"No, how bad exactly is your reputation?"
"...Actually, uh, it's not too bad, right?"
Seeing the man who was quite unaware of his own reputation, William didn't say much, and lifted the flap to enter the tent at the back. The ticket inspector named Remus Lupin didn't trouble Mundungus too long after William assured him twice that it was fine.
"You're saying the owner of this circus is a werewolf too?"
Standing in front of the lively and noisy scene, William leaned against the railings. A pink snout peeked out from his sleeve, its smart little black eyes darting around at the surroundings—
Hmm, it smells like a lot of Golden Galleons.
"Yes, yes... Though most werewolves live in poverty, the boss here, Toby Drake, is not one of them—he uses his identity as a werewolf to gain the trust of his own kind, so many desperate werewolves come to him for help and he profits from it..."
Mundungus reluctantly tore his gaze away from the dozing Erumpent in the animal cage by the door. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned closer to William, seemingly struggling with his words, "In your current situation, staying here is definitely better than being around that person..."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, even though this Drake isn't anything good, most werewolves under his control don't have particularly good treatment either, but it's still better than following a notorious Death Eater—at least you can live a decent life—"
Then, Mundungus lowered his voice again, "I've heard—of course, it's just hearsay... that Drake has a deal with the Ministry of Magic. He helps the Ministry manage werewolves so they don't cause trouble, and in return, the Ministry removes obstacles for his tours in Europe to make money. It's a win-win."
"That's all?"
"Of course not, using those unseen official channels from the Ministry, they can acquire many species that are forbidden for private capture, like that Erumpent at the door."
Mundungus pointed behind him, where the Erumpent with an incredibly swollen head, resembling a rhino, was still snoring, "There's also Lethifolds, Chimaeras, even Fire Dragons... but the most famous attraction here is the werewolf performance, though it's not a full moon tonight, so we won't see it."
The man shook his head, somewhat disappointed.
"...Got it."
William nodded. After all this information, he basically understood... Poachers, well, they're old friends by now.
Just as well, his Room of Requirement doesn't have an Erumpent, Lethifold, or Chimaera... Hmm, nor a Fire Dragon—these species are impossible to find in the Forbidden Forest. He could catch a couple of those talking wolf pups, but something like a Lethifold, which only appears in tropical rainforests...
Just as well, he'd figure out a way to sneak a look in their animal room.
"By the way, that fellow in the box..." Mundungus rubbed his hands together, gesturing at the box in William's hand with a clear implication, "When does he plan to come out?"
"He said, when he sees the 'werewolves' you've been talking about." William replied casually.
"Uh, actually, the guy outside the door just now was a wolf too..."
"...Fine, pretend I didn't say anything." Under William's silent gaze, Mundungus wiped his forehead helplessly—the inside of the tent was still a bit stuffy compared to outside, and the man had already taken off his heavy robes.
"Do you have a grudge against the boss here?"
"That obvious...well, just a little dispute, nothing much, honestly..."
"..."
"I helped him transport goods before, and then there was a small mishap..."
"The goods got hijacked?"
"Sort of, I sold that batch of Fire Dragon Eggs."
"?"
You call that 'sort of'? How is embezzling the goods and getting hijacked even remotely the same?
"That batch? Were there a lot?" William frowned. Fire Dragon Eggs are Class A prohibited trade items. Of course, the Fire Dragon species is also banned from being raised by any organization other than official ones—but they ban it, you raise it, as long as you're not caught, right?
But looking at it like this, they're a nest of criminals, and he just had to step in—
That's a real headache. 😊
"One Antipodean Opaleye and two Norwegian Ridgebacks, I heard they recovered one later, but they spent a lot of money, so this Drake started hunting me, but I was quick on my feet." Mundungus leaned on the railing, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings.
"So, why did you embezzle the goods?"
"I didn't want to, but I couldn't help it. The other guy offered too much, and I'm a person who's easily tempted... Once I sold one, I figured the second and third wouldn't matter... Eventually, I sold them all."
"Roar—"
At that moment, just as the man's voice dropped, a fierce roar drew the attention of both of them. A fiery red flame burst into bloom at their feet, leaving stark white ripples on the magical barrier around them.
"...Looks like they really did recover one."
In the center of the circus tent on the third floor beneath the railings, a completely black "giant lizard" was dragged out from backstage, but unlike regular lizards, it had a pair of jet-black wings on its back, and a row of black protruding ridges in between—
The Fire Dragon performance had begun.
"They recovered a Norwegian Ridgeback..." Mundungus murmured unconsciously as he looked at the Fire Dragon.
William didn't respond, his attention turning to the side—he noticed two figures clearly not belonging to the visitors approaching his location, both with their right hands tucked inside their trench coats, clearly gripping their wands.
Wait, no, their target—
That was when Mundungus, still engrossed in the Fire Dragon show, was firmly seized from both sides by the newcomers. The tips of their wands jabbed awkwardly into his sides—"Don't, don't do anything rash, I'm coming with you... You too," he said, turning to William, "Actually, I've been showing my face just to wait for them to come over."
He then refocused on the burly man on his right, "Hey, isn't this Darren? How's it going lately? Your daughter... Ow, don't poke so hard, you're jabbing me—"
"Shut up, say one more word and I'll rip your tongue out—"
"Cough, so cold-hearted..." The man turned his head to look at the other person, "HaLu—"
The next moment, he had a wand shoved against his cheek.
"Mmm..."
Observing the two as they took Mundungus downstairs without any intention of minding about him at all, William casually followed, carrying his box—it felt like something was missing until he reached inside the thirteenth pocket of his robe—
Oh, the Niffler disappeared.
Never mind, then. That guy left to make some extra money for him.