Richard, with a magician's gesture, pulled out an elegant leather folder, opened it, took out a photograph of a picturesque area and handed it to his guest.
- How do you like the views?
- A beautiful meadow.
"Fifty acres of beautiful land. Importantly, it's adjacent to a new wizarding village in Scotland. The Ministry of Magic recently built two dozen houses there, housing young wizarding families. Not a bad neighborhood."
- Yes, I agree. What are you getting at, Lord?
"This land is yours, Mr. Weasley. At a preferential rental rate. More precisely, it can be yours, all you have to do is sign here." A contract, with Arthur Weasley's name already written on it, was placed on the table. "Ten Galleons per hectare, rented to the Weasley family for fifty years, with no right to sublease, and an exclusive right to renew the lease. The plot can be divided into seven seven-acre parcels, and you can build decent houses for your children there, and plant gardens. A wonderful investment for the future."
"But that's... That's two hundred Galleons a year in rent! I'm afraid I can't afford that kind of expense."
"You're mistaken, Mr. Weasley. Of course, you can afford to spend more. You'll have enough to build a house for your children and live comfortably. All you need to do is turn your hobby into a living!"
"Excuse me?!" Arthur said, surprised and perplexed.
- Let's say you can enchant another car with flight and invisibility?
- Certainly.
- I will provide you with a car and pay ten thousand Galleons for its enchantment.
The wizard's eyes bulged from their sockets when he heard the amount.
"Ten thousand?!" he said breathlessly.
- Yes, sir. This payment will suit you, won't it? Not too little?
"No, no, what are you saying, that's even too much! I can't take that much money. Well, about five hundred galleons."
Richard chuckled good-naturedly.
"Sir, this is the first time I've heard of bargaining in the opposite direction. Mr. Weasley, you must admit, any work requires payment. Isn't that right?"
"Well... Yes," Arthur nodded in agreement.
"Exclusive work demands corresponding compensation. So, can you enchant a car for me?"
- Yes, I can.
"So, I hope we've come to an agreement that you won't insult me by devaluing your work, and will take ten thousand Galleons as payment for this work."
"Okay!" Arthur happily agreed, letting himself be persuaded. "Then I'll enchant you with the best flying car in the world!"
- That's exactly what I expect from you, sir.
"But..." the wizard suddenly became alarmed. "But enchanted Muggle inventions can't be used..."
"I heard something different. They can't be used illegally, but you can use them for yourself, as long as ordinary people don't find out about it. Isn't that right?"
- So.
- In that case, I don't see any problems.
"Indeed, no problem," Arthur agreed. "Sorry."
"Besides," Richard winked pointedly at Mr. Weasley, "I have a friend who's a senior official at the Ministry of Magic and oversees the illegal use of enchanted items. And suppose something unexpected were to happen, wouldn't he be willing to offer a friendly hand to the young Lord? I certainly wouldn't abuse such a relationship, but anything can happen."
Arthur was torn between contradictions. He was an honest and responsible man. But when you're offered so much, tempted like Satan to the righteous, it's impossible to resist. There's land in a prestigious location, and money to build houses for his dear ones.
"Of course, Lord," Arthur forced out. "How could I leave a good man without help?"
"You're a wonderful man, Mr. Weasley. Tell me, can you only enchant cars, or are your talents much broader?"
"What are you interested in?" Arthur asked curiously. "I can enchant a lot of things."
- Here, look at this.
Richard laid a stack of comic books in front of the man and began showing him various gadgets used by supervillains and superheroes, explaining what they were and how they were supposed to work.
Mr. Weasley studied the comics with indescribable enthusiasm. His eyes lit up with excitement at the sight of the illustrated devices.
"It's simply unbelievable!" the man exclaimed. "Did Muggles really do so many interesting things?"
"Not exactly, Mr. Weasley. These are just prototypes of things that will appear in the future. I want all these things now."
"Ah..." Mr. Weasley sighed with incredible sadness. "It's a pity... It's a great pity, but I'm afraid I don't have the knowledge to enchant such things. Maybe just a few of them, like a flying steel wing. Besides, I don't have much time because of work."
"Please don't be so quick to refuse. Mr. Weasley, I anticipated something like this, so I've come up with a way out of this situation. I'll provide you with targeted grants for the development of various artifacts. Substantial grants, which will cover the cost of consumables, the assistants you'll hire, and your compensation."
- Assistants?
- Exactly, sir. Will ten assistants be enough for you to enchant these devices within a year?
- Five wizards could handle this!
- So, you will hire ten talented wizards at a salary of three hundred Galleons per month.
- Three hundred?! That's more than the salary of a small department head at the Ministry!
"Sir, talented wizards! And talented people shouldn't starve; they should be happy to go to work. For example, would you, when you were younger, have agreed to do what you loved for that kind of money instead of working at the Ministry?"