The Return to Hogwarts

Localized production means that it will solve the employment problems of some lower-level wizards and Squiggs in the American wizarding world, making the American wizarding world more stable. Local sourcing of raw materials will further expand the employment advantages of localized production, and will also increase tax revenue for upstream workshops in the Learning Machine parts supply chain.

For the high-ranking officials of the Magic Congress, the former method might bring them more money, while the latter method could openly win them more public support, that is, political achievements.

No one paid any attention to the dry, uninteresting documents laid out in front of them anymore; people were captivated by the prospect that Amosta Blaine had so subtly outlined.

There are still clever people out there, and soon, this group of elites from the Magical Congress of America came up with even more ideas.

For a long time, the marketing of products in all walks of life in the magical world has been based on the direct sales model of manufacturers, that is, producing and selling for themselves. However, the two marketing methods mentioned by Amostra Blaine have undoubtedly opened the door to a new world for them. They easily discovered that this brand-new marketing model can be applied to most industries!

"Oh, this--"

Marcel's expression brightened considerably; the gleam in her eyes practically devoured Amostra Blaine.

"Mr. Blaine, the two solutions you have proposed are indeed very novel!"

Amosta responded with a polite smile.

"Our workshop's motto is win-win cooperation, Ms. White. Win-win cooperation doesn't necessarily mean that the workshop has to take all the profits in the learning machine business. We hope that all our business partners can benefit from the transactions, develop and progress together, and promote the prosperity and stability of the international magic community."

In fact, the two marketing models suggested by Amosta are not anything new.

In the Muggle world, this is already a common marketing model. However, in a magical society where the transaction model still leans towards the Middle Ages, this is undoubtedly a game-changer, and the benefits it brings are immeasurable for all parties involved.

And just as Marcel, Grevis, and the officials of the Magical Congress of the United States had realized before.

Amos Stark's win-win marketing model aims to bind more of the American wizarding world's influence to his cause, so that they all share in the same fate. In this way, passing the censorship will not only be a matter for Amos Stark and Remus, but for all participants in the soon-to-be-formed chain of interests.

As the commotion gradually subsided, the attendees discreetly turned their gazes toward the person at the front, Trak Grevis, the Director of the Legal Enforcement Division and the Secretary of Security, who stood opposite Amosta Blaine.

Everyone knows that the reason for this review meeting, which was originally unnecessary but now seems very necessary, was Grevis.

Grevis held his breath, his dark red eyes concealing a deep sense of humiliation.

Putting aside his own genuine desire to resist this trade, objectively speaking, he has already suffered a complete defeat in front of Amosta Blaine.

Grevis could even imagine that if he defied public opinion and used his power to forcefully reject Amosta Blaine's application, his own position in Congress would be severely shaken!

For profit, for a greater profit!

Grevis believed that even his own family would impeach him for his stubborn decisions.

Amelia, sitting by the door, cast a worried glance at Grevis. She had only figured out what Amosta's counterattack meant from the whispers of her colleagues and her own intelligence.

Even Amelia could foresee that once this review, with its clear outcome, was over, Trak Grevis's political standing would inevitably be shaken.

Remus is still a little dizzy.

He envisioned the review meeting as follows: he would first give a comprehensive explanation of the learning machine, then the Magical Congress of the United States would emphasize the issues that had already been raised, and then he and Amosta would explain, debate, and even argue to the point of quarreling, ultimately ending the review meeting with one side having nothing left to say.

But unexpectedly, Amosta once again took a different approach.

Looking at the group of Magic Congress officials who remained silent, seemingly without any further questions, Remus's heart, which had been in his throat, returned to his chest. He suddenly found it amusing, both for these Congress officials who couldn't resist any benefit, and for himself who had been on tenterhooks all this time.

Grevis was a wizard with very strong sectarian views, a reminder Newt unintentionally gave Amosta. This prompted Amosta to make up his mind to reduce the profit per unit of the learning machine in order to "coerce" the Magical Congress of the United States into passing foreign trade approval. After all, he would never do something so humble and begging.

