Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying!

The blond wizard relaxed slightly and hurriedly took his leave.

“You’re not really planning to work with him, are you? He called you by the wrong last name,” Steven said, sounding rather displeased.

“Yes, he called me by the wrong name.” Wade put away his business card and said, “But it doesn’t matter, because I wasn’t planning on remembering him anyway.”

As if flipping a switch, the blond wizard prompted two more wizards to come and say goodbye. Before leaving, they said similar things and left their business cards with Wade.

This time, however, they finally remembered Wade's full name.

After they left, Steven quietly introduced them to Wade.

"—Don't work with Bolton. He seems easy to talk to, but he's actually ruthless and often manipulates contracts, he just doesn't dare to cheat my father."

In other words, if it were Wade dealing with him, he would easily suffer losses.

A male wizard with a center-parted hairstyle and a beard came to say goodbye, carrying a conspicuous black staff in his hand.

“Mr. Gray, I really admire your talent, but unfortunately Professor Murray and I have a big disagreement on the price—I hope we can stay in touch, and perhaps new opportunities will arise in the future.”

“Of course, thank you for the time and effort you’ve put into this,” Wade said, taking his business card.

【Serus Sharp】, this is the name of the male wizard.

“Sharp was a very capable man; he always managed to get his hands on all sorts of hard-to-obtain things, including a lot of contraband. I heard he was in Azkaban three times when he was young—my father didn’t really like him, but he would sometimes buy things from him,” Steven continued.

"Once you're in Azkaban, you can get out?" Vader asked in surprise. In his mind, Azkaban was an isolated island in the vast ocean, a prison where you could enter but never leave.

Steven misunderstood Wade's meaning and explained, "Well, because he's cunning and good at covering up his crimes, so his sentences never exceed six months."

"Oh—hmm—I see."

After hearing this, Wade realized he had made a mistake—the movie only depicted Death Eaters sentenced to life imprisonment, which did not mean that life imprisonment was the only punishment in Azkaban.

The wizards left one by one, leaving only Machione walking out of the small stone platform, loudly "complaining" as he went: "Dear Professor Morrie, I was once your student, but now I feel like I haven't received any of your favoritism at all—of course, I'm not complaining, I just want to tell you that even though I've left the school now, I will always respect your decision and hope that you can still give me a little attention and care."

He gestured a tiny gap with his thumb and forefinger to show how humble his request was.

"Come on, when have you ever suffered a loss?" Professor Morrie said irritably.

Indeed, despite his complaints, Marco Machione couldn't help but smile, a smug expression on his face. He walked briskly and quickly to Vader, removed his hat, bowed, and said with a beaming smile, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Vader Gray. Please allow me to introduce myself—I am Marco Machione, and I trade in all kinds of magical items. I believe it is a great honor to meet you today, and I look forward to establishing a deep friendship with you, bringing more positive changes to the wizarding world in the future, or rather—making more money!"

"—Hello?" Wade was startled by his exaggerated gesture and subconsciously looked at Professor Morrie.

Professor Mori nodded and stated the final result directly: "Machioni is willing to pay 50,000 Galleons to obtain the technology license for the Book of Friends. In addition, for every Galleon he earns using the Book of Friends in the future, he will pay you 3 Sickles."

Marchionne's bright smile suddenly stiffened slightly—clearly, while this price would still allow him to make a lot of money, the thought that he might not have had to pay so much made him feel heartbroken and frustrated.

Then he continued to grumble and complain about how Professor Morrie favored Wade too much, saying it was like cutting flesh off him, a poor businessman.

Professor Mori remained unmoved, as if Machioni's voice were merely the buzzing of a fly beside him. He quickly drafted the contract and, as a witness, urged Machioni and Vader to sign it.

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

Chapter 55 Machione's Magic Workshop

Marchionne was a man who was keen on pursuing wealth, and he always showed it very openly.

After signing the contract, Machioni urged them to move on to the next step immediately, unwilling to waste a single second of their money-making time. This time, Professor Morrie asked Steven to entertain the party guests while he accompanied Wade to Machioni's magic workshop.

"It would be best to get the first batch of goods on the shelves before the start of the school year. Students and their parents will definitely be willing to empty their wallets to buy our goods," Marchionne said enthusiastically. "We can also offer different packaging, different quantities, and different qualities. Even just adding some printing and sprinkling some gold powder on parchment, the pure-blooded aristocrats will be willing to pay three times the price. Oh, and I also need to hurry up and make a batch of posters; I'll put them up in Diagon Alley tomorrow morning!"

