In the end, Wayne still got what he wanted.
Both girls agreed to the profit-sharing deal and took their maps back to their dorms.
That guy was way too cunning—he kept tempting them through their weaknesses.
Cho truly wanted to earn enough to buy herself a better broom, and Hermione desperately wanted more books.
The library only allowed one book to be borrowed at a time, and some books even had a waiting list. It simply couldn't meet Hermione's appetite for reading.
So, both of them ultimately succumbed to the allure of Galleons.
Of course, those two maps didn't need to be returned—Wayne had gifted them as "employment welcome packages."
In all the excitement, Hermione had meant to tell Wayne about Harry's upcoming duel with Malfoy and ask for his opinion—but she completely forgot.
With piles of Galleons practically waiting to be earned, who had the time to worry about a couple of reckless kids?
The next morning.
For once, Hermione didn't get up early.
Normally, Miss Know-It-All would rise at 6:30 sharp, wash up, and read in the common room for an hour before breakfast.
Such "overachiever" behavior was rare even in Gryffindor—only Percy could match her.
But today, to help promote the map, she deliberately stayed under the covers, planning to act once everyone else was awake.
Her roommates didn't find it odd at all. Sleeping in? Totally normal.
After breakfast, the group headed toward the corridor.
Their first class of the day was Charms, located on the fourth floor. The staircases in that area had two distinct movement patterns. You had to watch them for a while to figure out which pattern was in effect that day.
Hermione knew this was her chance.
"No need to stand around and wait. I've got an easier way."
She cleared her throat. Parvati, Padma, and Lavender Brown all looked over.
"What do you mean, Hermione?"
The young witch took out the map and gave it a gentle tap with her wand. Instantly, the map came to life. Then, she tapped on the icon for the Charms classroom.
"See? The next staircase that arrives can take us straight up—it'll drop us off close to our destination."
Her roommates, clearly intrigued, leaned in to get a closer look.
"Wow, it's exactly like the real staircase movements!"
"Hermione, where did you get this map?"
"This? Wayne made it. Look—"
Hermione was good at explaining things. With just a few sentences, she managed to clearly describe all the map's features and advantages.
Now even more fascinated, Parvati and the others weren't in any hurry to get to class. Instead, they followed Hermione around to test the map in action.
Since it was still breakfast hour, the corridors were full of students. Seeing this unusual behavior, others began to gather out of curiosity.
It wasn't until class was about to begin that Hermione hurriedly pulled her roommates toward the Charms classroom.
Because she had come with her roommates, Wayne didn't sit with her this time. Instead, he went with his dorm mate Toby to the other side of the room.
In class, Professor Flitwick introduced the spell they would be learning that day—the Mending Charm—and then allowed the students to practice freely.
Taking advantage of this, Harry and Ron purposely tossed a broken wooden rod toward Hermione's feet and sidled up beside her.
Harry whispered, "Hermione, does Wayne have more of those maps?"
Neville, sitting in the front, also turned around to look at her eagerly.
The three of them were notorious for being late and hopelessly disorganized.
Especially Neville. No one in all of Hogwarts needed a map more than him. He looked at Hermione as if she were his savior.
"Yes, he has more. I bought this one," Hermione replied.
Neville lit up like Christmas morning. "That's amazing! I'll finally stop being late!"
"Assuming you remember to bring the map with you," Ron snarked, before asking the question that concerned him most:
"How much does it cost?"
"Ten Galleons."
Ron's voice shot up in pitch, loud enough for half the class to hear.
"HOW MUCH?!"
Professor Flitwick noticed the commotion and scurried over.
"Gentlemen, we are in the middle of class. If you'd like to chat, I recommend doing it during break. Mr. Weasley, what was that about?"
"N-Nothing!" Ron stammered, quickly ducking his head.
But Professor Flitwick had already noticed the map Hermione was holding.
Shooting Ron a sharp look, Hermione could only apologize:
"Sorry, Professor. We won't talk about anything else."
