Hogwarts: Me? Fight Voldemort?

"Draco has written to me quite a few times lately mentioning you, the famous Jimmy Blaine. I should thank you. You not only saved those harmed by dark magic, but you also took good care of them, Draco!"

He emphasized the word "care," as Draco's recent experience had been a nightmare for him.

Lucius Malfoy didn't care at all whether Voldemort was dead or alive; he only cared whether Voldemort would affect him again.

Becoming a Death Eater was not a good idea. It might have been good at first, but Voldemort became increasingly insane and completely out of touch with reality.

Aside from those thoroughly brainwashed fools, nobody wants to see Voldemort return, because his return would almost always have a negative impact on the British wizarding world.

However, Draco's letter, delivered in a boastful tone, revealed a terrible fact: he and a group of Gryffindors had defeated Voldemort, who was possessing Quirrell.

When Lucius read the letter, his blood pressure spiked and he almost fainted. When Draco returned home, he immediately grabbed him and questioned him about all the details. In the end, it was confirmed that Voldemort's remnant soul had seen his face.

Even if Voldemort were to be resurrected, Lucius would have been able to protect himself from all sides. But now, he could only pray to Merlin that Voldemort would not be resurrected.

He still hasn't dared to tell his wife Narcissa about this. Today, he went out for a walk to clear his head and ended up running into Jimmy.

Now Lucius plans to talk to Jimmy about making an investment to secure his future, just as he once did with Severus.

"I'm a loyal reader of the Daily Prophet. You've been on the news a lot lately, Jimmy. May I call you that?"

“Of course, Lucius.” Jimmy picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Lucius paused in his tea-drinking motion, maintaining his polite smile. "Geniuses have privileges; they should praise you for turning an unforgivable curse into ordinary dark magic."

The Ministry of Magic recently launched an initiative to remove the Crucifixion Curse from the list of three Unforgivable Curses, but some argue that relaxing the restrictions could lead to its overuse.

Jimmy put down his teacup, tilted his head, and said, "Weren't we supposed to be talking about renting a shop? I don't mind chatting, but let's finish the business first."

Lucius put down his teacup, shook his head with a smile, and thought Jimmy was just a teenage wizard after all. "There's always a warm-up before getting down to business. Like the Merlin Order Awards ceremony on July 1st, they always have a meal before the awards ceremony, then they listen to music. Okay..."

He tapped the ground with his foot, "I can rent this shop to you for free."

Most people would be happy to hear that something is free, but Jimmy wasn't. He frowned and said, "Free things often come at a high price. You have to name your price first. If you can accept it, I won't refuse a 0 Galleon item, Lucius."

Let's talk business. Why all the fuss and roundabout talk? What's with all this talk about freebies, favors, and emotional intelligence? Why make it so complicated?

His time is very valuable; if the shop opening is delayed by one day, he will lose one day's worth of Galleons.

After renting the shop, he still had to go to the Jumping and Playful Magical Joke Shop to promote the Duel Cards, and to Hack's Alchemy Workshop to discuss the licensing of the Memory Ball. After that, he also had to go to various alchemy shops to spy on their trade secrets and see if he could stock up on some goods to fill the shelves.

I'm so busy I barely have time to breathe, can you please be more concise?

Lucius's eyelids twitched. He had never seen negotiation like this before... Hmm, very unique; geniuses are bound to be a little eccentric, it's normal.

Chapter 93 Agreement Reached

“Actually, this…” Lucius had never had such a direct conversation before, and he could only say it in a way he understood, “It’s an investment…”

Jimmy asked, "To be more specific, what level of future assistance do you need from me in exchange for this shop?"

"Huh?" This was too blatant; Lucius was a little taken aback.

Jimmy's expression grew increasingly helpless, his fingers tapping repeatedly on the coffee table. "We need to be clear. I won't agree to anything ambiguous. What do you want in exchange? A potion recipe? Or Galon? Or perhaps some help in a crucial moment?"

"Uh, a promise?" Lucius had been pressed for the question several times, and he was also thinking about what exactly he was exchanging for.

But he immediately realized that he seemed to have been tricked.

I just wanted to rent out this storefront that I don't need for the time being, so why are you saying we have to change it?

After clearing his mind, Lucius simply followed his intuition and said, "This promise...to protect Draco, if necessary."