Moreover, those profits were not lost in vain. Amosta believes that inviting more American domestic players into this business will greatly boost the sales of learning machines, and the lost profits will be recovered.

"Oh, also, I need to clarify one thing beforehand--"

In the silence, Amosta spoke calmly.

"Whether you choose to distribute the learning machines directly or apply to us for local production, our workshop will have the pricing power over the final retail price, and the final authorization will be limited to a certain range."

Marcel frowned slightly, then relaxed.

This right is extremely important, and it's only natural that Amosta Blaine wouldn't give it up.

For most people in the meeting room, the review meeting was over, but for Amosta, there was still something important.

Although the outcome of the review is predictable and his goal of coming to New York has been largely achieved, Trak Grevis Amosta still needs to give an explanation.

Doing business and political struggle are two different things. You can't take a life-or-death struggle as your motto. Win-win is the only way to ensure long-term benefits.

Chapter 921: Surrender

2024-05-16

Amosta turned his gaze to the silent Grevis, staring intently for a few seconds before a strange light flashed in his eyes.

This is really interesting.

At the joint review meeting that decided whether the learning machine could enter the US market, Trak Grevis, who caused this meeting to be held in a way that should not have existed, not only remained silent, but also used Occlumency to protect his mind.

What is it that he doesn't want to expose to me? What is the real reason behind his resistance to me all this time, and even his unwillingness to meet with me before the review meeting?

To be honest, even now, Amosta still can't figure out why Trak Grevis, whose hair is already graying and whose angular face perfectly embodies the word "high position and power," is so hostile towards him.

However, based on the restrictions he imposed on himself, Amosta had some vague guesses.

The last possibility is that Trak Grevis didn't want to follow in his grandfather's footsteps.

More than half a century ago, when Percival Grevis served as the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Minister of Security at the Magical Congress of the United States, he encountered the Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald. Percival was imprisoned by Grindelwald, who also impersonated him to enter the Magical Congress. In a series of events, this almost led to the complete exposure of the wizarding world to Muggles.

This is a disgrace to the Grevis family, and for this reason, it is perfectly reasonable for Trak Grindelwald to feel disgust and even resistance towards wizards of his own extraordinary power.

Although he has gained a high reputation in the international magical community in recent years, some astute wizards can discern his style of conduct by observing how he handles crises, and understand that rules cannot completely bind them.

Therefore, it is reasonable for those who do not know him to inquire about Grevis's concerns that after entering the American magical world, he might abuse his magical powers to achieve his goals, or even subdue and control him in private. This is also the vigilance that an experienced old Auror should have.

Furthermore, it is an undeniable fact that he, on the outskirts of Berlin, without informing the German Ministry of Magic, directly eradicated the involvement of the Sorcerers, causing a commotion that was witnessed by most Muggles in Berlin.

As someone responsible for the safety and stability of the American magical world, Trak Grevis absolutely abhorred this kind of thing.

Therefore, Amosta has never shown any anger towards the Security Department for confiscating his wand and having Amelia follow him. If we were in each other's shoes, he might have done the same.

Of course, Amosta did not forget the clues provided by Narrak.

In the instant their eyes met, Amosta could detect a deep-seated unease and panic hidden in Grevis's dark red eyes.

Is it fear of retaliating against him, or fear of discovering the true state of his body?

To be honest, the Minister of Security is currently facing quite a bit of trouble. His body is like a dye vat, with various forces entangled within him—Grevis's own magic, a kind of magic that exudes a cold aura. This probably comes from the black magic damage he suffered when he was exterminating vampires, the magic of unicorn blood, and the curse he suffered from drinking the blood of such creatures.

These forces were deeply rooted in his body, intertwined and conflicting with each other. One can imagine the unimaginable pain he endured.

The only solution Amosta could think of for this intractable disease was to seal all the magic in his body with even stronger force. This might be the only way to sustain his remaining life, but the price would be that Grevis would become a Squib and would never be able to use magic again.

As someone born into a prestigious family and an exceptionally talented wizard, Trak Grevis did not believe Amosta could accept such a 'disgraceful' second half of his life.

