A chill ran through them.
They had long since grown used to leaving business in Tver's hands. They did not have to think, did not have to worry about how to expand the market. All they had to do was hand their capital over to Tver, and they could sit back and earn vast sums of money with ease.
Even if that money could not be spent in the wizarding world, it was still more than enough to satisfy them.
But now, if they wanted to earn even more, those easy days were over for good.
So for a moment, all of them hesitated.
If they joined Voldemort's side, then what they would have to do was go back to doing Death Eater work, moving through dangerous battlefields where one careless mistake could cost them their lives.
But if they stayed here, then what they needed to do was hire people to grow herbs and set up workshops to brew potions...
And of course, when they compared the strength of both sides...
Well, even if this side was much more troublesome than they had imagined, it was still the safer choice.
"Gringotts goblins can brew potions too!" Ingus was the first to think of that and immediately spoke up.
Gringotts had one of the closest relationships with Muggles in the wizarding world. He knew perfectly well that a tiny number of Muggle tycoons controlled most of the wealth in the Muggle world.
Once they established profit ties with those tycoons, never mind gems, they could buy entire mines outright.
"Goblins should stick to smithing. Delicate work like potion-making isn't suited to you lot."
For the sake of profit, the pure-bloods immediately began sniping at Ingus.
"That's right. I remember there are quite a few old family books recording potion formulas. Muggles would fight tooth and nail for those!" young Avery said dreamily, clearly imagining a bright future.
"Oh, please. Which family here doesn't have a few hundred old books?" Gibbon rolled his eyes beside him. "With the qualification you only got because of Snape, forget brewing them. You'd struggle just to read them."
The others burst into laughter.
But once the idea had been planted, they all began quietly calculating what kinds of potions they might be suited to prepare, and whether those potions would actually be useful.
Seeing that, Tver immediately pulled out the document he had prepared in advance and slapped it onto the table.
"This is a preliminary summary of certain needs. Analyze the symptoms listed here, figure out what potions are required, and divide them up among yourselves."
The wealthy either suffered from illnesses that were complicated and rare, or conditions that normal science had no effective treatment for.
The latter category could be handled by quite a few potions, or at the very least alleviated, since wizards were prone to many of those same ailments.
The former was different. Because they were so rare, even when a wizard happened to develop one, very few potion masters would go out of their way to research a remedy specifically for it.
That was where the pure-blood families' libraries and personal connections became invaluable.
Even if they could not immediately find the exact potion needed, they could still use existing formulas, or rely on potion masters they knew, to ease the condition.
That would save Tver far more time and effort than trying to research the potions himself.
And with the help of this group of pure-bloods, potion output would no longer be as limited as it was now. Ian Russell's web of contacts could expand dramatically faster.
The pure-bloods whom Tver had just maneuvered into this position did not care about such minor details, though. Their eyes were already fixed on the document. Even as the sky outside gradually darkened, their eyes shone as brightly as lanterns.
Smack.
A hand, one that had clearly spent its life in luxury, covered the document, blocking the crowd's feverish stares.
"We may have our differences, but we shouldn't let profit damage our harmony. Wouldn't you agree?"
They finally calmed down a little and looked toward their nominal leader, Lucius.
And Lucius had only made that move because Tver had signaled him to do it.
"So how do we divide it?" Gibbon asked first.
"The illnesses listed in this document are all fairly complicated, so whichever families can provide solutions will share the work of producing those potions evenly."
"The capable should do more, and those who do more should earn more. No objections, I assume?"
Lucius looked calmly at the pure-bloods before him. With Tver present, even if they did have objections, they did not dare voice them.
So under Lucius's direction, they immediately began shouting back and forth about which illnesses they could treat, sounding for all the world like people haggling in a marketplace.
As for Tver, all he needed to do was stand by and watch coldly.
The moment the professor had a bit of free time, Draco hurried over and asked the question he had been holding in for ages.
"Professor, do you really mean to overturn the Statute of Secrecy?" he asked worriedly.
Tver smiled at him with easy calm.
"Draco, this is the trend of the world. If we can't stop it, then the only thing left is to find a way to go along with it."
Draco nodded as though he understood, though he clearly did not fully.
He still did not understand why it had become a trend, but if even the professor, with all his wisdom, was determined to overturn the Statute of Secrecy, then Draco certainly could not think of any rebuttal.
"But can those..." He paused, clearly searching for a more tactful word. "Those not-so-reliable people really overturn the Statute?"
As a member of a pure-blood family himself, Draco knew these people's abilities and tempers far too well. They were arrogant, greedy, and incompetent.
That wording made even Tver laugh.
"Of course not. They're only a small part of my plan."
Draco immediately let out a sigh of relief, but Tver's expression gradually turned serious.
"But don't underestimate them, Draco. In that regard, you ought to learn from your father..."
Tver pointed at Lucius, who was methodically listing illnesses one by one and matching them up with the relevant families.
"They are the beneficiaries of overturning the Statute of Secrecy. As long as the profits are enough to drive them mad, then they'll become my staunchest supporters."
"You can't accomplish anything great just by leading people like this. But once more and more people support me, then sooner or later, even if you don't want them to, they'll take the initiative to overturn the Statute themselves."
"But aren't you afraid they'll cut us out and go do business with Muggles on their own?" Draco asked his final question.
"You're right. Profit always drives people mad, which is exactly why I won't allow them direct contact with Muggles," Tver said confidently.
"Without the Muggle network I've woven, they'd be nothing but headless flies blundering their way into contact with Muggles."
"They could either do without magic and awkwardly try to do unfamiliar business the Muggle way."
"Or they could use magic, directly plunder Muggle wealth, and be spotted by Ministry Aurors and thrown into Azkaban."
"And if they're unlucky, they might even die at the hands of some careless Auror..."
Tver looked at the noisy pure-bloods with a cold sneer, inwardly hoping that one of them would step out of line so he could make an example of them.