Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Marchionne's bright smile suddenly became a little stiff - obviously, although this price still allowed him to make a lot of money, he felt heartbroken and frustrated when he thought that he might not have to pay so much.

So he continued to mutter and complain that Professor Murray was too partial to Wade and was taking advantage of a poor businessman like him.

Professor Murray was unmoved, as if Marchionne's voice was just a buzzing fly nearby. He quickly drew up a contract and, as a witness, urged Marchionne and Wade to sign the contract.

The advantage of the magical world is that you don't have to worry about your business partners breaking their agreements, because the price of violating a contract is often more terrible than death.

Chapter 55: Marchionne's Magic Workshop

Marchionne was a man obsessed with the pursuit of wealth, and he was never aboveboard about it.

After signing the contract, Marchionne urged them to proceed to the next step immediately. He was unwilling to waste a second of time making money. This time, Professor Murray asked Steven to entertain the guests at the party, and he accompanied Wade to Marchionne's magic workshop.

"It would be best if we could get the first batch of goods on the shelves before the start of the school term. Students and their parents will definitely be willing to spend money to buy our goods." Marchionne said enthusiastically, "We can also offer different packaging, different quantities, and different qualities. Even if we just add some prints and sprinkle some gold powder on the parchment, the pure-blood nobles will be willing to pay three times the price for it. By the way, I also need to quickly make a batch of posters and post them in Diagon Alley tomorrow morning!"

Wade couldn't help but be shocked and asked, "Is it too late?"

"Of course!" Marchionne blinked, "Dear Wade, the world of magic is omnipotent!"

Wade thought he had some magical spell that could speed up production, but when he used Floo powder to reach Marchionne's company, he discovered that it was the power of money.

The company's lobby was very spacious, with a small flowing waterfall in the center. On the water waves, the words "Aslan's Magic Workshop" shone with golden light. The arched dome was painted with pictures of various magical creatures, some of which were still moving slowly. There were burning fireplaces all around, with green flames rising and falling, and wizards would come out from them from time to time.

"Why are we suddenly told to work overtime during the Christmas holidays?" A young man complained loudly, probably not noticing that his boss was standing next to him. "I was planning to travel to Italy!"

"I heard there are products that need to be produced urgently." Another witch said happily, "Overtime pay will be three times the normal rate!"

The short-haired young man immediately calmed down: "Is that so? That's not bad."

"Please make way - please make way -"

A goblin shouted loudly, directing a box as high as a hill to move with difficulty. He moved forward very slowly because there were so many people in the hall, which made the goblin look very irritable.

The sudden increase in workload made everything seem messy, and there were several house-elves shuttling between people's legs, running around quickly and delivering various things.

Groups of colorful paper planes were circling in the sky above the hall, and from time to time they would take aim at a person and then whoosh down from above.

"Oh, damn!" A wizard suddenly had a paper airplane on his hat. He took off the airplane and unfolded it, then shouted, "How come we just found out that we don't have much rock scale fish oil now? We said before the holiday that we should take inventory and replenish the insufficient stocks in time! Don't let me know who is neglecting his duty!"

He hurried through the crowd and almost knocked the goblin over, causing it to drop its box and curse loudly.

Wade was very surprised.

Judging from the chaotic state of the magic workshop now, Marchionne might have ordered all employees to prepare to work overtime as soon as he saw the effect of the Book of Friends - at that time everyone was still holding out hope to negotiate with Professor Murray, but Marchionne, who was determined to win, might have already thought about how to carry out the subsequent work.

"Sorry, it's really messy here today! It's not usually like this. Vader, professor, follow me, this way."

Marchionne led Wade and Professor Murray through the crowd and into the dedicated elevator. He breathed a sigh of relief and pressed the button for [Sixth Floor - Technical Department] while loosening his collar.

"Your workshop now has seven floors?" Professor Murray squinted at the row of elevator buttons and said, "I remember there were only five floors when I came last time."

"Yes, we have made good progress in the past few years." Marchionne said proudly, "The transformation of the magic radio is a big deal, and this is also thanks to the professor's willingness to grant us the authorization."

"Not many wizards are willing to take the initiative to accept new things, let alone transform Muggle objects. Many people still think that Muggles are stupid and low-level creatures. It's really stupid!"

"When I first went to school, I saw that scarlet train running like a giant beast on the Scottish Highlands. I was deeply shocked by the wisdom and power of Muggles. After graduating from school, I wanted to study in a Muggle university, but for various reasons, I gave up regretfully in the end..."

