Marauder's Map

Outside the Ravenclaw Common Room.

The twins and Lucien were describing their recent battle results one after another, and they seemed very excited. Their excited gestures attracted the attention of the little wizards who were passing by.

Because it had only been open for a few days, the Seventh Workshop's profits were already more than the Gemini had saved up for years!

After calculating the share of the profits and the agreed-upon compensation, George Fred felt that opening a prank shop after graduation was no longer a dream.

The Weasley family were indeed struggling financially, so they never considered asking their parents for financial assistance and instead focused on saving money.

After hearing the twins' story, Lucien's expression turned somewhat strange:

"So, the first client to order a custom map was Malfoy?"

Fred: "Yes, you told us to mention the special and prestigious custom to those wealthy Pure-blood, and coincidentally, the Malfoy family boy was the first one to arrive."

George chimed in, "We reacted quickly back then. We made up a pretext and got the kid hooked. And you know what? That line really worked. We used it to tease the Slytherin from then on."

Fred: "The Malfoy may be annoying, but they're really rich. They bought it for 50 Galleon without hesitation."

"I told him I'd rush to finish his copy first, making sure he'd be the first Slytherin, no, the whole school, to have a custom map, and he actually believed me."

Lucien rubbed his temples, surprised that his first strike had actually killed someone he knew well. That Malfoy kid...

Well, knowing his personality, if he sees other Pure-blood creating custom maps, he'll definitely follow suit and won't be content to fall behind.

Aristocrats, after all, prefer to be different from the crowd, naturally niche.

The point is to be different from others; if you use a generic model, how can you highlight your uniqueness?

"Okay, what are Malfoy's requirements? Custom family crest and personal seal?"

Upon hearing Lucien's question, George took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to him.

"It's all written here."

Lucien opened it and, even though he had expected it, a forced smile still appeared on his lips. The paper read:

"Engraved with the Malfoy family crest: (as shown below); Engraved with the Slytherin house crest: (as shown below); Exclusively owned by Draco Malfoy; VIP Map No. 1..."

Yes, the requests they made were very Malfoy.

Put the paper in your pocket.

"Okay, I'll start. If you're free this weekend, come and learn how to make a basic compass map with me?"

The twins haven't mastered the crafting of those items yet, and the custom map's craftsmanship is even more complex; only Lucien can make it.

Customization is mainly about selling uniqueness, but the materials used are indeed better, and the functions are more comprehensive.

"Oh, right, here's this back. I've almost finished analyzing it."

Luckily, no one was around, so Lucien handed a blank parchment to the Gemini.

Fred took it, tapped it with his wand, and said:

"I solemnly swear that I will not do any good deeds."

Instantly, ink lines appeared on the map, automatically extending and drawing a map of Hogwarts in the blink of an eye.

This is the Marauder's Map.

It was created by the the Marauders, including Harry's father.

It is a very magical item that can not only show the location of everyone at Hogwarts, but also reveal how to open the secret passages.

Through this map, Lucien can also see how intelligent the four were back then; their ability to solidify and maintain various spells, as well as their mastery of Alchemy, made them stand out among their peers.

James and Sirius Black were born into Pure-blood families, and were knowledgeable and exceptionally intelligent.

Lupin is calm and capable, an expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and also knowledgeable about Dark Magical Creatures.

Peter Pettigrew... well, he's an Animagus.

It was precisely because all four of them were Animagus, especially Peter could Transfiguration a mouse, that they were able to explore the entire Hogwarts Castle and discover many magical and hidden passages.

Before creating the compass map, Lucien mentioned his ideas to the twins, explaining that he still didn't fully understand the terrain of Hogwarts.

Then, just as he expected, the Gemini pulled out their Marauder's Map.

With the Marauder's Map as a reference, Lucien saved himself a lot of trouble and managed to get those compasses and maps ready before the start of the semester.

Through this period of analysis, he also grasped the principles of Marauder's Map.

Fred put away the Marauder's Map and chuckled:

"We found this in Filch's drawer. Such a good thing, and it's been sitting there gathering dust all this time!"

George shrugged:

"Otherwise, Filch doesn't know magic, how could he possibly use it? Oh, speaking of which, I also saw a ' Kwikspell: A Correspondence Course in Beginners' Magic '..."

George lowered his voice before continuing:

"Filch must be Squib, Lucien. Do you even know what Squib means?"

Lucien nodded. Squib, born into a wizarding family, yet unable to use magic.

Although it resembles a wizard from Muggle family, Squib are much rarer.

Yet these people can perceive things that Muggle cannot, and feel the wonder of magic, but can never touch it.

This is more painful than for ordinary Muggle, because they have seen beauty but cannot possess it.

Most Squib end up living a mediocre and impoverished life.

Lucien observed Filch with his Eye of Magic Sight and was surprised to find that the other man actually had Magic Circuit within him and a certain amount of magic power, albeit very thin.

However, many nodes in the circuit are blocked or too thin to allow magic to flow.

The magic didn't even have a chance to resonate with the wand before it was completely consumed in the circuit.

Lucien had actually considered inventing special alchemical tools to directly extract the magic power from the Squib' bodies and release magic—of course, it would be very simple magic, almost like a little trick.

However, the target customer base is too small, and their purchasing power is also weak.

Squib are rare, and even fewer are like Filch, Squib has a job that guarantees his livelihood.

Doing this is closer to charity.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with the twins, Lucien returned to his dorm room and continued working.

Breakfast time.

Great Hall.

Ron poured out his grievances:

"Lucien, haven't you guys taken Lockhart's Defense Against the Dark Magic class yet? If not, don't get your hopes up. I think he's even worse than Quirrell was last year!"

"At least last semester's Defense Against the Dark Magic class didn't have a bunch of Cornish Pixies biting my robes. Speaking of which, I even saw Lockhart's wand being snatched by House-elf. Isn't this professor a bit unreliable again?"

Harry, clearly traumatized by the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, swallowed his pumpkin porridge, affirming Ron's assessment, and continued his grumbling:

Lockhart's experiences were indeed very interesting and exciting, but he himself was really...

"In the end, it was the three of us who caught the House-elf. Without the magic you taught us, Lucien, it would have been really troublesome."

Hermione was about to suggest that it might be Lockhart giving them a chance to practice, but Lucien had already said with a smile:

"What, you want to change to a Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Hmm, we can start observing the progress of Lockhart and Tom's diaries.