Lucius took the parchment and read it carefully.
"Hmm... Perry Pippin."
"Unremarkable looks, an ordinary family background, and only a half-blood wizard. Even his potion shop was inherited from his ancestors..."
After reading through the information he had gathered, Lucius found that this Pippin was nothing more than an utterly ordinary potion shop owner.
His history was unremarkable, with nothing of note. He ran a potion shop handed down through his family.
Since it was right next to Hogwarts, his main customers were its students and staff, along with the wizards around Hogsmeade.
Apart from buying stock, Pippin rarely traveled elsewhere to sell potions or potion ingredients.
"A small local potion shop, yet he's been going from place to place selling potions, even using Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself," Lucius murmured. "That really is unusual..."
Setting down the parchment, Lucius glanced at the shop owner's name and sneered. "A grubby little trader like him actually had the nerve to sell potions under Professor Snape's name."
"Still, besides his nerve, the fellow has some luck, finding someone who can rival Snape." Lucius gave an envious snort. "But only I can make the most of that person's talents."
He had already made his plans. Once he found this person and recruited him, the Malfoy family could use him to enter the potion business.
With vast financial backing and Snape's reputation as a Potions Master, there was no way it would fail to turn a profit.
Then he could have this mysterious student make the potions while he handled the sales and collected the money without lifting a finger.
Lucius waved a hand. The parchment on the desk slipped into a document folder on its own, then tucked itself onto a nearby bookshelf.
The lights in the study went out instantly. Darkness closed