The slacker professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 256 The Entire Industry Chain of Dictamnus dasycarpus Pharmaceutical

Chapter 256 The Entire Industry Chain of Dictamnus dasycarpus Pharmaceutical

George and Fred's desire to invent so-called "domesticated armor" was not without reason.

Magic comes from life.

From childhood, everything in their homes—brooms, pot brushes, knitting needles, etc.—would move on its own, just like pets.

There's also Grandpa's favorite Wizard's Chess, where every piece is like a real person, picking up weapons or even the chair beneath them to attack other pieces that have been captured.

The chocolate frogs that the wizard usually eats will kick him in the mouth like a real animal when the wizard tries to eat them, and then run away for their lives.

With this foundation, along with Professor Lockhart's high standards and financial support, the idea naturally emerged.

But this is not an easy task.

The disciplines involved, and the knowledge that needs to be explored in depth within each discipline, all require them to devote a great deal of effort.

The arrival of the three Gryffindor Quidditch sisters was undoubtedly a great help to them, at least making it much easier to find information in the vast school library.

Lockhart wasn't very involved in the projects of the Duel Club members.

I just check on their progress from time to time.

After he helped George and Fred arrange a place to conduct their experiments, Percy and the others came looking for them.

Percy, Hermione, and Draco excitedly announced that they had secured the training grounds for the Quidditch duels. The next step was to develop a detailed training plan and plan how, six months after Percy graduated, they would launch the project to the public with a spectacular and entertaining match, and then charge admission.

This is an extremely large project, and we need more students to participate.

For example, Harry Potter.

Harry may not be able to help much with the creation and operation of this project, but he is the best performer in terms of actual combat among all the members of the Duel Club.

He will simultaneously play several extremely important roles, including coach, captain, and top striker.

It is something that no one else can replace.

It seems like Harry is at a disadvantage. It appears that once the project grows bigger, Percy, Hermione, and Draco will wield influence comparable to that of Minister Fudge, while Harry seems destined to remain just a Scrimgeour.

But let's not forget that this world is ultimately a world of magic, and Harry's future could be more than just Scrimgeour; it could also be Dumbledore.

Who knows what the future holds?

Finally, there's Ron's "Hakimi Breeding." With the agreement on the apple orchard and cattery construction provided by Sir Humphrey, and with Fudge and Newt's son Scamander helping to collect more Madagascar cats, the project can now begin.

Of course, Ron also needs the help of others; he can't handle it alone.

then……

Lockhart suddenly realized that his seemingly inexhaustible Galleons were starting to run out!

Yes, he thought there were many.

Unexpectedly, after investing in three projects, his coffers seemed to have been fitted with an electric conveyor belt, with gold gallons flowing out in a torrent.

Many seemingly insignificant places require a lot of financial support.

The flying brooms, broom maintenance potions and equipment, flight protection devices, etc. required for Quidditch duels go without saying, but things like the water pipes and toilets converted from ancient castles cannot be easily solved with magic.

Transfiguration can certainly solve the problem, but a consistently high-level Transfiguration is not something an ordinary person can perform. If the Transfiguration fails halfway through, it will be a terrible disaster for the entire castle.

Everything requires money.

Then Grindelwald, who had been waiting for this day, came knocking on his door.

"Gidero, do you need my investment?"

Old Ge smiled like an old fox waiting for a feast.

Surprisingly, Lockhart showed no sign of distress; in fact, he seemed quite excited, saying, "No, this is a challenge life has presented me with, and I choose to face it!"

"???"

Grindelwald sometimes really felt that he had a hard time understanding Lockhart's thought process.

Is this a challenge?

……

"Yes, it's a challenge!"

Lockhart looked at the Duel Club members with a serious expression and frankly explained the difficulty. He never shied away with his troubles alone and was willing to bring up problems to discuss solutions with others.

There are still Galleons left, but they will eventually run out.

And this day may not even come until all three projects start to turn a profit.

Then we need to plan ahead.

"We need to keep accounts!" Hermione stood up with a serious expression, looked around, and finally looked at Professor Lockhart, explaining her point of view very earnestly, "Reduce unnecessary expenses, and don't always choose the best things."

"For example, flying brooms are subject to wear and tear. I don't think we should use fire bolts during training. I've looked it up, and the price of one fire bolt is enough to buy a whole bunch of sweeping series flying brooms."

Lockhart smiled slightly; such a suggestion was very Hermione-esque.

Hermione always tends to act within the rules and then explore the possibility of 'improvement' or 'modification'.

When considering both open source and cost reduction, cost reduction came first.

Meeting Hermione's gaze, Lockhart nodded. "Very good suggestion. Bookkeeping will help us better manage the three projects in the future, and some unnecessary expenses should be cut."

