"Some of our young half-bloods did market research in the Muggle world — hair growth, beauty, weight loss, and…"
Delaine took a sip of coffee, smiled faintly, and said casually:
"—potency enhancement. The demand for these kinds of potions among Muggles far exceeds expectations. With these, we can easily amass great wealth."
"The Muggles have long realized that money reshapes the world more silently than brute force. With this weapon they call 'the economy,' they've achieved things even the Killing Curse or Imperius Curse couldn't — making an entire society willingly tame itself."
Wade frowned slightly, and ran his finger along the rim of his cup.
"Don't underestimate them. Their legal and regulatory systems are extremely complex — patents, antitrust laws, and so on. Cross one wrong line, and they'll legally strip a rising company of all its profits."
Delaine's lips curved into a grin. "Have you forgotten who we are, Wade? Within the rules, we have magic — the Muggles can't compete with us. As for methods outside the rules…"
He chuckled but didn't finish the sentence.
Indeed, there were wizards in the world who obeyed laws and restrained their powers — but such wizards did not exist among the Alliance.
"Wait a second!"
Antoine, who had been idly munching snacks, suddenly looked up. "Beauty potions are fine, but weight-loss potions — wouldn't they kill Muggles if they drank them?"
Delaine and Wade exchanged glances, both a little surprised by Antoine's delayed reaction.
"If used directly, yes, there would indeed be… certain risks," Delaine said. "But by replacing some ingredients with ordinary materials and diluting the effects, the potion can be made relatively safe — this has already been tested."
Of course, the process was far more complicated than it sounded, but the Alliance had several exceptionally skilled potion masters — some of whom had even survived the world war, with potion-making experience unmatched by most.
Wade caught something in Delaine's tone, his eyebrow twitching almost imperceptibly. "...'Relatively safe'?"
Delaine explained patiently, "It does cause some harm to the body, but no worse than the Muggles' own ham and cheese. If they stop taking it for a while, the body heals naturally."
Wade gave him a speechless look — he hadn't expected Delaine to make such a morbid joke so earnestly.
Just two years ago, a batch of ham and cheese had been contaminated with Listeria, killing dozens of people — even the Daily Prophet reported it, warning wizards to be cautious since some also bought food from Muggle stores.
After a brief silence, Wade asked, "You tested these potions on Muggles?"
Antoine's shoulders tensed slightly. He looked from Wade to Delaine.
"This is an essential step in pharmaceutical development. Otherwise, our potions would be even more dangerous."
Delaine's tone remained calm.
"Don't worry — we didn't use innocent people as test subjects. The 'materials' we used were scum of Muggle society, those who deserved far worse. If I told you everything they'd done, you'd think their deaths were far too merciful."
Wade exhaled slowly. "Sorry, I… I'm just a bit sensitive about this kind of thing."
He'd always known what kind of methods the Alliance used. The fact that they weren't experimenting on ordinary people was, to Wade, already something to be grateful for.
As for other matters… even in the production of ordinary medicines, human experimentation is an unavoidable stage. The so-called "humanitarian spirit" of Muggle society is simply paying subjects to "participate voluntarily."
"I understand," Delaine said, nodding slowly. "I know you once set foot on that island — the one that gave birth to an Obscurial."
They all fell silent, perhaps reminded of similar scenes they had witnessed before. The fire in the brazier crackled, and a thin wisp of steam rose from the kettle on top, filling the tent with warm, humid air.
After a moment, Wade asked, "Have there been any recent cases of Muggles experimenting on underage wizards?"
"There haven't been any new discoveries for more than half a year. But Mr. Grindelwald believes that such institutions must still exist — they've simply become more secretive. Even within the higher ranks of Muggle society, only a few know of them, which is why they've managed to escape our notice."
Delaine added, "And you know, there are certain regions where… our influence can't reach."
The young man nodded slightly, his gaze still lowered.
Outside the tent, fireworks went off, followed by laughter and shrieks of joy.
Wade decided to steer away from the unpleasant topic and returned to their earlier discussion. "I've been thinking — perhaps in the future, we should modify our potions into cosmetic products instead."
"…Cosmetics?" Antoine tilted his head. "Wouldn't that exclude most men from our customer base?"
