"Vilana, I'm back!" Pippin shouted excitedly as soon as he entered the door.
Only two or three candles were lit in the living room, making the light somewhat dim.
Vilana, the wife, was sitting on the sofa knitting, the candlelight casting her hair a golden hue.
"Keep your voice down, Tyr is sleeping," Vilana whispered, waving her wand until the candles in the living room lit up one after another.
Pippin, surrounded by the flickering candles, excitedly approached Vilana and exclaimed, "Do you know, my dear, the best era for the Pippin family in centuries is about to begin!"
"What's making you so happy?" Vilana put down her knitting needles, got up, and took a towel to wipe Pippin's face.
"This is a great victory! Mmm..."
Pippin pulled his mouth out of the towel, reached out and hugged Vilana, kissing her twice on the cheek, then excitedly spun around in circles.
"Ah!" Vilana exclaimed, then, remembering the child was sleeping inside, quickly lowered her voice and patted Pippin's shoulder impatiently, "Tyr is still sleeping, don't wake him."
Pippin then put her down, still clearly agitated.
His face turned bright red, and he waved his arms and legs like a child, but dared not make a sound, so he could only lower his voice and chuckle.
"What happened that makes you so happy?" Vilana asked curiously.
"A ten percent profit!" Pippin's eyes gleamed in the candlelight. "And a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"The entire family will gain unparalleled glory."
"The best opportunity ever! This is the best opportunity of my life, and I absolutely cannot miss it. Otherwise, even if I die, I will not rest in peace! I will not rest in peace!"
The excited Pippin was almost incoherent.
Vilana didn't understand what he was saying at all, but she could clearly feel her husband's happiness. She wiped his face with a mixture of helplessness and amusement.
She had long known that beneath her husband's ordinary appearance lay a passionate heart.
Today, it seems she has finally seen what this heart looks like when it's burning.
As Vilana wiped Pippin's sweat, he continued to chatter on and on:
"Seriously, Vilana, you should see Lucius's face. Ha, that guy won't dare to swagger around anymore!"
"Mr. Prewett completely subdued him!"
Although Vilana didn't know who Mr. Prewett was that her husband was talking about, she did know Lucius Malfoy.
"And what about Malfoy?" Vilana paused in her wiping, surprised. "And who is Mr. Prewett?"
"He..." Pippin was speechless for a moment.
Although he had dealt with Mr. Prewett several times, when asked to describe it, he didn't know how to put it.
After a long, long time, Pippin exclaimed with admiration, "Mr. Prewett is a man to whom glory bows!"
"You have such a high opinion of him?" Vilana was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Even when it comes to Malfoy, I don't seem to hear any praise from you."
"Come on," Pippin said, scoffing and waving his hand dismissively. "How can Lucius compare to Mr. Prewett?"
"This is an unparalleled elevation of him, and a horrific insult to Mr. Prewett."
"Alright," Vilana said helplessly, "Let me ask you one more time, what happened to make you so happy?"
At this point, Pippin finally calmed down, happily took Vilana's hand, sat back on the sofa, and began to tell the story from the beginning.
Now that everything has settled down, there's no need to hide it like before.
Before tonight, Pippin had not uttered a single word about selling Potions, not even to Vilana.
Today I can finally speak freely.
"It all started a long time ago, that was truly my lucky day." Pippin held his wife's hand, looking at the candles on the table, and recalled, "That day, the two Weasley family lads came to sell Potions, and guess what I saw?"
Before his wife could answer, Pippin excitedly blurted out, "Professor Snape's Potions!"
Vilana was taken aback, somewhat puzzled.
"Yes, that's right, I had the same expression at first." Pippin looked at Vilana's expression and laughed heartily.
After that, Pippin recounted his collaboration with Silan in reselling Potions, how Lucius discovered this, came to his door, and how they eventually negotiated and reached a cooperation agreement.
The candles in the living room burned shorter and shorter.
Vilana listened to Pippin's story, and the more she heard, the more surprised she became.
Even though she had already seen Pippin's unusually excited expression and was mentally prepared, she was still speechless with disbelief when she learned what had happened.
"This is incredible..." Vilana murmured to herself.
"Third Year student can make Potions on par with Professor Snape, manipulate three cauldrons simultaneously, and even thwart Lucius at the negotiating table?" Vilana said incredulously. "It's hard to imagine so many miraculous things happening to one person."
After a moment of reflection, Pippin suddenly asked, "Is Tyr going to Hogwarts next year too?"