"But I don't quite agree with changing the training flying broomsticks. I hope you don't have the idea of ​​'training'. I think you all understand the reasoning behind it. With each experience, magical power is accumulated. I hope everyone is very familiar with the powerful force brought by the fire bolt, and uses this state to find the spellcasting feel that suits them."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

While some thought of cutting costs, others thought of increasing revenue.

Several young wizards excitedly reported that the dark wizard, Little Pettigrew, who had interrogated Ron before, had received a thick stack of documents.

It contains many secrets from the past, many unknown stories, and of course, some interesting magical secrets.

For example, Little Star's rich experience in Animagus transformation, how he balanced the 'humanity' and 'animality' that Animagus brought, or magical knowledge such as the enhanced version of the Explosion Charm he cast back then that blew up an entire street.

The compilation of the interrogation materials has never stopped, and many people are involved in compiling this material, mainly some students from Ravenclaw College, hoping to publish a book like Professor Lockhart did.

"That's really great!" Lockhart was pleasantly surprised. He had been busy with various things lately, and although he knew about the students capturing and interrogating Peter Pettigrew, he hadn't had the energy to inquire about the details.

"However, as students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I must remind you that any books you co-author must be reviewed by the Headmaster or Headmaster of your house."

"Of course, I'll take a look for you first. I think I also have a lot of information processing techniques that I can teach you."

After all, Little Stark is a member of the Order of the Phoenix and is involved with the Dark Lord Voldemort. The information extracted from him needs to be verified, and some content needs to be restricted from being disseminated.

Lockhart wrote a biography of Voldemort, and many people who aspire to defeat the Dark Lord carefully study every detail described in this book.

He didn't want his students' collaborative book to become a research manual for those with ulterior motives to target the Order of the Phoenix due to his negligence.

In fact, publishing a book is not the only way to make money.

The little wizards have so many wonderful ideas.

For example, herbs, magical creatures, and potions, which are most familiar to young wizards.

Even if these things aren't enough to earn money, they can be used for things like Quidditch duels and Hakimi training, making them self-sufficient and not consuming Galleons.

As they discussed, they quickly focused on a herb that was most commonly used in the wizarding world but which had not yet been cultivated on a large scale.

—White safflower.

White dandelion is a magical plant widely used in various healing potions, and it can also bring excellent effects when used alone.

For example, if a werewolf bite causes persistent bleeding, you can apply a mixture of white cinnamon and silver powder to promote immediate healing of the wound.

The most powerful effect of this potion is that it can glue severed hands and feet back on without any side effects.

Yes, it sticks back together, it's that magical.

In order to make it easy to carry and to prevent the harvested white daffodils from withering and spoiling, people can also use simple potion-making techniques to extract white daffodil essence.

Just a few drops, or even just one drop, are enough to make a difference each time.

The reason why such a useful herbal potion is not cultivated on a large scale is not only because the herb Dictamnus dasycarpus is easy to grow and can be found in many places in nature, but also because it is easy to collect and use.

Or rather, it's sufficient for the current state of the Wizarding World.

But what if we expand the scope of its use to applications beyond what wizards can imagine?

It's worth noting that even in 1994, the Muggle population already numbered 56 billion, and it was still increasing year by year.

New era...

War is coming...

Muggle...

Lockhart taught more than just magical knowledge at the Duel Club.

As people gain a broader perspective, many previously overlooked opportunities come to light.

The only thing to be careful about is the rules of the current era.

Just like the philosophy he teaches his children—find solutions for specific characteristics.

In this new era, every young wizard may have their own answer to the question of finding a breakthrough.

Returning to the topic of white succulent, or rather, the potion that was ultimately intended to be created: white succulent essence.

Everyone has so many ideas.

George and Fred suggested that they could make "white leech candy".

Leeches are flying insects that look very similar to leeches, but they have two pairs of thin, dragonfly-like wings. They also share similar characteristics with leeches, such as a love of sucking blood and a particular fondness for bleeding sites. By utilizing this characteristic, they can create healing agents that allow them to find their own wounds.

Hermione suggested using a Muggle spray bottle for storage, as it is more portable and suitable for emergency use compared to the glass bottles and pipettes commonly used by wizards.

Harry's suggestion, or rather his idea, was that since George and Fred had mentioned sugar, could White Dew be made into a potion that could be drunk directly, or even a candy that could be swallowed? He believed that many scenarios in battle would require such a treatment that didn't require too many steps.

Every little wizard has their own perspective.

But no matter what, let's make the white oyster shell first.

This is easy for the young wizards. They can collect seeds from the Forbidden Forest or even other woods around the school, then find a special place to plant them on a large scale, take good care of them, and try to accelerate their growth.

It's amazing.

And just like that, the fourth project of the Duel Club was born.

—The entire industry chain of Dictamnus dasycarpus pharmaceuticals.

Lockhart approached Headmaster Dumbledore again to seek support for the crucial white bean plantation site for the project. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry occupies a vast area, so there must be a suitable location.

