Chapter 49: Upcoming Potion Class

"The Gaunt family cannot sign any covenant with you."

Luke said with a smile. "But 'I' can sign one with you."

Wade was taken aback by Luke's words, then furrowed his brow, deep in thought, weighing the pros and cons.

Luke didn't rush him, simply smiling patiently as he waited.

After some time, Wade still hadn't reached a conclusion.

"Meow~"

Suddenly, the sound of a cat broke the tense silence in the office.

Everyone turned towards the noise and saw a small black cat climbing in through the open window.

Luke beckoned to the cat, and it quickly jumped onto the table in front of him.

Luke picked it up, placing it on his lap, stroking its fur, and smiling as he said, "Forgive the cat's misbehavior."

"No problem," Wade replied, frowning at the cat. But when he noticed Luke's complete lack of apology, it suddenly dawned on him.

The seemingly equal atmosphere between the two had made him overlook the fact that, despite the boy being only 11 years old, it wasn't Luke who was asking for an alliance.

It was 'they' who were seeking one from him.

Luke could do without the alliance, at worst losing one ally. A young, ambitious student at Hogwarts would never lack allies as he grew. But without this alliance, the Lance family would truly become one of those noble families scorned by others.

And to avoid becoming a laughingstock, they would have no choice but to oppose Luke—despite not knowing what he was planning.

In such a scenario, a family like the Lances would likely end up as mere cannon fodder.

"We can agree to your terms, but my additional condition is," Wade said seriously, "if things go wrong, we retain the right to break the contract early."

"You can break the contract anytime you wish"

Luke immediately replied before Wade could finish.

Wade looked at Luke, both surprised and scrutinizing. Luke smiled arrogantly, "If I can't even maintain your confidence, then what right do I have to win over others and achieve my ambitions?"

Luke's near-arrogant confidence left Wade speechless for a moment.

Finally, Wade took a deep breath and said, "Let's leave it here for today, Mr. Luke."

Luke blinked. Was Wade planning to neither sign nor continue negotiating?

But Luke wasn't bothered. He nodded and said, "As you wish."

"We'll send you a letter on Christmas Day, offering our holiday greetings and informing you of our decision," Wade's expression shifted from prideful and self-assured to one of respect.

"This is a significant matter, and as head of the family, I cannot make the decision alone. Please allow me time to persuade the others in the family."

His words surprised not only Luke but also the man standing behind him, Laike.

What was Wade thinking? Why had his attitude changed so drastically all of a sudden?

'I knew I should have brought Taylor with me...'

Luke thought to himself.

A legilimens was far more valuable than just any wizard who could read minds. Raised from a young age using Legilimency, their proficiency would be so high that unless they intentionally revealed it, few would notice they were reading thoughts.

"Then I await your reply"

Luke said seriously, his smile fading. Although he wasn't sure what the old man was planning, the reverent tone and serious demeanor indicated that Wade was preparing for a high-stakes gamble.

After bowing once more to Luke, Wade turned to his nephew and said, "Laike, let's go."

"Yes, sir," Laike replied. He hesitated for a moment before bowing slightly to Luke. "Goodbye, sir."

Luke nodded in response, then got up to follow the two and escorted them out of the castle.

He watched as they boarded their carriage and left Hogwarts.

Luke, still holding Booker, maintained a calm expression.

"What are you looking at?"

Professor McGonagall appeared beside him, though it was unclear when she had arrived—perhaps she had never gone far.

"I was just thinking that the Thestrals raised by the Lance family seem to be in good shape. They're a bit larger than what the books say is typical"

Luke remarked casually.

Professor McGonagall fell silent, looking at the 11-year-old boy with an almost sorrowful expression.

She raised her hand slightly, as if to ruffle his hair, but after a pause, she settled for patting his shoulder instead.

"Go eat something, child. You've earned a good rest today," she said.

Luke smiled warmly. "Thank you, Professor."

With that, he turned and walked back toward the castle.

McGonagall stood there, watching his retreating figure in silence for a long time.

She couldn't help but notice how mature and obedient the boy seemed, but such maturity and obedience usually came from enduring experiences that forced them to grow up too soon.

As Luke reached the entrance of the castle, Taylor stepped out from the shadows. In a low voice, she said, "That old man initially wanted to figure out how to make you accept their terms."

"But by the time he left, he was thinking about how to get you to accept their support—and how to help you clear some obstacles within your own family."

Taylor looked at Luke like he was a mystery, "What on earth did you do to him?"

Luke glanced at the Legilimens who had voluntarily joined him and shook his head. "What I've done with everyone else—except for a few select individuals."

"Show different sides of yourself, tailored to meet the needs of whoever you're dealing with."

"Basic strategy."

Without waiting for Taylor's stunned expression to subside, Luke quietly continued walking forward.

As nice as it was to have the day off from classes, tomorrow would be his personal disaster.

Honestly, with a potion-making talent rated at a mere three out of ten, how was he supposed to toss ingredients into a cauldron without blowing something up?

Luke sighed at the thought, wondering if he should visit Hagrid to look for some rare potion ingredients in order to bribe Snape in advance.

But after some consideration, he decided against it.

It might be better to leave an insignificant flaw. At least then, he'd seem more human.

Taylor stayed behind for a moment, watching Luke's back. After a brief silence, she smiled, then bounced forward to catch up with him.

There was no point in overthinking things at this stage.

As Taylor's grandmother used to say, once you've made a decision, unless you're facing death, stick to it until the end.

Besides, Luke was far too smart to ever put himself or those around him in a situation where they'd face death head-on.

Little did Luke know, Taylor had just raised a flag for him that would soon come true.

***

(T/N: some of you will again be like why is he treating them as equal, they should be below him..... what you don't get is, he is not powerful enough... all he has is his money and a lot of money without the strength to back it up, is just a disaster waiting to happen... what he needs are allies at this moment... and using his resources to obtain them is the right choice, as anything can be obtained back after gaining enough strength.... why I went on all this rant is due to the comments I got when he gave McGonagall a manual from the vault, if you still don't understand this, I can't do anything)

Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-

patreon.com/ReduxMagister