58 58. Money, Money, Money~!

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Dumbledore's feet could not help but straighten up. "Per day? That is impossible, Happy."

Happy smirked. "I converted the money to Gold Galleons, Professor. You have no idea how big the muggle world economy is. Of course, we can't trade in a single crop, as it would mess up the market. But, if we choose a variety of them, then we can manage a lot of profits."

'The Room has no limit. I only gave him the numbers if I were to make the food and transport them each hour. But if I can set up a system to do it every half an hour, or every fifteen minutes, I can double or quadruple the earning.' Happy thought to himself and chose to keep those numbers to himself.

"But, can you first tell me if there's any possibility of the Room of Requirement running out of magic?" He asked since it concerned him the most. If the food supply stopped all of a sudden, it could lead to significant problems.

Dumbledore looked at the portraits and asked them directly. Professor Dame Phyllida Spore was the oldest among all of the portraits. She was the headmistress of the school in 1408.

"Professor Spore, what do you think?" Dumbledore asked.

"Hmm, I knoweth not, Dumbledore. Its origins art unknown, and I believeth 't wast crafted by Lady Hufflepuff. Since the school nev'r runs out of magic, I believeth not the room shall suff'r that fate eith'r."

Happy was left scratching his head at the ancient woman's English, but he got the gist of it. The room wasn't going to lose its magic, according to her.

"You heard her, Happy. The source of magic has been debated for millennia, and not once have we found the answer. Where it began and who was the first user are all myths and legends of the olden days." Dumbledore responded. "So, what do you need help with?"

Happy, first of all, wrote down a contract on paper. "Professor, please sign it. Only you and I can ever know about this business. Money will go into your personal account, and out of it, you can use it on Hogwarts, or for personal reasons, as you wish. You must understand that once the Board of Governors learns about it, they will steal my idea. They're greedy and won't share anything with you or me. Nor will they use the room for noble work, such as feeding the poor."

"Smart boy." Headmaster Black gave a rare praise.

"Understandable." Dumbledore signed on the paper. "I give you my word not to disclose it to anyone unless you also agree."

"Great!" Happy clapped and continued. "All I need from you is a means to transport them to a few locations around the world. I'll buy warehouses in each continent and put Portkeys there. I want to be able to send items from the Room of Requirement to my locations. At the same time, I need to be able to enter and exit the school freely in summer so that I can make the required items."

"Your first request is easy," Dumbledore said. "But the second request… Giving you unrestricted access is indeed within my capabilities. However, it poses many dangers, for this castle is ancient and, even to this day, remains a mystery to me."

'Next year, it will be the mess related to Sirius. I don't think school will be that unsafe.' Happy reckoned and insisted.

"How about this? Hire me as a clerk, just tell the others that Happy Lestrange's life is in danger, and he has no family. So, he can work in the school under your guidance." Happy suggested.

"The laws restrict us from making children work, but I suppose an unpaid helper won't bother anyone," Dumbledore said, looking at him with his half-lowered crescent-shaped glasses. "As for the need to transport items, I believe you have elves at home with no work?"

'Oh, I'm liking this old man more and more now.' Happy graciously accepted the deal. With the elves loyal to him, he could easily scale up the business and earn bigger profits.

"What will you do with so much money?" Dumbledore inquired.

Happy proudly shrugged, "Buy all the greatest food chains, wizard-made or muggle-made."

'And buy the entire wizarding world, maybe. Then we'll see which Dark Lord punk dares to rise.'

Delighted with it, Happy got up. "Then I will head back and pack my bags, Professor. The year wasn't very enjoyable, but since all those petrified are now cured, it could have been worse. By the way, will Professor Lockhart teach here again?"

"He can't unless he wishes to do it from Azkaban." Dumbledore dropped the news. "While he was being treated, he mumbled about all the false stories he concocted and all the achievements of others that he stole. The Ministry was quite enraged with him since they gave him an Order of Merlin."

"Now it's sent off to Professor Snape." Happy grinned. "The professor deserves it for defeating a Basilisk."

"Severus does… He's a brave man." Dumbledore also agreed. Perhaps he also saw some possibility of luring him to the light side with recognition and glory.

"Take care then, Professor. I'm leaving." Happy headed to the door then, putting the locket around his neck as he walked.

After a very long time, Happy finally felt the wonders of his luck. Rita's mess brought her to him as a slave. Lucius' greed brought him under his influence. Snape learning about his blood made it easier for him to speak openly with him and influence him emotionally. And finally, the second year's events led to the discovery that his blood was the natural bane of all Horcruxes.

'And that is why it's time I collect some Horcruxes before they're placed somewhere else for some reason.' Happy with a determined mind went to the Room of Requirement again. He knew where all of the Horcruxes were, so he just had to take them.

