Pippin was startled to see the old wizard's face twitching and contorting wildly.
He was well aware that this was a sign that the effects of the Polyjuice Potion were ending.
This means that the old wizard in front of us is an imposter.
The old wizard's wrinkled face instantly peeled away, revealing a pale, indifferent face, along with his signature grey-white eyes and platinum hair.
"Lucius Malfoy?" Pippin called out his name, then immediately asked, "What exactly is your purpose?"
The fact that Lucius went to such lengths to use Polyjuice Potion to conceal his identity must have been no simple matter.
Lucius ignored Pippin's questioning, merely smiling coldly, glancing indifferently at his wand, and calmly saying:
"It seems your ancestors only passed down this shop, but not the proper manners and upbringing. Is this how they taught you to treat guests?"
"That depends on whether they're a guest or an enemy," Pippin, still holding his wand.
Lucius pulled his chair back a bit and slowly sat down. "My upbringing tells me not to stoop to your level, but you'd better put your wand away."
Pippin merely snorted, put down his wand but didn't put it away, still staring intently at Lucius: "Speak quickly."
"Alright, I came here to ask you, where did you get these Potions?" Lucius stared intently at the bottle of Fire-Control Potion in Pippin's hand, as if it were a key to a treasure vault.
"From my own collection," Pippin replied coldly.
Lucius merely snorted, sat up straight, and asked in quick succession, "In that case, I'd like to ask, from which seller did you acquire it? How much did you pay? In what year did you buy it?"
"That's none of your business," Pippin said curtly, momentarily speechless.
"I hope you understand that my patience is limited."
Although Lucius was seated, he still looked down at Pippin with an air of superiority.
"I hope you understand," Pippin firmly, "This is my Potions, and you are not welcome here."
"I have no comment on your question. You'd better leave now, or I'll file a complaint against you with the Ministry of Magic."
Pippin didn't want to say anything more to him; he just wanted to get rid of him.
But Lucius's backside was like chewing gum, stuck tightly to the chair, showing no intention of getting up.
"Go ahead and complain," Lucius said defiantly, gesturing for them to proceed. "I know people in the Minister's Office of Ministry of Magic's office, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the Department of Magical Creatures Control."
Lucius asked sarcastically, "Do you think they'd believe the nonsense of a small-time merchant, or the current head of the Malfoy family?"
"If I told you I was attacked by a crazy Potions owner while buying Potions, I'd probably be on the Daily Prophet the next day, and then you'd be famous."
He casually flicked a non-existent speck of dust off his suit with his finger, his voice and tone remaining nonchalant.
"What exactly do you want?" Pippin asked through gritted teeth.
"What do I want? Didn't I just say to tell me where you got these Potions from?" Lucius composed himself.
"Besides this."
"Slap! Slap!"
Lucius clapped with a cold laugh, "How touching, huh? You won't reveal the client's information, huh? I didn't know Pippin was such an honest man..."
"But... my patience is limited!" Lucius said in a deep voice.
But Pippin remained silent.
"You think I wouldn't know if you didn't tell me?" Lucius sneered.
He picked up the Hemostatic Healing Potion still on the table, looking completely confident. "You've been impersonating Professor Snape, selling counterfeit Potions. Did you really think you'd gotten away with it so perfectly that no one would notice?"
"If this gets out, you'll all be in Azkaban."
Lucius slowly placed the Hemostatic Healing Potion back on the table, his eyes fixed intently on Pippin.
"I'm not as timid as the Bowtruckle, Lucius, you've miscalculated!" Pippin sneered, retorting sharply.
He knew perfectly well that if Lucius truly knew who was providing him with the Potions, he wouldn't be patiently arguing with him like this.
The reason he's still there and can't be driven away is because he doesn't know who he is.
"So he probably only knows that these Potions came from me." Having figured this out, Pippin felt emboldened.
Moreover, he was quite certain that the Potions Mr. Prewett provided was almost identical to that of Professor Snape.
Even if the matter gets out, as long as you stubbornly insist that it's from your early collection, no one can disprove it.
"Anyway, their Potions- making styles are exactly the same. As long as I withstand the pressure and don't expose Mr. Prewett, I'll be fine," Pippin thought.
He scoffed at Lucius's words. "Give me a break, Lucius. If you're planning to send me on a day trip to Azkaban, I won't hold back."
