Even though Steven was eager to write the letter and Wade said he was fine on his own, Steven didn't shirk his responsibilities and run off.
He discussed the wording of the letter with Wade for a while, then started talking about the magical creatures he raised.
Although Professor Murray didn't agree to him traveling to places where dangerous magical creatures lived, he didn't completely reject Steven's dreams. After graduating from Hogwarts, Steven acquired a farm, and over the years, he'd raised many "little darlings" there.
Wade knew that Hagrid at Hogwarts liked to raise all sorts of dangerous creatures, like dragons, and called them "adorable little animals." He thought Steven was the same, but after learning more, he realized they were all genuinely cute and mostly harmless magical creatures, such as Diricawls, Augureys, Puffskeins, Pixies, and Crups. The most dangerous among them was an Occamy, a creature that could freely expand or contract its size, becoming as large as a dragon, yet it fed on insects, birds, and rats.
"I've always wanted to raise a Granian," Steven said. "Do you know what they are? They're a type of winged horse. Granians can fly and run faster than the wind. But besides the mythical Sigurd, no one has ever tamed a Granian."
"Are those winged horses hard to tame?"
"They are elegant animals, fond of freedom, and unwilling to be bound."
Steven continued, talking about other winged horses—Hogwarts' Thestrals, Beauxbatons' Abraxans, and the fire-breathing Aethonans.
Some wizards looked down on any magical creature other than wizards, viewing them all as inferior animals. But Steven was fascinated by them, knowing all sorts of creatures like the back of his hand. Wade felt that just talking to him, he'd learned a lot.
Suddenly, someone's arrival interrupted their conversation.
It was a blond wizard who had been at the small stone platform earlier. He looked despondent and regretful. He walked over, greeted Steven, then looked at Wade, forcing a smile. "Mr. Griggs, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to work together this time. I hope you'll contact me when you have new work in the future; I'm sure I can offer you a satisfactory price."
He handed over a business card with the wizard's name and contact information on it.
Steven raised an eyebrow, his smile gone. His originally good-natured and gentle expression instantly turned somewhat cold.
Wade took the card and said with a smile, "I hope we'll have that opportunity in the future."
The blond wizard relaxed slightly and quickly excused himself.
"You're not actually planning to work with him, are you? He got your last name wrong," Steven said, displeased.
"Yes, he got it wrong," Wade said, putting the card away. "But it doesn't matter, because I wasn't planning on remembering his."
The blond wizard seemed to have opened some kind of floodgate, as two more wizards came to say their goodbyes, saying similar things before leaving and giving Wade their business cards.
This time, however, they finally remembered Wade's full name.
After they left, Steven quietly introduced them to Wade.
"—Don't work with Bolton. He seems easygoing, but he's actually ruthless and often manipulates contracts. He just doesn't dare to cheat my father."
In other words, Wade would easily be taken advantage of if he dealt with him.
A wizard with a middle part and a beard came to say goodbye, holding a very conspicuous black cane.
"Mr. Gray, I truly admire your talent, but unfortunately, Professor Murray and I have a significant disagreement on price—I hope we can stay in touch, and perhaps new opportunities will arise in the future."
"Of course, thank you for your time and effort," Wade said, taking his business card.
[Cyrus Sharp], that was the wizard's name.
"Sharp is a very capable person. He can always get his hands on all sorts of hard-to-obtain things, including many prohibited items. I heard he was in Azkaban three times when he was younger—my father doesn't really like him, but sometimes he buys things from him," Steven later explained.
"He got out of Azkaban?" Wade was surprised. In his impression, Azkaban was an isolated island in the vast sea, a prison from which there was no escape.
Steven misunderstood Wade's meaning and explained, "Yes, because he's very cunning and good at concealing his crimes. His sentences never exceeded half a year."
"Oh—hmm—I see."
After hearing that, Wade realized he'd been foolish—the movies only showed Death Eaters sentenced to life imprisonment, which didn't mean life imprisonment was the only penalty in Azkaban.
The wizards gradually left, until finally only Marchioni walked out from the small stone platform, loudly "complaining" as he walked, "Dear Professor Murray, I was once your student too, but now I feel as though I've received no favoritism from you at all—of course, I'm not complaining, I just want to tell you that even if I leave school now, I will always respect your decisions and hope you can give me a little attention and care."
He used his thumb and forefinger to make a very small gap, to show how humble his request was.
"Oh, come on, when have you ever been at a disadvantage, you rascal?" Professor Murray said, annoyed.
Indeed, though Marchioni was complaining, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled upwards, a smug look on his face. He walked quickly and lightly to Wade, took off his hat, and bowed, smiling broadly as he said, "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wade Gray, allow me to introduce myself—I am Marco Marchioni, dealing in all types of magical items. I believe our meeting today is certainly a stroke of luck, and I look forward to building a deep friendship with you and bringing more positive changes to the Wizarding World in the future, or rather—making more money!"
"—Hello?" Wade was startled by his exaggerated gestures and instinctively looked at Professor Murray.
Professor Murray nodded and directly stated the final result: "Marchioni is willing to pay 50,000 Galleons for the technical license to the Book of Friends, and for every Galleon he earns using the Book of Friends from now on, he will pay you 3 Sickles."
Marchioni's brilliant smile instantly stiffened slightly—clearly, while this price would still allow him to earn a lot of money, the thought that he might not have had to pay so much originally caused him heartache and frustration.
So he continued to grumble incessantly, criticizing Professor Murray for showing too much favoritism to Wade and essentially carving a piece of flesh from him, a poor businessman.
Professor Murray was unmoved, as if Marchioni's voice was just a fly buzzing nearby. He quickly drafted the contract and, as a witness, urged Marchioni and Wade to sign it.
The good thing about the magical world was that you never had to worry about business partners violating agreements, because the cost of breaking a contract was often more terrifying than death.
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