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"Ha! Aren't you Pure-blood families all rolling in money? You're really going to quibble over this little bit? If you're short on cash, just ask your family for more. Of course, if you refuse to pay, then I'll just have to stop 'protecting' you." Anduin put heavy emphasis on the word "protecting" and gave Rosier an evil grin as he stared at him.

Rosier felt the hand gripping him tighten. Pain twisted his face, but even an idiot would have understood what Anduin meant. If Anduin stopped "protecting" him, that meant he'd make him suffer. Rosier suddenly felt his Hogwarts career plunge into darkness, but all he could do now was grit his teeth and agree.

Seeing how reluctantly Rosier agreed, Anduin rolled his eyes and considered it for a moment before saying, "Rosier, I'm not going to make things difficult for you. If you really can't afford to pay someday, you can give me something else instead."

Rosier quickly asked, "Like what?"

"Information. Your family's collection of books, as long as they're ones I haven't read. Or..."

Anduin glanced at Travers, who was lying nearby, and continued, "You could have this guy bring some money and come pick a fight with me. Whatever I get from him can go toward your share."

With that, Anduin let go of Rosier and walked over to Travers. He searched him from head to toe and, sure enough, found a purse. Anduin counted the money. There were twelve Galleons and six Sickles.

"See? That covers your share for this month. I'll knock off the odd bit next month and charge you eight Galleons for protection. And if you make any major contributions in the future, I'll give you extra rewards. What do you think? Not a bad deal, right?" Anduin said with a grin.

Did this guy have some kind of misunderstanding about rounding down? Shouldn't rounding down mean charging only seven Galleons? Rosier grumbled inwardly. He shot Travers another disgusted look. If not for that guy, he wouldn't have gotten mixed up with this menace today. But Anduin had already taken the money, so he had no choice but to agree.

Seeing that Rosier knew how to be sensible, Anduin smiled. "Good. Cooperate, and I won't shortchange you. Also, if you have any information right now, you can tell me. Whether it's about something inside or outside the school, as long as it's valuable, I'm a fair man."

As he spoke, Anduin put a hand on Rosier's shoulder again and squeezed it tightly.

The squeeze hurt, and Rosier grew nervous again. He racked his brain, then blurted out in a panic, "Uh, I—I just remembered. At a party once, a seventh-year told us that Quake Wilkes had bragged about his uncle planning to go after the Order of the Phoenix around Christmas. Of course, he might've just been boasting. It might not be true."

"Are you sure?" Anduin's gaze turned razor-sharp as he stared hard at Rosier.

"I-I'm sure. Wilkes is always bragging to us that his uncle works for the Dark Lord. He's told us about them attacking Muggles before, too. It's been in the news." Rosier was terrified. After just a couple of questions, he spilled everything.

He'd only meant to scare the guy, but it turned out he really did have something. Around Christmas? Could they be targeting Lily and the others? Anduin didn't know whether it was true, but he'd rather believe it and be wrong than dismiss it and regret it. He committed the information to memory.

After hearing this, Anduin loosened his grip. Rosier had been so tense that his legs gave way, and he dropped straight to the ground.

Anduin smiled at him. "That information's worth something. How about I waive your protection fee for next month? And you can have this potion as a reward."

He took out a bottle of Elixir to induce euphoria and handed it to Rosier. Seeing that Anduin had potions as well made Rosier even less sure what to make of him. He could only take it with a nervous, "Yes, sir."

"Don't be nervous. It's just Elixir to induce euphoria. You can try a sip now; it'll do you good." Anduin found Rosier's timidity amusing. Then something occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, someone in your family's a Death Eater, isn't that right? You're really going to sell them out just like that?"

Rosier could only smile bitterly at the question. "Not everyone follows the Dark Lord with absolute devotion. The one who joined the Death Eaters is my cousin, Evan Rosier. He's the family's heir apparent, and he's powerful. He's always been hard on us, and hardly anyone likes him.

"Our family originally wanted to stay neutral and keep our heads down. But Evan dragged the whole family into supporting the Dark Lord. I didn't have much say in it. I came to Hogwarts to go with the flow and keep my head down. If anyone's going to get into trouble, it'll be him. It has nothing to do with me."

Rosier had given up trying to keep up appearances. There was no escaping this now. He opened the potion bottle and took a sip, which helped settle his nerves a little, then got back to his feet.

Anduin hadn't expected there to be so many complications among the Pure-blood families. He gave Rosier a few more instructions, telling him to wait for Travers to wake up and then claim that he'd been knocked unconscious too. Rosier could blame everything on Anduin, and even curse him to his face if he wanted. Then Anduin pocketed the money and left alone.

Once Anduin was truly gone, Rosier finally let out a long breath. He glared at Travers, still lying on the ground, and couldn't resist kicking him a few times. Then, as if all his strength had drained away, he sprawled out on the grass. Still shaken, he muttered, "Anduin's terrifying. His eyes are like an abyss. It feels like they could swallow you up at any moment. It's all Travers's fault for dragging me into this mess. I only wanted to keep my head down and get by. And now look at me. Ah, whatever. Let the world end already. I'm tired."

Then he promptly fell into a deep sleep.

"Rosier! Rosier!" Rosier was still in a groggy haze when he felt someone shaking him. He jolted awake, then looked up to see that it was Travers.

Travers felt like his whole body was in agony, as if someone had kicked him repeatedly. Grimacing, he said to Rosier, "You're finally awake! That filthy half-breed dared to ambush us. How long were we out? It's already dark."

Hearing Travers, Rosier realized it was night. It was nearly winter, too, and he was almost frozen stiff. Sniffling, he said, "Let's get back to the castle. It's creepy out here at night, and I feel like I'm about to freeze to death."

Travers cursed Anduin, but he had to agree with Rosier. He just wanted to get away from this awful place as quickly as possible. The two of them helped each other toward Hogwarts Castle, their hands and feet stiff and their bodies still aching. Anduin had kicked Rosier; as for Travers's injuries, well, the culprit was right beside him.

I changed the introduction today. Hope you'll like it!