"How much?" For a moment, Lucius thought his ears were deceiving him.
"Three thousand Galleons. And if you want additional features, the price will go up further." Helga's tone brimmed with confidence. She knew these pure-blood families were wealthy, so naturally, she intended to harvest as much from them as she could.
As for the Ministry of Magic, she certainly wouldn't open her lion's mouth. Instead, she would quote a reasonable price the Ministry could actually accept.
But the Ministry officials who had been listening in were all stunned by her price: three thousand Galleons—just the starting price?! Four puppets would already exceed ten thousand Galleons. How could the Ministry possibly allocate such a massive budget?
Hearing this number, Lucius had first wanted to sink back into his seat. But that figure of three thousand tugged sharply at his sensitive nerves, reminding him of a certain "treasure" collecting dust in his family vault.
"Three thousand Galleons does seem rather excessive," Lucius said in his slow, deliberate voice. But before Hufflepuff could refute him, he shifted the topic, telling Professor White that his family possessed a set of rare treasures—purchased back then for exactly three thousand Galleons. He wondered aloud whether they might be used to exchange for one puppet.
The "treasures" Lucius referred to were, of course, that set of Founders' Goblets.
He was shrewd. That set of cups was almost impossible to sell off—even if someone did take them, it would be at a heavy loss. Better to exchange them for a puppet that could actually guard the household.
"Oh?" Hufflepuff's interest was piqued. She really thought Lucius was planning to barter with some treasured heirloom from his family.
"These are fine relics left behind by the Founders of Hogwarts…" Seeing that Professor White seemed tempted, Lucius immediately parroted the exact sales pitch old Mr. Borgin had once used.
But halfway through his words, his brows furrowed. Where had Borgin gotten that set of cups in the first place? He remembered the man had mentioned the seller's name before…
Looking up and locking eyes briefly with Professor White, Lucius Malfoy suddenly recalled—the very woman standing before him, Professor White, was the one who had sold the cups!
His son had mentioned her name, Smith White, in passing when speaking of Borgin, but Lucius hadn't paid it any mind—too busy haggling with Borgin. In the end, he'd simply forgotten all about it!
Now he was frozen in embarrassment. For the moment, all he could do was mechanically recite Borgin's sales pitch, not even knowing what he himself was saying anymore.
At first, Hufflepuff had been quite intrigued. But the more she listened, the quieter she grew. Wasn't this just the very set of cups I sold in the first place?
She cast a look at Lucius. Are you really trying to sell back to me, at a marked-up price, something I sold to you?
Helga decisively cut off Lucius's introduction of the goblets.
"Mr. Malfoy, that set of goblets was indeed crafted by Helga Hufflepuff herself, but it is clearly not worth three thousand Galleons."
Professor White's words left Lucius speechless; for a moment, he didn't even know how to respond.
To his ears, it was like she had cast a spell point-blank at him, bluntly telling him that the treasure he had spent a fortune on was actually worthless. The thought alone gave him the urge to stand up and curse her on the spot, but his reason restrained him.
If he really caused a scene and she let slip a bit of the "truth," not only would the value of his goblets plummet instantly, but the Malfoy family would also become a laughingstock.
No matter what, he had to insist that the set of goblets was genuine!
"You must be joking—that was Hufflepuff's work. How could it not be worth three thousand Galleons?" Lucius forced a stiff smile onto his face, trying to haggle with Professor White.
Helga: Would I not know whether that set of goblets is worth three thousand Galleons?!
She ignored Lucius further and instead told everyone present that she would craft a sample puppet, which would arrive at the Ministry of Magic by Christmas under its own power. The Ministry's wizards could then test it themselves to see if it matched her claims.
Hearing this, the various wizards present gradually set aside their doubts. They decided to wait until they saw the sample puppet before making a decision.
Three thousand Galleons as a starting price—even if part of the payment could be offset with magical artifacts or collectibles, it was still no small sum and required careful consideration.
With that, the deal was more or less concluded.
The parents and officials had received both the price and the performance specifications of the puppets from Professor White, and Professor White had promised them that she would have a sample ready before Christmas. Everything else would be decided then.
The parents filed out one after another, heading toward the Great Hall. While there was still time, they wanted to squeeze in a free lunch and, incidentally, check in on their children.
Only the square-jawed witch who had been asking questions all along remained behind.
"Something else? If you don't go to the Great Hall soon, you'll only get dessert. Or do you have your kid packing food for you?" Helga gave her a look, unsure what she was after.
"I don't have children." She shook her head. "Only a niece, studying in Hufflepuff."
"Oh!" Upon learning her niece was in Hufflepuff, Helga's mood instantly improved.
"Then why not come to my office for a drink? I imagine you must still have something you'd like to discuss with me?"
"Of course."
The two of them headed together toward Helga's office.
On the way, Hufflepuff learned that the broad-shouldered, square-jawed witch before her was Amelia Bones, the current Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She immediately had a good guess as to why Bones wanted to speak with her privately.
Once inside the office, Helga invited her to sit, offering her a tray of pastries and a bronze goblet.
Seeing clear water transform into lemon tea before her eyes, Bones raised an eyebrow. She more or less figured out the truth behind that set of goblets Lucius had been so proud of.
"Let's be frank." After draining the lemon tea in one gulp, Bones stated her purpose directly: "Three thousand Galleons is simply too expensive. Such a high budget would be very difficult to push through the Ministry."
"But I firmly believe they're worth every Knut." Hufflepuff calmly took a piece of bread, spread a thick layer of pâté on it, squeezed some salad dressing on top, and finally covered it with a layer of pickles. After eating the sandwich—which was both explosively caloric and explosively delicious—she looked up at Bones and asked if she wanted one too.
"I'll pass. But I didn't expect you to have such an appetite." Bones's eyes flashed with a touch of envy.
"That's mainly because I've been drinking potions to enhance my digestion." Helga gave a somewhat embarrassed laugh. Without those custom potions Salazar brewed for her, she wouldn't have such a good appetite.
"As for the puppets, I won't lower the price," Hufflepuff shifted the conversation back to the original topic, "but I can accept installment payments—you'd only need to pay a small deposit, or even no deposit at all, and then just send me monthly payments."
A thoughtful light flashed in Bones's eyes. This arrangement—yes, it might actually work!
_______
Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: HornyFBI