Hogwarts: Please, Just Graduate Already!

"What do you mean, Lawrence?"

Malfoy turned around. Wayne's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it was clear enough for him to hear every word.

An eleven-year-old boy actually wore a cold, sinister expression. "Can I take that as you provoking the Malfoy family?" Wayne remained unmoved. The little bear spread his hands. "Was I not telling the truth? I thought a major customer had come along, but you're still buying this most ordinary map. What a disappointment."

Ordinary?

Malfoy looked at the parchment in his hand, somewhat bewildered.

The exquisite python pattern, the green border glimmering with specks of gold—it had clearly been dusted with gold powder.

Wasn't this the most expensive version? Had he bought the wrong one?

"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 Purebloods are the nobility among wizards. Shouldn't everything they use be custom-made?

"After all, I'm a Muggle noble. Everything in my home is specially commissioned."

"Who says otherwise?" Malfoy became flustered. "The Malfoy family are nobles too. Of course we use only the best!"

"My father's cane was specially commissioned from an Alchemy master." Malfoy felt a faint sense of shame.

Come to think of it, while most things in his home were top-of-the-line, they were not custom-made.

Damn it. A Muggle had outdone him.

"Lawrence, don't just make things up." Malfoy angrily waved the map in his hand.

"You never told me there was a Custom Edition. How much? I'll take it." "So I misunderstood." Wayne gave him an appropriately apologetic smile. "I do have custom-made versions, and they can be tailored to the customer's needs. Different grades naturally use different materials." Draco said proudly, "Naturally, I want the finest!" Wayne smiled happily. "That'll be two hundred Galleons."

Malfoy nearly jumped. "Why don't you just rob me?"

"Listen to the materials first, then make your judgment." Wayne told him to calm down before launching into his... sales pitch.

"The highest grade isn't made from sheepskin, but dragonhide. The map ink is also premium Giant Squid ink. Not only will it never fade, it even carries a faint fragrance.

"The map will also be embossed with the Malfoy family crest and Slytherin's emblem, all made with the finest Unicorn feathers."

Finally, Wayne asked, "Do you still think it's expensive?"

"Too cheap," Malfoy replied instinctively, then immediately caught himself.

"No, not expensive. Very reasonable. Don't you dare raise the price on me!"

"We're both nobles. I'm a Muggle noble, and you're a wizarding noble. Nobles would never do something as crude as raising prices on the spot."

Wayne spoke with lofty arrogance, and that attitude actually reassured Malfoy.

That was exactly the kind of bearing he wanted!

"I'll take the finest map. Here's a fifty-Galleon deposit." Malfoy took out all the Galleons on him. His allowance for an entire term was only a hundred Galleons, and he had already spent quite a bit, so he did not have enough left.

But Wayne could not be allowed to know that, or he would look down on him again. He could only use the deposit as an excuse, then write home overnight to ask for money. Asking his father would definitely earn him a lecture, so Malfoy planned to ask his mother, Narcissa.

To Malfoy's surprise, Wayne showed no intention of accepting it. Instead, he glared at him angrily.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"A transaction between nobles requires a deposit? You're insulting me!" "Take your money. Come collect the map in two days!"

After saying that, Wayne did not wait for Malfoy to say anything else. He turned around, knocked on the barrel a few times, and climbed back into the common room.

He looked genuinely angry. Goyle suddenly laughed.

"Young Master Malfoy, do you think that guy's stupid? He won't even take money when it's handed to him. No wonder he was sorted into—"

"Shut up!" Malfoy roared, silencing the rest of Goyle's words with a murderous glare. "What do you know? This is a transaction between nobles." "Don't judge Lawrence by your ordinary way of thinking!

"Do you think the Malfoy family would ever default on a hundred Galleons?"

Malfoy had been thoroughly fooled. Wayne's speech about nobles had struck straight into his heart like a sword.

That was what a true noble should be like.

The Malfoy family name alone had made Wayne trust him so completely. How could idiots like Goyle understand the subtlety of it?

After giving the two idiots a disdainful glance, Malfoy left.