Most importantly, the members are all students and cannot leave the school on a regular basis.

"Planting white sage..." Dumbledore was very interested in this topic. He flipped through the meeting minutes that Lockhart had brought over and saw the various whimsical ideas of the young wizards. His face was immediately filled with a kind smile.

He likes these children who dare to challenge life and create their own future.

"Giddon, I must say, you've brought about so many changes to Hogwarts." Dumbledore looked at Lockhart with great satisfaction, gently closed the notes, and pulled out a piece of parchment to begin writing the permission document.

This is a good thing.

He naturally supported it.

But there just happens to be this guy next to me who sees everyone as a heartbreaker.

"Training armies, manufacturing weapons, developing medicine, becoming a third party outside the main belligerent powers..." Grindelwald murmured these words, looking Lockhart up and down with an extremely mocking gaze. "If we know a little about history, we will find that this is how the Magical Congress of the United States developed back then."

Lockhart was taken aback; he hadn't really thought of this before.

"Many people don't realize why everyone else has a Ministry of Magic, but there's only one Magical Congress," Grindelwald sneered. "Back then, I noticed that pristine land untouched by war, but interestingly, after I was sabotaged there and captured, some clandestine forces began to influence things, and eventually I was ordered to be sent to Europe, with every possible means to get me away from that place."

Lockhart knew about this; Grindelwald had escaped from prison on his way to Europe, and that magical battle was incredibly cool.

Just then, Dumbledore put down his quill and looked sharply at Grindelwald. "So this is why you secretly drew everyone's attention to North America?"

Oh open!

Lockhart's eyes lit up, realizing that it was indeed Grindelwald who was behind it all.

I knew it! He knew Voldemort's methods; dragging Muggles into the battle was so unlike Voldemort.

Grindelwald neither denied nor admitted it, but simply said, "The biggest difference between the jurisdictions operated by the Magical Congress of the United States and the Ministries of Magic in various European countries is that the Secret Code is most severely violated there."

His eyes narrowed. "I suspect there's some deep connection between the Magic Congress and the so-called 'Purgers,' perhaps they're even one entity!"

"Albus, for decades, the Magical Congress of the United States has been openly seeking help under the guise of the Purifiers issue, but the help from the Ministry of Magic of various countries and the International Federation of Wizards has been negligible, which has given them the opportunity to develop their power in secret."

"The opportunity for wizards and Muggles to unite."

"Those damned bastards!" Grindelwald exclaimed, clearly annoyed. "They stole the fruits of my struggle, they ate all the benefits!"

He was the one who sparked that revolution, and the main participants in the struggle were the elite wizards from various European countries. So many people died, and he spent decades in prison. But when he got out, he found that some people were quietly enjoying the fruits of victory in a corner that no one was paying attention to...

Can he tolerate it?

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, his hands clasped on the table in deep thought. Finally, he shook his head. "Now that everyone's attention is focused on North America, we can take this opportunity to observe it closely."

What to observe?

He didn't say.

But both Grindelwald and Lockhart, who were present, knew this.

Naturally, it's about observing how things develop after the barriers of the Secret Service Act are broken down between wizards and Muggles.

If things go wrong, they can naturally be punished under the guise of the "Secrecy Law" and everything can be overturned.

If things develop well and there are many scenarios he would like to see, perhaps that place could be tacitly approved and its influence promoted, allowing this undercurrent to spread to Europe, Africa, and even more places.

In Dumbledore's eyes, the most interesting social experiment was taking place there.

He has enough patience to observe carefully.

In particular, now that Voldemort is portrayed as a universally hated figure, forcing him to run to this place to seek support, some problems will become more apparent.

Lockhart looked at the two old men in front of him with a strange expression and clicked his tongue inwardly.

Grindelwald and Dumbledore teamed up, and Voldemort was completely outmaneuvered.

They don't need to find Voldemort and engage him in a duel; they can simply create a situation that will send Voldemort to where they want him to go and do what they want him to do.

terrible!

Those who play politics have dirty minds.

Fortunately, Lockhart's plans always went with the flow, always within Dumbledore's permissive range, and even encouraged to develop.

For example, in the future, there will be a huge market demand for fresh white food, with a population of billions.

Despite their seemingly ubiquitous presence in the wild, if all the wild boar were harvested, it wouldn't be enough to supply such a massive untapped market.

Healing herbs, healing potions—this is a plan guided by love, even if it directly threatens to violate the Statute of Secrets, it will still be in a direction permitted by Dumbledore.

And they received help.

Lockhart quickly left the principal's office and took a note to Hagrid, the forest ranger, asking him to take the students to find a suitable place for large-scale cultivation of Dictamnus dasycarpus.

This will only be the beginning.

The students will eventually graduate, and Lockhart doesn't intend to stay at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to teach for the rest of his life.

He still needs to find a wider land.

(End of this chapter)