At Argus's urging, Vinda ultimately refrained from fighting Aberforth for fear of injuring Argus.
The two returned to the manor they had originally purchased from Malfoy.
"Argus, how's life at Hogwarts?"
"Dumbledore didn't give you any trouble, did he?"
Vinda knew that Argus was coming back, so she prepared some of his favorite foods in advance.
"No, the teachers there... are quite skilled."
"I think so too. I remember when you were in Austria, you didn't have the ability to take on seven or eight adult wizards in one go!"
Sensing the coldness in Vinda's words, Argus hurriedly offered an explanation.
"This is not my fault, Vinda!"
"I don't know where you're waiting for me in Hogsmeade, so I'll just have to look around one by one."
"Who knew we'd be watched as soon as we went in."
"So, it's my fault after all?" Vinda Rosier's tone grew increasingly dangerous.
Argus knew all too well that there was no reasoning with women.
Especially angry women!
The best way to deal with this situation was to admit your mistake!
"I was wrong, Vinda! I will never do such a dangerous thing again."
Upon hearing Argus's assurance, Vinda nodded in satisfaction.
"I'm not blaming you, it's just that you're too young and lack combat experience."
"The fate of all the acolytes rests on your shoulders."
"What are we supposed to do if something happens to you?"
"I understand, Vinda!" Argus nodded obediently.
"It's not enough to just know, you have to do it!"
The meal was finished amidst Vinda's motherly nagging.
After the meal, Abernathy arrived, and the three of them finally got down to business.
"Argus, as you said before, we would give a fraction of the profits from all our shops in Diagon Alley to the British Ministry of Magic in exchange for their protection."
"Only..."
"You just can't understand why we should do this, can you, Uncle Abernathy?" Argus didn't mind the other's confusion.
He explained to the other party.
"When we first arrived in Britain, neither our background nor our connections could compare to those of a well-established pure-blooded family."
"Opening a store in Diagon Alley is like snatching food from the jaws of a tiger. At this time, having a protective umbrella becomes extremely important."
Abernathy was still puzzled: "But with the acolytes' current strength, protecting a few shops shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
There was an old saying in the East: "You can steal for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days."
"We can't keep a large number of people on duty at all times. That's where the Ministry of Magic comes in."
"With this advantage paving the way, even if a pure-blood family wants to take action, they'll have to check with the Ministry of Magic first—and it might cost them Galleons."
"These pure-blood families won't just use the methods on the surface." Vinda had weathered many storms and could spot the flaws at a glance.
The Ministry of Magic could block overt threats, but if the other party resorted to underhanded tactics, it couldn't be expected to take action for them, could it?
The British Ministry of Magic wasn't run by acolytes!
"Don't worry about that, I've already made preparations!"
Argus was actually a little uneasy.
He was well aware of Vinda's attitude towards Dumbledore and feared that the latter would be furious if she found out.
Unfortunately, he had no choice but to keep it a secret for now and reveal it to her gradually when the opportunity arose later.
He took out the box containing materials about magical creatures and presented it to Vinda like a treasure.
"Vinda, I have a special surprise for you today!"
Vinda didn't care and casually placed it on the table.
"The fact that you don't cause trouble is already the biggest surprise for me."
"Let me tell you, don't try to fool me with those tricks you use on young girls, I won't fall for it."
In her view, Argus spent his days at school and was surrounded by mediocre wizards.
Even if you managed to get in touch with a professor, it wasn't something you could convince them of in a day or two.
"You'll see once you open it!"
Argus's laughter puzzled Vinda.
She hesitated before opening the box, but what was inside made her eyes widen in amazement.
A dazzling array of magical creature materials.
Most were priced but unavailable on the market!
Abernathy exclaimed, "These… these are…"
"I got them from Hogwarts; they're legal and legitimate, so there's nothing to worry about."
Abernathy was absolutely thrilled!
These materials were all scarce resources!
Especially when the acolytes had not yet found a stable source of goods, it directly solved their urgent problem.
"Marvelous!"
"With these materials, we can stockpile a large amount of goods in advance."
"When we open the store, we'll wage a price war against the pure-blooded British families!"
It wasn't just Abernathy who was excited; even Vinda, who had seen a lot in her life, was moved by the sheer volume of material.
She looked at Argus with satisfaction.
When she first met Argus, he was just a tiny little kid.
In the blink of an eye, he had become a pillar of the acolytes.
But the surprises that Argus brought to the two were not over yet. His next sentence made them truly feel that they had been left behind by the times.
"What we just saw was the first batch; there will be more later, but the quantity may not be as large."
"The first batch! Does Hogwarts have such a stable supply?"
Abernathy was confused; he had spent half his life searching for a stable source of goods, but hadn't found a single one.
You could find so many materials just by wandering around the school!
You were probably not Merlin's biological son!
Argus explained with a nonchalant expression, "I've got a pretty good relationship with the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."
"A lot of magical creature materials become available in the Forbidden Forest every day. He used to always be pressured to sell them cheap to the pure-blood families' shops."
"I told him I could buy them all at market price, and he sold them to me!"
"You mean, these materials are just at market price?"
This left even Vinda stunned.
Born into the Rosier family and having worked in the wizarding world for decades, she had handled countless materials.
It was immediately obvious that these materials were of exceptional quality; they were all top-grade!
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to charge double the market price!
Argus bought them all at market price!
It was still a long-term monopoly!
"Will the subsequent materials also be of this quality?"
"No!"
Argus's words relieved Abernathy.
That's right, if it was always this high quality, how were others supposed to live?!
But his next words left Abernathy bewildered.
"These are all items that my friend has kept for a long time, and they've been kept rather casually."
"The quality of the subsequent products should be better than this one."
Abernathy and Vinda exchanged a glance, their eyes fixed on Argus with complex expressions.
Argus asked in confusion, "What's wrong? I'm telling the truth!"
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