"——What are the various reasons? Isn't it just because you don't understand?" Professor Murray pointed out the truth sarcastically.

"Hahaha - don't be so blunt in front of the kids, Professor!"

Wade suddenly discovered that although Professor Murray often complained about Marchionne, the relationship between them was much better than it seemed on the surface. When they talked privately, there was a special tacit understanding between them.

He looked at the posters in the elevator and listened silently without interrupting.

There were two goblins and five or six wizards in the technical department. They had prepared various tools and were waiting in the office. This place was different from the Muggle office. There were all kinds of wonderful, slowly moving magic objects, and from time to time there were lights of different colors flashing, and the room was filled with many tiny sounds.

When they got here, Professor Murray and Marchionne found an empty table and sat down to drink tea while Wade communicated with the people in the technical department.

Wade first demonstrated the production process of the Book of Friends. He brought ready-made potions that took a long time to prepare. All the people present were experts. They almost mastered the general process after watching it once. Then they disassembled the whole process step by step, and finally reached a point where more than 80% of the small steps could be completed even by third-year students at Hogwarts. Some people were constantly calculating how to further reduce the cost and find various materials to prepare. In less than half an hour, the technical department had determined the production process of the first batch of products, and the entire magic workshop truly entered the stage of high-speed operation.

During this time, although Marchionne only occasionally chatted in a low voice with Professor Murray, he was also observing Vader unnoticed.

The black-haired boy was not very tall. He rarely spoke after showing his work, but every time he spoke, he was always meaningful and to the point. The members of the technical department tried to change his magic rune circuit several times, but before they did, he pointed out the consequences of doing so - either reducing stability, or causing transmission information delay or even loss.

As it turned out, he was right every time.

Marchionne secretly stuck out his tongue, finally understanding why Professor Murray had always looked down on his level - he had even scored an E (good) in the Ultimate Wizard Registration Exam -

Look at this child. He not only has genius creativity and a diligent learning attitude, but also an extremely pragmatic and rigorous experimental spirit. If he had not tried it dozens or hundreds of times, how could he be familiar with all the changes?

No wonder, given Professor Mori's current status, he is willing to sacrifice his reputation to stand up for this child and personally fight for greater benefits for him.

There are many geniuses in the world, and Marchionne himself is also called a genius by some people, so he understands that many geniuses who only have a smart mind will be lost in the crowd, or even sent to Azkaban for further study because they are too "smart". Only a genius like Wade - as long as he does not die halfway - his achievements are unquestionable and his glory is obvious.

How to win over such a genius?

Marchionne revised his strategy, which he had adjusted three times in his mind.

Eleven years old... Is this child really only eleven years old? It makes him feel as if he has lived on the body of a Flobberworm for more than thirty years...

Could it be...

Suddenly, Marchionne leaned forward and lowered his voice and said, "Professor - Professor Murray - please tell me the truth - this child is actually your illegitimate child, right?"

Wade, who was discussing the lead powder ratio with the technical department, suddenly heard a scream. He turned around and saw that Marchionne had rolled off the table to the ground, while Professor Murray smiled and indicated that everything was fine.

——I don’t know why, but his smile looked a little hideous.

Vader blinked blankly.

Chapter 56: The Lone Star and the Sun

Aslan's magic workshop was indeed very efficient. When Wade went out, he already had the first edition of "The Book of Friends" in his hands.

This is a preliminary collection, with a minimum of two people and a maximum of fifteen. The cover is much more exquisite than the one Wade wrote casually, with the font bordered with gold and a swaying eustoma reflected on it. The pages inside use different colors and flowers to indicate the difference, such as sunflowers for two people, tulips for three people, daylilies for four people, violets for five people, etc., all of which are flowers that can symbolize friendship.

In Wade's opinion, this "Book of Friends" was already very exquisite, but Marchionne was not very satisfied.

"This is a version for women, they should put a little powder on it."

"Are there other versions?" Vader asked.

"Of course," Marchionne said. "There are versions for men, with pictures of pine trees, crowns, scepters, bows and arrows; there are also animal versions, with unicorns, phoenixes, dragons, Pegasus and the like; children's versions have cattails and fairies; there are curiosity versions with Dementors and three-headed dogs; there are Quidditch versions with famous Quidditch stars and flying broomsticks; there are also architectural versions, veela versions, Order of Merlin versions, college versions..."

He listed dozens of types in one breath, as if he could come up with a lot of money-making ideas without even thinking, and finally said: "There are all kinds of patterns to choose from. Many people will buy a few more for collection even if they don't need them. But we currently have the most flower templates, so make this one first. If you don't like it, you can give it to a female classmate. When other versions are printed, I will give you a few sets."

