The Rise of the Muggles at Hogwarts

Chapter 205 Publishing House!Take it

Renovating Hogwarts cannot be completed overnight, and there are still many young wizards in the school, so the renovation work is not easy to start.So in the past few days, they have been just drawing drawings.

Anthony estimates that the specific construction will officially start around the summer vacation.

Time has entered April, late spring has arrived, and time in Hogwarts seems to have sped up. The footsteps of summer can’t wait to rush over, and a week has passed by in the blink of an eye.

These days, Anthony is paying attention to the Daily Prophet all the time. Lockhart's trial is coming to an end, mainly because it is too troublesome to collect evidence against him.

Twelve books, he didn't know how many people had been harmed, and the Ministry of Magic had to do more than just find the victims. You know, those people had been erased or had their memories tampered with by Lockhart, and some had caused permanent damage. Even St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Magical Injuries can't cure the sex spell.

Fortunately, Lockhart himself was still in the hands of the Aurors.

After performing a large memory recovery operation, he successfully remembered all the details of the past.

The photo of him undergoing trial published in the "Daily Prophet" looks like he has aged 20 years, with unshaven beard, knotted hair, and a depressed expression. You can even find it in several places on his neck, face, and arms. Bruises that never healed.

"Ah!"

To this, Anthony could only say that he deserved it.

Today's Aurors are not what they used to be. In the past two years, the reputation of Aurors has dropped sharply. Although their reputation has improved slightly after the London incident, that is the evaluation of outsiders. Within the Aurors, the only change in these years is one Words: Angry!

The style of Aurors is becoming more and more like that of American police.

Don't worry about it when you meet a suspect, just empty a magazine first.

This also caused Lockhart to suffer a lot, but compared with what he did, these were as light as a feather.

According to some of the wrong evidence in the Wizengamot, this guy has modified, restrained, and intimidated at least twenty wizards, and quite a few of them are not British wizards, but they are from all over the world.

In the book "A Year with XZ Snowman", the victim is a Bhutanese wizard.

This unlucky wizard was just bragging about his experiences in a bar in Paris, and Lockhart accidentally overheard him, and then—the unlucky boy, he paid a heavy price for his outspoken words.

Lockhart asked to enter his room in the name of a reporter, and then used the despicable method of drugging his wine.Knocked him out.

What followed was a whole month of imprisonment. Only after the story was collected, Lockhart was satisfied to delete his memory and leave.

But he was also lucky because he was unfamiliar with the place, so he was very afraid of Lockhart. Most of his experiences were dictated by him, and Lockhart did not directly search his memory.It's just his related memories that were erased before his death.

Therefore, the damage he received from the curse was lighter. St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Injuries took some measures to help him remember some of it.Although not all, but compared to the others who were tortured and almost turned into idiots, it was much better.

To sum up, the lightest penalty for Lockhart is a lifetime suite in Azkaban.If the sentence is more serious, he may even face the death penalty.

And he was not the only one who was injured, several publishing houses related to it were also in bad luck.

Because many families or friends of the victims are demanding compensation from several major publishing houses.

That number is not small. You must know that most of the victims have lost their ability to act independently and will need someone to take care of them for the rest of their lives. How can the cost be small?

Dorga companies, including Rumihat Books, have been implicated, while other companies, such as Chelf Publishing, Huiz Hard Books, and the wealthy Daily Prophet Publishing House, are not living well. It's been better, and it can even be said that they have encountered a tough winter in the publishing industry, but in the end they can still hold on.

Rumihart Books, where Mr. Miller works, is not doing so well.

Over the past month, various gossips about Rumihat Book Company have been flying in the newspapers, and there is even news that the company is selling the copyright of its own books.

And this has been confirmed, because the publisher of the new edition of the Hogwarts divination course textbook "Looking Through the Fog and Seeing the Future" has been changed to Beach Books.

This is a company that specializes in publishing textbooks. Many Hogwarts textbooks are published by this publisher.Professor McGonagall is a loyal user.

When the entire industry went through big waves, it was the only one that stood firm. Because of its status as a professional academic publisher, it never chose entertainment books such as novels. Therefore, it did not receive any impact at all, and even received praises from people. , there is quite a trend of social entertainment in large numbers...

Of course, Anthony is happy to hear this, because the more chaotic the industry is, the more likely he is to make a fortune from it.

On the other side, in the Rumihart Book Company headquarters building on the south side of Diagon Alley, Mr. Miller is making a last-ditch attempt to save the company.

He stood up slowly, with a company asset report in his hand. If the boss could listen to his advice and give up the copyright of some books, sell them to other publishing houses in exchange for some working capital, survive this period, and wait for public opinion Once the storm has passed, it is not impossible for the company to make a comeback.

After walking through the aisle with scattered parchments, Mr. Miller sighed slightly. He knelt down and picked up all the papers scattered on the ground. In order to reduce costs, the company had fired many employees, and the rest were now in danger. Everyone feels that they may be next.

and...

