Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 170 Planning in advance
Half past five in the afternoon.

The group had already left the Ministry of Magic and gone home. Old Will said he had something to discuss with Rosmerta and would return to Hogsmeade with Melvin.

Stepping out of the fireplace with three brooms, he found the tavern owner busy upstairs. Old Will didn't go up to disturb him, but turned to Melvin: "Professor Levent, have a drink before you go back to school."

"Okay."

Melvin glanced at the elderly wizard and said with a smile, "Try the honey bar here, old Will, a Three Brooms specialty."

Old Will smiled and agreed, asked the waiter for two glasses of mead, found a seat against the wall, and sat down opposite him.

Several middle-aged wizards sat at a nearby table, downing several glasses of whiskey. Their faces and necks were flushed, and their heads were spinning as they complained loudly about the lack of seating on the second floor. Their voices were so loud that half the pub could hear them as they shouted:
“I have a relative who works at the Ministry of Magic and knows the inside story. He said that we can watch the Shadow Mirror at home from now on.”

Someone nearby laughed at him: "What kind of inside information is this? It's been reported in the newspapers, haha..."

Hearing their shouts, old Will and Melvin didn't find it noisy or irritating. That's how pubs are; noise and commotion create atmosphere.

Melvin listened with a smile, waiting for the commotion to subside. He first took a sip of mead and said softly:
“Home viewing mirrors and pub viewing mirrors are different. There are two main models, both smaller in size, making them easy to fit into ordinary family rooms. This differentiated design will quickly make viewers notice the difference. They will soon realize that watching a viewing mirror at home and watching it in a pub are two completely different experiences.”

Old Will nodded, looking like he understood but not quite.

Melvin paused for a moment, then continued, "More importantly, the two types of projection screens show different content. When you have time, you can go to Muggle cities and check out Muggle television and movie theaters."

Old Will listened quietly, occasionally taking a sip of mead.

“I know many of you are of pure blood, but you are not the kind of conservative old fogies who are willing to accept new things,”

“Alfie has already done so.”

"You should go and see it too."

Old Will nodded slightly and asked about something else: "How should we price it?"

"We need to cover costs and still make a profit, making it affordable for most wizarding families. You can discuss the specific price with Wright; he has sales experience in Romania."

Melvin paused briefly, pondered, and said, "Actually, we don't need to have a uniform price. Old Tom's Leaky Cauldron and your Oak Barrel Bar mainly cater to wizards from ordinary families, so we should set the price according to the normal standard."

"The situation is different at White Ink Bar. Most of the customers there are wealthy and they like expensive things, so the prices are a bit higher."

"Let Wright make some modifications to satisfy the vanity of those pure-blood families. Whether it's a watch case inlaid with silver or gilded, there are always pure-bloods willing to pay for it."

“To make it even more unique, add a few thousand Galleons to make their tribal emblem appear when the Shadow Mirror is in standby mode…”

Listening to the young professor's advice, a smile appeared on old Will's aged face.

……

The transformation of the flyway network is progressing smoothly.

Wright spent two days completing all the work without any mistakes, and the test passed smoothly.

He wasn't surprised. He had accumulated a wealth of experience in Romania, made thorough preparations, and had many staff members to help him. What was meant to happen would happen.

In the Transport Department's lounge, he talked to a few of his silent colleagues and Arthur Weasley about his experiences over the years. They were only curious about the alchemy taught by Nicolas Flamel and his experience in developing the Shadow Mirror. Almost no one cared about his early experience of being forced to resign and running a repair shop on Charing Cross Road.

Wright was sensible enough to only mention it briefly and didn't dwell on it.

As Bagman was savoring his third cup of tea, he pushed open the door and saw Wright. His blue eyes lit up instantly, and a bright smile spread across his slightly chubby face.

“Wright, old friend!” He came to the sofa, panting as he poured himself a glass. “It’s the same familiar taste, isn’t it? Ceylon tea mixed with Assam tea. Only the Ministry of Magic’s afternoon tea tastes like this. It fills your mouth with the aroma of tea.”

Everyone in the room watched him perform.

"The entire renovation was carried out in an orderly manner and was completed in just two days. You guys are really..." Bagman said with a smile. "I was just saying that if there was anything I could help with, our sports department staff would be available. It's a real shame."

