"Mrs. Parkinson... I'm sorry, because the situation in the Department of Mysteries was quite chaotic at the time, I can't remember exactly who was there..."
Nott looked at Vanessa across the coffee table with a hard-thinking expression on his face. But then, he saw a slight change in his expression, and a rather deliberately greedy smile soon appeared in his original hard thinking.
"Oh! Madam, I think... In order to make me remember it as soon as possible, I may need a little 'stimulation' or something."
As someone who has been involved in pure-blood social circles since she was young, Vanessa is very familiar with this kind of roundabout way of asking for benefits.
Yes, some people may be more tactful, while others may be more straightforward, almost blackmailing. But it must be said that interests are always what people are chasing.
"Of course, the right stimulation helps thinking."
Vanessa had hidden contempt in her heart, but she still maintained her composure on the surface, and even smiled softly. Then, she took out several piles of shiny gold Galleons from the bag she carried with her and placed them firmly on the coffee table between the two of them.
To be honest, this amount of gold coins is usually nothing to a pure-blood family with a long tradition. But in front of a family on the verge of extinction like the Knott family, it can already be regarded as a huge unexpected income.
What's more, what Vanessa wanted to get from Nott was just a clue to a time turner.
However, when Nott saw it, he shook his head decisively after a moment of hesitation.
"Twice more."
As soon as she finished speaking, Vanessa couldn't help but frown - this guy Nott really dared to mention it! Where did he get this confidence
But before Vanessa could say anything, she heard Nott on the other side suddenly add:
"...Mrs. Parkinson, don't worry, I'm not raising the price randomly. In fact, I really can't remember the situation clearly, but I can ask for you... So, if you agree to the price, I will go I want to find out for you whether anyone has taken the time turner; and if someone has taken it, who is that person specifically?"
Just as he was speaking, he immediately spread his hands and said calmly:
"But if you feel that my news is not worth the price... then this deal ends here!"
Are you still too impatient
Vanessa was usually someone who cared about spending money. The reason why she was able to take out these gold galleons so happily this time was entirely because she wanted to get the time turner as soon as possible.
After all, although she misjudged the speed of Maka's trip to London, she still knew that she could not leave home for too long.
And when she was so anxious, Nott seemed to notice it
Seeing that the other party had clearly caught on to her eagerness, Vanessa could only frown and nodded - she couldn't help it, she couldn't think of anyone else who would own such a rare item as a "time turner".
"Okay! Just do what you said and double it!"
"Oh, generous Mrs. Parkinson," Nott said happily when he saw this, "believe me, you will not regret making this decision..."
Having said this, he stood up suddenly, nodded to Vanessa and said:
"Then, please drink some tea and have some snacks here...I'll go find someone for you right now."
At this moment, Mr. Nott's daughter, the shy little girl Joy, came to the coffee table carrying a pot of black tea and some cheap biscuits, and placed the entire tray in Vanessa's hand.
"Joy, stay here with Mrs. Parkinson. Dad will be back soon."
After the little girl looked at her father with some hesitation, she finally stood aside silently, which was considered as accompanying him.
After Nott left, Vanessa looked at the girl who was lowering her head and feeling a little confused, then waved her hand impatiently and said:
"If you want to stay here, then sit down; if you don't want to, don't stay here and go find a place to play by yourself!"
…
Nott actually remembers the Death Eaters who went to the Department of Mysteries with him very clearly.
Not only that, he even knew who the "former Death Eater" was who most likely stole the time turner in the Time Hall.
However, in front of Vanessa just now, he just pretended that he couldn't remember clearly.
Obviously, he was not doing it for the "double" intelligence fee - his greedy look at that time was simply used to mislead Vanessa.
It must be said that Nott's luck was really bad. He followed Voldemort twice in more than ten years, but he did not get the slightest benefit.
However, that doesn't mean he is a fool.
In Nott's opinion, what made Vanessa so eager to get the time turner must be a very valuable deal. And since he is the one who knows the clues to the time turner, why should he give it to Vanessa
A moment later, Nott hurriedly appeared at the door of an "old friend" of his.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk."
