Chapter 53

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"What do you mean, Lawrence?" Malfoy turned around. Wayne's voice was clear, neither loud nor quiet. The eleven-year-old boy had a cold expression on his face. 

"Are you provoking my Malfoy family?" Wayne was unmoved, and Little Bear spread his hands. "Am I not telling the truth? I thought a big customer was here, but they bought the most ordinary map. I'm so happy for nothing."

"Ordinary?" Malfoy looked at the parchment in his hand, somewhat confused. The exquisite python pattern and green lace with gold powder made it look expensive. Isn't this the most expensive version? Did he buy the wrong one?

"Lawrence, what do you mean? Do you have anything better?" Malfoy asked again.

"Certainly." Wayne looked at him in surprise. "The twenty-eight pure-blood families are the nobles among wizards. Shouldn't their items be customized? After all, as a Muggle noble, everything in my home is specially customized. Isn't that what you are doing?"

"Who says otherwise?" Malfoy said anxiously. "Our Malfoy family is a noble family, so of course, we use the best! My dad's cane was specially customized by the alchemist master." Malfoy felt slightly ashamed. Most of his items were top-notch but not custom-made. Damn it, being compared to this Muggle.

"Lawrence, don't just say what you say." Malfoy shook the map in his hand angrily. "You didn't tell me there was a customized version. How much does it cost? I want it."

"It turns out I misunderstood." Wayne showed an appropriately apologetic smile. "I do have customized models. They will be made according to the needs of customers. Different grades naturally use different materials."

Brother Yan said proudly, "Of course it is the best!"

Wayne smiled happily. "Sincerely, it costs you two hundred galleons."

Malfoy almost jumped up. "Why don't you go and rob it?"

"Listen to me first about the ingredients, and then you can decide." Wayne asked him to calm down and then started his sales pitch. "The top grade uses not sheepskin but dragon skin. The map ink is also the highest grade king squid ink. It does not change color and emits a faint poisonous gas. The map will also have the crest of the Malfoy family and the logo of Slytherin, all made of the finest unicorn feathers."

Finally, Wayne asked, "Do you still think this is expensive?"

"It's too cheap..." Malfoy replied subconsciously, then immediately reacted. "No, it's not expensive. It's very reasonable. Don't just raise the price!"

"We are all nobles. I am a Muggle noble, and you are a wizard noble. Nobles cannot do things like raising the price suddenly." Wayne said arrogantly, which made Malfoy feel at ease. This is the style I want!

"I want the top map. Here is a deposit of fifty galleons." Malfoy took out all the Galleons he had. His pocket money for one semester was only one hundred Galleons. He had spent a lot before, and what he had on hand was no longer enough. But he couldn't let Wayne know, otherwise, he would get humiliated again. He could only use the deposit as an excuse and write home all night asking for money. Asking his father for money would definitely get him lectured, so Malfoy planned to ask his mother, Narcissa, for the money.

To Malfoy's surprise, Wayne had no intention of taking the deposit. Instead, he looked at him angrily. "What do you mean? A deposit is required for transactions between nobles? You are insulting me! Take the money and come to me for the map in two days!"

After speaking, Wayne didn't wait for Malfoy to say anything else. He turned around, knocked on the barrel a few times, and got back into the lounge. It seemed like he was really angry.

Goyle suddenly became happy. "Master Malfoy, do you think this man is stupid? He doesn't even want the payment. No wonder he was assigned... a job."

"Shut up!" Malfoy was furious and silenced Goyle with an angry look. "What do you know? This is a transaction between nobles. Don't judge Lawrence with your ordinary thoughts! Is it possible that the Malfoy family will waste these hundred galleons?" Malfoy had been completely deceived. Wayne's talk about nobility hit his heart like a sharp sword.

With the name of the Malfoy family, Wayne could be trusted so much. How could a fool like Goyle understand this secret? After looking at the two idiots with disgust, Malfoy left. He now felt that calling Wayne a mudblood was a bit too much. Even Muggle nobles are nobles and cannot be insulted. Well, it's decided, I'll call him Lawrence from now on.

In the lounge, Wayne was almost having cramps from laughing. Cedric was standing there, speechless. "You mean... you used this rhetoric to sell the map for a hundred galleons?"

When Wayne came back just now, Cedric casually asked why Malfoy came to see him. But after listening to Wayne's story, Cedric felt that his world view had collapsed. Are there really such stupid people in the world?

Cedric said, "Don't laugh, you didn't even ask for a deposit. Aren't you afraid that he will regret it after he goes back?"

"You still don't understand what Malfoy really wants." Wayne suppressed his smile, shook his head, and looked at him sadly. "You still don't understand that those purebloods don't care about money, or small money. What they care about is uniqueness and the feeling of being superior to others. Believe it or not, even old Malfoy would fall for the rhetoric I just told you."

"I don't believe it," Cedric said firmly. "There is no wizard in the world who doesn't regard money as important."

"Then take a gamble."