At that, even Delaine couldn't help but smile.
"How could it? If it works, people — men or women — will rush to buy it."
He spoke slowly. "Human desire is endless and cannot be confined by simple definitions. As long as something benefits them, Muggles will always find new rules to justify it."
"And besides…"
He looked toward Wade with a knowing glint in his eyes. "Something applied to the skin — even if it's toxic — is far less harmful than something swallowed. That's what you were thinking, isn't it, Wade?"
"Not just that," Wade replied calmly.
"If you study Muggle law, you'll see that obtaining a license to produce pharmaceuticals is much stricter and more complicated than for cosmetics.
Most cosmetics don't even require experimental data, their ingredient range is much broader, and even if there's a quality issue, the penalties are far lighter than for drugs."
Delaine mused, "Lately I've been reading Leviathan and Das Kapital… it seems I should study Muggle law as well."
Wade chuckled.
"Then you should also look into Muggle market prices — some cosmetics, even when they contain only a single gramme or less, can sell for an absurdly high price. But if a medicine costs that much, it would spark outrage across their entire society."
"Ah, you!" Antoine's eyes widened as his mouth twitched. "No wonder Aslan's Magical Workshop makes so much money! I used to think it was all that Marchionne guy's clever schemes — turns out you've been feeding him ideas too, haven't you?"
Wade blinked innocently. "How could that be? Mr. Marchionne is a natural-born businessman. Suggesting otherwise would be an insult to his genius."
Antoine rolled his eyes dramatically, snorted, and said, "Do you think I believe that?"
Delaine gave Antoine a helpless look and tapped his knuckles lightly on the table. "Antoine, have you really just met Wade?"
—How could anyone still be asking such foolish questions?
If Wade Grey were truly naïve, generous, and straightforward, why would Mr. Grindelwald value him so highly?
Delaine shot Antoine a sidelong glance, then turned back to Wade. "Mr. Grindelwald plans to send 'Brown' to participate in some upcoming events. Do you have any instructions for it?"
Within the Alliance, there was now also a "Brown" — a magic automaton doll sent out by Wade, serving as his double in the outside world.
Before sending the doll away, Wade had discussed it with Delaine. The purpose of this automaton was to conceal Wade's true identity, preventing anyone from connecting the student "Wade Grey" still attending school with "Brown," the Alliance operative.
That way, even if one day Wade were to be accidentally exposed, people's preconceived impressions would make it difficult for them to associate the two.
In Wade's original plan, the doll Brown only needed to appear occasionally — for instance, making a brief public showing while Wade himself was occupied with the School Tournament, just enough for others to know that "Brown" existed.
But now, it seemed Grindelwald intended for it to take part in more significant affairs.
After a brief hesitation, Wade shook his head. "You can decide as you see fit. I have nothing to add."
Hogwarts was a closed fortress — its ancient stone walls sheltered him from the outside world's storms, but they also kept him from fully understanding what was happening beyond.
Without a clear grasp of the full picture, how could he make the right judgment? It was better to stay silent and leave the decisions to those directly involved.
Delaine narrowed his eyes slightly. "Can you really trust that thing? A magical construct capable of thought is more dangerous than a lying human."
Wade smiled. "Is there anything in the world more dangerous than humans?"
He paused, then asked, "Sounds like you have a problem with it… Did it offend you?"
"No, but…"
Delaine's voice was low. "It's too human. It makes me feel… uneasy."
"—Frightened?" Antoine blurted out instinctively.
Delaine didn't deny it.
After a moment of silence, Wade chuckled. "You remind me of a few Ministry officials I know."
"Because a few house-elves have betrayed their masters, they assume all house-elves are untrustworthy — denying their loyalty and their sense of self."
He was referring to Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. During the incident at the Quidditch World Cup in the original story, Amos stubbornly insisted that Barty Crouch's house-elf, Winky, had conjured the Dark Mark, ignoring all rational evidence to the contrary.
"But think about it carefully," Wade continued. "Are there really more cases of house-elves betraying their masters, or is treachery far more common among humans?"
"Perhaps it's precisely because most people take house-elf loyalty for granted that, when one or two exceptions appear, they seem shocking — and prejudice blinds them into denying the devotion of the entire race."
