Chapter 586: A Scam Unveiled
Chapter 586: A Scam Unveiled
At the end of November, during a Wizarding Card gathering, Lee Jordan finally took over the task of organizing the Wizarding Card tournament for the second half of the year from Albert, who had already successfully hosted two such events. By now, Lee was an old hand at organizing these tournaments.
However, this year's turnout was less than desirable. Even with Albert offering an expensive talisman as the grand prize for the champion, they could only scrape together thirty-two participants. This left Lee Jordan in a foul mood for quite some time. He wondered if it was his bad luck or if his face was so intimidating that it scared away all the potential female participants.
He couldn't help but vent to Albert, "Either my luck is terrible or my face is so black it scared all the girls away."
Although Lee knew it wasn't really his fault, he still felt that he had messed up Albert's plans right after taking over.
Albert, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all and casually consoled his friend.
As December arrived, Hogwarts Castle was enveloped in wind and snow. Even the owls delivering mail looked thin, except for Sherbet, who had gained a noticeable amount of weight.
Daisy and Herbert wrote to inform Albert that their plans for the Christmas holiday had changed. They would first be visiting France and staying there for a couple of days before meeting up with him to travel to Italy for their vacation.
Albert suspected that Mog had informed his parents about the situation. Given Daisy and Herbert's open-mindedness, it wasn't difficult to understand their decision to make this change.
Of course, there was also the possibility that Mog had modified their memories. To be honest, Albert didn't have high expectations for the integrity of wizards.
That afternoon, as Albert was on his way to the library, Hermione rushed over to deliver some good news—Harry had ultimately failed to strike a deal with Mundungus Fletcher.
Hermione was quite displeased with Mr. Fletcher, the thief who was always looking for ways to scam them. She would rather take the risk of dealing with Snape than rely on that untrustworthy man.
The failed transaction could be considered a fortunate turn of events, as history sometimes took unexpected twists. However, it left Harry and Ron in a precarious situation, as causing trouble in Potions class could lead to significant risks.
It was said that Mr. Fletcher, the thief, had encountered some trouble a few days before the planned transaction. He had broken into someone's house to steal, but the owner held a grudge against him. Even without evidence, it didn't matter to those wealthy and well-connected old wizards. They had the means to take revenge on a small-time thief like Mundungus, who operated in the gray areas of the law.
Soon enough, Mundungus found himself under the watchful eye of a Ministry of Magic employee, who seized his briefcase on the pretext of operating without a license. Naturally, all the goods inside were confiscated as well.
From there, it was a simple matter to gather evidence against him.
Citing the loss of certain prohibited items, the Ministry employee imposed a hefty fine on Mundungus Fletcher and prepared to send him to Azkaban for a few days.
Mundungus, of course, wasn't one to surrender easily. He attempted to use the Confundus Charm on the Ministry employee when he wasn't looking, hoping to escape unscathed. However, the spell backfired, and he found himself in an even worse situation.
Thus, Mr. Fletcher the thief was charged with an additional crime of assaulting a Ministry employee, resulting in a fine of two hundred Galleons and a six-month sentence in Azkaban.
A truly joyous occasion.
The planned transaction between Mundungus Fletcher and Hermione (disguised as Harry) fell through, and the incident even made it to the second page of the Daily Prophet.
One could only wonder what Mundungus would think if he knew that he had fallen victim to one of Albert's talismans.
However, his misfortune contributed to the growing reputation of Albert's talismans. Due to this incident, wizards working for the Ministry began seeking similar talismans to protect themselves from unexpected ambushes.
Mr. Tolle profited handsomely from this turn of events and even intended to continue sourcing talismans from Albert, hoping for long-term cooperation with the Ministry. Unfortunately, his wishes were not destined to come true.
Albert considered the field of Dark Magic Defense to be his cash cow, and he certainly wasn't going to share it generously with others.
Even if he were to consider a win-win situation, he would be the one feasting on meat while others settled for soup.
Initially, when Kenneth Tolle had exploited a loophole, Albert hadn't minded. It was Tolle's connections and skill that allowed him to sell the talismans at a high price, and Albert wasn't concerned about that.
Most of the talismans' effects didn't last very long anyway.
At most, they would last a year before becoming completely ineffective, which wouldn't impact Albert's future plans to sell improved versions.
"You have no idea," Kenneth Tolle rambled excitedly, "the wizards working for the Ministry can't even cast a decent Shield Charm, and while the Aurors are trained and much better, they still can't be expected to defend against ambushes at all times." He enthusiastically highlighted the promising prospects of the talismans.
In their eyes, it was a veritable goldmine! Of course, they needed talismans crafted by Albert himself, as the Ministry was well aware of the reliability of his creations.
Kenneth Tolle demonstrated some sincerity by offering to split the profits evenly with Albert.
"I apologize, but although the business proposition is indeed tempting, crafting those talismans is extremely time-consuming," Albert replied with a yawn, politely declining the offer. "As you know, I'm always busy with school, and I simply don't have any spare time to waste on these matters."
Kenneth Tolle's hopes of continuing to profit off Albert's creations were dashed.
After all, Albert had plans to open a specialty store for Dark Magic Defense, so he wasn't in a rush to make money from this particular venture. Once Voldemort resurfaced and the Second Wizarding War began, Albert was confident that he could manipulate the situation to his advantage. He believed that when the war ended, he would be able to sell his talismans to the Aurors, and there would be no shortage of profits then.
Of course, Albert generously offered to sell the technical knowledge, causing Kenneth Tolle to immediately back down.
Without the corresponding skills, any replicas would be inferior. After all, Kenneth had already experienced a loss with the unsuccessful attempt to replicate the Pepper-Up Potion.
Kenneth Tolle reluctantly declined this "generous" offer, having no reason to complain about Albert's decision.
This outcome was well within Albert's expectations. Some things might seem simple, but without a solid foundation, they could turn out quite differently.
Although the business deal with Tolle fell through, Albert continued his trade at Hogwarts, with students still seeking to purchase his affordable talismans.
One day, Albert learned from Fred and George that Kenneth Tolle had been beaten up.
In George's words: "Kenneth sold some fakes, and some people found out."
After their cooperation ended, Kenneth had somehow obtained a batch of talismans that looked identical to Albert's and sold them to other Muggle-born wizards. However, they were soon discovered to be counterfeits.
At two Galleons per talisman, the buyers were understandably furious. They got in touch with other students who had purchased fakes and gave Kenneth a sound beating in a bathroom, forcing him to refund their money.
(End of Chapter)
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