
The anticipation of danger pulled out my memory of those many dreams where something magical was constantly happening. Maneuvering between people with a quick step, I pulled the hood over my head and, with some familiar movement, held my wand over my face. How many times have I dreamed of these movements taken out of context? Everything else was ripped out, though.
As a quiet shadow, I slipped to the alley entrance and walked towards the only store I knew of - Borgin and Burks.
Knockturn Alley indeed was a dark and unpleasant place, dirty. Unkempt stone walls, rubbish everywhere, even the sky seemed darker here, always somehow cloudy.
"Hehe, boy," came a hoarse voice from the side. "Easy prey with money."
I was attacked by a phenomenally criminal-looking type. A dirty bum in rags. Ugly face, greasy hair. He pointed in my direction with his wand, and this scene stirred up a whole heap of memories from my dreams. As if this was not the first time, I sharply pointed my wand at him and instantly made a bunch of gestures.
"Kumilaris," I said quietly, and an almost invisible transparent clot escaped from the wand. With a disgusting crunch, he crashed into the man and scattered in spiral vortices. The broken figure of a crime flew away into the darkness of the alley, spinning in the direction of these spirals.
My heart skipped a couple of beats but gathering my will into a fist, I moved on, looking at the rare people around or looking out of the alleys. Not everyone here was frankly bad-looking. You could meet quite adequately dressed people, but gloomy. Snape would feel pretty comfortable here.
I was overcome with the thought that in dreams after this spell did not survive. The psychological effect was clearly weak because there was no blood, no contemplation of death. But the fact itself ... However, I didn't care much. Death is not the end, and I am proof of that.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my reflection in the rare clean windows - just a black figure, under whose hood nothing is visible at all.
After a dozen minutes of walking, I found the shop I needed. Against the background of Knockturn Alley, it doesn't look gloomy or dangerous. A dark green sign above the entrance, a pleasant warm yellow light inside, artifact showcases, flasks with all sorts of gloomy things, a real mountain of exciting things. A decent-looking man with curly hair and sideburns stood at the counter.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"I'm looking for books on occlumency."
"In that case, I have something to offer you," the man winked conspiratorially and disappeared behind the counter. Just a few minutes later, he slowly emerged from under the counter, holding a simple book in his hands. Hmm, well, yes, if he jumped out like Ollivander, he might have received a couple of curses from the local visitors.
"Here. Good, understandable. But I must warn so that there were no complaints later. The book is prohibited because there is also about Legilimency. Not every wizard can reach heights in these sciences, so do not blame me for failures.
"I understand," I replied briefly. The seller, it seems, realized that I was not in the mood for dialogue and simply named the price. Not very big, but by no means modest, as for a book. Nearly twenty Galleons.
After paying and taking the purchase, I nodded curtly and left the shop.
Controlling the space and tracking movements around, I left Knockturn Alley. After walking a couple of meters, I moved my wand in front of my face and took off the hood. The book is there. But I'll also ask Flitwick. And I will go here again, but with Hermione, and not soon.