After the publishing work stopped, many employees had nothing to do, which gave people a sense of panic. Employees who may have had confidence in the company before are now gradually becoming pessimistic.

"Hey!" He neatly placed the paper in his hand on the table beside him, glanced at the few remaining colleagues, and then immediately shifted his gaze. Those were all employees who had been with him for more than ten years, but now he But they can't even guarantee whether this monthly salary can be paid.

He couldn't help but walk a little faster, and hurriedly walked towards the manager's office at the back.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Come in!" A smoky voice came from inside the house.

"Mr. Flint." Miller anxiously put down the report in his hand as soon as he walked into the beaver-skin floor. The man in front of him was wearing a dark green robe, round glasses, and his square face looked inexplicably. of somewhat vicious man on his desk.

"Well, it's you! Take a look at this first, the letter just sent from the Daily Prophet." Flint didn't even look at Miller's report, but reached out and placed a piece of letter directly above his report.

"This is this?" Miller picked up the letter in confusion. As a professional editor, he read the scrawled letter of only a few hundred words in a moment.

"The Daily Prophet wants to buy us?"

"Yes, the price is 35 Galleons. If nothing else happens, we will be acquired."

Hearing this price, Miller's pupils shrank suddenly. Although he had expected that the company's situation would be very pessimistic, he did not expect that it would be so serious.

35 gold galleons—his mind was racing. This money was not enough to save the current Rumihat Book Company.

"But sir—"

"I know what you are thinking. That idiot Barnabas Guffey wants to steal my money. What a joke! 35 galleons is not even enough to pay off the debt, and he wants me to advance part of it! Damn it, it's like falling over They are exactly the same as the gangsters in the street!" Flint roared angrily, and the cigar in his hand was pressed hard on the table stand.

"You refused?" Miller asked tentatively.

"Refuse? Why refuse? You bought me all the things that can be sold in the company in the past few days, and kicked out those losers who only know how to eat. Even this table..." He said , he knocked hard on the desk in front of him, "He bought these for me. If he wants to buy me, let him buy an empty house!"

"But -" Mr. Miller was stunned for a moment, and then said unbearably, "But those old people are all from your father..."

"Okay, Miller." Little Flint roared, "Rumihart Books is finished. Now what you have to think about is how to throw this brazier to other people."

"The people from the Ministry of Magic come to me three times a day. If they can't get the money by May, they will vacate my office!"

"Huh!" Little Flint's face was full of anger, and he had completely revealed his thoughts in front of him.Miller, who knew that what he was talking about was of no use, suddenly remembered a young figure he met at Hogwarts...

"Sir, I have contacted a buyer who is willing to bear all our debts and does not require you to pay in advance."

"Eh? Are you sure?"

"Yes sir, I'm very sure." Miller gritted his teeth and nodded forcefully.

"Okay, tell him that the company belongs to him, haha! I didn't expect to meet such an idiot now." Little Flint's smile was very bright, making his originally vicious face look a little ferocious. "By the way, remember to sell everything to me. No matter who wants it, I can't lose it! Haha!"

"Yes." Miller responded, then turned around and walked out. As he passed the door, he carefully glanced at little Flint and saw that he was completely immersed in ecstasy. He finally gave up completely.

Miller is an old man in the company. He joined Rumihart Book Company after graduating from Hogwarts. At that time, old Flint was still managing the company. Although that man was also a Slytherin pure-blood with no money, but He is very caring about his employees. As a pure-blooded person, he looks down on Muggle-born wizards, but he still has considerable respect for wizards who are also pure-blooded.

On the other hand, his son is a waste.

Although Rumihat Books during the period of great victory could not compete with behemoths like Daily Prophet Publishing House, they also had a standing to compete with Beach Books, which was also a textbook publisher.

If the company hadn't been declining year by year in the hands of little Flint, and they had lost many copyrights for publishing textbooks, and the company was about to go bankrupt, how would he have approached Lockhart?

You know, autobiographical novels are not evergreen like textbooks. They paid a huge price to poach Lockhart's new book from other publishers.If you lose it, the consequences will be disastrous.

Thinking back now, Miller couldn't help but feel a hint of embarrassment at the corners of his mouth. The current outcome was better than compensation!

At least if you lose money, you still have a chance to make a comeback, and at least the reputation of the publishing house is still there.

But now?

nothing left!

The only thing that gave him hope was Hogwarts.

But now he can't rush there immediately because...

"Hey!" Mr. Miller sighed softly, his eyes full of loneliness.

He still has to sell furniture to this prodigal son!

------

Dumbledore may have really gotten rich.

Anthony can relate to that these days.

It can be seen from the food on the table in the auditorium. In the past, the little wizard's breakfast usually consisted of: oatmeal, bread rolls, orange juice, kippers, eggs, bacon, etc., anything high in protein.

