Conflict by grangergurl
Chapter Notes: After a long hiatus, I am back in motion!! Thanks for your patience and support, I've gotten some lovely emails from fans. I love you guys, thanks so much for everything. Thanks for help from lily_writes...it's thanks to her that this chapter is about what it is about. Also, I luuuuuurve my beta reader, mugglegurl. Also a big thanks to NikkiSue for beta-ing this chapter!
Mundungus Fletcher was a peculiar man. He was the type who would lie to save his own skin. He could change his loyalties in the blink of the eye. Salute to the general and then stab him in the back. That was how The Fletcher worked, sure as pie.
Harry had a peculiar impression upon Mundungus. He only had to bribe, cajole, and threat, and suddenly, what he wanted was in front of him. This time though, he was pleading with Mundungus, asking him as kindly as possibly (which, no doubt, involved grovelling…).
“Mundungus, listen. Gin’s sick. I mean, you know how bad she is…I need to ask a favour,” Harry smiled grimly as he sat across from a man that he’d otherwise rather not. Who would want to sit by a dirty, smelly, vile man?
Mundungus glared at him suspiciously. “I suppose I’d like to know the favour before I accept, eh?”
Harry smiled once again. “You can pull strings, right? I mean, you know the works?” Harry leaned forward in his chair, his words barely above a frantic whisper.
Mundungus’ eyes shadowed and he glared at Harry. “What do you mean by this, boy? What are you trying to say?”
Harry rolled his eyes at Dung’s sudden interrogation. “Do you know the people? Ugh…Dung, do you know the Black Market? ”
Mundungus’ eyes lit up and he smiled suddenly. “Now yer talkin’ sense, boy. ‘Course I do…How else do ya suppose I make my livin’? I know every seller from Lyin’ Lydia to Cheatin’ Charlie and every man in between. Why, just last week, Lydia stole a rare poison from the Parkinsons and sold it to Charlie...She told him she knew the appropriate price range (of course, she was lyin'...) and Charlie, knowing her personality, cheated her o' the price! Well, anyways, I consider myself at the top o’ the Market, I do. Why?” He sudden looked suspicious and even scared.
Harry smiled reassuringly, but it didn’t calm Dung. “Mundungus, listen. A...fine businessman such as you should know that I would never disturb the inner workings. In fact, I need you to keep an eye out for an item that I need.”
Dung chuckled and rubbed his hands together. “Well, I need to know the item and there should be a certain…profit…involved. A sort of binding contract, if you will. Just so’s ya know that I’ll be fair, right? Otherwise, something might just…slip…past my all-knowing eyes.”
Harry rolled his eyes. He had been expecting this. What else could he do?
“Alright, Mundungus, I’ll set ten Galleons to bind the deal.”
Dung cackled. “Ten Galleons? Hah! That’s only for popular items, and this ‘un must be rare if you’re turning to the Market fer help!”
“Twenty, then.”
“Forty.”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Thirty-five.”
“Thirty, final offer.”
“Done. Now tell me the item.”
“An egg…a dragon egg.”
Dung laughed. “Easy. Which breed?”
“Bronicous Beetle.”
Dung’s eyebrows met in confusion. “I’ve never heard of it. It’s rare, yes? Let’s say you put down five more Galle-“
“Not a chance.”
“Fine.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Mundungus hurried down a not-so-busy street of Knockturn Alley and stopped at a weathered shop named “Borgin & Burke’s.” He knocked three times - the first two times fast, followed by a pause, and a staccato knock, with just a tap of the finger. The sign that proclaimed the shop open turned around and the door swung open to reveal an oily-mannered man who led him into the back room of the shop.
“No, no, and no. Dung, I know you better than that." The man held up his hands and started shooing Mundungus out of the shop, saying, "You’re just trying to cheat me of money, time, and resources. There’s no such thing as a Bronicous Beetle Dragon and you know it. I don’t want any part of this deal. No.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
After being rudely evicted, Mundungus continued along the alleyway, stopping only to hurriedly glance at the shop signs. He kicked the door of a dingy little store open and pushed his way past dried unicorn ears and toenails and the like that were in cauldrons and shelves that were mounted to the wall. He smiled as an old, larger-than-usual gypsy bustled out of the backroom and, upon seeing him, bustled right back in.
“I’m not in the Market anymore, Dung...at least, not when you’re around.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Mundungus Apparated to the Weasley’s backyard where several men were cleaning up stray flowers, paper cups, folding chairs, and other remnants of the wedding. After getting a hold of Harry’s arm, he pulled him into a corner.
“Ah, Harry, I’m really sunk. None in the Market want to help…I don’t know what to do.”
Harry looked at Mundungus, smiling sadly and disappointedly. “How many people did you ask? Don’t give up so easily…there’s quite an…expensive…reward. Please, do keep trying.”
Dung looked around the backyard uneasily, wondering what he should do. Should he tell the truth? Should he continue searching on the Black Market, knowing he would never find what Harry was asking of him? Should he not even respond and say he couldn’t find anything but then turn around and charge more searching fees? Should he flee? No, he would do what he had been planning from the start. Better stick to plan than change it around…too much, at least.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Dung suddenly appeared in a location far away from London. He was far from Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and even Durmstang and Beauxbatons. He hurried through a small area of Romania, occasionally passing a road that no doubt led to Dragon Nests. He suddenly stopped at one road, smiling. It led to a highly respected Dragon Observatory that just so happened to hold one one of the only rare dragons known to man. None of the creatures in the observatory had laid an egg, though…as far as anybody except for Mundungus knew…and Mundungus wanted to claim his rightful property, now.
After retrieving a large, purplish-brown egg that was spotted with greenish things, Dung placed it in his cloak and snuck into the forest. He pulled out of his pocket a page that read:
Traconis Vaximous is a rare disease that has only resulted in death. The only treatment is in the egg of the extremely reclusive Bronicous Beetle Dragon, which only lays one egg a year, and only 3 eggs have been recovered in the past 50 years. One has hatched, the other broken, and the last is priced extremely high. The symptoms include a continuous cough, a low blood pressure, and dulling eyes.
“Hmmm…the last is priced extremely high…I’m sure someone will buy this for more than Potter would ever pay me.”
And with that, Mundungus Fletcher disappeared into the night, holding a Bronicous Beetle Dragon egg, with every intention of either selling it for half a million Galleons or throwing it into the sea.