After he finished speaking, the reception room fell silent.

Jimmy was considering whether the condition was worth it. Protecting Draco when necessary was precisely about cleaning up the mess he had made, wasn't it?

Dealing with Draco's mess would inevitably involve dealing with Voldemort, which is too troublesome. It's better to leave it to Harry.

He immediately shook his head, saying, "The shop isn't worth that price."

If Lucius hadn't always been good at judging people, he would have kicked Jimmy out. Aren't you and Draco friends?

What a heartless and ungrateful person!

He felt a surge of frustration again, having to discuss such serious matters with a child. In the end, he took the initiative to compromise and changed his request: "Then provide help, but it must be truly effective."

Jimmy thought for a moment, then immediately said, "Deal!"

The condition that this "one-time help" must actually be useful is not harsh; on the contrary, it is very lenient, and it can be achieved in many ways.

If this promise is exchanged for money, that money cannot be used in the Book of Gold; it will only belong to him after the promise is fulfilled.

However, if Jimmy exchanges a promise for real estate like a shop, he definitely won't lose money, and he can even save some money.

"Jimmy, you don't mind making an unbreakable vow, do you?"

Lucius always felt he was at a disadvantage, but what he valued was Jimmy's talent and future; the investment in a shop wasn't a big deal for the Malfoy family.

The Malfoy pharmaceutical company's storefront here won't attract any new customers. The old customers have already signed fixed contracts, and the storefront is just a signboard, but the Malfoy family no longer needs a signboard.

"Oh, of course, Uncle Lucius, this is good for us all!"

Once the deal was done, Jimmy's attitude completely changed, even his voice sounded different.

This made Lucius nod in approval again. Jimmy's smooth talk was much easier to get along with than that madman Voldemort. Even if he grew into an extraordinary wizard in the future, this probably wouldn't change.

Lucius said, "The shop can be put to your use immediately. I will have Laun take everything here except the furniture. As for the unbreakable vow... I wonder if Jimmy has time tomorrow? I would like to invite you to Malfoy Manor."

This investment had to be done in secret; he didn't want Voldemort to actually come back to life one day and someone to leak the information.

Narcissa was the only person he could trust, so the unbreakable vow had to be witnessed by Narcissa.

After calculating his time, Jimmy replied, "Tomorrow night is fine."

I still have some time to run errands today. Tomorrow morning I'll call the staff to start renovations, and we'll open in the afternoon. In the evening, I'll use my free time to sign the unbreakable vow.

Lucius then talked to Jimmy about Draco's performance at school. As a father, he still cared about Draco, but his way of showing concern was through relatively strict teaching.

During the conversation, the downstairs worker, Laun, used his magic swiftly. He collected all the items belonging to Malfoy Pharmaceuticals into a traceless expansion charm box, left the key, and left.

Jimmy got a shop, and it was free, so his start-up capital could last longer, which was a good thing for his development plan.

Chatting with Lucius didn't feel like a waste of time at all. They talked about everything from magical research to business development, and even potion ingredients and sales.

Lucius's impression of Jimmy changed again. He knew far more than an ordinary child, and even gave the impression that he had been in society and officialdom for many years, making people marvel at the wonder of this world.

After chatting for about an hour, Lucius took his leave, mentioning that the fireplace in the back room of the shop was connected to the Floo Network.

Tomorrow at the appointed time, Jimmy only needs to grab a handful of Floo Powder, throw it into the fireplace, and shout "Malfoy Manor!" and FlooNet will send Jimmy to Malfoy Manor.

Lucius also left via Floo Network. After he left, Jimmy went to the pet store and bought five owls at once.

Owls are an important communication tool in the wizarding world; all online business transactions after a shop opens rely on owls for delivery.

After buying the owl, he immediately wrote to the senior students, asking them to come to work right away, as he couldn't handle everything in one day by himself.

Moreover, before taking up their jobs, the senior students who have never worked before always receive some training.

After sending the letter, Jimmy paced back and forth in the shop, preparing to redesign the interior. The only thing that needed to be changed was the facade facing Diagon Alley; the rest of the rooms remained the same.

The back room behind the storefront can be used as an alchemy workshop. It was originally a storage warehouse for Malfoy Pharmaceuticals. It has been enchanted with a seamless expansion spell, making the space half a street deep. With a little reinforcement, this open space can be used as a workshop for making alchemical items.

