章節 53: Hogwarts, Please Graduate Soon, Ch 52.1
"What do you mean, Lawrence?"
Malfoy turned around, his voice was neither loud nor soft, but enough for him to hear clearly. The eleven-year-old boy's face unexpectedly displayed a cold expression:
"Am I to understand that you are provoking the Malfoy family?"
Wayne remained unfazed, shrugging like a little bear: "Am I not speaking the truth?"
"I originally thought a major client had arrived, but in the end, you're just buying this most ordinary map. How disappointing."
"Ordinary?" Malfoy glanced at the parchment in his hand, feeling somewhat confused. The exquisite snake pattern, the green border, and the shimmering gold dust—it was clearly the most expensive version. Did he make a mistake in his purchase?
"Lawrence, what exactly do you mean?" Malfoy asked again. "Do you have something better?"
"Of course." Wayne looked at him in surprise. "The twenty-eight pure-blood families are the nobility among wizards; shouldn't everything you use be custom-made?"
"After all, everything in my Muggle noble family is custom-made."
"Aren't you the same?"
"Who said we aren't?" Malfoy snapped, "We, the Malfoy family, are nobility, so naturally, we use the best!"
"My father's cane is custom-made by a master alchemist."
Malfoy felt a twinge of shame. Upon reflection, although most things in his house are top-notch, they weren't all custom-made. Damn it, he was being outdone by this Muggle.
"Lawrence, don't just speak nonsense." Malfoy, flustered, waved the map in his hand. "You never mentioned a custom version, how much is it? I want it."
"It turns out I misunderstood." Wayne flashed a perfectly timed apologetic smile. "I do have a custom version here, and it can be tailored to the client's needs. Different grades naturally use different materials."
The proud boy declared, "It must be of the highest grade!"
Wayne smiled happily, "It costs two hundred galleons."
Malfoy nearly jumped up, "Why don't you go rob a bank?"
"Just listen to me finish about the materials before you jump to conclusions," Wayne urged him to calm down and then began his sales pitch:
"The top-grade one is made from dragon skin, not sheepskin, and the ink for the map is the finest giant squid ink. Not only does it not fade, but it also exudes a faint fragrance."
"The map will also be engraved with the Malfoy family crest and the Slytherin emblem, using only the finest unicorn feathers."
"Do you still think it's expensive?" Wayne asked at the end.
"Too cheap..." Malfoy instinctively replied, then quickly caught himself. "No, it's not expensive; it's very reasonable. Don't you dare raise the price!"
"We're both nobility. I'm a Muggle noble, and you're a wizard noble; nobility doesn't engage in price gouging."
Wayne asserted confidently, and his demeanor actually put Malfoy at ease. This was exactly the attitude he wanted!
"I'll take the top-grade map; here's a deposit of fifty galleons."
Malfoy took all the galleons he had on him. His allowance for the semester was only one hundred galleons, and he had spent a lot already; he didn't have enough left. But he couldn't let Wayne know that, or else he would be mocked again.
He could only use the deposit as an excuse and would have to write home for more money that night. Asking his dad would definitely lead to a lecture, so Malfoy planned to ask his mother, Narcissa, for the funds.
To Malfoy's surprise, Wayne showed no intention of accepting the galleons. Instead, he looked at him angrily: "What do you mean by this? You think a noble exchange requires a deposit? Are you insulting me?"
"Take your money back; come back in two days for the map!" After saying that, Wayne didn't wait for Malfoy to say anything more; he turned and knocked on the wooden barrel to disappear into the lounge.
He looked as if he was genuinely angry.
Goyle suddenly burst into laughter: "Mr. Malfoy, do you think this guy is foolish? He refuses the money; no wonder he got sorted into Hufflepuff."
"Shut up!" Malfoy exploded in anger, silencing Goyle with a fierce glare. "What do you know? This is a transaction between nobility!"
"Don't presume to understand Lawrence with your ordinary mindset. Do you think the Malfoy family would default on one hundred galleons?"
Malfoy was completely flabbergasted. Wayne's earlier remarks about nobility had struck right at his heart. This was the essence of true nobility. Using the Malfoy family name, he had made Wayne believe so firmly in him—how could a fool like Goyle grasp the deeper meaning behind it?
Malfoy glanced at the two fools with disdain and walked away. He now wondered if referring to Wayne as "Mudblood" was perhaps a bit excessive. Even Muggle aristocrats are still aristocrats and shouldn't be insulted. He decided that from now on, he would call him Lawrence.
In the common room, Wayne was struggling to contain his laughter while Cedric sat nearby, completely dumbfounded. "You mean to say... you sold the map for one hundred Galleons using that line?" When Wayne returned, he casually asked why Malfoy would come looking for him. But after hearing Wayne's recounting of the encounter, Cedric felt like his world had been turned upside down. Could there really be such foolish people in the world?
Cedric was speechless. "Stop laughing. You didn't even take a deposit! Aren't you worried he'll go home and rethink his decision?"
"What?"
"You still don't understand what Malfoy really wants," Wayne said, forcing back a smirk and shaking his head sadly. "Those purebloods don't care about money, or at least not about small amounts. What they care about is being unique and feeling superior."
"You can believe it or not, but with the line I just used, even old Malfoy would fall for it."
"I don't believe that," Cedric insisted. "Where in the world is there a wizard who doesn't treat money seriously?"
"Then let's make a bet."
"Fine, let's make a bet." Cedric was getting into the spirit of things, and he and Wayne agreed on a wager. If this deal actually went through, Cedric would have to jump onto the Hufflepuff table and do a wiggle dance. If it didn't, then Wayne would perform a dance instead. However, even if he won, Cedric still couldn't help feeling envious. Wayne had already earned over a hundred Galleons, and there would surely be more income to come. With that much money, how many Charlie's Cannon Team merchandise could he buy?
"Cedric," Wayne suddenly said, "Do you want to learn how to make maps?"
Cedric was taken aback. "What do you mean? You want to teach me?"
"Do you want to learn? If you do, I'll teach you."
"No, is that for real?" Cedric was startled. "Wayne, are you not worried I'll learn and then start selling maps too?"
"Will you?" Wayne countered.
"Of course not," Cedric shook his head. Not only was he now good friends with Wayne, but he wouldn't stoop to stealing someone else's business even if they weren't.
"Teaching you has its conditions," Wayne laid out his plan: "Once you learn how to make maps, you'll have to help me out. I'll give you twenty percent of each map sold."
Wayne's previous stock was running low, especially the basic maps which had nearly sold out. He would have to pull an all-nighter to restock. While practice would definitely improve his alchemical skills, too much repetition would be useless. Besides, Wayne had already mastered all the spells and alchemical principles needed to make maps; continuing to produce them would just be a waste of time. Instead of that, he would be better off outsourcing the work so he could free up time to learn other magic. His goal was to earn points, not just money.
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