It must be said that Snape's cutting remarks had successfully heightened the students' sense of urgency.
Black market trading had become increasingly rampant among fifth-year students, particularly with the price of Baruffio's Brain Elixir skyrocketing to twelve Galleons. Alongside this, counterfeit potions were also flourishing. Jane Yu, inundated with complaints, found herself utterly exasperated, and the prefects were at their wits' end — so much so that they were forced to band together to combat these fraudulent practices that preyed on unsuspecting students.
"We've discovered cases where Doxy droppings were being passed off as powdered dragon claw, and frog brain concoctions were being sold as Baruffio's Brain Elixir," Hermione Granger declared indignantly during the prefects' meeting. She slammed a bottle of fake potion onto the table with a resounding thud. "These were confiscated from Eddie Carmichael and Harold Dingo of Ravenclaw," she added, her voice brimming with righteous fury.
"Twelve Galleons for a pint of fake potion! Harry and Ron nearly fell for it. If I hadn't confiscated it in time, they might have ended up in debt for the rest of their lives over this sham!" Hermione's words drew a collective gaze toward Ron, who now looked like a fraud-prevention advocate ironically duped by a scam. His face turned crimson, and he wished he could bury his head underground to repent for his lapse in judgment as a prefect.
Draco Malfoy, ever quick to seize an opportunity to taunt his foes, wasted no time in mocking Ron. "Breaking the rules as a prefect, Weasley? You might as well step down now! If you can't do the job, there are plenty who can!" he sneered, his tone dripping with derision.
Ron's face flushed even redder, and he looked as though he wanted to sink into the floor. Amid the chaotic discussions and arguments, Jane Yu's keen ears caught onto two particular keywords: "a pint" and "twelve Galleons."
"Calm down, Hermione," Cedric Diggory intervened, trying to stop Hermione from delivering a slap to Ron's head. "Every year around this time, the trade in brain stimulants becomes rampant. The truth is, we've never been able to eradicate it completely. We can only investigate one case at a time based on reports."
"Rampant and uncontainable?" Jane's mind began to race. She had no intention of spending five months confiscating counterfeit potions all over the school.
"To be honest, I sometimes feel tempted to buy them myself," Ernie Macmillan, the fifth-year Hufflepuff prefect, sighed. "Concentration, alertness, increased efficiency — who wouldn't be tempted, especially with the O.W.L. exams looming?"
Jane finally understood the students' obsession with these brain stimulants. It was akin to the craze for "memory pills" or "exam boosters" advertised before major exams in the Muggle world. Even if the effects were uncertain, they provided significant psychological comfort. Of course, Baruffio's Brain Elixir and powdered dragon claw, as magical potions, had been proven effective by generations of students.
An idea began to take shape in Jane's mind, and a mysterious smile spread across her face. She proposed, "Everyone, prevention is better than cure. Catch one, and another will appear. We'll never have peace until the exams are over. Since Baruffio's Brain Elixir and powdered dragon claw are so popular, why don't we set up a legitimate channel for students to purchase them responsibly?"
Her suggestion was met with wide-eyed enthusiasm from the prefects. Even Ron leaped from his seat, raising both hands and feet in support. "I'm a hundred and twenty percent in favor of your proposal! Of course, if prefects get priority access, that'd be even better—ow!" His excitement was cut short by a sharp elbow jab from Hermione, sending him crashing back into his chair. He still managed to shout, "Reasonable pricing! Guaranteed quality! Otherwise, high costs lead to debt, and counterfeits cause side effects that ruin everyone's revision—"
He seemed to have gained a newfound appreciation for his brother Percy, whom he had once mocked for his "world-changing cauldron quality reports." His enthusiasm reached a peak as he exclaimed, "If you need regulations, I can steal Percy's great cauldron report... and his pile of market supervision guidelines..."
Jane couldn't help but feel a sense of poetic justice, given how Ron had previously ridiculed Percy's reports. Hermione clamped a hand over Ron's mouth, while the senior Gryffindor prefects scrambled to restrain him. Their faces turned red, either from second-hand embarrassment or the realization that Gryffindor's reputation was taking a hit under Draco's relentless mockery.
"An excellent proposal," Cedric finally spoke up, rescuing Ron from further humiliation. "I think it's very feasible. I'll bring it up with Professor McGonagall. This is a welfare initiative for all students — a reasonably priced, accessible way to enhance revision efficiency, with dosage limits to prevent accidents. I'm sure she'll agree."
Draco's lips curled into a smirk as he caught the scent of profit. "In that case, I can have my father source the ingredients. Our family has access to slightly cheaper channels," he offered, his tone brimming with confidence. Flipping through his notebook filled with business theories, he added, "Since it's for student use, our prices will be below market rates. We can even print Jane's likeness, our game console logo, and the Malfoy family crest on the bottles — consider it a form of advertising. I might even throw in some freebies to cheer everyone on for their exams. Let's not forget the great charitable act we're performing here."
Draco's newfound enthusiasm for Muggle business theories seemed to have inspired him to take charge of the operation. He assured Jane with a confident pat on his chest that if the plan failed, he would personally take responsibility.
Jane, sensing that she could sit back and let others do the work while still reaping the rewards, couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. Young people should indeed be proactive! After all, if they weren't, how else could she enjoy the fruits of their labor?
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