Wade's eyes narrowed slightly.
The magic doll resembled a soldier, only two or three inches tall, dressed in a gray-green uniform. Its face was indistinct, its legs were thick and sturdy, while its arms were thin and long.
To a wizard, the doll's rough craftsmanship was almost laughable. But Wade's first reaction upon seeing it was—
This design is made for a specific purpose.
He didn't voice his suspicion, and merely blinked as he watched Marchionne continue his demonstration.
As soon as the soldier doll landed on the table, it quickly got up. Its thick legs ensured it could stand steadily, and its head turned around before finally "looking" at Wade.
Since its eyes were just two painted black dots, they weren't as flexible as other magic dolls that could actually move their eyes. Still, Wade distinctly felt that the doll was somehow "looking" at him.
"You idiot! Your master is over here."
Marchionne grabbed the doll's head, twisted it half a turn to face himself, then dramatically cleared his throat and said, "Get me a glass of water."
"I said—get. me. a. glass. of. water!" Marchionne enunciated each word slowly.
This time, the doll seemed to have finally received the command.
It spun in place twice, then clumsily stomped toward the water jug.
It kicked over a cup.
Then, grabbing the handle of the jug with both hands, it started dragging it toward Marchionne.
The jug toppled over on the table, its lid fell off, and all the water spilled out.
Luckily, the wizards at the table were all quite capable—one quick spell, and the mess was gone.
Yet the magic doll persistently continued dragging the jug toward its master. Marchionne glanced at the other two and said, "See? A little idiot —no wonder no one wants these knockoff dolls…"
The jug nearly smashed into Marchionne's face. He dodged just in time, but was still splashed with leftover tea.
Two tea leaves stuck to his face.
Wade and Lupin had originally tried to remain polite—but they couldn't hold it in anymore.
They both burst into laughter.
The magic doll, however, seemed to believe it had completed its task. It stood there steadily, waiting for its next command.
Marchionne wiped the water off his face, took a deep breath, and tapped the dumb little doll with his wand.
In the next moment, the doll vanished from existence.
Ignoring the laughter of the other two, Marchionne continued, "These knockoffs aren't even as flexible as chess pieces in wizard's chess, which is why magic dolls are our primary business focus right now."
"But I've heard that the British Ministry of Magic is organizing a major event. Fudge is calling it unprecedented… This could be a huge opportunity for our workshop. But if we only have one or two flagship products, it'll be too easy to fall behind…"
"I've actually been trying to get the Ministry to pass a law banning counterfeit Book of Friends products from entering Britain, but it hasn't been going well… If we miss this chance, who knows when the next one will come…"
Marchionne rambled on, clearly having been troubled by this issue for quite some time.
"But now, with the Communication Beans, things will be different—we'll completely catch those crooks off guard!"
"Still, to prevent copycats from stealing the idea, we might need to delay the launch for a year… at least six months."
"Actually…" Wade interjected, "The design of the Beans already includes a feature where a Vanishing Charm is applied when sealing them. If anyone tries to break the enchantment, the charm will activate."
"A Vanishing Charm?" Marchionne's eyes lit up. He immediately asked, "Can it be added? Will it cause conflicts? Can it be accidentally triggered?"
Wade simply pulled out the blueprint and let him take a look.
He was never worried about Marchionne leaking trade secrets. In fact, when it came to intellectual property protection, Marchionne was even more meticulous than Wade himself.
The Book of Friends had been on the market for nearly two years, yet outsiders could only guess at the production methods based on finished products, leading to crude imitations at best. The level of protection Marchionne enforced was evident.
Marchionne had once been a student of Professor Murray and was no less skilled in alchemy than an average alchemist. Understanding the blueprint was no challenge for him.
After examining it for a while, he grinned. "Professor Murray helped you modify this, didn't he?"
The two exchanged a knowing look.
"Then I'd better start production right away." Marchionne put away the blueprint and stood up with a mischievous smile. "I can't wait to see those guys suffer."
"This is a chained enchantment," Wade explained. "A standard counter-curse will only make the Bean itself disappear. But if they try to remove the Vanishing Charm, that's when the real backlash will hit."
"I get it." Marchionne nodded. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it… As for the contract, should I still handle it with Remus?"
"Yes, of course." Wade agreed.
Signing a magical contract was never as simple as just writing a name. There were always numerous details to discuss.
Over the past few years, Marchionne's magical workshop had become increasingly professional, and it even adopted management strategies from large Muggle corporations.
Wade had no patience for handling such matters.
Fortunately, Lupin is meticulous, responsible, and dedicated. Wade felt completely at ease about leaving the follow-up work to him.
Lupin walked Wade out of the Hog's Head Inn before returning to the guest room upstairs.
Marchionne chuckled and said, "Remus, when you're with Wade, do you take on the 'mother' role?"
Lupin didn't get angry. Instead, he calmly explained, "The Hog's Head has some dangerous patrons. I don't want Wade coming into contact with them."
"I know, I wasn't mocking you… In fact, I think you're doing an excellent job."
Marchionne smiled, then his expression turned serious. "Remus, since you're staying in Hogsmeade, you must keep an eye on Wade—recently, several well-known alchemists from France, Germany, and Italy have gone missing."
After leaving the Hog's Head Inn, Wade planned to meet up with his friends at the Three Broomsticks.
As he neared the place, he saw someone staggering toward him. The person looked dazed and their face was pale and sickly.
He accidentally bumped into a girl, who angrily shoved him to the ground. But Caryll just sat there in a daze, showing no reaction.
The girl huffed and walked away. Wade watched for a moment, sighed helplessly, then walked over, crouched down, and grabbed Caryll's shoulders.
"Hey, Caryll, what's wrong with you?"
"Se…" Caryll mumbled.
"See?" Wade asked, confused. "What did you see?"
As he spoke, he glanced around and checked their surroundings.
Caryll rubbed his face hard and forced a weak smile. "A Halloween display in one of the shops scared me… I saw it suddenly and got startled." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel·fiɾe·net
"Really? Then I should check it out later."
Wade pulled him up with a firm grip. "But I remember you weren't this easily scared. You're a Gryffindor, after all."
"It's just that I've never seen these moving decorations in the wizarding world before. After all, I'm only…"
A sudden wave of doubt washed over Caryll's mind, like a thick fog clouding his memories.
—My entire family are vampires, yet why are all the delicacies in my memories ordinary food? Why… why was there no blood?
Could it be because they were all law-abiding?
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
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