With a knock on the door, the door in front of him opened, and an old house elf emerged from behind the door.
"This guest, may I ask... Oh, is he Master Nott?"
"Well," Nott nodded and asked calmly, "Is Walton at home? I have something to do with him."
Here is the mansion of the McNeil family.
About ten years ago, Nott would often come here as a guest, and the "Walton" in his mouth was his former classmate and friend.
Speaking of which, he and Walton decided to follow Voldemort together.
But after that, Walton, who had better academic performance than Nott, was sent by Voldemort to work in the Ministry of Magic; while Nott, who had a higher level of dueling, stayed under Voldemort's staff.
However, neither of them expected at the time that Voldemort would fall so suddenly - before Walton, who was lurking in the Ministry of Magic, could take action, the Dark Lord's power collapsed instantly.
In the end, Nott was caught by an Auror and sent to Azkaban along with most of the other Death Eaters.
But because Walton's mission of hiding in the Ministry of Magic was quite secretive, his name was not even on Karkaroff's whistleblower list, so he escaped that disaster very smoothly.
But in fact, in Nott's heart, Walton owed him once.
After all, if he had confessed his friend in the trial at that time, given the seriousness of the other party's undercover Ministry of Magic, he would definitely have received a very considerable reduced sentence.
But because of his deep friendship with Walton, Nott used a forgetting spell on himself when he was arrested, and survived the Ministry of Magic's interrogation using veritaserum. So much so that after escaping from Azkaban, he didn't immediately think of his best friend. It wasn't until a neighbor mentioned Walton that he realized that he actually had a former friend.
While Nott was secretly reminiscing, the house elf inside the door quickly moved out of the way and said respectfully:
"Master Walton just came back yesterday. He should be in the study now... What you should remember is the room on the third floor that the young master used to use."
"knew."
Nott nodded slightly, then opened his legs and walked through the front hall towards the side stairs.
In fact, he didn't remember anything about "the young master's study room". The effect of the Forgetting Curse back then was very strong, and he only learned some things about Walton from his neighbors, and deduced the truth from the situation after Voldemort's re-emergence.
Fortunately, although the McNeil family's mansion has many rooms, there is only one room with a closed door on the third floor.
"Who?"
As soon as Nott knocked on the door, he heard the voice that was only slightly familiar to him.
"It's me," he said loudly, "Auston."
"What?"
The next moment, there was only the sound of hurried footsteps in the study, and then the door was opened from the inside.
"Oh! Why did you think of coming to see me?"
"Because you haven't come to see me..." Nott looked at the strange friend in front of him and deliberately said calmly, "So I have to come to you, right?"
"Ah," Walton saw that he seemed to be resentful, and hurriedly took his arm and walked inside, explaining as he walked, "You can't blame me... I said brother, you know, we can get away after that time You're lucky! To be honest, I really want to see you, but I'm worried that it will attract the attention of the Aurors."
"Okay," After hearing this, Nott patted Walton's arm and said, "I was just joking - I know it will be inconvenient for you to be monitored by Aurors all the time after that. Running around."
"well-"
Walton nodded and sighed:
"It's not easy! Who knew that after Voldemort resurrected, he would be defeated faster than he was ten years ago?"
While speaking, he warmly invited Nott to sit down on the sofa on one side of the study, and then he sat next to him very casually.
"Well, let's not talk about those boring things... Anyway, it's all over now, and I'm determined not to get involved in those messy struggles anymore. No, as soon as something happens in London, I will sneak home! "
After a short pause, Walton then turned around and said:
"By the way, Auston, what do you want to see me for now? I remember that you seemed to have been at home all this time. Why did you suddenly come to my place today?"
"I'm mainly here to catch up with you," Nott smiled and said, "As you know, I'm really bored just hiding at home all day long..."
But then, he shook his head slightly, and Nott also sighed and said:
"But if I have to say it, it is such a small thing."