“Yes, Mr. Grevis—”

After a moment's hesitation, Amosta, his fingers interlaced, calmly looked at Grevis and said...

"The Department of Security has always been cautious about the use of illusion magic by learning machines to interfere with the minds of users, out of a sense of responsibility to the American wizarding community."

Amosta has used an unconventional approach to shift the blame for his conflict with Grevis over the introduction of learning machines into the American magical world. From a political perspective, this is undoubtedly a victory for him and a crushing defeat for Grevis. It's not surprising that this high-ranking man will become a laughingstock as a result.

But as mentioned before, Amosta came here for business, not to make enemies.

Even though Amosta discovered that Grevis's condition was not optimistic and he might not live much longer, the Grevis family was a powerful political family, and Amosta did not want to be constrained by it.

"I admire this kind of professional questioning and responsible attitude."

Grevis understood, Marcel understood, and so did some of the seasoned officials in the conference room; they all understood what Amosta Blaine was trying to say.

Amosta Blaine hoped to salvage some of Mr. Grevis's lost face so that Mr. Grevis and his family wouldn't create further obstacles in the subsequent progress.

"To date, Mr. Lupin's submissions to the Magical Congress of the United States for review do not include the construction blueprints for the Magic Corridor, a core component of the Learning Machine. This is the most crucial secret of the Learning Machine, and we cannot disclose it. However, to show my respect for the Security Department, Mr. Grevis, you can assemble a team of experts proficient in alchemy. As long as they sign a confidentiality agreement with me, I am willing to share the core secrets of the Learning Machine with them so that they can produce an objective and detailed security assessment report."

Amosta said casually.

Can you share the composition of the Magic Corridor, the core component of a learning machine?

Remus, who had been humbly learning Amosta's ways of solving problems, suddenly froze, almost jumping off his stool!

Reconstructing the components of the learning machine using reverse engineering is not difficult. As long as one can find out about the supply chain of the learning machine and buy one to disassemble, a wizard skilled in alchemy can reconstruct it. In fact, Remus knew that someone had been trying to do this. When he was managing the workshop, he had already dealt with several incidents of workers leaking secrets.

The reason why they still exclusively own the learning machine is because they still hold the most crucial secrets.

But Amosta, in order to prove the safety of the learning machine to the Ministry of Security, actually wanted to share the layout of the Magic Corridor. Even with a confidentiality agreement, this doesn't mean it's completely safe!

Amosta's sincerity was astonishing, even causing Marcel and the thoughtful Grevis on the other side to freeze for a moment.

However, the two men, as senior congressional officials, possessed remarkable composure, and within a few breaths, their expressions returned to normal.

If Grevis actually agrees, will Amosta Blaine be furious?

Alarm bells rang in Marcel's mind; she absolutely could not tolerate any further setbacks in this matter that was already a sure thing!

Marcel narrowed his eyes slightly and, unusually, smiled before Grevis and spoke.

"The learning machine has been deployed in the European magical community for years, and based on user feedback, it is completely safe as long as the frequency of use is controlled. I have full confidence in Mr. Blaine and Mr. Albus Dumbledore's expertise in alchemy, right, Trak?"

Headmaster Dumbledore?

Amos narrowed his eyes. He had never claimed that Dumbledore had helped in the development of the learning machine. Marshall was just saying this to take advantage of Dumbledore's good reputation.

“No need for that, Mr. Blaine—”

After the entire meeting, Grevis finally spoke to Amosta. His face was tense, his body upright, and he said in a deep voice,

"Indeed. Since the research and development of the learning machine has received the support of Mr. Albus Dumbledore, and Mr. Blaine is even willing to publish the core of the missing Magic Corridor diagram, considering that this wonderful invention has been officially launched on the market in various European countries for some time and has not yet caused any serious accidents that have damaged the user's awareness."

"Therefore, on behalf of the Department of Security and the Division of Magical Law Enforcement, I can confirm that the Morning Star Learning Machine developed and designed by your company is a safe and harmless alchemical product."