Wade was taken aback and asked, "Is it too late?"

“Of course!” Machione blinked. “My dear Vader, the world of magic is limitless!”

Vader thought he had some magical spell to speed up production, but when he used Floo Powder to get to Machione's company, he discovered that it was actually the power of money.

The company lobby was very spacious, with a small, flowing waterfall in the center, the words "Aslan's Magic Workshop" gleaming in gold above the water. The arched ceiling was painted with various magical creatures, some of which seemed to be slowly moving. Around the perimeter were burning fireplaces, their green flames rising and falling, and wizards occasionally emerged from them.

"Why are we suddenly being told to work overtime during the Christmas holidays?" A young man, probably unaware that his boss was also nearby, complained loudly, "I was planning to go on a trip to Italy!"

"I heard there are products that urgently need to be produced," another witch said joyfully. "Overtime pay will be triple the usual rate!"

The short-haired young man immediately calmed down: "Oh, I see. That's not bad."

"Excuse me—excuse me, could you please make way?"

A fairy shouted loudly, directing the boxes, which were as tall as small mountains, to move with great difficulty. He moved very slowly because there were many people in the hall, which made the fairy look very irritable.

The sudden increase in workload made everything seem chaotic, and several house-elves darted between people's legs, running back and forth quickly, passing various things.

Colorful paper airplanes hovered in groups above the hall, occasionally swooping down from above to target someone.

"Oh, damn it!" A paper airplane suddenly appeared on a wizard's hat. He took it off, unfolded it, and immediately shouted, "How come we only just realized we're running low on stonefish oil! We told everyone before the holiday to take stock of the inventory and replenish it promptly if necessary! Don't let me find out who's been neglecting their duties!"

He hurriedly ran through the crowd, nearly knocking over the goblin, which angrily threw down the box and cursed loudly.

Wade was very surprised.

Judging from the current chaotic state of the magic workshop, Machione may have ordered all employees to prepare for overtime as soon as he saw the effects of the Book of Friends. At that time, everyone was still hoping to negotiate with Professor Mori, but Machione, who was determined to succeed, may have already thought about how to proceed with the work.

"Sorry, it's really chaotic here today! It's not usually like this. Wade, Professor, come with me, this way."

Marchionne led Vader and Professor Mori through the crowd and into the private elevator. He then breathed a sigh of relief, pressed the button for the sixth floor - Technical Department, and loosened his collar.

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

“Yes, we’ve made good progress these past few years,” Marchionne said proudly. “The modification of the magic radio is a major part of the project, and we owe it all to the professor for granting us the authorization.”

"There aren't many wizards willing to embrace new things, let alone modify Muggle objects. Many people still think of Muggles as stupid, inferior beings, which is utterly foolish!"

"When I first started school, I saw that scarlet train speeding across the Scottish Highlands like a giant beast, and I was deeply impressed by the wisdom and power of the Muggles. After graduating, I originally wanted to go to a Muggle university, but for various reasons, I regretfully had to give it up in the end..."

"—All sorts of reasons, isn't it just because you can't understand?" Professor Morrie bluntly exposed the truth.

"Hahaha—don't be so blunt in front of children, Professor!"

Wade suddenly realized that although Professor Mori often complained about Machione, their relationship was much better than it seemed on the surface, and there was a special tacit understanding between them when they talked in private.

He looked at the posters and stickers on the elevator, listened silently, and didn't interrupt.

The technical department had two goblins and five or six wizards, who had prepared various tools and were waiting in the office. Unlike Muggle offices, this place had all sorts of strange, slowly moving magical objects, and flashes of different colored lights from time to time. The room was filled with many subtle sounds.

Once there, Professor Mori and Marchionne found an empty table and sat down to drink tea, while Wade communicated with the technical staff.

Wade first demonstrated the creation process of the Book of Friends, bringing along readily available potion-making tools for the more time-consuming steps. Those present were all experts; a single demonstration was enough to grasp the general process. Then, the entire process was broken down step by step, until over 80% of the smaller steps were manageable even for third-year Hogwarts students. Others were constantly calculating how to further reduce costs and gathering various materials for preparation. In less than half an hour, the technical department had finalized the production process for the first batch of products, and the entire magic workshop truly entered a high-speed operational phase.

