Dorian's Invitation

"Hey, did you hear? Tarkoon, a sixth-year Slytherin, got beaten up in Hogsmeade. Apparently, he provoked a drunkard and got knocked down before he even had time to use magic. They were only superficial injuries, but lots of people saw it happen. Now the whole of Hogwarts knows he got beaten up. It's utterly humiliating."

"Isn't that a good thing? Those Slytherins... Heh heh, that Tarkoon is one of the most obnoxious ones in Slytherin. He deserved the beating. He goes on and on about pure-bloods all day long. It's about time someone taught him a lesson.

But what happened to the person who beat him up? The Slytherins won't go after him, will they?"

"Of course not. That guy was wearing a hooded robe, so no one could see what he looked like. And after beating Tarkoon, he seemed to sober up a little. Once he realized he'd beaten a Hogwarts student, he immediately ran off. They say he was still staggering as he ran, so it looks like he won't be returning to Hogsmeade anytime soon."

"That's good, then. Even if he beat Tarkoon, it'll be as if it never happened. Once some time has passed, Tarkoon won't be able to find him anyway."

Sean brushed past two older Hufflepuff students and did not hear the rest of their conversation, but it did not matter. Over the past few days, news of Tarkoon being beaten had spread throughout Hogwarts. From Sean's observations, no one suspected anything. They all thought it had been an isolated drunken brawl. Hogwarts had not even sent anyone to investigate. Only Tarkoon had later gathered some people to look for trouble with the person Sean had disguised himself as, but naturally, they found nothing.

After returning to the Slytherin Common Room, Sean considered the matter.

After a while, people should forget about Tarkoon's incident. Once I get the Unicorn blood, I'll find an opportunity to leave Hogwarts and prepare the curse.

Of the plans Sean had been preparing, only the issue of Unicorn blood remained. Naturally, this was no easier than obtaining Tarkoon's hair, blood, and teeth. It might even be more dangerous. But in order to leave no trace, Sean could not obtain magical creature blood through legitimate channels.

Unfortunately, Hagrid guarded that baby dragon too closely. Otherwise, finding a way to obtain some of its blood would probably have been safer than getting Unicorn blood.

"Sean, can we talk?"

Sean looked at Dorian Cooke, who was waiting in the Common Room, and silently cursed his bad luck. A smile remained on his face as he said, "Of course. I'll put the things I'm carrying back in my room, then come find you right away."

Dorian nodded with a smile. "All right. I'll prepare some black tea and wait for you."

"Sorry to trouble you. Thank you."

After offering a perfunctory thanks, Sean quickly returned to his room.

Kulkan slithered down from Sean's body and returned to his Snake Den as if he knew the way by heart. Sean changed into a casual outfit before returning to the Common Room and sitting on the sofa opposite Dorian.

"Sean, I prepared this black tea for you. Give it a try."

Sean picked up the black tea from the Low Table in front of him, took a small sip, and nodded. "Not bad."

Setting down his tea, Sean looked at Dorian. "Dorian, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"What kind of question is that..." Dorian also set down his tea. "Can't I ask you to have tea with me without needing a reason?"

Hearing Dorian's nonsense, Sean did not respond. He merely raised his cup again and took another sip of tea.

Dorian's expression did not change at all when he saw Sean's reaction, but no one could know whether his thoughts had changed or whether he was secretly cursing Sean. Unless Sean, Dumbledore, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were all masters of Legilimency, they would have no way of peering into Dorian's thoughts.

Seeing that Sean remained silent, Dorian smiled again. "As for business, I do happen to have a small matter to discuss. I heard that you and Andy work together to trade Potion Ingredients and finished potions. I'd like to know whether you would be interested in changing partners. As for the terms, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"My cooperation with Andy has been smooth and pleasant. There's no need to change..."

"No, no, no... No, no, no..." Dorian shook his head repeatedly, interrupting Sean. "Sean, I know very well that your profit split with Andy is probably forty-sixty, or perhaps thirty-seventy. I can give you twenty-eighty, along with broader sales channels. If you work with me, I can ensure that you accumulate substantial assets before graduation. By the time you graduate, you'll be living a life that ordinary wizards in the Magical World could struggle their entire lives to attain. Andy cannot give you that."

"The share Andy gives me now is already quite good. Even if you can offer a little more, it's not worth changing partners."

"No, no, no... Sean, you still don't understand. Let me explain it properly." Dorian set down his cup and leaned slightly forward toward Sean. "The profit split does determine how much you can receive, but there is a prerequisite: how much can a potion actually sell for?

Andy can only sell these things within Hogwarts. His target customers are merely Hogwarts students. How many Hogwarts students are there? And how many of them can afford potions? Besides, they buy Andy's potions only because his prices are much cheaper than those outside. Otherwise, they would naturally buy from outside shops with better guarantees.

That means the potions sold through Andy must be priced well below their normal value. Even if your share is a little higher, how much money can you really make?

If you work with me, things will be different. I have shops in the outside Magical World behind me. However many potions you have, we'll take them all. They'll be sold at outside prices. Although the share we offer may be similar to Andy's, or perhaps only slightly higher, the money you make will definitely be far, far more than what you earn through Andy.

And if you're willing to work with me, after you graduate, I can even introduce you to one of the shops behind me and make you a potions master there. At that point, you could even receive a share of the shop's profits. Then, the money you make would no longer be merely payment for your labor."

It had to be said that Dorian's words were highly tempting. At least, Sean found them very tempting. Of course, Sean had also picked up on something in Dorian's words. Dorian clearly did not think Sean's relationship with the Bulstrode family was particularly close. In fact, he might even see Sean, a son of a Squib, as no different from those born into low-ranking wizarding families. That made Sean rather concerned.

Why was he so certain?

Especially after Malfoy had been injured by Sean, and Malfoy's grandfather Gavin had personally come to Hogwarts, Dorian still thought this way. Sean did not believe a person like Dorian would be unaware of that incident!

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