A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 547 This is an era where the leftover reign supreme.

Malfoy is very troubled lately.

Their family crest is the peacock, and thanks to that, he himself is very fond of peacocks.

He kept six peacocks, the kind you'd raise like sons, which, together with Draco, made a total of seven.

This means he had one more son than Arthur Weasley.

So six peacocks were brought to the World Cup, a symbol of Malfoy's good fortune. He was very superstitious about it.

But one day, his tent was burgled and collapsed. When he returned, he discovered that his beloved pet peacock... was gone.

Malfoy was furious!

That was his favorite peacock, the family crest, a symbol of good fortune!

When asked for Fouché's help, the minister refused, citing being too busy.

Malfoy was filled with hatred!

He asked me to help him find a peacock, and then he even implied that he was being sexually solicited... Fudge is such a beast!

This isn't the first or second time.

Last year, when Black escaped from prison, Fudge came to him specifically to say that Black had escaped after Malfoy visited him.

It must have been him.

Fudge also sent Mad-Eye, who was about to retire, to keep watch outside Malfoy Manor.

In the end, Malfoy had no choice but to donate a sum of Galleons to settle the matter.

In addition to Buckbeak's affair, Fudge took the money but claimed that the hippogriff was lost.

So, Malfoy really dislikes this minister now... and wishes he were dead.

Just wait!

During this World Cup, Malfoy is preparing to secretly do something big, to remind the wizarding world that although the Dark Lord is gone, they shouldn't forget about their old buddies.

Especially Fudge, be careful when walking at night in the future!

Since he was already prepared to do something bad, Malfoy wasn't going to spend any money. But with 100,000 wizards around, he had no way of finding the peacock himself.

In the end, they had no choice but to put up a bird-finding notice outside the tent.

That noon, I heard that Muddy Seedlings had bet on Trinity to win.

Malfoy laughed all afternoon. It seems the Stark only has a tiny bit of magical talent, but he's really not good at gambling.

To humiliate him, Malfoy bet 20,000 Galleons on England.

Then... he was humiliated that very night.

Stark used 20,000 Galleons and made a profit of 200,000.

Malfoy was so jealous.

It's too sour.

Look at that guy's son, he's so talented in magic, and he even gambles on football!

Then look at his good-for-nothing son. In the past few years, Draco has probably spent nearly 20,000 Galleons just on Stark alchemical products.

It's practically giving away money!

Wait a minute... so all the money Stark used for betting was paid for by his family?!

For a moment, Malfoy felt an inexplicable urge to start over with a new character after ruining his main character.

But you can't just practice on a smaller account whenever you want.

He tried his best, even asking Snape for potions. But he ruined his kidneys with the potions, and the child still didn't come out.

Sissy also complained that he was no good, that he wasn't a real man...

Just when Malfoy was under multiple blows, Fudge found him again, saying he had important information to sell.

Malfoy, who hadn't originally planned to spend money on Fudge, became incredibly curious and spent another thousand Galleons to buy Stark's information about betting on the Norwegian team from him.

Seeing the high odds, Malfoy knew his chance had come.

He was quite bold this time, betting 50,000 Galleons on the Norwegian team... However, that night, the Norwegian team was thrashed by the American team.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one who lost money; Fudge and the others also lost money, and Stark lost 40,000...

Wait a minute, Stark lost money, what does that have to do with him? He didn't even make 200,000 before!

In the third round, everyone started to observe.

But when Malfoy saw that Stark had bet 60,000 Galleons, he felt that he had understood Stark's inner thoughts.

He must have lost on purpose last time; he's sure to win this time. He gritted his teeth and bet another 30,000 Galleons.

The result was devastating... Defending champions Canada suffered a crushing defeat.

Everyone started saying Trelawney was accurate, winning three times in a row. Malfoy thought about it and decided to follow Trelawney's lead.

But this time I lost 50,000.

Stark won 500,000.

Malfoy refused to believe in bad luck, thinking Stark was bound to lose the next game. He decided to continue betting on Trelawney in Game 5.

Sure enough, Stark lost 100,000 Galleons... while McGonagall earned 300,000 Galleons.

In total, Malfoy lost 300,000 Galleons.

Everyone's saying: Malfoy is an idiot.

Malfoy had only one thought in his mind:

Even in death, nailed to a coffin, I will still shout from my grave, with these decaying vocal cords:

Gamblers will die!

……

……

Malfoy is just a microcosm; countless wizards like him either become rich overnight or lose everything in this World Cup extravaganza.

Fueled by the huge Galleon bet, everyone went wild, thinking they were experts on the game and were sure to win the next round.

Therefore, as the World Cup progressed, the world's attention once again shifted from Venice back to Britain.

Soon, the World Cup group stage came to an end.

Unsurprisingly, the England national team ended their World Cup campaign with a complete defeat.

They defied expectations, breaking through the quarterfinals and advancing strongly into the round of 16, creating a brand new history.

The defending champions, Canada, also succumbed to the champion's curse, losing to Egypt in the final overtime match and failing to advance to the quarterfinals.

Scotland, on the other hand, stumbled and, together with Ireland, advanced to the quarterfinals.

Inside the tent,

A group of wizards were sitting there; William and his colleagues were holding a sales strategy meeting for Akali's Mysterious Shop.

The meeting was now halfway through, and Hermione, William's personal secretary, was taking notes.

Fred fiddled with the binoculars in his hand and said quickly:

"The binoculars on the market can replay the footage...viewing the footage at 0.75x speed. They can also quickly display analysis of the match situation."

"Our technology department has already developed 0.5x speed, as well as 2x and 4x speed."

"That's right," George continued, "In addition to match analysis, it also adds player information and real-time odds... Once this telescope is released, it will definitely sweep the market."

"How much does it cost?" William asked, crossing his arms.

"Initial pricing: twelve Galleons per unit," Qiu, who manages sales, replied.

"Too expensive," William shook his head.

"Most telescopes on the market can meet most needs for just ten gallons. Many customers won't spend two gallons more."

He thought for a moment and said, "The price will remain at ten Galleons."

"That would squeeze our profits too much," Qiu said, frowning. "Our costs are already a bit higher."

"The World Cup in the fall is our best opportunity to seize the market," William explained softly.

"We need to wage price wars and trade wars to monopolize the market; this is an era where only the survivors reign supreme."

We have ample funds, so it doesn't matter if we lose tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Gallons.

"If we monopolize the market later, how much won't we make back?"

Qiu nodded.

"And badges." William held up a badge.

It was a glowing rose-shaped emblem—green for Ireland, adorned with shamrocks dancing in the wind.

"I've already reached an agreement with Fudge; we will act as the agent for the production and sale of the official commemorative coins."

"An official commemorative coin?"

"Yes, it's an official badge recognized by the Ministry of Magic, bearing the Akali's Mystery Shop logo."

William tapped the table and laughed:

"We'll release the first batch of commemorative coins, for example... the England Round of 16 commemorative coin."

"..."

William believed this thing would be in high demand.

It's probably as sought-after as the Four Titans, Trump figurines, and the commemorative coin for the US surpassing 100 million confirmed COVID-19 cases...

……

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(End of this chapter)