Disclaimer - I do not claim to own any part of the Harry Potter world.
December
Mr Borgin surveyed the numerous boxes and badly wrapped parcels filling the front of his shop. Estates sales weren't usually of interest to him, especially these days. With the return of the Dark Lord, Borgin and Burkes had been doing a brisk business. A shrewd businessman, Mr. Borgin was a friend to those trying to distance themselves from He Who Must Not Be Named and also served as a source to those who were looking to buy artifacts that might be considered of questionable nature.
Despite inventory being good, Borgin hadn't been able to pass up the opportunity provided by the passing of his cousin, Bartholomew Borgin, a wizard who over the years had collected a great deal of curiosities. The family had always given Bartholomew a wide berth, as he was known for his strange tastes, cultivating particular interests in every aspect of dark magic. As a young wizard, he had fed his obsession with travel, collecting antiquities from all over the world that many a wizard who dabbled in the dark arts would pay quite a few galleons for. When age made traveling difficult, Bartholomew had taken to satisfying his thirst for knowledge collecting books. His library consisted of over a thousand volumes covering wizarding lore throughout the ages, along with his intricate notes he had bound into manuscripts for possible later publishing.
Borgin had spent the better part of a week sorting through the boxes of antiquities and volumes of books and manuscripts, stacking the ones that would find space on the shop's shelves on the front counter. He was making his final decisions when the door of the shop opened. Lucius Malfoy's form filled the shop doorway. Mr. Borgin watched the wizard weave his way through the obstacle course to the shop counter, noticing how Malfoy's nose wrinkled at the musty smell and dust that clung to the boxes.
"Mr. Malfoy, always a pleasure. It is good to see you out and about, " Borgin greeted his customer. Last he had heard, Lucius Malfoy had been fingered as a Death Eater and imprisoned in Azkaban. However, with the Dementors gone and considering the Malfoy fortune, well, anything was possible these days.
"Yes," Lucius Malfoy drawled, carefully keeping his gloved hands tucked inside his cloak to keep from touching anything in here that might leave a mark on him. "The Minister has seen my value to the Ministry and has rethought my unfortunate confinement. I have come for my parcel."
"Ah yes, I have it in the back. I will go fetch it."
Left alone, Malfoy, surveyed the dirty crates and bundles with distaste. Finding nothing of interest, he turned around. His attention was caught by the stacks of leather bound volumes and manuscripts covering the countertop. Resting on the stack closest to him was a bound stack of parchment. The handwritten title page, Mysteries and Myths – Notes of truth about Dark Magic, Death and What Happens Next caused Malfoy to roll his eyes. However, he was bored and the manuscript wasn't dusty, so he picked it up and flipped through it. The curtains behind the counter shifted. Malfoy discreetly slipped the manuscript under his robe. Borgin re-entered the front of the shop.
"Mr. Malfoy," Borgin said, handing over the order, "I trust you'll find it all there."
Malfoy nodded. "Put it on my account." He left, the cold December air rushing in, mixing the falling snow with the floating dust disrupted by his abrupt departure.
"And thank you, too, Sir! Happy holidays, Sir! Always a pleasure doing business with such upstanding wizards as yourself." Borgin sneered to the door. "Just how much gold does a reprieve from Azkaban cost these days, eh?"