Now there are more fresh fruits, and they are all kinds of fruits.Some fruits that are clearly not in season, or even from the northern hemisphere, appear on their tables.

Meals range from roast pumpkin, roast potatoes, English roast potatoes (skin on), boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, and chips. (funny)

What's more, these traditional British foods are decreasing and there are more and more foods from other countries, French fish soup and "some weird fruity blancmange. And - all kinds of fruits."

Originally, Hogwarts' menu was mainly based on high-sugar, high-protein, high-calorie meat and sweets. Suddenly, their menu became much lighter, and the nutritional combination was very reasonable.

For a moment, Anthony had the illusion that he was in Eton Middle School, although he had never been there.

It was Hufflepuff's little wizard who got the news quickly in this regard, and soon it spread throughout Hogwarts that their ingredients had switched from local to imported.

Sitting in the auditorium, eating food from all over the world.

This life can only be described in one word: luxury

After hearing the news, Anthony was probably really sure that Dumbledore was really rich.

One day in April.

When Anthony was enjoying bananas from Central America in the auditorium, Sirius suddenly came over and waved to him. He was puzzled by this, but he didn't ask and just followed.

Soon, two people, one large and one small, arrived at the black magic professor's office.

Sirius pushed open the door to the room, and Anthony immediately saw the familiar figure. Mr. Miller was sitting on the sofa in the room in despair, staring blankly ahead, completely unaware that someone had walked in at this time.

"Hi! Mr. Miller." He said, Anthony walked to the sofa on the opposite side and sat down, and his figure just appeared in Mr. Miller's eyes.

"Nice to see you again." His cloudy eyes surged again, but there was clearly no trace of happiness on his face.

Anthony suddenly felt that the gentleman in front of him, whom he had only met a month ago, had a wrinkle on his face. From the corners of his eyes, a few white hairs sprouted from his temples. He looked like a lonely boat in a deep pool. The body is full of the smell of loneliness and loneliness.

"It seems that you and your boss have thought it through!" He stared into the eyes of the person in front of him. From the moment Miller appeared here, it was already clear that they agreed to his proposal.

If it's a rejection, they will write directly instead of visiting in person.

"Yes, we can sign the contract now." Miller said sternly. Then, he picked up a brown suitcase at hand, pulled the trigger, opened it, and took out a contract from inside.

Anthony naturally picked up the contract.

After taking a quick glance, I already knew it.

This is a very simple and crude contract, and it even gives people the illusion that the other party is eager to find someone to blame. It seems that the publishing house is like a time bomb that will detonate at any time. The senior management is eager to sell the company, and they don’t even want to sell it. Money, just don't lose money, and pass the explosive bag to the receiver behind you.

Obviously, Anthony is the fool in their eyes.

No - at least Miller had never thought about it this way, what kind of responsibility a young wizard could bear. He just felt that Dumbledore was standing behind the child.

Otherwise, the book would not have been circulated from Hogwarts.

"It seems like there's no problem." After that, Anthony handed the contract to Sirius.

In the magical world, signatures are very dangerous. If the other party uses magic such as name curses, it will be very troublesome.

Although he didn't think Miller would do this, it was a process that everyone followed.

"It's indeed normal!" After Sirius briefly read through it a few times, he only felt the protection of the Water and Fire Invulnerability Curse, and no other spells.

After taking over the contract from Sirius, Anthony and Ma Liu signed their names, "Wait a minute!"

After that, he left the room.

After a long time, I came back again, but when I came back, I had two more books in my hand.

In addition to "Magical Legends: Dumbledore", there is also a "Magical Legends: Merlin".

In the past month, based on the previous work and the TV series "Merlin" he had watched in his previous life, he simply wrote a "danmei" (crossed out) ahem - friendship novel describing Merlin and King Arthur.

“You can just take them and print them, just be sure not to change the cover.”

Mr. Miller took the newly loaded book from Anthony's hands.In fact, I really don’t like the colorful cover. Needless to say, the cover of "Magical Legends: Dumbledore" is the rose petals of Godric's Hollow.

The cover of another book, "Legends of Magic: Merlin", is even more exaggerated. Not only does it spit out a sword and a wand, but after turning the first page, a fire-breathing red dragon emerges.

After taking a closer look, I discovered that the red dragon was actually the paper in the book. The moment the person opened the book, the paper gradually changed from a flat surface to a three-dimensional form, and then seemed to come alive, spitting out flames.

All the bells and whistles!This was Miller's first reaction.

Wizards' books are quite conservative, and there are not so many fancy books.

But Anthony was very satisfied with this design. He asked George and Fred to help him make it!

"Phew!" Miller put the two books into the suitcase, "Sir, about the company."

"If all the employees are retained, who will print for me if everyone is gone? But the name of the publishing house must be changed!"