The stench of Knockturn Alley seeped into the silver-threaded embroidery of Draco's tailored robes. He stood before the bronze doors in the back alley of Borgin and Burkes, where the imprint burned into his palm by the serpent bone hairpin was oozing beads of blood.
This was Salazar Slytherin's final test for him. If he could crack the Runes array on the door before midnight, he would earn the right to speak with Iblis. Those twisted runes looked chillingly like the Dark Mark on his father's left arm, casting a sickly, greenish glow in the moonlight.
"Morsmordre... Imperio..." The glowing light trembling at the tip of the young man's wand illuminated the chain-like runes, and with every syllable, the serpentine relief on the bronze doors forced open one of its eyes.
Chapter 250