Tyr is his youngest son, who will be 11 years old soon.
"That's right." Vilana nodded.
Pippin gazed at the flickering candlelight on the table, then slowly leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought, "He needs to have more contact with Mr. Prewett, even if he only learns a little something, it will be enough..."
After returning to Hogwarts, Silan first went to Snape's office.
It was late at night, and even Filch was nowhere to be seen. Most of the names on the Marauder's Map were crammed into the common room.
They're probably sleeping.
But some names also cluster together, hiding in various corners, either wandering in twos and threes, or huddled together in pairs, their names almost intertwined. I wonder what they're doing...
When Silan arrived at Snape's office, he found him writing a paper, his desk piled high with books, documents, and various Parchment manuscripts.
Perhaps knowing Silan was coming, Snape closed the windows early and lit the fireplace, making the whole office warm and cozy, which made people feel a little sleepy.
"Professor, I'm back," Silan said.
"Sit down." Snape looked up from the Parchment manuscript, took out his wand, and waved it.
The Parchment and books on the table suddenly began to flutter and spin back onto the bookshelf, and two cups of hot Black Tea abruptly appeared in front of Silan and Snape.
Snape composed himself and slowly asked, "How are the negotiations going?"
"Mr. Malfoy will bear the costs of the Sale Event, while the cost of the Potions Ingredients will be deducted from the profits. As for the profit distribution, Mr. Malfoy will take 30%, Pippin 10%, and the rest will be ours," Silan briefly and quickly reported the negotiation results.
When talking about his profits, Silan even changed his form of address, simply saying "ours."
"It's not bad that we managed to get this result from Lucius."
Although Silan did not disclose the details of the negotiations, based on Snape's understanding of Lucius, it was easy to guess that the process was probably not smooth.
"But Lucius probably achieved his goal," Snape shook his head. "Making money isn't the primary objective for the Malfoy family. Even if you lowered the price further, you'd probably still succeed."
Silan said sincerely, "I have considered it. However, Mr. Malfoy is, after all, your senior, and I only made this concession out of respect for you."
Snape looked at Silan with some surprise. "You actually considered this?"
"The professor's matter is naturally within my consideration." Silan picked up the Black Tea, but didn't drink it; she just used it to warm her hands.
Snape shook his head and chuckled, "Looks like Lucius lost badly today. But you did a good job, you didn't embarrass me."
Not only is he exceptionally talented in Potions, but he is also adept at handling other matters and makes people feel comfortable.
Without a doubt, she was a true Slytherin.
He was becoming increasingly satisfied with Silan, "She truly is my student! Much better than Potter!"
The two of them tacitly picked up their Black Tea and each took a sip.
"Making these Potions will not only earn you money, but it will also help you hone your skills and techniques. It's a good training opportunity, so remember to do it with care," Snape practically gave him a heartfelt pep talk.
"Don't worry, Professor," Silan nodded.
"Alright, go and rest." Snape waved his hand.
"There's one more thing I need to say before I leave," Silan said, sitting up straight. "This matter was only possible because of the professor's Authorization Order..."
"If you're going to bring up profits, then there's no need to say anything more." Snape glanced at him indifferently and waved his hand. "Keep it for yourself. I don't need this money. I'll use it to buy myself Potions Ingredients."
With that, Snape waved his wand, and the books, documents, and Parchment manuscripts on the bookshelf all flew back onto his table.
It looks like he's preparing to continue writing his thesis.
Silan hadn't expected Snape to accept the money; she was just mentioning it to make her stance clear.
Seeing that Snape indeed refused, Silan didn't insist, thanked him, and left.
Snape only looked up from a pile of Parchment manuscripts after Silan left the office.
After a moment of stunned silence, Snape couldn't help but show an expression of admiration and pride, as if the successful negotiation was a great victory for him, a triumphant return.
Snape took a written letter from the drawer, opened it, and glanced at it.
This was his invitation letter to Lucius to meet and discuss the matter in detail, so that Silan would not suffer any losses.
"Looks like we don't need it anymore..."
Snape reached out and tossed the letter lightly into the fireplace.
With a flicker of the flame, the letter was reduced to ashes.
The firelight, however, illuminated the faint smile on Snape's lips.
... Divider Line...
Two updates today. I've been updating a month's worth of content in the last two weeks, and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.
Working a day job and writing a book at night is really exhausting. Thinking about the plot and writing out the outlines on paper every day is incredibly painful...
I'll resume updating three times a week tomorrow. Hope you all support me!
Grateful!