Hogwarts' Niffler: All I Need Is Galleons

When Snape arrived, Hoare was mercilessly punching Bulstrode, who lay on the ground.

Bulstrode tried to say something, but all that came out were wails.

"Ouch! Weasley! Ouch!"

"Enough! Weasley, let go of him." Snape waved his hand, trying to pull Hoare away—but it didn't work on the first try.

Hoare felt Snape's presence and lazily stepped aside.

Bulstrode lay on the ground, his face covered in blood—whether from wounds or from his mouth, it was hard to tell. The scene was quite vivid.

"What are you all standing here for? Get back to your dorms." Snape sternly dispersed the onlooking students.

He turned to Hoare, "Weasley, has your brain been eaten by a troll?"

"Headmaster, headmaster, save me..." Bulstrode continued to wail from the ground.

Hoare shrugged as Snape frowned at Bulstrode, explaining, "I didn't even use much force; he's just too much of a weakling."

"Draco, as the first-year prefect, take your classmate to the infirmary." Snape caught sight of Draco and Blaise trying to sneak away and immediately roped them in.

Draco could only grimace as he and Blaise dragged Bulstrode to the infirmary.

As for why they didn't use a levitation charm, it was because they hadn't learned how to levitate people yet.

Now, only Hoare and Snape were left in the common room.

This was the first time Hoare was alone with Snape since revealing his true identity; their previous encounters had all been during class.

Hoare had gone to the dungeons to find Snape alone, but each time he was told the headmaster was out.

He couldn't believe there were so many coincidences.

"Hoare Weasley." Snape glanced at Hoare, then quickly looked away.

"Headmaster, what can I do for you?" Hoare rolled his eyes. Was it really so hard to accept that one of his students was a Weasley?

"Brawling in public! You've really outdone yourself!" Snape said with a dark expression.

"Millicent Bulstrode ruined my plan; otherwise, we would have had free dragon materials!" Hoare fumed at the thought.

Somehow, Millicent Bulstrode had found out about the dragon and reported it to the Ministry of Magic.

Hoare had just convinced the board of governors to allocate a piece of land at Hogwarts for raising dragons, and then Bulstrode had to mess it up!

Snape frowned; he was aware of the situation. The newspaper headline read "Hogwarts Illegally Raising Dragons, Dumbledore Neglects Student Safety," which had indeed disheartened the wizarding world.

He just hadn't realized it was connected to Hoare Weasley.

Hoare explained the whole story, and Snape's face darkened further.

"Is your brain filled with dung? Why didn't you come to me for help?" Snape was internally pained, knowing how rare dragon materials were, only occasionally available in Knockturn Alley, and at a steep price.

Hoare scratched his head, "Headmaster, I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't find you—"

Snape choked on his words.

He finally looked Hoare in the face, but it still hurt his eyes, and he couldn't help but look away.

Even someone as mentally strong as Snape couldn't immediately accept that one of his students had such a quintessential Gryffindor face.

Rumor had it he might even be a Slytherin descendant.

What a mess.

Had the centaur finally fallen for the troll?

Hoare rolled his eyes, giving Snape time to mentally adjust.

"Headmaster, do you have to be so dramatic—" Hoare complained.

Snape finally faced Hoare, letting out a cold laugh, "Since the clever Mr. Weasley knows, why not spare his poor headmaster's eyes and revert to his previous appearance?"

Although Hoare had never explicitly stated he was a Metamorphmagus, several professors had their suspicions.

Only such a Metamorphmagus could remain inscrutable to them.

"But this is my true form." Hoare shrugged, spreading his hands. "Headmaster, I suggest you get used to it soon; after all, you'll be seeing me for five more years~"

A quick look at " will leave you more fulfilled.

A vein throbbed on Snape's forehead, and he changed the subject, "What are your plans now?" He was referring to the dragon.

"It's fine; the board of governors has reached an agreement with the Romanian Dragon Protection Association. They'll send someone to take over the dragon immediately." Hoare sighed, "They're willing to accept sponsorship from the board in exchange for a third of the dragon materials."

Snape raised an eyebrow; it was just like Hoare not to take a loss. This way, the dragon still belonged to Hogwarts.

Exchanging a third of the dragon materials for cooperation with the Romanian Dragon Protection Association was indeed a profitable deal.

The Romanian Dragon Protection Association wasn't something that could be sponsored just with money. After all, it involved materials from so many types of dragons, which were highly sought after.

But once cooperation was established, future collaborations would be much easier.

"My second brother Charlie has some connections." Hoare felt a bit embarrassed under Snape's gaze and scratched his head in explanation.

Charlie was thrilled to receive a letter from Hoare, happy that Hoare had gained magic and was attending Hogwarts.

Hoare's small request was something Charlie, as a brother, naturally wanted to fulfill.

It took him two days to persuade his superiors to settle the matter.

The dragon was an exotic one, and the association's expenses were fixed.

Charlie came up with a plan: the association would manage the dragon, charging sponsorship fees for its upkeep and a portion of the dragon materials, while the dragon itself would still belong to Hogwarts.

Lucius immediately agreed to the deal, fearing Romania might back out.

Upon hearing the name Weasley, Snape snorted coldly, "Millicent Bulstrode wasn't entirely wrong; there won't be a next time."

Hoare understood that Snape was reminding him that beating up Millicent Bulstrode once was enough; if he picked a fight again, his justification wouldn't hold.

It could even provoke hostility from the entire Slytherin house, which would be counterproductive.

Hoare nodded, indicating he understood.

Snape snorted again, clearly not believing him, and left with a swish of his cloak.

Hoare lowered his head, thinking that next time he might as well have Helena scare him, hoping for an outcome like that Chinese story where Xu Xian was scared to death.

However, Hoare frowned, finding Millicent Bulstrode very peculiar, always opposing him.

Such inexplicable behavior was something he hadn't seen since those melodramatic Muggle TV dramas.

When something unusual happens, there's always a reason.

Anyway, with Millicent Bulstrode in the infirmary, he wouldn't be back anytime soon. Hoare cast a Disillusionment Charm and slipped into Bulstrode's dormitory.

"Alohomora." Hoare opened the door to Bulstrode's dormitory.

Hermione had shared this spell with Hoare while reading one day, and he had learned it out of boredom, not expecting to use it so soon.

Hoare thought he should read "100 Household Spells" in its entirety; it was incredibly practical!

The dormitory was a mess, as if it had been left uncleaned after a battle.

Previously, Hoare and Bulstrode had been roommates, but after Hoare moved out, Bulstrode hadn't been assigned a new roommate yet, living alone in a two-person room quite comfortably.

Hogwarts dormitories were usually cleaned by house-elves.

But the room before Hoare was in disarray, as if it had been bombed, with things scattered everywhere, even the blanket on the floor.

It was clear the room's owner had refused the house-elves' services.

Of course, it wasn't because Bulstrode was kind-hearted and didn't want to trouble the house-elves.

There must be something he didn't want anyone to see.

Hoare looked down and saw a strange letter, thinking it was perfectly normal.