#74 - Section 74
Cassandra negotiated a split of 60% for herself, 30% for Ethan, and 10% for the Worley family. This deal was a major loss for the Worley family, barely covering labor and costs, and requiring significant effort.
Despite this, the Worley family promoted the products, securing two mentions in the Daily Prophet and other magazines to hype Baffling Brain Elixir and Wizarding Wireless.
They even approached the Ministry of Magic, arguing that Ethan's innovations in wizarding communication deserved recognition, and applied for a Second Class Order of Merlin for him, though it hasn't been awarded yet.
In short, Ethan's name became a household one in the wizarding world.
Everyone knew Ethan Adair, the Muggle-born wizard with extraordinary talent.
He was favored by Dumbledore and studied alchemy with Nicolas Flamel, promising limitless potential.
During this time, he also achieved something else.
《Light of the World》
Amidst the clamorous stage of the world, flames of glory burn fiercely, a name carried by the wind, a story sung by the people.
Achievement Goal: Deeds are widely spread in the wizarding world (1/1)
Achievement Reward: Spell: Ultimate Flash
Condenses magic into a beam of light with high temperature and penetrating properties for attack. It's quite fast and powerful, but it can't be steered, making it a very familiar skill.
“I've recently become interested in alchemy and would like to commission some items from you for research!”
Directly admitting his lack of strength and wanting alchemy tools to enhance his abilities was impossible. He had to use this clumsy excuse, hoping to convince his fans.
Previously, after realizing he couldn't cast many spells, Lockhart had consulted specialized healers, who concluded he had simply forgotten how to cast them due to lack of practice.
Lockhart didn't take it seriously until the teaching accident where he couldn't handle a group of Cornish pixies, forcing him to recognize the gravity of the situation.
It seemed he only knew Obliviate. Even if he tried to learn other spells, he couldn't. His skill was worse than any random Hogwarts student.
Lockhart panicked. Beyond the risk of being exposed as a fraud, his weakness made him unsure if he could survive the year. He visited the Hospital Wing on the first day. What would he do later?
So, Lockhart spent his time trying to find a solution while half-heartedly teaching, until he read about Ethan's exceptional alchemy skills in the news, giving him an idea.
If his strength wasn't enough, equipment would compensate.
Over the years, he had lost his strength but gained wealth. Now, he would exchange money for strength, though reluctantly.
If a person dies, no amount of money is useful.
“Of course, no problem. I don’t know how much you need, and what kind of type.”
“A Body-Binding Curse is definitely needed, and also a few high-powered spell types.”
Lockhart eagerly stated his requirements.
Protection for his safety was essential, and the rest would enhance his strength.
“No problem. A Body-Binding Curse protection item is 2,000 Galleons each. That's the market price, and it's not easy to get. You know that. The remaining items vary in price depending on the spell.”
Ethan wasn't just quoting prices randomly. There weren't many skilled alchemists. Trying to learn alchemy at Hogwarts? Dream on!
Basics start in sixth year and graduation is at seventh year. Seventh years must also prepare for the Advanced Wizarding Examinations. How much time is there to study, especially since alchemy has the highest barrier to entry?
True alchemy is passed down in wizarding families. There are very few who can be called alchemy masters now.
This has led to alchemical items becoming increasingly scarce in this era, mostly controlled by pure-blood wizarding families, with protective items being the most expensive.
“Do you have any finished alchemical items that you can show me?”
Two thousand Galleons was indeed the market price, but it was still too expensive.
Despite the hype, Lockhart was still unsure of Ethan's skill. A young wizard of this age with such amazing alchemy skills? He wouldn't even write that in his novels!
“This is a necklace that stores the Body-Binding Curse. No incantation is needed. It can be used by activating it with magic.”
Ethan tossed over a necklace inlaid with a ruby.
“Expelliarmus!”
The moment Lockhart caught the necklace, a red beam shot from the tip of Ethan's wand.
Lockhart's pupils shrank in fear. He quickly raised the necklace, and a blue barrier appeared in front of him, successfully intercepting the red beam.
