Lorne was quite satisfied with his event.
Slytherin's challenge, "Merchant Simulation," was a bonus minigame that had often appeared in online games in his previous life.
Its rules were simple: you played a traveling merchant, sorting through a tangled web of information to distinguish official news that was definitely true, rumors that might be true, and baseless hearsay. You then used that information to judge upcoming market conditions, buying low and selling high to snowball your wealth.
Lorne also wanted to test how receptive the young wizards were to role-playing.
"Your starting capital is one hundred Galleons, Harry," Lorne announced. "Good luck."
Harry sat at an oak table, with a yellowed sheet of parchment and one hundred prop Galleons laid out before him.
The parchment would record changes in commodity prices and funds.
"The Merchant Simulation challenge officially begins. This is a game only the ambitious, shrewd, and calculating can win."
Acting as narrator, Lorne read out the information he had prepared long beforehand.
"Day one. The Ministry of Magic announces that, due to dragon flu, imports of all dragon blood products will be banned starting on day two."
If Ron had been playing, he would surely have shouted, "Buy dragon blood!" and then poured every last coin into stockpiling it.
But long before Harry's turn, Ron had already believed the claim that "Goblins are on strike, and the Galleon exchange rate is rising," exchanged all his Galleons for large platter chickens, and ultimately declared bankruptcy because of a bout of flu.
Harry was thinking.
The Ministry of Magic was an official organization, so there should be no question about the information's authenticity. But did banning imports of dragon blood products necessarily mean dragon blood prices would rise?
No, it could also be a smokescreen the Ministry of Magic had put out to drive down domestic dragon blood prices. Official news might be genuine, but interpreting it was a whole other discipline.
Harry's gaze moved down to the parchment.
There were only three commodities available for Harry to purchase this round: dragon blood, dragon blood products, and potions.
Harry chose to pass.
"Day two. Borgin and Burkes in Diagon Alley is secretly buying up Salamander tails at high prices, supposedly to replace dragon blood in brewing potions."
Harry's fingers paused slightly. Salamander tails? Normally, no one wanted those things, but if some wizard discovered they could replace dragon blood perfectly...
Harry knew that the player currently ranked first on the challenge leaderboard had analyzed every round correctly. Although their assets had not multiplied each time, it would be difficult to overtake them if he kept playing conservatively.
He would take a gamble. Salamander tails were selling for only one Galleon apiece right now, leaving him plenty of room for profit.
"Buy Salamander tails," Harry said quietly.
After a moment's thought, he pushed all one hundred gold coins into the center of the table.
Lorne smiled and handed back a ticket representing one hundred Salamander tails.
The game continued.
For the next three "wizarding days," Harry held his position. Despite the flood of conflicting news, the parchment either did not list Salamander tails at all, or showed their price falling rather than rising.
Beside him, Ron shouted anxiously, urging Harry to sell the Salamander tails immediately at 0.9 Galleons apiece to cut his losses. There was still time to buy dragon blood.
Lorne kept talking.
"Word is that the Ministry of Magic is going to shut down Borgin and Burkes!"
"Salamander tails are poisonous and have been listed as contraband!"
"Potions containing both dragon blood and Salamander tails have risen sharply in price."
Harry listened coolly, clutching his ticket without making a move. In this game, panic was cheap; only calm analysis offered a chance of victory.
Then came day six.
"Day six. The Ministry of Magic states that dragon flu has been brought under control, and the ban on dragon blood imports has been lifted."
"Meanwhile, rumors say that dragon blood prices have plummeted following the lifting of the ban. The Hogwarts Potions Class professor has made a last-minute change to the teaching plan, announcing that this week's Potions Class will use 'Salamander tails' as an ingredient for brewing Shrinking Solution."
For a time, demand for Salamander tails outstripped supply, and their price was driven up to eight Galleons apiece.
Harry let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair.
"Sell everything," Harry said.
Lorne took back the ticket and pushed eight hundred Galleons toward Harry.
"This round isn't over yet, Director Lorne." Harry stared at the dragon blood, which had fallen to five Galleons a bottle, thought again of the first-place player's three thousand Galleons, and pushed all his Galleons toward Lorne once more.
"Put it all into dragon blood."
"Oh, no." Ron paced in agitation. "There's no need, Harry. You're already in the top three. Just play it safe from here. Even if you're going to buy, you don't need to spend everything!"
Hermione patted Ron on the shoulder. "Calm down, Ron. Harry is making a push for first place."
But for several days afterward, there was no news whatsoever about dragon blood. Its price kept fluctuating, but at most it only climbed back to its original price of five Galleons a bottle.
Then came the final day.
"Day twelve. Academic research indicates that dragons and Salamanders were close relatives in ancient times. To bring out the greatest medicinal effect of Salamander tails, all that is needed is to add drops of dragon blood during the brewing process."
"Rumor has it that replacing the water entirely with dragon blood can increase a potion's potency tenfold."
Current dragon blood price: thirty Galleons a bottle.
"Sell everything." Harry gave a confident smile.
His final assets stood at four thousand eight hundred Galleons, putting him indisputably in first place by a vast margin.
Harry threw up his arms and cheered. He had never experienced anything like this: winning through his own ability, rather than the name his parents had left him.
Whenever Malfoy had mocked him before, he had never wanted to stand up to him.
He knew Malfoy stubbornly took pride in being a pure-blood. He was afraid that if he really argued with Malfoy, a single remark-"Everything you have now is because of your wizard parents"-would leave him speechless.
He also knew that his understanding of the Wizarding World was poorer than even a Muggle's, and neither his talent nor his grades could be called outstanding. Draco had an upbringing steeped in magic and his parents' guidance, while Hermione had a thirst for knowledge and unwavering perseverance.
He himself had nothing. He did not want to make an enemy of anyone, afraid that others would discover that he, "The Chosen One," was nothing but an empty shell.
But today was different.
Slytherin's ambition, something he had once utterly despised, had given him boundless confidence today.
"You just got bloody lucky, Potter," Draco snapped in frustration.
Harry smiled contemptuously. He had wanted to shout that nickname for ages.
"I'm sorry you've never experienced having luck on your side, Horse Dung, because good luck never favors fools."
Lorne did not intervene. It was just bickering, not one side bullying the other, and he did not want to get involved.
But he very much wanted to remark that it was no wonder foreigners never dragged people's parents into their insults. Insulting a surname already covered everyone in the family.