“Ludo, you’re still as enthusiastic as ever,” Wright said with a smile.

"Yes, I'm that enthusiastic towards everyone."

Bagman waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing: "I believe that kindness and enthusiasm will be rewarded, especially by a kind wizard like you, don't you think?"

Wright asked cooperatively, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Bagman had been waiting for these words, and his eyes lit up instantly, his expression becoming enthusiastic: "Wright, my dear Wright, I know that Professor Levent is the owner of the Magic Mirror Club, but you are the creator of the Shadow Mirror. Regarding the sales channels, what do you think..."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room understood his idea: if they couldn't get through to Professor Levent yesterday, they would try Wright today.

Wright shook his head: "I'm sorry, Ludo, I fully respect Professor Levent's decision."

Bagman looked somewhat disappointed, his eyes dimming. As he gulped down his tea, he tried to cover it up by saying, "Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing. I was just asking."

“It’s not convenient for you to join the mirror business, but…” Wright paused for a moment, “I have other ways to make money.”

Bagman looked up abruptly, gazing at him expectantly.

"You used to be a Quidditch player, and now you're the Director of Sports. You're in frequent contact with various Quidditch clubs and have connections with teams in different regions, right?"

Bagman held his teacup, his chubby face looking somewhat bewildered: "That's true, but what does that have to do with making money?"

"If you can find exclusive match footage, you can sell it to Magic Mirror Club. The more exciting the footage, the higher the price. If it's a national team level match, our offer will definitely satisfy you."

As soon as Wright finished speaking, Bagman hugged him tightly and patted his shoulder joyfully: "Wright! You are my lucky charm!"

Although Bagman was eager to make money, he wasn't stupid. He didn't immediately abandon Wright and left, but stayed in the lounge to chat with them over tea. The director of the sports department didn't understand technology, so the topics he brought up weren't very professional.

When discussing the Monkstanley family's contributions to the Ministry of Magic, and mentioning the time when Wright was still working there, one cannot help but mention Umbridge, the Director who forced Wright out, now Senior Undersecretary.

"Hehe! You don't know, do you? Fudge and Umbridge are hiding on the first floor and won't show their faces. They're not moving offices, they're just worried about running into Professor Wright and Professor Levent."

"They've completely lost face with this FiluNet upgrade."

Wright sat quietly on the sofa, a faint smile on his face, showing neither joy nor sorrow. Back in the Ministry of Magic, he always avoided Umbridge, living in constant fear of being harassed by her. Now, back in a different capacity, it was Umbridge who was avoiding him, unwilling to show her face on this floor.

They chatted until evening, and when he left, Bagman was hopping and skipping as if he had springs in his feet, in a state of extreme excitement.

Wright left with them, went into the fireplace in the main hall, and instead of going back to his own home, teleported to Three Brooms, ordered half a dozen meads, six glasses, which filled just one tray.

Without being disturbed, Wright sat quietly in the corner and savored his meal.

As darkness fell and he finished his mead, Wright got up to leave, only to find the young professor Melvin sitting in front of him.

“Melvin.” Wright sat back down.

"I was just passing by while buying supplies for the new semester and saw you hiding in a corner, drinking alone. It looked a bit pathetic..." Melvin smiled gently: "What are you doing hiding here instead of going home? Reminiscing about the past?"

Wright shook his head and said, "There's nothing worth remembering from the past. I still prefer my life now."

"I hope you'll still think that way after a while. The Shadow Mirror is about to be released, and orders from all over the world will be piling up on your shoulders."

“I prepared a batch of inventory in advance, and according to the original plan, I shouldn’t be too busy.” Wright glanced at him, his tone somewhat resentful, “but I didn’t expect you to give old Will such a bad idea.”

"Extorting those pure-blood families is tiring, but so be it."

"You make it sound so easy, it's not like you're the one doing the hard labor."

Melvin waved and ordered half a dozen mead and a serving of fish and chips: "On the bright side, how much can we make this time?"

"Filling a vault shouldn't be a problem."

"..."

The two men smiled at each other, and their cups clinked together, making a clattering sound as the Gallon coins jingled from their purses.