"Just be more careful next time," Flitwick nodded. "But tell me—what exactly is this?"
Hermione demonstrated the map, and Professor Flitwick's eyes lit up.
"A Tracking Charm... Marking Spell... hmm... also a Concealment Charm, some runes for stabilization, and an anti-theft enchantment—truly a brilliant creation!"
"Miss Granger, you said this was Mr. Lawrence's work?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Wonderful. Simply wonderful." A look of pride flickered in Flitwick's eyes—followed quickly by a hint of regret.
Such a clever young wizard... why couldn't he be in Ravenclaw?
"For this map alone, I'm awarding Hufflepuff twenty points. I can hardly believe a first-year student came up with something like this!"
Flitwick excitedly made his way over to Wayne to discuss the spells used in the map, leaving Harry and Ron completely dumbfounded.
Neville, meanwhile, was in total awe of Wayne—and fully committed to buying a map the moment class ended.
Ten Galleons? No problem. He wasn't strapped for cash.
Though his grandmother was strict, she doted on him deeply. For example, that Remembrall he used was actually a very high-grade alchemical tool.
By lunchtime, the moment Wayne sat down in the Great Hall, students started swarming over, all talking at once, asking about the map.
Students from all houses were there—except Slytherin.
Most were first- and second-years, but a few upperclassmen were present too.
Cho's promotional style had been different from Hermione's. She'd openly displayed the map in the Ravenclaw common room, and after class, she had even shown off the function for tracking Filch.
That made even more people curious.
Especially the older students. After all, there were almost no Hogwarts students who didn't sneak around at night.
Curfew started at 9 p.m., but there was no way those hyperactive young wizards would just sit still.
With a map like this, safety was greatly improved.
Wayne hadn't expected the response to be this overwhelming. Surrounded by the crowd, he had to shout above the noise:
"Everyone, please don't panic! Lunch break is too short, and I didn't bring enough maps with me!"
"If you're interested, just come to the side hall next to the Great Hall after class this afternoon—I'll make sure there's plenty of stock!"
Hearing this, the crowd finally dispersed, satisfied.
Just then, Cedric approached him with a grin plastered on his face.
"Godfather, give me a discount, would you? Ten Galleons is too much~"
"Scram."
"You got it!"
At 4 p.m., the small side hall near the Sorting ceremony area had been completely transformed.
There were three versions of the map, but most students chose the standard one. As long as it showed how the staircases moved, that was more than enough.
Before selling, Wayne had also clearly stated that due to his lack of advanced skill, the enchantments on each map would only last for one school year—they would expire by the next term.
He was telling the truth about his limited magical craftsmanship, but this was also a calculated move for sustainability. After all, a little "planned obsolescence" never hurt a business.
Wayne had deliberately gauged the spending power of young wizards. If it were up to him, he would have made the map a monthly consumable. But since their budgets were tight, an annual renewal seemed like the sweet spot.
Wayne handled the delivery, Cho collected the payments, and Hermione kept track of the books.
After more than an hour of hustle, the crowd finally died down.
"Quick, count it—how much did we make?" Hermione asked, cheeks flushed with excitement.
"I've been keeping tally," she said gleefully. "We've earned 120 Galleons and 650 Sickles!"
"Wayne, you're amazing! That's so much in just one afternoon!"
Cho looked at Wayne with admiration. Her annual allowance was barely 20 Galleons, and her parents' combined monthly salary was roughly this amount.
Wayne had just covered seven years of living expenses at Hogwarts—in a single day.
"But that's not how you calculate profits," Wayne shook his head, far less thrilled than the two girls.
"I spent a full week preparing those maps, and the materials weren't free. Besides, there's the fact that fewer and fewer people will need to buy as time goes on."
"You're right," Hermione nodded in realization. "Still, this is a fantastic result." She glanced over the records and added excitedly,
"Not many Slytherins showed up today either—and they're the ones with money."
Out of all the maps sold, only six went to Slytherin students.