"Magic Dolls are the same. From the moment they're created, they're inscribed with the command to obey their master and safeguard their master's interests. If one day a doll does betray, the reason won't simply be that it has learned to think."
"Delaine, if you view them as people — or even as colleagues — rather than mere tools, you'll find that they're far more dependable than most humans."
Delaine was silent for a long while before finally letting out a quiet laugh. "Treat it as a person? So that's how you see it… Very well. Now I'm convinced your magic doll will never betray you."
But in that same moment, he became even more certain that he would never purchase a magic doll as a pet.
Their creator had unconsciously planted within them the seed of human thought — perhaps Wade didn't realize what that could lead to, and perhaps that faint spark would never ignite at all.
But if one day the dolls truly awakened to self-awareness, could those masters who ignored, abused, and exploited them still expect their loyalty?
A glimmer of amusement flickered in Delaine's eyes. The more he pondered it, the more intriguing the idea became — he almost looked forward to the day it might come true.
Still, Wade's reasoning had indeed dispelled his immediate concern.
Just think of it as having one more colleague — one who can't use magic. If Brown ever does something it shouldn't, then just deal with it. Thinking about it that way made things much simpler.
Delaine raised his coffee cup with a smile. "I'll pass your thoughts along to Mr. Grindelwald… So then — to the new age of wizards, and to my own ambitions. Cheers?"
Wade smiled and raised his cup to clink it against Delaine's. "Cheers."
The firelight flickered, reflecting the differing glints in their eyes — and the faint, meaningful smiles at the corners of their lips.
Antoine: "…"
He looked down at his coffee cup, which had somehow emptied without him noticing. He was just debating whether to pretend to take another sip when the other two had already drained theirs completely.
Antoine: …Right, just pretend I don't exist, then.
…
By the time they stepped out of the tent, dusk had already settled over the village. The cool night breeze brushed their faces, carrying the scent of grass and running water, sweeping away the heavy air that had lingered inside.
The students and travelers at the camp seemed no fewer than before — if anything, more lively. Bonfires had been lit, and in the distance came bursts of laughter, vendors' cries, bargaining voices, and the strains of a soft, lilting tune.
All that ordinary bustle made it feel, suddenly, like they had returned to the human world.
Antoine said, a little surprised, "Mr. Grindelwald used to think all Muggles needed to be ruled — or eliminated. And now he's actually following your advice… He really values you, Wade."
Wade gazed at the lights in the distance and said quietly, "The times have changed, Antoine. Mr. Grindelwald has simply seen it sooner than most wizards. The old ways of violent suppression — they'd only backfire now."
"But if it weren't for you, he wouldn't have decided so quickly…"
Antoine trailed off.
He had only learned today that Wade had once written Delaine that letter.
He wanted to tell Wade just how dangerous that had been — that if this had been a few years earlier, Delaine would've come today not to talk, but to execute him… perhaps both of them.
But as the words reached his lips, Antoine swallowed them back.
Wade's alignment with Mr. Grindelwald and the Alliance were growing stronger by the day; their relationship was practically in a honeymoon phase. If that man ever learned that Antoine had tried to "sow discord" between them…
Honestly, even though Antoine had followed Grindelwald longer, he had no illusion that he enjoyed the same trust — or leniency — that Wade did.
He would never forget that man's cold, assessing gaze, or the occasional flash of cruelty behind his eyes.
After a pause, Antoine changed the subject. "Speaking of which, Lucius Malfoy came back completely intact recently — not missing an arm, not dead. A lot of people are very disappointed."
"And for some reason, ever since his return, he's turned on his former allies. Quite a few pure-blood families are having a rough time now."
A faint smile tugged at Wade's lips.
"So you do know what's going on?" Antoine lowered his voice, leaning closer. "When you helped young Malfoy, did you already foresee all this?"
Wade chuckled. "As for why Lucius Malfoy changed sides — I think you'd better ask Dumbledore."
After all, according to the "official story," he shouldn't know that the toad he'd brought back from the Forbidden Forest was Lucius Malfoy.
Antoine curled his lip, snorting in the exact same tone as before. "Do you think I believe that?"
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