Standing outside Andy's room, Sean looked at Andy, who was standing in the doorway. His face was grim, his mood visibly low. Andy, who usually took great care with his appearance, now looked disheveled and unkempt. It was just as Blaise had said—something had happened.
"Sean, Blaise, you're here…"
Sean glanced at Andy and, without waiting for an invitation, walked inside with Blaise, closing the door behind them.
Sitting down at Andy's desk, Sean looked at him and asked, "Andy, is something wrong with your business?"
Hearing Sean's words, Andy's eyelids drooped, and he gave a bitter smile. "Honestly, if it was just a business problem, I wouldn't care as much…
Even if the business failed and I didn't pass my family's test, so what?
If I can't inherit the family business, I can still start my own. I'm confident that even if I have to start from scratch after graduation, I won't do too badly. I believe in myself. The only reason I'm fighting for this is because I refuse to give up.
I knew failure was possible, but I never imagined that the reason for my failure would be a friend I've known since childhood. Someone I grew up with, betraying me for a bit of petty profit, setting a trap with others to bring me down."
Sean looked at Andy, now understanding why he was in such a state.
"Who was it? That person you mentioned before, the one who can brew potions? Was that your friend?"
Andy had been working with several Hogwarts students, and Sean was just one of them. Of course, Sean stood out among them, excelling in both the speed and success rate of his potion brewing, even capable of making advanced potions.
But Andy had another partner, a childhood friend who had been with him from the start, helping him establish the potion-selling business within Hogwarts.
This was all information Sean knew, but there were things he didn't know.
Last year, that friend had used the excuse of academic pressure to cut back on potion supplies. Andy, unsuspecting, had sought out other partners. Many of these were later poached by Dorian and the late Tarquin. Eventually, Andy had turned to Sean.
In reality, Andy's friend had already been swayed by Dorian back then, accepting Dorian's bribes to reduce potion supplies. But he didn't want to lose the benefits of his friendship with Andy, so he hid the truth and continued pretending to be his friend.
This year, as Sean and Andy's partnership deepened and Andy's business grew, Dorian, under strict orders from Andy's brother to deliver a fatal blow to Andy's business, couldn't target Sean directly. Instead, he approached Andy's friend again.
Dorian first encouraged Andy's friend to push Andy into expanding his business, promising to supply large quantities of potions. To convince the cautious Andy, his friend even brought up last year incident, claiming he felt guilty for not helping enough and wanted to make up for it this year, or else their friendship couldn't continue.
After some back-and-forth, Andy finally agreed, pre-ordering a large number of potions, including many advanced ones. Andy's friend, under the pretense of needing to buy special materials through unique channels, took a significant amount of money from Andy. But just before the potions were due to be delivered, the friend vanished, cutting off contact. Eventually, Andy uncovered the truth through his own channels, which left him devastated and completely disheartened.
Listening to Andy recount the whole story, Sean sighed. "Andy, I don't know whether to praise you for being so loyal to your friend that you didn't suspect a thing, or to curse you for being so naive that you fell for such an obvious trick. Honestly, I just want to punch you to snap you out of it."
Sean felt nothing but contempt for Andy's so-called friend. If that guy were standing in front of him right now, Sean might not be able to resist punching him square in the face!
"Andy, don't worry. I'll cover the shortfall in your funds tomorrow so you can pay those people back. As for the money I'm covering, there's no rush—you can pay me back before we graduate."
Andy looked at Blaise. He knew Blaise's family was incredibly wealthy, and the money Andy owed was nothing to Blaise's mother. But Andy also knew that Blaise had only ever spent the money left to him by his biological father, never touching the wealth his mother had inherited from her subsequent husbands. For Blaise to offer this now meant he was likely planning to ask his mother for the money.
Andy's lips trembled, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
Sean glanced at Blaise, then back at Andy. Andy knew about Blaise's situation, and so did Sean. Looking at Blaise, who seemed calm and composed, Sean sighed, his expression growing resolute as if he'd made a decision. He turned to Blaise and Andy and said, "Alright, if we end up losing money, that means we're admitting defeat. And I'm not about to lose to those two despicable creeps…
Andy, give me the list."
"The list?"
"The list of potions you need to deliver!"
"What do you need that for?"
"Just give it to me, no questions! Keep talking, and I'll hit you!"
Andy pulled the list from his desk drawer and handed it to Sean.
Sean took the list and glanced at the potions listed, sucking in a sharp breath. Muttering to himself, he said, "That guy's ruthless. He really wanted to make sure you went down."
Andy gave a bitter smile and sighed helplessly.
After a quick look, Sean tucked the list into his pocket, then stood up and said to Blaise and Andy, "Alright, Blaise, come with me. Andy, you rest up. If anyone comes asking for potions tomorrow, tell them delivery will be at noon sharp. Ask them to wait a bit."
By now, Andy had figured out what Sean was planning. He quickly stepped in front of Sean, saying, "Sean, there are too many potions. You can't—"
"Just do what I say, no more nonsense! You're wasting time. Rest up, prepare to deal with those people tomorrow morning, and leave the rest to me and Blaise!"
With that, Sean didn't linger. Taking a slightly confused Blaise with him, the two left Andy's room, exited the Slytherin common room, and headed straight for Snape's office.