During this time, although Marchionni only occasionally chatted quietly with Professor Mori, he was also subtly observing Vader.

The dark-haired boy wasn't very tall. After showcasing his work, he rarely spoke, but when he did, his words were always meaningful and to the point. The technical team tried several times to modify his rune circuits, but before they could even begin, he pointed out the consequences—either reduced stability or delays or even loss of transmitted information.

As it turns out, he was right every time.

Marchionne stuck out his tongue inwardly, finally understanding why Professor Morrie had always looked down on his abilities—even though he had received an E (Good) in the ultimate wizarding registration exam.

Look at this child. He not only has genius-like creativity and a diligent learning attitude, but also an extremely pragmatic and rigorous experimental spirit. How could he be so familiar with all the changes if he hadn't tried them dozens or hundreds of times?

No wonder Professor Morrie, with his current status, is willing to set aside his pride to stand up for this child and personally fight for his greater interests.

The world is full of geniuses, and Machiani himself is considered a genius by some. This makes him understand all the more that many geniuses, if they only possess a clever mind, will eventually fade into obscurity, or even be sent to Azkaban for further studies because they are too "clever." Only a genius like Vader—provided he doesn't perish prematurely—has undeniable achievements, and his glory is readily apparent.

How can we recruit such a genius?

Marchionni revised his strategy, which he had already adjusted three times, once again.

Eleven years old... Is a child this age really only eleven?... It makes his own thirty-odd years of life seem like he's lived on the back of a caterpillar...

Could it be...

Suddenly, Machioni leaned forward and lowered his voice, saying, "Professor—Professor Morrie—please tell me the truth—this child is actually your illegitimate son, isn't he?"

While discussing the lead powder ratio with the technical department, Wade suddenly heard a scream. He turned around and saw that Marchionne had rolled off the table and onto the floor, while Professor Mori smiled and indicated that he was alright.

—But for some reason, his smile looked somewhat sinister.

Wade blinked blankly.

Chapter 56 Lone Star and Sun

Aslan's magic workshop was indeed very efficient; when Vader left, he already had the first edition of the Book of Friends in his hand.

This is a preliminary collection, linking at least two people and at most fifteen. The cover is much more exquisite than the one Wade casually wrote, with gold-edged lettering and a reflection of gently swaying lisianthus. The pages inside use different colors and flowers to distinguish them; for example, sunflowers for two people, tulips for three, daylilies for four, and violets for five, all flowers that symbolize friendship.

In Vader's view, the Book of Friends was already very exquisite, but Machione was not entirely satisfied.

"This is a version for women; they should sprinkle some perfume on it."

“Are there any other versions?” Wade asked.

“Of course,” Marchionne said. “There are versions for men, with pictures of pine trees, crowns, scepters, and bows and arrows; there are animal versions with unicorns, phoenixes, dragons, and winged horses; children’s versions have fluffy creatures and fairies; the exotic versions have Dementors and Cerberus; the Quidditch versions have famous Quidditch players and flying brooms; there are also architectural versions, Veela versions, Merlin medal versions, and School versions…”

He rattled off dozens of types, as if he could come up with a whole bunch of money-making ideas without even thinking. Finally, he said, "There are all sorts of patterns to choose from. Many people will buy a few books just to collect them, even if they don't need them. But right now we have the most flower templates, so we'll start with this one. If you don't like it, you can give it to your female classmates. I'll send you a few sets when the other versions are printed."

Wade shook his head: "What would I need so many for?"

“You can keep it for yourself!” Marchionni said with a smile. “It’s also good to give it to classmates to help you get closer to them!”

"I don't like to please others."

Or rather, his life hasn't reached the point where he needs to please others to survive, whether in his past or present lives.

“It’s not about ingratiating yourself, but if someone helps you with something small, you can use a Friend’s Book as a way of repaying them. You don’t need too many, just one set for two or three people will do.” Machione advised him like an older brother: “This thing costs almost nothing to you, but it’s a relatively precious gift to others, and they’ll be very happy to receive it. And also, Vader—”

He stroked Wade's soft hair and said, "We're not lonely stars in the night sky; there will always be times when we need help from others—how can you expect to receive if you don't give first?"