But without exception, all of those buyers chose the Promax version.
Aside from them, only Harry and Neville purchased the most expensive edition.
Seeing that they'd earned a decent chunk from the Slytherin crowd, Hermione didn't find them quite so annoying anymore.
For pure-blood heirs from wealthy families, money wasn't the issue. What mattered was showing off status and exclusivity.
"Alright, time to divvy up the spoils."
Wayne waved a hand and led the two girls into an unused classroom.
Over a hundred Galleons and hundreds of Sickles spilled across the desk, glinting like gold and silver fireworks—almost dizzying to look at.
"650 Sickles—we'll round that up to 40 Galleons to keep things simple. That gives us a total of 160 Galleons.
Here—each of you gets 24 Galleons, take it."
Wayne quickly did the math and pushed a small stack of coins toward each of the girls.
"Are you sure this is okay?" Cho hesitated. "I really didn't do that much…"
"We agreed on this beforehand. No backing out now." Wayne didn't give them a chance to argue, stuffing the money into their pockets.
"There'll be more products in the future. I'll need your help again—I can't handle everything myself."
Truthfully, Wayne didn't care about the money at all. His real profit came from system points, which were calculated based on sale price.
If a student spent 1 Galleon, he earned 5 points immediately.
Seeing how firm he was, Cho and Hermione exchanged glances and could only accept it.
Slytherin Common Room
First-year Blaise Zabini was proudly showing off the map he'd just bought.
"See this? The map shows Filch's exact location—that squib's wandering around the third floor like a headless chicken."
A group of students crowded around, equally impressed.
"Zabini, where'd you get this thing?"
"From Lawrence," he said haughtily, lifting his chin. "Not expensive—just 10 Galleons."
"Not bad," the others nodded. Whether they truly meant it or were pretending was anyone's guess.
But even if someone did think it was pricey, they wouldn't dare say it out loud—after all, maintaining pure-blood pride was a must.
"Hmph."
Watching Zabini bask in attention, Malfoy grumbled—half envious, half jealous.
This was supposed to be his spotlight.
He was the unofficial prefect of the first years, after all.
"What's he showing off for? Just spent a bit of money." Malfoy mumbled under his breath.
"And again, it's that Lawrence."
Malfoy's feelings toward Wayne weren't the same as his dislike of Harry. For Harry, it was resentment and rivalry. But for Wayne, it was pure contempt mixed with jealousy.
A Muggle-born, yet smarter than him in every way. Professors praised him constantly, and now he'd invented a damn map that turned him into the talk of the school.
Meanwhile, he, the heir to the Malfoy family, got none of that attention.
"Let's go." Malfoy stood up, seething.
"Go where?" asked Crabbe dumbly.
"To buy a map from Lawrence."
The Slytherin Common Room was in the dungeons, just like Hufflepuff's—but deeper into the shadows of the Black Lake.
To get to Hufflepuff's area, they had to pass through the Great Hall and go down a different corridor.
Taking advantage of the time before curfew, Malfoy made his move.
He found a Hufflepuff student and asked them to fetch Wayne. Then he stood there, waiting with his two usual flunkies.
Before long, Wayne appeared.
He had been chatting with Cedric in the common room. Cedric was very interested in the tracking charm used on the map—it differed significantly from what he'd learned.
Wayne had found this modified version in the Restricted Section and didn't mind sharing it with Cedric.
"Malfoy, what can I do for you?"
"Hmph." Malfoy lifted his chin arrogantly—but unfortunately, he was shorter than Wayne, and could only look up at him.
"You still got maps? I want the best one."
"You mean the Promax version?"
"Yeah, the one that can track Filch. Hurry up."
"I've got one. Wait right here, I'll go grab it."
Wayne ducked back inside to retrieve it and returned five minutes later.
Malfoy, without saying another word, handed over the Galleons and prepared to leave.
But just then, Wayne smirked and said lazily:
"Wow, so even the Malfoy family has to settle for the same stuff as everyone else?"