97: Shafiq’s Concession

97: Shafiq’s Concession

Two figures appeared in the room—one sitting and the other standing.

"Who are you!" Sean Shafiq shouted sharply.

He wasn't being foolish by doing so; he was trying to wake up the portraits on the wall.

This cunning old buzzard knew something was wrong the moment he saw the two of them.

There was a magical barrier on the Shafiq family estate. For them to enter the manor so silently, they couldn't possibly be here just to chat with an old man like him.

His shouting didn't wake the portraits. The previous head of the Shafiq family, whose portrait hung on the wall, was sound asleep.

No matter how much noise Sean made, the portrait didn't stir.

Even the house-elf, who was usually bullied, seemed deaf, showing no intention of coming over.

The Shafiq Manor was eerily quiet.

The two people in the room continued to watch Sean in silence. John, who was sitting on the sofa, turned the emerald ring on his left hand.

He calmly watched Sean, then raised his index finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

"Shh—please keep quiet."

Sean's palms were sweating. He wanted to strike first, gripping the eagle head on his cane and pulling it out forcefully.

'I should capture the leader first,' Sean thought, and he launched an attack on the person on the sofa.

"Stupefy!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Two voices sounded simultaneously. Sean was hit by a red light, and his wand flew out of his hand.

Just as the wand was about to hit the ground, it suddenly changed direction and landed in the hand of the person wearing the silver mask.

Sean's expression changed drastically. He stared intently at the person.

That person hadn't used a wand—it was a brilliant display of wandless magic.

"Wandless magic? I don't recall having such a powerful enemy."

"That was in the past. Johnny Silverhand greets you," John said casually, his fingers lightly brushing the handle of the wand. The wand was made of wood painted with silver—how stingy this Shafiq was.

With a slight force of his fingers, John broke the handle off the wand.

He then picked up the yew wand and pointed it nonchalantly at Sean, saying calmly, "You shouldn't have meddled with my shop, Sean Shafiq."

Sean shouted aggressively, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"No matter. I don't need your answer."

John tilted his head slightly, his deep gaze piercing through the silver mask and landing on Sean.

At that moment, Sean felt a predatory pressure emanating from him.

Tommy, wearing a white mask, stepped forward and respectfully asked, "Master, may I do the honors?"

"You may," John replied indifferently.

"I-I am pure-blood. You can't harm a pure-blood. The Ministry of Magic won't let you get away with it."

Pure-bloods are not like the dark wizards of Knockturn Alley; the Ministry wouldn't just turn a blind eye.

Just as Sean Shafiq was trying to use his pure-blood status as a threat, Tommy drew his wand and sinisterly whispered, "Crucio."

"Ug... ggg.. ggghh..."

The chattering mouth was silenced by the intense pain, leaving Sean unable to speak.

He fell to the ground, his body convulsing like a beached fish.

"You can pretend to know nothing."

Playing idly with the elm wand, John chuckled softly, "But you and I are both smart men, right?"

All the guards had been knocked out.

The loyal house-elves were stuffed under the bed. Lupin and three security team members were together, looking up at the manor.

There was no sign of activity inside.

After waiting for a while, the sound of smashing came from the manor, and Johnny Silverhand came down with Tommy Shelby.

"It's done. Sean Shafiq was very generous; he voluntarily gave up all his properties in Knockturn Alley as a gift."

Johnny Silverhand walked past him, and Lupin didn't know what he had said to that old vulture, Sean Shafiq, but he knew it was definitely not something good.

The young shop assistant, Kim Ladislay, caught up and pretended to ask curiously, "Sir, how did you get Shafiq to apologize?"

John paused, his voice carrying a hint of mockery. "Heh, I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse."

This answer made Kim Ladislay frown, pondering what kind of enticing offer it could have been to make an ancient pure-blood family back down.

Upon hearing his boss's words, Tommy Shelby showed a helpless expression.

If not being able to ever raise his head in front of Johnny Silverhand could be called enticing, then it really was an offer one couldn't refuse.

He even suspected that when it came to soul research, no one could surpass his boss.

That miraculous soul curse, which allowed Johnny to take their soul out of the body, cut their hands, or carve something on them, then after playing shove them back to the body all while without leaving a scar, was even more sinister than the Killing Curse.

At the same time, Tommy was also grateful he wasn't one of those rigid fuckers who messed with Johnny Silverhand; otherwise, being an enemy of his boss would be a terrifying thing.

After leaving the anti-Disapparition zone, John put his hand on Tommy's shoulder.

Tommy also wanted to complain about this. His boss even knew something as weird as the soul spell, but he couldn't Apparate.

This made him wonder if Apparation was so difficult to learn?

Waving his wand, Tommy Apparated with John.

The other wizards followed him, thinking that the boss was too cool to Apparate by himself.

After all, if someone said that he couldn't Apparate with such strength, who would believe him?

...

The next day.

The Shafiq family withdrew from Knockturn Alley, and all their assets were acquired by Johnny Silverhand's exclusive store. (A/N: I'm always forgetting the spelling of Speciality)

Not only that, but the Shafiq family also abandoned London and went abroad to a country in turmoil.

Some say the Shafiqs wanted to make a profit during the Muggle unrest, while others claim the old buzzard wanted to enter politics and run for Minister of Magic.

But whatever the reason, Knockturn Alley had changed.

The former Dark Lord of Knockturn Alley had gone overseas, and a new ruler had ascended.

The forces that had previously eyed Johnny Silverhand now retreated.

Even Rufus Scrimgeour, who had anticipated a period of tension, was bewildered.

"Just one night, and Shafiq gave up?"

He scoffed at the rumors.

No one knew better than he did how much of an empire the old buzzard, Sean Shafiq, had in Knockturn Alley—a sum that the old buzzard would never relinquish.

So there was only one truth: Shafiq had been exiled.

The suddenly emerging Johnny Silverhand had exiled one of the twenty-eight Sacred Families in just one night.

Rufus Scrimgeour felt he needed to reassess his relationship with Johnny Silverhand.

The new king of Knockturn Alley, Johnny Silverhand, had become a legend.

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