The next morning, in the Great Hall.
When Herman entered, the long table was already full of people. The clatter of dishes and the murmur of voices mingled together, and owls flitted between the candlesticks, dropping letters and newspapers in front of their respective owners.
He sat down at the Slytherin table and had just picked up a piece of bread when a greyish-brown owl fluttered its wings and landed in front of him, carrying a neatly rolled roll of parchment in its beak.
Herman put down the bread, took the roll of paper from the owl's beak, and casually placed a Knut in front of it.
The owl picked up the coin and dropped it into the small cloth bag at his feet. It then tapped the table with its beak, as if urging him to read the letter. It didn't leave, as if waiting for a reply.
Herman unfolded the parchment, on which was Kramer's handwriting, short and hasty, carrying a sense of urgency.
The first part of the letter, like the last one, was a price list for various materials, clearly outlining the price of each material, shipping costs, and how Owl Postage was calculated.
But the latter part became somewhat explicit.
Kramer used a long speech to express his curiosity about Herman's " Muggle business," escalating his words from "some interest" to "very much looking forward to cooperation," and finally even suggesting a face-to-face meeting. As for the meeting place, he said he could come to Hogsmeade himself, so Herman wouldn't have to go to Knockturn Alley.
However, it was clear that the little Goblin didn't know enough about Hogwarts and didn't know that first-year students couldn't go to Hogsmeade.
And even if Kramer came to Hogsmeade, I wouldn't go!
Hogsmeade is now full of hooded Vampire and Werewolf. Who knows if someone will even make their own Prophecy? Going there would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den.
As for Kramer, he may not know about Hogsmeade yet, but the fact that he mentioned Hogsmeade shows that he is indeed very anxious.
They probably suffered significant losses in the stock market.
Herman silently labeled Kramer in his mind: it seems the little Goblin isn't very good at stock trading after all; magic can't do anything about the stock market.
The last time I saw him in Knockturn Alley, he was yelling into the phone, telling people to increase their bets. His tone was just like a gambler who had bet everything on a stake and refused to admit defeat.
"Money is no problem, I'll transfer the money right away! Stay calm, don't sell, it'll go up soon!"
I don't know how much of that drive is left now, but judging from the urgency of this letter, he's probably almost sold his pants in desperation.
Herman thought for a moment, then took out a quill and a blank piece of parchment from his bag and began to write a reply.
Regarding the interview, he wrote that it should be postponed for now, but some cooperation could be carried out in advance.
The specific plan was to use his Muggle ID to establish a company and have Kramer manage the funds invested in Herman.
Kramer doesn't need to pay anything; he just needs to make sure the Ministry of Magic doesn't find out.
Basically, it's about letting Kramer act as a black glove, making money while lying down. He gets a fixed salary regardless of whether the investment is profitable or not, and he also gets dividends if he makes a profit.
Herman wasn't just wasting money; he wanted Kramer to make some money first and get him fully on board so that when the big move came in October, Cramer would be on his side and the company could use him then.
As for making a deal with the Goblin, Herman had already prepared a plan.
You draw up the contract yourself; it's a contract for the Muggle world. After all, it's the Muggle world that makes the money, so as long as the Muggle approve, that's fine.
Although Goblin have a bad reputation, they will abide by contracts in most cases. This is the foundation of the Goblin race from ancient times to the present, and it is more important than their lives.
After writing down the initial cooperation details and instructing Kramer to handle the formalities for establishing the company, he took out a check from his pocket, tucked it into the letter, and then folded the letter and put it into the envelope.
Then he looked at the owl, who was lingering on the table, staring at his breakfast, and considering whether or not to take a bite.
It's likely that Kramer also instructed the owl to wait for a reply, which confirms that Kramer was indeed anxious.
Herman tied the envelope to its leg, flapped its wings, and the owl flew away.
There's no new feed available, Xiao Hei has gone on strike, so we'll have to borrow Kramer's owl.
After finishing one task, Herman felt a little more relaxed, picked up the Daily Prophet had just been delivered, and planned to read the news for a while.
He sipped his milk, unfolded the newspaper, glanced at the front page, and then looked down.
The third edition featured a lengthy report with a bold, black headline and a accompanying photograph.
Herman's gaze fell on the photograph, then he glanced at the caption and froze.
The photo shows the exterior of several buildings, all of which appear to be old wizarding residences with towering stone walls, narrow windows, and neatly trimmed hedges.
But something was clearly wrong with the buildings in the photos. One building had a corner of its side wall collapsed, with rubble scattered on the lawn; another building's front door had been forced open from the inside, with the door hanging askew on the hinges; and yet another building had a large section of its roof torn off, revealing the dark frame underneath.
The photo was captioned with a line of small text, and Herman couldn't help but spit out his milk after reading just a few words.
Milk sprayed out of his mouth, fanning out across the table and splashing onto the bread, jam, the edge of the plate, and the plate of roast meat that Draco was eating next to him.
Draco immediately retorted angrily, "What are you doing, Herman! Honestly, I haven't finished eating yet!"
As she spoke, she sprang up from her chair, looked down at her plate of roasted meat that had been drenched in milk, and gave the impression that she had seen something dirty crawling up on it.
She stood up angrily, walked around the table, and sat down next to Harry across from her. She picked through the food on the table, picked up a piece of bread, looked at it, and put it down. She picked up a piece of ham, flipped it over, and put it down again. After hesitating for a long time, she finally felt that none of them were clean, so she simply gave up on breakfast, crossed her arms, and glared angrily at Herman.
Herman coughed for a while, finally managing to clear the little bit of milk from his trachea, and quickly explained, "It's not my fault, look at this news."
As he spoke, he unfolded the Daily Prophet, stood up, and handed it to Draco across from him.
As she handed it over, Herman glanced at Harry.
Harry seemed completely unaffected, continuing to eat her bread and ham elegantly, not even reacting to the newspaper Herman offered her.
Her knife and fork moved smoothly and steadily across the plate, her rhythm exactly the same as usual, as if the news had nothing to do with her.
Or perhaps they already knew there would be some news.
Draco took the newspaper from Herman with some skepticism, her gaze falling on the headline on the front page. She scanned a few lines down, then her eyes widened.
She covered her mouth and said, "Is this true?"