"Just bet." Cedric agreed and made a bet with Wayne. If the deal is finally done, he'll jump on Hufflepuff's dining room table and do a dance. If it doesn't work out, Wayne will perform a bit. But even if he wins, Cedric will still be happy. Wayne will have earned more than a hundred galleons, and there will be considerable income in the future. With so much money, how many Charlie Cannon peripherals can he buy?

"Cedric," Wayne suddenly said, "Do you want to learn how to make maps?"

Cedric was stunned for a moment. "What do you mean, you want to teach me?"

"Yes, if you want to learn, I will teach you."

"No, it's true." Cedric was surprised. "Wayne, aren't you afraid that I will start selling maps after I learn it?"

"Can you?" Wayne asked.

"Of course not." Cedric shook his head. They were good friends now, and even if they weren't, he wouldn't steal his business.

"There are conditions for teaching you." Wayne stated his purpose. "If you learn how to make a map, you will work for me, and you will get 20% of each map."

Wayne's previous inventory was running low, especially the basic maps, which were almost sold out. He had to stay up late tonight to restock.

A lot of practice can indeed improve your alchemy experience, but too much repetition is useless. Wayne had already mastered all the magic spells and alchemy principles needed to make maps. Making more maps would just be a waste of time. Instead, it's better to outsource the work, freeing up time to learn other magic. His goal was to earn points, not money. He could always go to Gringotts and exchange some money for gold.

Originally, Wayne wanted to ask Hermione for help, but she had just started school and wasn't ready for his requirements. Looking at it this way, Xiaosai seemed suitable. As for whether Cedric might turn against him, Wayne had many other ideas in mind, and the map was just a test. If Cedric did turn against him, he would lose more.

"I did it."

Upon hearing Wayne's request, Cedric agreed without hesitation. Twenty percent might not sound like much, but after a school year, it would be dozens of galleons, much more than his pocket money. The most important thing was that Cedric could learn a lot from Wayne. This was what Cedric valued. He had realized that Wayne was quite skilled, mastering more magic and being more powerful than expected for his age.

"Let me check your background first."

Wayne asked Cedric a few questions to test him. After some back-and-forth, Wayne nodded.

"You have some knowledge, but not much."

Cedric, sitting opposite, was frustrated. He thought, "Can't you be more tactful? After all, I'm your senior. Can you save me some face?"

Wayne took out a parchment, wrote down the spells to be used, and gave it to Cedric.

"Learn these spells first and leave the other work to me. Is that okay?"

Cedric glanced at the list and nodded. "Just give me a week."

"Okay, you have to hurry up. Otherwise, everyone will have a copy, and it will be useless if you learn it too late."

"I'll try my best," Cedric replied, his face falling. "You don't know, Whateley has gone crazy. The original training twice a week has become five times a week. I can't stand it anymore."

Wayne waved his hand. "Figure it out yourself."

In the following days, although the business was not as hot as the first day, Wayne sold a lot of maps every day. Malfoy's attitude towards Wayne improved since he delivered the maps. As soon as Malfoy's money arrived from home, it was spent on Wayne's maps. Wayne did not disappoint; the maps were exquisite and useful, made of dragon skin with anti-peeping and anti-theft features. Malfoy felt the money was well spent and showed them off, leading to more orders from Slytherin.

Wayne wanted to split the money with Hermione and Cho, but they declined. They felt the success was all due to Wayne's ability. Wayne didn't force the issue.

When Cedric witnessed a transaction, he felt frustrated. With a dark face, he went to Hufflepuff's long table and started making exaggerated poses. All the young wizards were stunned. Professor Sprout couldn't stand it and locked Cedric up for two days, making him fertilize plants in the greenhouse. Wayne and others laughed at Cedric's plight.

One week later, Wayne received a letter from an owl during breakfast. He opened the envelope curiously:

[Wayne, I have found many materials you need. Let's have some afternoon tea tomorrow. It would be great if you could bring Phoenix. — Hagrid]

Wayne smiled, realizing the invitation was more for Phoenix. He didn't intend to refuse, as he needed more materials for his experiments. He felt someone staring at him and looked up to see Snape at the guest table, watching him. Snape had tried getting information about Phoenix from Wayne without success, which made him annoyed.

In the afternoon potions class, Snape deducted 15 points from Wayne tentatively. The Hufflepuff students were used to strange things. Many students knew Snape disliked Harry the most, followed by Wayne. Snape always found some reason to deduct points from Wayne.

After class, Snape confronted Wayne about the materials.

"Lawrence, how did you use those materials? Did you use them for those maps?"

Wayne couldn't hide his actions from the professors, who generally praised him, except for Snape. Other professors would often add back the points Snape deducted.

"Professor," Wayne smiled shyly. "I collected many materials recently, including valuable items like tears, feathers, and more."

Snape's breathing grew heavier. "It's all good stuff. Instead of wasting them, leave them to me. I can give you a share of the refined potion, and you won't be deducted points for two months."

Snape was good at making deals.