"So what happened during the month I didn't come?" Dougt looked around in surprise and found lots of things he'd overlooked before.
For example, Adrian's pink, fluffy orbs that moved and bounced around, the Shield Gloves and cloaks hanging in conspicuous places, and a large number of magical items that had never been seen before, all seeming brand new.
"No choice. Dark magical items aren't easy to sell, so my mother and I had to research some better-selling things," Adrian said in a relaxed tone.
But Dougt didn't quite believe it. He'd known Irene for so many years and knew how difficult it was to develop new magical items. He hadn't been here for a month, not a year. How had they suddenly changed to doing legitimate business?
The change was too fast, right?
When he tried a few magical goods in person, Dougt had to believe it, especially Adrian's latest protective ring.
Just input magic power to form a magical barrier similar to the Shield Charm,
a 360-degree magical barrier to resist magical attacks.
Dougt watched eagerly. If used well, this was a life-saving artifact!
So Dougt shamelessly asked, "How much does this cost?"
"Sixty Galleons!" Adrian said.
"Tsk, that's really expensive. Can't it be cheaper?" Dougt clicked his tongue. If it were a month ago, he probably would've bought it without blinking.
But not now. To get through to the Ministry of Magic, he'd thrown hundreds of Galleons at connections and learned the accurate date of the Ministry's inspection. Now he was poor enough to eat dirt.
"No way. For this level of magical item, the materials alone cost lots of Galleons. There's almost no profit selling just one."
Adrian explained that the protective ring was an enhanced version of the Shield Gloves and was considered the highest level among all the magical items he'd made!
At the same time, Adrian had also found that the more powerful magical items were, the more expensive magical materials they needed. Otherwise, the magical fluctuations caused by activating the runic sequence would instantly destroy those cheap magical materials!
Dougt had to put down the protective ring in disappointment. He knew a little about magical items and understood very well that Adrian was telling the truth.
Irene rolled her eyes. She'd noticed the material cost of a protective ring was only nine Galleons, but someone always thought his labor costs were worth fifty Galleons, so he made a profit of one Galleon.
"What's this?" Irene asked, not calling out Adrian's words but instead drawn to the pink pompom on his shoulder.
"Pygmy Puff, a kind of magical creature. It was sent by two friends and I'm planning to put it in the store for sale," Adrian responded casually, teasing the pink fluffy ball with his hands.
"Magical creatures? Do they have any special abilities?" Irene's eyes lit up as she asked.
Dougt also looked at it curiously. He'd only seen legendary magical creatures in books. It was rumored there were many in the home of the alchemist Nicolas Flamel.
"Well... it's cute?" Adrian said, tilting his head.
"Isn't that just useless? Who would buy something like this..." Dougt curled his lips in disdain, but then saw Irene snatch the Pygmy Puff from Adrian's shoulder.
"I think it's quite interesting. You can study it," Irene said, trying to poke the Pygmy Puff. The latter began to turn into a small pink ball and spin.
Adrian sat and watched helplessly as his new toy was taken away, but couldn't help complaining internally.
'Ugh... women...'
Dougt was speechless. He really couldn't understand what a pompom was worth studying, but he quickly adjusted and asked Adrian to introduce him to other magical items.
After seeing a few magical items, Dougt couldn't help sighing.
"I think the Ministry inspectors will be shocked to see these things."
"Perhaps. I always feel like I need to add something," Adrian said, looking around, still feeling a little unsatisfied. There was still too little.
The things the Weasley twins had sent over were interesting but only suitable for a specific group of people.
He was ready to make a fortune.
Thinking of what he had left plus skill upgrade rewards, about 300 grade points, Adrian thought about it and asked, "What if I make some potions and sell them here?"
"You want to sell potions? I should have told you before, but that requires a high level of potion-making," Dougt frowned.
"Don't worry. The potions I brew are very stable, and the effects won't be worse than regular stores," Adrian said confidently.
"It's not that simple. Potions aren't sold casually. Only wizards who've passed certification can sell potions." Dougt dismissed Adrian's idea firmly. Before, doing it casually would be fine, but this time facing Ministry inspectors, they absolutely couldn't make mistakes.
"Then do you have this certification?" Adrian suddenly asked.
"Of course!" Dougt said proudly.
Not long after he'd graduated, he'd obtained this qualification certificate when taking the post at St. Mungo's Hospital. Even after being dismissed later, the qualification certificate had been retained.
"Then what are we afraid of? If someone asks, just say you put them here to sell on consignment!" Adrian said casually.
'But what if something goes wrong?'
Dougt opened his mouth to argue. He instinctively looked at Irene, hoping she'd help dismiss Adrian's unrealistic idea.
Unfortunately, even though Irene was half-believing, considering Adrian's previous performance, she didn't hesitate to choose supporting Adrian's decision.
Dougt wanted to cry. Thinking this trouble was entirely his fault, he had to bite the bullet and reluctantly agree.
However, Dougt insisted on personally checking Adrian's potion level to see if it could reach the corresponding standard.
That afternoon, Adrian took Dougt to Diagon Alley to buy potion materials and cauldrons.
As for the cauldron he'd bought at school before, he'd left it at school and hadn't brought it back. And one wasn't enough anyway.
Compared with the poor and dangerous Knockturn Alley, Diagon Alley was like a place for normal people to stay.
There were many shops here. The streets were full of bustling people, messy joking and bargaining, and occasionally you could see some young wizards chasing and playing.