The Room of Requirement.
Ian had been clutching his problematic sheet of parchment, spying on Snape's whereabouts. After seeing Snape return to his office and wander around without leaving Hogwarts, Ian was even more suspicious.
"That was clearly mine! Mine! Don't you agree?" Ian pulled out the Dementor once more after Snape left, using it as an outlet for his grievances—grievances ignored by the disinterested Dementor, which merely stood there, making sucking sounds like a minion.
It sounded like the choking gasps of a dying person, and to Ian, it was like phlegm in the throat—was it trying to absorb the emotions and soul of the little wizard?
"Damn Snape, he must want to claim my achievements as his own, register a patent and sell it himself. I should never have mentioned that it would sell better than the Potter family's shampoo!" Ian was somewhat indignant and felt uneasy. He believed Snape was surely jealous of the talent he inherited from Teacher Morgan.
The Infinite Firepower Potion was certainly a product of its time, capable of creating a wealthy family. Of course, the owner must be able to secure the formula that creates such wealth.
In Ian's view,
perhaps Snape's previous threats were due to worries that the pure-blood families ruling various industries in the Wizarding World would persecute him for it. Those families, who have maintained their glory for years, surely have their dark means.
The playboy heirs of these families may seem like a bunch of idiots at Hogwarts, but when it comes to unscrupulous actions, they might be even more ruthless than Tom Riddle without a nose. Recalling Snape's slightly panicked expression earlier, Ian thought those families might be darker than he imagined.
"Even a Master of Magic Potions fears these families. This clearly proves that mastering magic and alchemy is still inferior to wielding the power of Avada Kedavra," Ian was, of course, reluctant to give up the profit potential of the Infinite Firepower Potion, which was not just about Golden Galleons but also about being inducted into the Chocolate Card Hall of Fame.
As a wizard apprentice with grand aspirations, Ian's wish was to be selected into the Chocolate Frog Hall of Fame, which would allow him to receive royalties just by staying at home.
Along with various peripheral developments, and occasionally writing an autobiography... Golden Galleons indeed provided a good living, but to keep them, one also needed considerable strength. Although not knowing where Gilderoy Lockhart was now, he ultimately played a role in teaching what a professor should do.
He showed Ian that if you only have fame and wealth, you become a fat sheep ready for slaughter, easily replaced by some old Deng who pops out of nowhere.
Look at those luxurious items in Grindelwald's office, and the expensive high-end tea and custom snacks. Ian didn't believe Grindelwald was spending his own money. Ever since he had previously been drafted, Ian had kept an eye on Grindelwald's movements.
And who knew what strange method this old guy was using. The name on the Living Map was always Gilderoy Lockhart, not Gellert Grindelwald.
Ian suspected his map had been tampered with while he was in the library, possibly when Gilderoy Grindelwald signed it, doing something he couldn't detect. This seemed the most reasonable guess; surely Grindelwald wouldn't have tampered with the "servers" of the Book of Admission and the Pen of Admission?
"Grindelwald's office has captured a bunch of Centaurs..." Ian saw seven or eight black dots in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office.
He wondered how such a small office could fit so many Centaurs. Ian glanced at the evil Snape again, ensuring Snape hadn't rushed off in the dark to register the potion's patent rights in the Wizarding World. The 'good uncle' stayed in the same place for a long time without moving.
Judging by the position,
was he asleep in the office chair?
"Seems I wronged the Half-blood Prince with my petty heart. I get it now, he was just trying to motivate me. Maybe he thinks this would push me to study magic more diligently." Ian pondered Snape's motives for warning him and finally realized after patting the Dementor's head.
As a professor and headmaster hired by Hogwarts, Snape actually disregarded the fact that library items belong to Hogwarts, encouraging Ian to find and destroy the original formula. How could this not be laying the groundwork for future industry monopolization?
The Infinite Firepower Potion obviously benefits Aurors and wizards, with plenty of application scenarios in many places. Ian didn't believe Snape would truly scoff at such an industry.
He simply thought Ian wasn't strong enough to protect it from a pure-blood clan that might come to seize it—Ian ruminated on Snape's warning before he left.
The more he thought about it, the more he was certain of it.
"Interests move the heart. Snape had a message between the lines; although he says he doesn't want to die and neither do I, in reality, he was saying our powers are too weak to secure this formula." Ian, full of understanding, immediately hid the bickering Dementor, striding toward the door outside the Room of Requirement.