Putting the matter of the mirror aside, the young professor talked about the school's academic affairs, saying that Dumbledore was occupying a position without doing anything, and that Professor McGonagall was exploiting the staff, so much so that they couldn't even make it to dinner when they went out to buy supplies, and could only fill their stomachs with fish and chips in the pub.

Wright didn't know how the professor's work was going. When he worked at the Ministry of Magic, he thought he was pursuing the mysteries of alchemy and didn't care about these things. Later, he met Umbridge and had to resign and leave the Ministry of Magic, hiding outside Diagon Alley to open a repair shop.

These past two days, back at the Ministry of Magic, seeing the directors smiling at him and hearing his colleagues' flattery and praise, and thinking that soon there would be pure-blood fools buying his handmade things with gold, he felt his decade-long frustration vanish in an instant.

Wright began to feel somewhat grateful to Bogin for bringing the professor to his repair shop that day.

……

From January 15th to 22nd, for a whole week, Bagman spent almost all his energy visiting various team managers.

Unlike the pub owners and industry insiders like Alfie and Jack who collect footage of legitimate matches, Bagman visits these managers to uncover the secrets of underground competition.

It's not an illegal or prohibited event, just not very formal. It could be a training match arranged on the spur of the moment by two teams, a revenge match arranged after a regular game, a fun match after training in the same venue, a match after players have swapped positions or star players have swapped positions, or even a match that a club owner suddenly decides to start.

Compared to the actual matches, these videos are more entertaining, the revenge matches are more intense, and overall, these matches are more exciting.

On the fourth Friday of January 1993, the last weekend before the start of Hogwarts and the eve of the release of the Shadow Mirror, Bagman ordered an expensive bottle of red wine at the Three Broomsticks and met with Professor Levent, the head of the Magic Mirror Club.

The waiter set out the food and wine glasses, and opened a ten-year-old vintage of red wine. Melvin watched this scene with a sense of novelty.

Wizards even make a big deal out of opening wine bottles with a sense of ritual. It's something that can be done simply by waving a wand, but they insist on making a complicated and tedious process. They definitely learned it from Muggle royalty.

"Professor Levent, we meet again!"

Good evening, Mr. Bagman.

"..."

Bagman was all smiles, and when he heard Melvin's offer for the event footage, his smile became even more enthusiastic, his mouth practically stretching to his ears.

Wright said this business could make money, but I never expected it to be this profitable!
Although he has been busy running around during this period, he only thought about paying off his gambling debts and never thought about getting rich quickly.

Bagman was surprised but also a little confused. Although he didn't do well in school, he wasn't without brains. He had carefully analyzed the business of the Magic Mirror Club.

Tavern owners make money by showing Quidditch match videos, relying on profits from drinks. Sending these videos to wizards' homes is a completely different story. No matter how exciting the match or how thrilling the audience, it doesn't stimulate other consumption.

With such a high price, is it really possible to make a profit?
who cares!
What does this have to do with me?

After downing the red wine, Bagman felt his head spinning and said gruffly, "Professor Levent, thank you for your generosity. From now on, for anything related to Quidditch, just come to me!"

"I will……"

Melvin smiled gently. He tasted the red wine; it tasted strange, not even as good as mead. He put down his glass and said, "Mr. Bagman, if I remember correctly, the next Quidditch World Cup is next year, and the final will be held in Devon?"

"..."

That was just a polite remark. Does this professor really have something to take care of on his own?

Bagman paused for a moment, then calmed down a bit: "Professor, the World Cup is a tournament for wizards from all over the world, and it's managed by a special organizing committee. Our sports department is just assisting, so we probably can't help you much."

"It's not about helping me, it's about helping the fans."

"what?"

"For such a world-class event, only a minority of people can attend in person. Most fans can only listen to the commentary on the radio. Don't you think they need help?"

"..."

Bagman wanted to tell the professor that around 100,000 wizards would attend each World Cup final, which was no small number.

As for the fans standing next to the microphone, what does that have to do with him?
Having just closed a major deal, Bagman didn't want to contradict his client. After a moment of silence, he hesitantly asked, "What do you mean?"

Melvin smiled and said softly, "I'd like you to contact the tournament committee and ask our Magic Mirror Club to broadcast next year's World Cup."

(End of this chapter)