From Eden - Regulus Black (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Back to the actual political plot now, guys, thanks for waiting a bit with the romantic plot-line.

KNOCKTURN ALLEY

Anne was a great liar, but Euphemia was much better than her, so Anne truly believed that she believed her when told her that she was going out with some friends in Diagon Alley until Monty left to go to work, James allowed himself to sleep longer and Sirius didn't get back home after a date with a boy. That was when Euphemia stopped in front of Anne before she could get the floo.

"Where are you really going?" Mia asked.

Anne looked up at her, heart skipping a beat in surprise.

"To Diagon Alley," she answered.

"Oh, please," Mia said, rolling her eyes. "Don't lie to me. Where are you really going?"

"I'm going to Knockturn Alley," she admitted. "I'm going to meet Nott from my class, he's able to get me some things from the 'dark side'. It'll deal with my problems without me having to put my life in danger."

Thought Mia wasn't completely sure of Anne meant by that, but she nodded, surely happy that Anne wouldn't be throwing herself on harm's way.

"Black Market?" she asked.

"Absolutely," she agreed.

"Alright," Mia sighed. "Those are really expensive things, like, really expensive. And they like being paid straight away. Do you need money for that type of thing?"

"How expensive normally?" Anne asked, suddenly feeling a bit less confidant.

She had thought, yes, that Nott would like to be paid straight away, especially for something as illegal and hard to come by as Balisk's teeth and information as ancient as Fyendfire's control and anti-charm.

"Perhaps a bit too expensive, if you had not thought of it already," said Mia. "Do you need me to go to Gringotts for you?"

"Not really," she said, smiling a bit. "I have an idea, don't worry about it, Mia."

The way her eyes glinted and her smile became a smirk mid-sentence made Mia not want to ask about her idea at all. If she was completely honest, sometimes Anne managed to scare her a bit with those thoughts she usually kept to herself.

"Alright, then, dear," Mia said, eyeing her suspiciously. "How long are you going to take?"

"I'm not exactly sure," she said. "Nott is not very known for his punctuality, so I might have to spend lunch there, waiting for him. If anything happens and it takes more time than expected, I'll send you word, don't worry."

"Okay. Be careful," she said, nodding and giving her the small pot full of floo powder. "Be back before dinner."

She smiled at her grandmother and nodded, taking a step into the fireplace and filling her lungs with air with the awful name of the pub.

"The White Wyvern!"

The green flames swallowed her whole once more, spinning her away from home and towards that god-forgotten pub that smelled like urine most of the time and where she was the only woman. She stepped out of the fireplace with a glare and frown in place as she warned the man behind the counter that she was waiting for someone to come and talk to her – talk business, she had specified as she sat on the table furthest away from the fireplace and closest to the door, but away from the window.