To his luck, one was already in his vault. One more was in the Room of Requirement itself. That left Slytherin Locket, which was in the Black House, and Gaunt's Ring, which was in that shack.

'But I have to be careful with the Ring. It was strong enough to put old Dumbles on a path to death.'

With all those, only Nagini and Harry would be left, and they were best left for the plot to decide. However, he had no plans on destroying the Horcruxes yet, as they were great bargaining chips against the Dark Lord if something unforeseen were to happen in the future. At the same time, he didn't know if Voldemort would be aware of his Horcruxes' destruction. What if he made more of them?

At last, Happy reached the Room of Requirement and walked back and forth. 'Show me the room with Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem.'

And just like that, the door appeared. It was Voldemort's arrogance that made him believe no one would ever rediscover the room.

'Dark Lord, my foot.'

…

The day passed, and a new morning dawned.

While Happy ruined the lifetime of work that Voldemort weaved with his blood, others' blood, and souls, the night's sleep of a certain blonde man had been completely ruined. Ever since he returned from his meeting with Happy, his heart refused to calm down, and his mind refused to forget the words.

'Voldemort did it to teach you a lesson. He won't forgive you.'

Voldemort was out there, somewhere, and trying to come back. Furthermore, the Dark Lord was angry at him for not searching for him. The mess was quite deep, and he could not see the end of it…that was unless he agreed with Happy Lestrange's proposal.

A small boy—even to imagine acknowledging the boy's intelligence felt like a dent in his pride. But there was truth to his words, something he admitted even more after reading the morning's newspaper with Happy Lestrange's interview on the first page.

'How did we, the mighty ancient families, fall so low? To be controlled and ordered by a half-blood?' Lucius wondered honestly. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous Voldemort's rise felt. The man had no personal backing, no wealthy family—it was them who gifted him that.

"Umph…Dear?"

Lucius, while lying on the bed and reading the newspaper, glanced at his side. His wife, the most cherished person in his life, shifted closer to him with sleepy eyes. She extended her hand and placed it on Lucius' chest.

"A mere glance is enough to know when you're tense, Lucius. What happened? You didn't sleep the entire night." She asked in a soft tone.

She was the person he trusted the most, and he shared his life's struggles with her. After all, it was a bond they had developed after being lovers since their school days. It may have started as an arranged match by their families, but over time, they grew attached to each other.

Lucius handed her the paper and slid down on the bed to rest his back. "The day before yesterday, I met this boy in the school. He isn't normal, Narcissa. His mind is more developed than his peers, and his wits are…perhaps close to mine."

Narcissa raised her brows at that acknowledgment, knowing well her husband was a very prideful person. So she read the article carefully and soon gasped. "He's quite boisterous…and the money he made shows his abilities."

"It's deliberate," Lucius claimed. "That article is meant to provoke the pureblood families to question themselves. Just as the Lestrange boy told me, 'Throughout history, every single time a Dark Lord rose, the world went against him and brought him down. The world rejects open violence and threats. We're not savages from the dark ages anymore.'"

Lucius continued, "He questioned our alignment with the Dark Lord. What has following the Dark Lord even brought us?"

Narcissa looked at Lucius' troubled face and caressed his cheek. "Forgive me, Lucius, but such questions have risen in my mind too. You avoided Azkaban by a hair's breadth…It frightens me to think I nearly lost you. Following him…Ruined the name of our house, the Ministry doubts us."

"And he still expects us to serve him." Lucius dropped the news. "The Dark Lord is not dead, Narcissa. What happened to Draco was his doing, a warning to me, and a show of anger. Thankfully, Lestrange was able to kill the Dark Lord before returning to life fully…If he had…"

Both of them took long, calming breaths as their hearts beat rapidly. Lucius then went on to detail what transpired in the meeting with Happy.

"Now, I'm perplexed. To listen to a half-blood self-proclaimed Dark Lord, or a trueborn pure-blooded Lestrange child? Both seem inadequate from a logical perspective." Lucius concluded and held Narcissa close to the chest.

After a short silence, she spoke. "Lucius, we chose a side once and failed. Why not try something new this time?"

"Perhaps I should let Draco choose his path for himself. He did form a friendship with Happy Lestrange." Lucius said. "As for partnership, I believe such things should remain hidden from prying eyes."

Narcissa nodded her head and caressed Lucius' hair to calm his mind so he could sleep. "I believe in your decisions, dear. Let Draco choose his path…Let fate guide him."

With that, Lucius closed his eyes, feeling better after talking.

But both failed to notice a faint shadow outside their room's door. A young boy heard everything, and for the first time, he learned what troubled his father so greatly. He knew not how close his family was to the Dark Lord before, but to learn that it nearly broke apart his family was news to him.

'Happy? I should be friends with him?'

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