Harry Potter: The Rise Of Malfoy

Chapter 75

After addressing the problems at the Black family manor and the Ravenclaw Chamber, it was time to concentrate on launching the store.

As anticipated, Lucius met Soren's expectations. Soren spent only two thousand Galleons, acquiring the shop in Hogsmeade and also securing a patent for the Malfoy brand "Anti-Nausea Bracelet" at the Department of Magical Equipment Control in the Ministry of Magic. Consequently, he still had a considerable amount of money left, which Soren invested in decorating the shop.

The next step was to name the alchemy shop.

From what Soren understood, most retail establishments in the British wizarding market were named after their owners' surnames, like Ollivander's Wand Shop, Madam Malkin's Robes, and Borkin and Burke's. The known exceptions were only five: Eeylops Owl Emporium, Magical Menagerie, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Honeydukes, and Gladrags Wizardwear.

Soren did not wish to conform to the typical naming convention of most wizarding businesses by opting for a cliché name like "Malfoy Alchemy Shop." Having been a Muggle in his previous life, he had a fundamental grasp of brand marketing principles—an easily memorable name is crucial. Thus, the shop was named "Miraculous Alchymia," representing the wonders created by alchemy.

Lucius arranged for a young couple to manage the alchemy shop on Soren's behalf. They were distant relatives of the Malfoy family, and according to Lucius, there were no concerns regarding loyalty. Of course, whether Lucius employed any undisclosed methods behind the scenes, Soren was unaware.

Although they had no prior experience with alchemy, the Anti-Nausea Bracelet was not an overly complex product. Furthermore, Soren did not intend to teach them the entire production process from beginning to end. Instead, he personally engraved the runes on the bracelets and left the subsequent beautification, embellishment, and refinement tasks for them to manage.

Soren enlisted Draco, Daphne, Meredith, and Pansy from Hogwarts to create an initial stock of one thousand items, which he handed over to the two store employees.

The first three were Soren's most trusted companions, and Pansy's relationship with Draco was growing increasingly close. Throughout this semester, Pansy's demeanor had changed significantly; although she remained somewhat spoiled, she was no longer as sharp-tongued and aggressive as in the original story. Thus, for her brother's sake, Soren also regarded her as one of his own.

Soren did not distrust Astoria; it was simply that she was still young and had not yet learned alchemy or runes.

In any case, the alchemy shop was not far from Hogwarts, and with a secret passage beneath the shop that allowed Soren to come and go freely, they could always reach him if they needed to restock.

Although choosing to operate this way would consume some of Soren's valuable time, this was merely his initial plan. Once the business was established and the couple demonstrated their capabilities during the early stages of entrepreneurship, Soren would not hesitate to teach them the complete production process and secrets. Of course, it would be essential to establish an unbreakable oath to ensure they would not disclose any information.

On the first day of opening, media outlets across the UK and even Europe published extensive advertisements for Miraculous Alchymia. Aside from the Daily Prophet, which charged Soren a small discounted advertising fee, all other media provided free advertising for him. This was undoubtedly thanks to the stunning sister, Giordana, who supported Soren.

That day, the shop was filled with customers, and the side streets of the village were crowded. It was clear that wizards had long endured the side effects of Floo Powder. Now, with the Anti-Nausea Bracelet, they could finally escape the dizzying, disorienting experiences. At the Ministry of Magic, under Amelia's suggestion, Fudge generously placed a large order of 500 pieces, allowing Soren to make a substantial profit. This single transaction alone recouped the costs of opening the store.

(A gross profit of 4 gallons for a vanishing cabinet is quite reasonable, right?)

Then, Soren did not forget to take a day to visit Professor Bock to learn about the vanishing cabinet. Professor Bock did not favor Soren, but among all the students in the class, only Soren's exam performance barely met his standards.

For Soren, this was a rare opportunity for learning. Repairing the vanishing cabinet was secondary; more importantly, if he could gain a deeper understanding of the cabinet's structure and the spatial magic contained within, that would be the greatest reward.

The original intention of the vanishing cabinet's inventor was to create a secret passage for escape, but he never considered that the related technology could be applied in other areas. Just think, if a small vanishing cabinet could be produced and the manufacturing cost kept within an affordable range, it could completely replace owls and serve as a means for delivering letters and packages.

On that day, under Professor Bock's guidance, Soren successfully repaired the dilapidated vanishing cabinet as expected. In the original story, Draco took most of a semester to accomplish this feat in his sixth year, while for Soren in his third year, it was merely half a day's work, demonstrating how advanced Soren's alchemy skills had become.