He now felt that calling Wayne a Mudblood might have been a little excessive. Even a Muggle noble was still a noble and should not be insulted. Yes, he had decided. From now on, he would call him Lawrence.

Meanwhile, inside the common room, Wayne was laughing so hard he was nearly cramping up. Cedric sat beside him, his mind completely blank.

"You mean you used just that speech to sell a map for a hundred Galleons?" When Wayne had returned earlier, Cedric had casually asked why Malfoy had come looking for him.

But after hearing Wayne's account, Cedric felt as though his worldview had collapsed. Were there really people that stupid in the world?

Cedric said helplessly, "Stop laughing. You didn't even take a deposit. Aren't you afraid he'll come to his senses after going back and change his mind?"

"You still don't understand what Malfoy really wants." Wayne barely restrained his laughter, shaking his head as he looked at Cedric sadly.

"You still don't understand. Those pure-bloods don't care about money—or rather, they don't care about small amounts of money. What they care about is being one of a kind, and the feeling of being above everyone else."

"Believe it or not, even old Malfoy would fall for that speech of mine."

"I don't believe it." Cedric stubbornly replied, "What wizard in the world doesn't treat money as money?"

"Then let's make a bet." "Fine, a bet it is."

Cedric got worked up too and made a wager with Wayne.

If the deal was truly completed in the end, he would have to jump onto the Hufflepuff dining table and perform a hip-shaking dance.

If it was not completed, Wayne would have to perform one instead.

But even if he won, Cedric would still be crying with envy. Wayne had already earned more than a hundred Galleons, and there would definitely be considerable income to come.

How much Chudley Cannons merchandise could he buy with that much money?

"Cedric," Wayne suddenly said, "do you want to learn how to make maps?" Cedric froze for a moment. "What do you mean? You're going to teach me?" "Do you want to learn? If you do, I'll teach you."

"No, seriously?" Cedric was startled. "Wayne, aren't you afraid that once I learn, I'll start selling maps too?"

"Would you?" Wayne asked in return.

"Of course not." Cedric shook his head.

Not only were he and Wayne now good friends, but even if they were not, he could never bring himself to steal someone else's business.

"There are conditions for teaching you." Wayne revealed his purpose. "Once you learn how to make maps, you'll work for me. You get twenty percent from each map."

Wayne did not have much stock left, especially the most basic maps, which had almost sold out. He still had to stay up tonight to replenish them.

A large amount of practice could indeed increase his Alchemy experience, but repeating the same thing too many times was not particularly useful.

By now, Wayne had already mastered all the Charms and Alchemy principles involved in making maps. Continuing to make them himself would only be a waste of time.

Rather than that, he might as well outsource the work layer by layer and free up time to study other magic.

His goal was to earn points, not money. For this little bit of cash, he could simply exchange some gold at Gringotts.

Wayne had originally wanted to ask Hermione for help, but the little witch had only just started school and was still far from meeting his requirements.

Looking at it that way, Little Sai was quite suitable.

As for whether Cedric would turn on him after learning the skill.

Wayne still had plenty of ideas in his head, and maps were only a test. If Cedric really did that...

He would only lose more.

"I'm in."

Hearing Wayne's terms, Cedric agreed without hesitation. Twenty percent did not sound like much, but over an academic year, it would still amount to dozens of Galleons—far more than his allowance.

More importantly, he could learn many things from Wayne. That was what Cedric valued most.

He had now fully realized that the little wizard before him was a monster. He had just started school, yet he knew more magic than Cedric and was even better at it.

"Then let me first see what foundation you have."

Wayne asked Cedric several questions to test him. After a round of questions and answers, he nodded.

"You've got something, but not much."

Cedric, sitting across from him, was covered in black lines. Couldn't you be a little more tactful?

I'm your senior student, at least leave me some dignity, will you?

Wayne took out some parchment, wrote down the Charms they would need, and handed it to Cedric. "Learn these Charms first. Leave the rest to me. No problem, right?"

After scanning them, Cedric nodded as well. "Give me about a week."

"Fine, but hurry up. Otherwise, once everyone has one, it won't matter even if you learn."

