As it happened, he did get a visitor, and it came in the form of a boy with short blond hair slicked neatly back and robes trimmed in green, Draco Malfoy. Julian could not help raising an eyebrow at the sight of him arriving alone, which was surprising enough by itself. Malfoy cast a curious look around the workshop before finally settling his gaze on Julian, who was lounging in his comfortable chair.
"Good evening, Malfoy. What can I do for you?" Julian asked with a polite smile. Painful as it was, he did understand the importance of pureblood etiquette thanks to Daphne relentlessly drilling it into his head whenever she got the chance.
"You're the one who made those Quidditch rings the Gryffindor team has been using, correct?" Malfoy asked, getting straight to the point.
Julian nodded. "I am. I was commissioned to make seven linked playmaker rings. From what I hear, they've been put to very good use as well," Julian replied smoothly, the remark lightly hinting at the upcoming final Quidditch match that Gryffindor had prepared for so thoroughly with the rings.
The corner of Malfoy's mouth twitched in irritation, but to his credit the boy kept himself under control, which was actually rather impressive for him.
"I want to commission a ring similar to those, though made from better materials, obviously. Name your price," Malfoy said seriously.
Julian only smiled wider and pulled out his order notebook along with his phoenix feather quill so he could write the commission down. "Do you have anything specific in mind? As you can see, I have quite a range of materials available, and the price will vary significantly depending on what you choose," Julian said, gesturing toward the neatly arranged stacks of metal.
"Though if you'd prefer, I also have a full list of my current stock," he added, pulling a sheet of paper from Greed and offering it to him.
The page contained a neat inventory of every metal he currently possessed, along with each one's market price. Malfoy took the sheet, but his face visibly paled once he reached the truly rare materials like adamantium and star metal, both of which were priced at nearly a thousand galleons per ounce at the very least depending on purity. Julian was fairly sure Malfoy had been on the verge of saying spare no expense before reading that list, and had very definitely reconsidered after seeing those numbers. The Malfoy family could absolutely afford such a cost, of course, but spending that much on what was essentially entertainment was another matter entirely.
"Gold with silver inlay, and a natural emerald as well," Malfoy said at last after some thought.
Julian quickly sketched out a rough design for a playmaker ring, adding a small emerald at the point where the broom's head met the bristles. Then he marked which sections would be gold and which would be silver. "Something like this?" he asked, handing the sketch over for approval.
Malfoy examined it and pointed out a few places he wanted altered, but in the end the overall design remained mostly the same.
Julian ran through the cost of materials, labor, and the requested design in his head before answering. "The ring will cost forty galleons flat, and it will also be more powerful than the standard versions for reasons I won't explain. Is that acceptable?" Julian asked seriously.
Malfoy considered it briefly before nodding and reaching into his robes for a coin pouch. He counted out twenty gold coins and set them down. "Half now, half when the work is complete," he said.
Julian nodded in agreement. "A pleasure doing business with you," he said with a broad smile, but Malfoy only gave a quiet hum before turning and leaving the workshop.
"It still amazes me how avaricious you are despite having the entire fortune of House Ravenclaw at your fingertips," Helena remarked with a smirk.
"You can never have too much money, I'll have you know," Julian replied in his own defense.
Helena rolled her eyes at him but did not bother arguing, since she was already more than aware of how greedy he could be. After all, he had once made an enchanted ring whose purpose was warding off and killing slugs just to turn a profit.
...
Julian did not receive another visitor for the next two hours, which gave him time to make decent progress through the veritology book. This time, however, the person who arrived was not a student but Madam Hooch, who surveyed the workshop with much the same curiosity Malfoy had shown.
Unlike Malfoy, though, she was there for an entirely different reason.
"Madam Hooch, what can I help you with?" Julian asked, genuinely surprised to see her in his workshop.
"I came to ask whether you intend to play Quidditch next year," she said plainly, wasting no time at all.