Of course, Professor Bock's expertise in the field of vanishing cabinets also played a role. In contrast, Draco in the original story only learned a bit from Mr. Bock, who once mentioned that if he could see the actual object and its damaged condition, he might be able to repair it more quickly.

After fixing the vanishing cabinet, Soren requested to take it with him, stating that he wanted to conduct a more in-depth study of its structure. Although the vanishing cabinet belonged to Hogwarts, it had been discarded in the Room of Requirement since Peeves had damaged it, and no one paid attention to it. Professor Bock generously agreed.

[Vanishing Cabinet Acquired!]

Soren planned to find an opportunity later to visit Knockturn Alley and purchase the vanishing cabinet from the Bock and Bock shop, thus providing him with another secret passage directly to Hogwarts.

With all matters settled, Soren was just one task away from being able to fully immerse himself in reading Ravenclaw's collection—dealing with Harold Dingo; he hadn't forgotten about Astoria's grudge!

The next day, a sensational incident occurred at Hogwarts: Harold Dingo attempted to sneak into the girls' restroom to spy but was caught by older girls and ultimately did not succeed.

"Hahaha... I'm dying of laughter!" In Soren's dormitory, Daphne was laughing uncontrollably, clutching her stomach.

Just moments ago, she, Soren, and Astoria had witnessed Dingo, who was beaten black and blue, being taken away by Filch.

A smile also appeared in Soren's eyes. "Tori, I've avenged you. I'm sure this guy won't find a girlfriend at Hogwarts before he graduates."

When Dingo passed by the girls' restroom, Soren secretly cast a confusion charm on him, causing the boys' restroom to actually turn into the girls' restroom. The ensuing scene nearly made them laugh uncontrollably. A scream erupted from the restroom, and they saw Dingo running out, covering his face, followed by a group of girls chasing the pervert, creating chaos throughout the castle.

During his pursuit, Soren silently and wandlessly lifted the confusion charm from him. In the end, he was caught by a fifth-year Ravenclaw girl, Skylar Fawcett, who gave him a good beating, and he was dragged away like a dead dog when Filch arrived.

Filch handed him over to Professor McGonagall, who couldn't tolerate any nonsense. After hearing the entire story, Professor McGonagall was very angry and punished him to clean every boys' restroom in the castle, in addition to notifying his family. Dingo explained that he accidentally entered the girls' restroom because he was under a confusion charm, but after Professor McGonagall's inspection, there was no evidence of that.

At this moment, Astoria's heart was still kind. She had long forgotten about the incident where Dingo attacked her, but unexpectedly, although Soren didn't say anything, he had always kept her matter firmly in mind. She was very touched and, disregarding the fact that her elder sister was right beside her, rushed over and kissed Soren on the cheek.

After doing this, she felt her face burning, and even her neck turned red. "Thank you, Brother Soren, you, you are so good to me!"

Daphne observed this scene and seemed to understand something. She cast Soren a resentful glance, as if to say, "She is my sister! How can you do this...?"

Cold sweat broke out on Soren's forehead; it was unjust! He didn't want this at all! Of course, only Soren himself knew the truth of the matter.

This incident was not over yet—during breakfast the next day, a loud letter echoed throughout the Great Hall. Harold Dingo's mother believed he had brought shame to the Dingo family and scolded him fiercely in the letter.

This incident greatly affected other schools' perceptions of Gryffindor. Although Gryffindor had produced many troublemakers, like the Weasley twins and the Marauders, they all adhered to an invisible bottom line. Dingo's actions undoubtedly crossed the line of pranks, enough to evoke disgust.

Following this, Dingo had a hard time. Skyler Fawcett's boyfriend, Stibbons from Hufflepuff, frequently sought trouble with Dingo over this matter. The spirit of unity in Hufflepuff was on full display; the badgers firmly stood behind Stibbons in support—if they saw Dingo in the corridor, even if they didn't speak harshly to him, they would throw him a disdainful glance.

The Ravenclaw eagles, led by Skyler Fawcett and Roger Davies, also began to distance themselves from Dingo and his friends.

Cormac McLaggen initially assured his fellow lions that he would handle the matter and quickly resolve it, but unexpectedly, he repeatedly hit a wall with the little wizards from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, who showed him no respect.

Soren even saw Cho Cheng and Marietta Edgecombe, who usually maintained a gentle and refined image, coldly brushing past Cormac in the corridor, leaving him embarrassed and creating a very awkward scene.

As the source of it all, Dingo faced immense pressure even within Gryffindor. Complaints about him began to surface among his fellow lions. He started to become silent and low-key, even having his roommate bring his meals back to the dormitory.

*****

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