Wade shook his head: "What do I need so much for?"

"You can keep it for yourself!" Marchionne said with a smile, "It's also good to give it to classmates to get closer to them!"

“I don’t like to please others.”

In other words, his life has not yet reached the point where he needs to please others in order to survive, and this has been the case in both his past and present lives.

"It's not really a flattery. It's just that if someone helps you a little, you can repay them with the Friends' Book. It doesn't have to be too much, just a set for two or three people." Marchionne instructed him like an elder brother: "This thing costs almost nothing for you, but it is a relatively precious gift for others. They will definitely be very happy if they receive it. And, Wade——"

He stroked Wade's soft hair and said, "We are not the lone star in the night sky. There will always be times when we need help from others. How can you get it if you don't give first?"

"What Marchionne said makes sense, but if you feel embarrassed, then don't try to learn from him." Professor Murray suddenly said, "Blindly imitating others will only make you lose your own judgment. You just need to be yourself - a lone star is naturally lonely, but if you are the sun, there will naturally be stars around you."

“Well, maybe you’re right, Professor.” Marchionne shrugged. “But I always think there’s nothing wrong with getting along well with most people.”

"You have been thinking about how to make money all day long since your first year, but Wade is not a businessman, he is an alchemist - enjoying solitude, pursuing the unknown, and keeping company with knowledge, this is the character of an alchemist! Don't pollute my students with your unscrupulous business philosophy." Professor Mori said unhappily.

"Hey, that's slander, professor!" Marchionne protested, and immediately gave an example: "If I really did whatever it took to make money, I should have asked the technical department to adjust the validity period of the Book of Friends to one year, so that users would have to buy new ones every year, and then the supply of gold galleons would really be endless! But I didn't do that, which is enough to prove that even if I'm doing business, I still have noble character!"

"But you must have thought about it, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have blurted out such a vicious method."

"——Think about it, it's not against the law."

……

Their next stop was, of course, Gringotts.

It was already evening, and there were fewer wizards shopping in Diagon Alley. Instead, some sneaky guys in black robes began to appear, and they almost all walked into a dark and gloomy alley.

"Don't look over there! That's Knockturn Alley, a favorite haunt of dark wizards."

Marchionne blocked Vader's view and at the same time, he put his arms in wide sleeves around him, almost covering Vader's entire body, while Professor Murray walked on the other side of him.

The few of them arrived at Gringotts smoothly, and a goblin standing near the door bowed to them.

"Good evening, gentlemen."

"Good evening." Marchionne gestured with his hand and said, "Mr. Weed Grey needs to rent a new vault."

"Ved Grey?" The goblin looked up at Ved, who was only half a head taller than him. He did not question his age, but nodded and said, "Okay, I understand - what kind of vault do you want to rent?"

"Please introduce the types and prices to Mr. Gray first."

"Please come over here—"

Wade followed the goblin and Marchionne to complete the vault procedures, while Professor Murray came to another goblin who was sitting on a high stool writing.

"Long time no see, Griphook."

"Hello, Professor Murray, is there anything I can do for you?" the goblin named Griphook said respectfully.

"I need to get something from my vault." Professor Murray showed the key.

"Okay, wait a minute - let me get the jingle piece."

The goblins have imprisoned a fire dragon in the underground vault to deal with those guys with bad intentions. The Jingle Pieces allow the goblins and customers to travel safely in the vault.

Wade rode on the legendary cart for the first time, which Michael had described to him as something that would knock your brains out.

The cart looked narrow and small, very simple, but even with two adults, a child and two fairies sitting in it, it was not crowded. Pull the ring to pull the handle connected to the front of the cart, and the cart started off with a click.

"Close your eyes and don't open your mouth!" Marchionne hurriedly shouted to Wade.

Vader did not ask stupid questions but did it immediately.

The cart slid down the steep slope, speeding up, and gradually the cold wind could be heard whistling past them. The road in the middle must have been particularly winding, because their bodies were swaying left and right involuntarily, as if they were about to be thrown out. But fortunately, he had kept his eyes closed, so the dizziness was greatly reduced. Marchionne's arm was stuck tightly in front of his chest, as if he had added a safety lever.

After an unknown amount of time, the cart finally stopped. Everyone was pale, and after holding onto the railing for a long time, Wade and Marchionne were able to climb out of the cart.

As for Professor Murray, he still needs to go down to his own vault to get something.

"Well, let's go," Griphook said, pulling the handle on the cart once again.