I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 125 You are all my family

It should be said that Riddle's intimidation effect is quite deep-rooted, after all, his name in the world of magic is still somewhat well-known.

When holding the wand, Rita was not afraid; she even believed she could escape using the Animagus.

But the moment he took off his hood, Rita Skeeter sobbed and her legs gave way, causing her to kneel on the ground.

She didn't think she could escape from the infamous Voldemort.

Of course, the outcome was a happy one for everyone, and Ms. Skeeter readily agreed to Louis's request—to become his mouthpiece.

Oh no, it's about accurately reporting everything about Mr. Mountbatten, ensuring the principles of fairness and impartiality.

She will be held responsible if there are any inaccuracies in future publicity or reporting about Louise.

Ms. Skeeter visibly relaxed; at least Louis hadn't restricted her right to make a big splash, which was one of her little hobbies.

Or rather, this is a hobby of all journalists.

When Lewis returned to Hogwarts after dealing with this minor matter, he also received a letter from Lucius.

Lucius was quite efficient; through his careful searching, he actually found over a hundred duds that were about to die.

Not all Squibs are as lucky as Filch, who has a Hogwarts that is willing to take them in. Having never attended school and never been exposed to the Muggle world, it would be very difficult for them to survive there.

Squibs are not allowed to attend magic schools as students, and most Squibs end up leading unproductive and impoverished lives.

As for why knowing some magical knowledge doesn't guarantee survival in the magical world, sorry, even legitimate wizards don't have easy jobs. You, a Squib, still want to find a job?

You must be dreaming.

The factory's equipment was all sourced by Louis from the Muggle world, and the finished products certainly couldn't be entirely geared towards the wizarding world—how much purchasing power do wizards have? In Louis's vision, bottled moonberry juice could also be sold to Muggles.

Christa's supply channels were shrouded in mystery; one Gallon could buy a hundred liters of moonberry juice from her. Louis didn't know if she was making a profit from it, but it far exceeded his expectations—his expectations were only a few liters per Gallon.

What Kristastha didn't tell him was that moonberry juice actually costs one gold coin a cup in Azeroth...

However, as long as you can get in touch with the Bronze Dragon... none of these are problems. Even the rarest and most mysterious Nightborne Magic Wine is readily available to the Bronze Dragon.

Louis was certainly aware of the flirtatious exchange between Kristastha and the Bronze Dragon, but he also knew the saying, "Water that is too clear has no fish, and a person who is too discerning has no followers." Sometimes it's better to be oblivious to things.

Anyway, with the system contract binding them together, Kristassa wouldn't betray him.

Of course, with so many people working in the factory, Louis had no choice but to reluctantly set the price of the moonberry juice at five pounds a bottle, or one silver scoop a bottle.

Moonberry juice uses international standards, with each bottle containing a fixed 500 ml.

This also takes into account the low income of wizards in the wizarding world; otherwise, Louis would definitely have benchmarked against the Muggle world—five pounds equals one Galleon, the exchange rate set by Aunt Rowling.

Considering the current average spending level in the UK, five pounds is not expensive, at least not for a beverage with such a mellow and sweet flavor.

And moonberry juice is far more than just delicious; its nutritional value, beauty benefits, and anti-aging effects make it practically charity at five pounds!

Thinking of this, Louis's eyes welled up with tears.

It seems my moral standards are still above average. If this kind of thing fell into the hands of the US and was priced at fifty dollars a bottle, whether I could even get my hands on it would be another matter entirely.

"I'll definitely give the Americans a good thrashing!" Louis thought viciously.

Louis thoughtfully set up the factory in Prime Minister Haque's constituency. When Haque learned of this, he wrote a kind letter full of praise and encouragement for Louis, but without making any actual contribution.

If we have to talk about a concrete indication, then it was Harker's suggestion that if Louis were to consider awarding medals to others again, he could... well, you know.