“How is it? Not bad, right!”
“It's okay!”
“Make the alchemical items according to this.”
“No problem!”
This was Ethan's work before going to Nicolas Flamel, with less protection than the ones enhanced with multiple ancient runes afterward.
Alchemical items are convenient, but they have a drawback: their power has an upper limit. The power of magic is related to emotions and other factors.
Alchemical items can only enhance power with magic, and there's a limit. This requires ancient runes for enhancement, which Ethan wouldn't provide to Lockhart.
“What's the strongest alchemical item you're making now?”
“Regular spells are fine. I have Fiendfyre or Fire Shield, or Blasting Curse.”
Ethan mentioned a few high-powered spells. Unforgivable Curses were out of the question, and Fiendfyre couldn't be controlled with a ring. If something happened at Hogwarts, it wouldn't be good.
“I want all three of those, plus the Levitation Charm, Summoning Charm, Petrification Charm, Incarcerous, Disarming Charm, Finite Incantatem, and Reducto. Make a total of ten alchemical items into rings.”
His demands were quite high. Ten rings? He was reaching for the sky!
“Thirty thousand Galleons!”
“Thirty thousand?”
Lockhart looked at Ethan in disbelief. He risked his life at Hogwarts and only earned a little over ten thousand Galleons. Thirty thousand in one go? He might as well rob him!
“Fiendfyre and Fire Shield are ten thousand each, the Blasting Curse is three thousand, and I'll bundle the rest for seven thousand. If you think it's too expensive, remove a few yourself. And that's just the Galleons. For the rest of the year, you have to give me extra points in every class.”
Lockhart was now in a dilemma. Fiendfyre and Fire Shield were spells he had only heard of, extremely difficult to learn, powerful, and generally unavailable to most people.
Being able to use alchemical items of this level, Lockhart naturally didn't want to refuse, but the price was too high.
The remaining prices were still within his acceptance range, and adding points was no problem.
Thirty thousand—that was already most of his savings.
After some haggling, Lockhart finally agreed, promising to deliver twelve thousand Galleons to Ethan within three days as a deposit and payment for the Shield Charm necklace. He also readily agreed to the request for extra points.
The remaining twenty thousand Galleons would be exchanged after all the products were completed.
[Thank you to Big Boss 18332 for the reward! Thank you, Big Boss!].
Chapter 101: Is it even a problem if Galleons can solve it?
October arrived, and a damp chill permeated the grounds, seeping into the castle and making the whole place exceptionally humid.
Ravenclaw's dorms were at the top of a tower, which was fortunate.
Cassandra had complained more than once about the Slytherin dorms being under the Black Lake, as they were too damp and had a musty smell.
As a result, she had been resting in the Room of Requirement for the past few days.
A flu epidemic had suddenly broken out among the young wizards, causing the school hospital to be overloaded, and Madam Pomfrey was quite busy.
Fortunately, Professor Snape provided a pick-me-up potion, which had an immediate effect, taking effect within a few hours of drinking it.
However, during those few hours, smoke would constantly come out of their ears.
Ethan had witnessed Cho Chang's ears smoking, and he had to admit it was quite cute.
She had caught a cold from training for Quidditch in the rain. Ethan couldn't understand why the Hogwarts students valued Quidditch so much, with the four houses fighting over the pitch to train even when it was raining.
If they applied that kind of spirit to their studies, the level of wizarding would not decline from generation to generation.
Today was Saturday, and Ethan had just come out of the Room of Requirement. He had been tinkering with alchemy for some time, mainly modifying the McLaren F1. As for Lockhart's order, there was no rush; he could give it to him before Christmas.
He had been busy in the Room of Requirement since morning, and so far, the shell and engine had been modified. Various functions had been added, such as invisibility, flight, acceleration, and the Undetectable Extension Charm inside. What was missing were the intelligent logic and personality aspects.
After a day of work, Ethan was a little restless and decided to have dinner and then go back to his dorm to rest.