Jimmy plans to set up a simple assembly line here, and then dedicate one-third of the space to various alchemical research projects to boost employee morale. He will allow them to conduct their own research and receive a share of the profits if they make money from it.

No matter what kind of store you open, you can't make as much money as working on a platform; platforms can profit from both ends.

Even if the senior students produce a lot of useless stuff, the cost will only be deducted from the employees' wages. In the end, all that is paid is the employees' labor, and Mr. Jimmy loses nothing.

The rooms on the second floor can be used as dormitories for them to live in. Those who don't like living in dormitories can go home to live. Anyway, Jimmy has reserved that lounge, which will be one of his regular places to stay from now on.

At noon, Jimmy went to Old Tom's place for a free lunch, and while he was eating, his cattle and horses gradually arrived at the Broken Axe Bar.

Seven senior students agreed to work in his alchemy workshop, six of whom were involved in making the cards at the time—four men and two women.

Among the boys, there are two Gryffindors, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff, named Herman, Mark, Dylan, and Langdon respectively.

The two girls are both from Ravenclaw, and their names are Olivia and Yuna.

The seventh person was someone who came after hearing about the job opening. She was a cheerful Hufflepuff senior with a very ordinary name: Mary.

Chapter 94 Monopolized Markets

"This is where you will work from now on. What you need to do today is to renovate the store according to my ideas."

Jimmy led the group of seven to the former Malfoy Pharmacy. The signboard was still up, bearing the names of either Malfoy or Severus Snape. The group looked on with strange expressions.

Langdon asked curiously, "This originally belonged to the Malfoy family?"

“It’s mine now!” Jimmy shook the key in his hand, then waved for them to come in. They gathered around a table in the vast warehouse behind, on which a design blueprint was laid out.

He had almost finished thinking about the renovation in the morning. It should fit the style of the wizarding world while also having some modern elements. The sketches were the store's renovation plans and renderings.

They were all drawn with magic, and Jimmy even carved a life-size model out of wood to show them how to do the work.

The store sign needs to be removed first, then a raccoon needs to be drawn on it, and the store name will be "Raccoon Alchemy Workshop".

The name was directly copied from other alchemy workshops in Diagon Alley, which usually used family surnames.

Jimmy chose his surname from an old book; Blaine means intelligence, wisdom, and the power of thought.

Using Blaine wasn't a bad idea, but Jimmy remembered the tough two years he spent wandering the country. It was only by attracting crowds with the Rockets' endearing appearance that he was able to sell his stuff.

They simply copied the current image of the rocket onto it and made it the signboard of the Alchemy Workshop.

In the dark-toned Diagon Alley, Jimmy planned to use a black and white color scheme for the entire store, mainly to attract attention.

The storefront space has been enchanted with a seamless expansion spell, making it large enough to fit a few independent display cases, display commonly used alchemical items on the walls on both sides, and set up several exhibition areas, just like a mobile phone store.

Jimmy also planned to sell some milk tea drinks, so he added a free card-playing rest area to the left of the storefront. There were two or three tables and a few chairs set up in that area, and the staff taught them how to play cards.

If you introduce some reward rules, and people get really into the game and shout and yell, you might be able to attract some customers.

He came up with the idea of ​​an integrated business model of selling goods and playing cards while drinking coffee in a coffee shop. In Diagon Alley, besides ice cream shops and the Leaky Cauldron, coffee shops were the only places that offered food.

It's reasonable for the Alchemy Workshop to also sell milk tea and beverages, since the target audience is entertainment and leisure.

After explaining the renovation task, Jimmy left the shop. Six out of the seven people knew alchemy, so this renovation task was naturally no challenge for them.

Jimmy, carrying the Duel Cards, headed towards the Leaky Cauldron. He stopped in front of the Bouncing & Playful Magical Joke Shop, intending to try and sell the Duel Cards.

Raccoon Alchemy Workshop should primarily focus on selling alchemical items. The card games in the rest area are just to attract customers; the real card sales will be done through wholesale.

Upon hearing his purpose, the owner of the bouncy and playful magic joke shop took Jimmy into his office. The two played cards for three hours, and the shop owner, who was having a blast, was still not satisfied and immediately ordered 50 decks, adding more if they sold well.