Relationships are built on mutual help. Louis provided hundreds of jobs in his district and a 30% discount on moonberry juice purchases within the district. That's a huge favor.

The cheapest thing in the world is human kindness, but it is also the most expensive. Louis understood this principle, and Harker, a seasoned veteran of the bureaucracy, understood it even better.

Three factories were built in Harker's constituency. One factory was responsible for producing product packaging, that is, producing beverage bottles. Another factory was responsible for filling beverages, recruiting Muggles in Prime Minister Harker's constituency. The third factory was responsible for producing high-end, exquisite handmade gift boxes, recruiting Squibs that Lucius had collected from the wizarding world.

There were also some odd jobs and miscellaneous manual tasks assigned to the duds.

After more than a month of intensive training for these duds, Louis's moonberry juice factory is about to set sail.

Actually, for the Squibs, this job isn't difficult at all, since they don't have to operate any machines—that's the main point. After all, the Ministry of Magic is watching them; they're not afraid of thieves stealing, they're afraid of thieves eyeing them.

The Squibs cherished this hard-won job and were extremely grateful to Lord Louis. Louis was very pleased with Lucius for this. Instead of taking credit, Lucius told the Squibs that it was not he, Lucius, who provided them with the opportunity to survive and work, but Lord Louis.

Although they didn't know who Louis was, that didn't stop him from being the object of the Squirrels' gratitude.

On the same day the factory started operations, The Daily Prophet also quietly published a news article.

The title is "Who cares about the Squibs?"

The signature is Rita Skeeter.

"For a long time, the survival of Squibs has been a deep-rooted and intractable problem in the magical world."

What follows is a description of the living conditions of the Squibs. Rita seems to have racked her brains to try to portray the impoverished lives of the Squibs in a way that evokes sympathy.

Then the conversation shifted.

He began to praise Louis for providing jobs for the impoverished Squirrels.

"We have noticed that His Highness Mountbatten is not trying to gain attention or buy fame in the wizarding world by giving alms, but is genuinely helping the Squibs make a living."

He provided the Squibs with a dignified way to live in this world, instead of letting them live like parasites—this is what moved me the most. A dignified, high-ranking duke, a prince, would be so considerate of the common people, genuinely thinking about what the Squibs think and urgently addressing their needs. This is truly an indescribable noble quality.

Speaking of which, I must mention that when I praised Prince Mountbatten to his face, he reprimanded me sternly, and without any disdain, shook hands with a dirty—oh, forgive me for saying that—Squirrel Joseph Mills, and said kindly to him: "You work in the factory to serve the wizarding world, and I run the factory to serve the wizarding world. We are all serving the wizarding world, just with different roles. There is no distinction of high or low status. Don't be nervous. Just remember to treat the factory as your own home. You are all my family."

Attached to the image is a GIF that is iconic in the wizarding world, showing Louis shaking hands with Joseph Mills. Louis's smile is warm and welcoming, while the Squirrel's eyes are filled with gratitude and his smile is also very honest. The workers watching around are also genuinely smiling and clapping.

Below the photo are Rita Skeeter's provocative words.

"Let's think about it. Squibs were once one of us, children of wizards. Just because they don't have the talent of wizards, can we just let them fend for themselves? Here, I can't help but reflect on my past actions. Well, even pure-blood families can't avoid the possibility of Squibs appearing in their descendants."

"Can we really bear to let our children live that kind of life? That kind of life where they have no relatives or friends and can only struggle to survive in a strange and indifferent world. As a mother myself, oh my god, I really can't imagine what it would feel like for my child to live that kind of life."

Finally, there was a lyrical ending, written with great emotion, that brought tears to everyone's eyes, at least to the eyes of the students in the auditorium that day.

At the very end, there was a small line of text that roughly said, "For the sake of the Squibs' living conditions, please do your part by buying a bottle of moonberry juice."