Looking at the large raindrops pattering against the castle windows, Ethan fell silent.
It had been raining for days, and Ethan hadn't been able to go to the Forbidden Forest. The lake there had risen, and everything was covered in mud.
This was a heavy loss for Ethan, as the Acromantula venom had a recovery cycle, and anything past that cycle was a waste of money.
"Harry, it's raining so hard. Is Gryffindor still training?"
"Aren't you afraid of Madam Pomfrey finding out?"
Ethan looked at Harry, who was soaked and covered in mud, as he came in from outside. He was surprised and said to him.
Since the flu outbreak at Hogwarts, Madam Pomfrey had strictly forbidden young wizards from practicing Quidditch in the rain.
She was already too busy; going out in the rain was just adding to the chaos.
Anyway, after the Quidditch members were scolded, Ravenclaw had temporarily stopped training, but the little lions of Gryffindor were still so unruly.
"There's no way around it. Wood told us to gather, and Slytherin went too."
"Ethan, if you hadn't seen it, you wouldn't know. The Slytherin players on their Nimbus 2001s were like jets, and when they flew across the sky, you could only see seven blurry, light-green shadows."
Harry had a miserable look on his face, clearly feeling extremely depressed.
His whole team was still using Nimbus 1700s, which were several versions behind the latest model, the Nimbus 2001. There was no way to catch up!
The Gryffindor team already lacked confidence before the game even started; it was hard to make up for that difference with skill alone.
"The Nimbus 2001 seems to be 388 Galleons apiece. Gryffindor may not be as rich as Slytherin, but they have plenty of money. It wouldn't be difficult to pool together and equip the team. You don't need to donate; just buy them and lend them to the Quidditch players. Most wizards keep a flying broom handy anyway."
The Nimbus 2001 had just come out in August, and the price was 88 Galleons more than the Nimbus 2000.
Gryffindor also had plenty of purebloods. They were pretty eager to buy Brain Elixir at the end of the year anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem for some of the wealthier ones to buy Nimbus 2001s now.
It just depended on whether they wanted to do it for the honor of the house and whether they were willing to lend their new flying brooms to others.
In the original story, Harry had a Nimbus 2000 given to him by Professor McGonagall, but Ethan had intervened, and he hadn't joined the Quidditch team in his first year, so he wouldn't have the Nimbus 2000.
Ethan's dorm mate, Gene, was also a sucker, saving up Galleons for a year, plus his previous allowance, for a total of three hundred, and buying a Nimbus 2000 just as summer vacation started.
Before he could be happy for long, the Nimbus 2001 came out, and Gene wrote to Ethan to complain.
Now the Ravenclaw team was also using his one Nimbus 2000 with six Nimbus 1700s. They had no chance against Slytherin.
"That's right!"
"I can also donate flying brooms to Gryffindor."
Reminded by Ethan, Harry clapped his hands excitedly.
Wasn't it just seven brooms?
It wasn't like anyone's family didn't have that many Galleons.
Just get some Galleons from Gringotts, and that would solve everything, right?
Is it even a problem if Galleons can solve it?
"You want to donate seven Nimbus 2001s by yourself?"
Ethan looked at Harry in surprise. Last time, he had called Malfoy a sucker, but now Harry was just as bad!
He had just said "lend," not "donate," right?
Ethan still remembered that.
He didn't expect Harry to be so young and already have hearing problems.
"That's right. Calculate it for me. How many Galleons will it be!"
Harry swept away his previous dejection, and his whole person was full of energy.
"2716 Galleons. Are you sure you want to spend that much?"
"Sure. I can still come up with two thousand Galleons."
Harry didn't feel like it was much. The Galleons in his vault at Gringotts were piled up like a small mountain. He hadn't counted them specifically, but there were definitely tens of thousands. (Piles of gold coins, silver bars, and mountains of bronze coins).
Ethan didn't want to say anything more about it. Damn rich second generation.
Unlike himself, every Galleon contained sweat.
And you're so generous; have you considered the feelings of that poor Ron?
"By the way, where's Ron?"