Damn it.
"This thing is like Bezoar in a goat's stomach, smelly and hard," Lucius cursed under his breath.
Seeing that his words had no effect on Pippin, Lucius had no choice but to change tactics, sighing and relaxing.
"Why do we have to make things like this? We're all businessmen, just trying to make money," Lucius said, trying to ease the tension. "I'm just like you, I just want to cooperate with him."
"Think about it, with the Malfoy family's help, we could totally expand our business and wouldn't need to be doing this small-scale operation now, wouldn't you say?"
Pippin remained silent, only staring at him with a cold smile.
Lucius, thinking he was somewhat tempted, continued to urge him on, "Look at that bottle of Fire-Control Potion in your hand, perfect quality!"
"Think about it, we can use this Potions as a marketing gimmick, bundle it with other Potions, and sell it to Alchemy and Potions-er."
"Fire-Control Potion, Baruffio's Brain Elixir, and Hemostatic Healing Potion," Lucius held up three fingers to Pippin, his tone becoming excited, "Three Potions sold as a package, 180 Galleon each!"
"You also own Potions, you should know how much profit there is."
Lucius grew increasingly excited, his voice becoming incredibly persuasive as he continued, "Then you can cooperate with us too, and we can make money together. Your family has been in the Potions business for generations, so you can leave this small town and open Pippin's Potions in Diagon Alley."
"If you want, you can open branches all over the England, that's fine too."
Lucius painted a rosy picture of the future, as if wealth and status were just a snap of the fingers away.
Even Pippin had to admit that Lucius's words were very tempting and hit the nail on the head.
He was obsessed with Potions and craved wealth; carrying on the family business passed down from his ancestors was his long-cherished wish.
Hogsmeade is good, but opening branches all over the England would open up even more possibilities.
This hopeful sentiment eased his wariness of Lucius somewhat.
But when Pippin looked down and saw the bottle of Fire-Control Potion in his hand, he suddenly came to his senses, his back soaked with cold sweat.
"If I were to betray Mr. Prewett, it would be a shameful act of treachery!"
Lucius, standing beside him, continued to urge, "Believe me, these things are within your grasp. Just tell me, who is it...?"
Pippin glanced at Lucius, who was smiling very sincerely, and suddenly laughed too.
Should I choose Prewett or Malfoy?
This is not a problem at all.
The Prewett family was known for its loyalty and righteousness, while the Malfoy family was treacherous, cunning, and solely driven by profit.
Even someone with their feet would know who to choose.
Pippin subconsciously ignored the fact that Silan was from Slytherin House.
"Mr. Malfoy, I'm not so poor that I can't afford to eat. You don't need to feed me so much nonsense." Pippin shook his head with a sneer. "I'm not telling you."
He even emphasized again, "Anything."
When Lucius saw Pippin smile, he thought he had convinced him, and his smile unconsciously became more genuine.
In the end, they gained nothing.
"You refuse? What gives you the right to refuse?" Lucius's smile froze on his face, and he growled angrily, "How many Galleon can a tiny, run-down shop like yours earn in a lifetime? Tell me who you are, and I'll give you ten thousand Galleon!"
Lucius then resorted to his old tricks, showering money on lavishly.
Ten thousand Galleon would have been a fatal attraction for Pippin in the past.
This sum of money is equivalent to several years of hard work he put into managing Hogsmeade.
Who wouldn't be tempted to earn money with just a few words?
Pippin, however, was more inclined to believe in Silan's future achievements, especially after witnessing the potential he had shown.
A wizard in his Third Year who can make Fire-Control Potion of comparable quality to Snape!
Such a genius becoming Potions Master is practically Hippogriff, a matter of course. To give up the business partnership with a Potions Master for a pittance is something Pippin wouldn't do even in his sleep.
Pippin rubbed the bottle of Fire-Control Potion with the pad of his thumb and slowly shook his head.
"Fifty thousand Galleon!" Lucius jumped up from his chair, slammed his hands on the table, and glared at Pippin.
"Don't be ungrateful!"
"Fifty thousand Galleon! That's enough to buy your shop!"
Pippin remained unmoved, merely glancing at him dismissively and scoffing, "Thinking and bribing? Don't you have any other tricks up your sleeve, Lucius?"