Wizards who received today's Daily Prophet almost unanimously chose to go to the store and buy a dozen moonberry juices. A sieco isn't expensive, and there's a promotion going on right now; you can buy a whole dozen moonberry juices for just three silver siecos—what a fantastic deal!

The wizards' purchasing behavior was partly out of support for the Squibs and the Louis factory. On the other hand... Rita Skeeter, unusually, didn't gossip or make a big fuss. Instead, she started focusing on the sharp contradictions that needed to be resolved. Even if it was just for this old woman's prodigal son's return, shouldn't we support her?

Children have the strongest empathy, especially Hermione, who, under the watchful eyes of Catherine and Ron, threw herself into Louis's arms and wept bitterly.

"Louis... Oh, Louis, you are so kind..." Hermione's face was covered in tears, and she sobbed as she praised Louis, sniffling.

"I must say, don't blow your snot on me." Louis really didn't want to say something so ungentlemanly, but he couldn't help it; his girlfriend and best buddy were right there watching...

At the very least, you have to show the right attitude.

Hermione blushed and pulled her head out of Louis's arms, giving him a disapproving look.

"You're the one who blows your nose on others..."

Ron quietly gave Louis a thumbs-up; he genuinely admired Louis's action.

It's perfectly normal to feel a little jealous sometimes; it's human nature, and those who can avoid it are either saints or gentlemen. But when you're facing classmates who are vastly different from you, that jealousy basically disappears and transforms into a sense of admiration.

For example, if you and your classmate Xiaoming are both high school students, and Xiaoming can skillfully solve some advanced math problems, you might feel a little challenged and a little envious. But if your classmate Xiaoming proves the Riemann Hypothesis, your first reaction probably won't be envious or jealous, but rather, "Holy crap, brothers, come and see God!"

That's roughly the feeling.

"Come look! The latest issue of the Daily Prophet is here!"

Neville's shout drew everyone's attention, and as the owls flew in like a dense swarm of planes during LeMay's barbecue in Tokyo, almost everyone received a newspaper.

This is one of the welfare policies that Lewis gave to Hogwarts. Every student can receive a new issue of the Daily Prophet every day. Of course, all expenses are paid by Prince Mountbatten.

He's not short of money.

Dumbledore was initially somewhat resistant, but when Lewis said he would oversee the contents of the newspaper, Dumbledore agreed without hesitation.

Actually, it was Louis's saying, "I care about everything—family affairs, national affairs, and world affairs," that convinced him.

After all, young wizards can't just keep their heads down and study magic all day long; they also need to keep up with current events.

"News from this newspaper... Mr. Lucius Malfoy has been awarded the Knight Grand Cross..." Pansy practically shouted, holding the newspaper. "My God, Draco! Your father will henceforth be addressed as Sir Lucius!"

Draco's face flushed red with excitement.

He had always been proud of his father, and now that his father had become a renowned knight, how could he not be excited—even if it was just a low-ranking OBE, it was still a knighthood, wasn't it?

"It's my dad! It's my dad!" He could barely speak, just repeating it over and over. After a long while of excitement, he suddenly threw down his newspaper, ran to Louis's side, and hugged him tightly, saying, "Thank you, Louis, thank you..."

"Hey, there are so many people here." Louis patted his shoulder. "If you want to hug someone, hug Pott. Why are you hugging me..."

Draco was initially happy, but the mention of Poot caused him to immediately release Louis as if electrocuted, eliciting good-natured laughter from his classmates.

……

Ministry of Magic, Minister's office.

Cornelius Fudge slammed the newspaper onto the table, growling angrily, "What is this? What is this?! This is utter nonsense! Are they trying to break international secrecy laws? How dare they!"

"Pass the order! Have the Department of Magical Law Enforcement send men to shut down that factory! Damn it, I don't care who their protectors are, even if Dumbledore is secretly supporting them, that's no excuse for them to trample on international secrecy laws!"

(End of this chapter)