"I'll do my best." Cedric's face fell. "You have no idea. Woodley has gone mad. Training went from twice a week to five times a week. I really can't hold on much longer."

Wayne waved a hand. "Figure it out yourself."

Over the following days, although business was not as explosive as it had been on the first day, Wayne still sold quite a few maps every day.

Ever since visiting that night, Malfoy's attitude toward Wayne had improved considerably. He would even nod in greeting.

The money from home had barely warmed in his hands before he delivered it over.

Naturally, Wayne did not disappoint him. The exquisite dragonhide map also came with anti-peeping and anti-theft functions.

Malfoy, who had been feeling a little pained about the expense, immediately felt that the money had been well spent. He showed it off extravagantly in front of the other pure-bloods.

Wayne was delighted that he did so. Thanks to this free word-of-mouth promoter, he received another five Custom Edition orders and more than ten Promax Edition orders, all from Slytherin.

Wayne wanted to split this money with Hermione and Cho, but neither of them would accept it. The maps had sold because of Wayne's own ability and had nothing to do with them. Wayne did not force them.

Cedric witnessed the transaction with his own eyes, and his expression looked like he was badly constipated. With a dark face, he jumped onto the Hufflepuff long table and began striking coquettish poses, swaying his hips back and forth. The little wizards all stared in stunned silence.

Professor Sprout could not stand it any longer. She gave him two days of detention, sending him to fertilize the plants in the greenhouse.

Under Cedric's grief-stricken gaze, Wayne laughed so hard alongside everyone else that he nearly doubled over.

By Friday, Wayne received a letter delivered by owl while he was eating breakfast.

Somewhat puzzled, he opened the envelope.

Wayne, I recently found quite a few more materials you need. Come have afternoon tea tomorrow. Of course, it would be even better if you were willing to bring Phoenix along.

Seeing that the sender was Hagrid, Wayne smiled. This was not an invitation for him—it was an invitation for Ho-Oh.

Still, Wayne had no plans to refuse. He had used quite a few materials recently while practicing the production of magical items, so this was a good chance to replenish his supply.

Feeling someone's gaze fixed on him, Wayne looked up. Snape, seated at the High Table, was not eating at all. He was simply staring at Wayne. Over the past few days, he had probed several times, hoping to get some Phoenix materials from Wayne.

But the brat would not budge. After Snape deducted his points several times, he somehow became even happier.

Was there something wrong with him?

Snape could not understand it. How could there be a little wizard who was not afraid of having points deducted as punishment—and even looked forward to it?

During Potions that afternoon, Snape once again "tentatively" deducted fifteen points from Wayne. The Hufflepuff students had already gotten used to it.

Quite a few students now knew that Snape hated Harry the most, with Wayne coming in second.

No one knew when the two had become enemies, but every day, Snape found some excuse to deduct a few points from Wayne.

Deduct away. The House Cup was not that interesting anyway, and Hufflepuff could not possibly come last. After all, there was still Gryffindor.

Oh, no. It was Gryffin-damn-it. Their points were gone.

When Snape saw Wayne smiling as brightly as a flower, he finally gave up. "...Lawrence, what would it take for you to hand those materials over to me? Are you really using all of them to make those stupid maps?"

After class, Snape kept Wayne behind and spoke. Wayne's map-selling business could not be hidden from the professors. Apart from Professor Flitwick's praise, the other professors were full of compliments as well, because they did not know the maps could track Filch's movements.

Now, fewer and fewer little wizards were late. Even when they were late, it was definitely not because they had gotten lost.

This saved the professors quite a bit of trouble.

So recently, while Snape deducted Wayne's points, the other professors added them back.

After going back and forth, he had actually gained far more points than he lost.

"Professor." Wayne smiled shyly. "I have indeed gathered quite a few materials lately—tears, feathers, droppings. I have all of them." Snape's breathing grew heavier. They were all good things.

"They're useless in your hands, and selling them would be a waste of treasure. Give them to me. I can give you a share of the potions I brew." "And I won't deduct points from you for two months." Snape coaxed him patiently.