Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 800: Chapter 178: The Dark Wizard’s Transformation (Part 2)

”It’s not just that.”

Vid objectively said, ”If you have studied Muggle laws, you know that obtaining the qualifications for drug production is much stricter and more complex than for cosmetics. Moreover, most cosmetics do not require experimental data and have a wider range of permissible ingredients. Even if there are quality issues, the penalties are far less severe than those for drug issues.”

Delaine said thoughtfully, ”Recently, I’ve mainly been reading ’Leviathan’ and ’Das Kapital’. It seems I should also learn more about Muggle laws.”

Vid chuckled, ”Then you should also take a look at Muggle prices—some cosmetics can easily fetch a high price even if the net content of a single item is only 1 Grain (≈0.06 grams). If pharmaceuticals were sold at such high prices, the entire Muggle society would condemn it.”

”Ah, you rascal!”

Antoine suddenly widened his eyes, twitching the corner of his mouth, ”No wonder Aslan Magic Workshop is so profitable. I used to think it was that Machioni guy with all his tricks, but it turns out you’ve contributed quite a few ideas too?”

Vid blinked, ”How could it be? Mr. Machioni is exceptionally gifted in business, and your guess is an insult to him.”

Antoine smirked, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling, and snickered, ”Do you think I believe that?”

Delaine gazed helplessly at Antoine, tapping his knuckles lightly on the table, ”Antoine, haven’t you known Vid for long enough?”

—How can you still come up with such a foolish question now?

If Vid Gray was truly innocent, straightforward, and generous, why would Mr. Grindelwald value him so highly?

He shot Antoine a look, then turned to Vid, ”Recently, Mr. Grindelwald plans to send ’Braun’ to participate in some events. Is there anything you want to instruct about it?”

Currently, within the Witch Pure Party, there is also a ’Braun’, a poppet sent by Vid, serving as his stand-in outside.

When the poppet was sent off, Vid had discussed with Delaine that the purpose of this poppet was to conceal Vid’s identity, ensuring that people wouldn’t connect the ’Vid Gray’ still attending school with ’Braun’.

This way, even if one day Vid inadvertently exposed something, in a preconceived notion, others wouldn’t easily equate the two.

In Vid’s original plan, the poppet Braun only needed to appear occasionally—for instance, showing up while Vid was participating in the Triwizard Tournament, just so others would know that this person exists.

But now, it seems like Grindelwald intends to involve him in some more significant events.

Vid hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, ”Just decide based on the situation; I have nothing to add.”

Hogwarts is a closed fortress; its ancient stone walls shielded him from the outside world’s storms and prevented him from clearly understanding external changes.

If one cannot grasp the full picture in time, how can one make a correct judgment? It’s better to remain silent and leave the decision to those involved.

Delaine slightly narrowed his eyes, ”Can you really trust that guy? A thinking magic object is more dangerous than a lying human.”

Vid laughed, ”Is there anything more dangerous than humans in this world?”

After a pause, he asked, ”It sounds like you have some opinions about it... did it offend you?”

”No, but...”

Delaine said in a low voice, ”It’s too human-like. Makes me feel somewhat...”

”—Frightening?” Antoine instinctively interjected.

Delaine did not refute.

After pondering for a moment, Vid laughed, ”You remind me of some Ministry of Magic officials I know.”

”Because there were a few instances of house-elves betraying their masters, it’s assumed all house-elves are untrustworthy, denying their loyalty and selves.”

Vid was referring to Cedric’s father—Amos Diggory. During the original World Cup final’s incident, he stubbornly insisted that the Crouch Family’s house-elf, Winky, had cast the Dark Mark, completely ignoring other people’s well-reasoned doubts.

”But think about it carefully—” Vid continued, ”Are instances of house-elves betraying their masters more frequent, or is the likelihood of betrayal among humans higher?”

”Or rather, precisely because most people believe house-elves must be loyal to their masters, the appearance of one or two exceptions seems so extraordinary... blinding them with prejudice, denying the loyalty of the entire race.”

”Poppets are actually the same—the command written at their birth is to obey the owner’s orders and safeguard the owner’s interests. If one day a poppet betrays, the reason will definitely not just be because they have thoughts.”

”Delaine, if you view them as you would a person or a colleague, and not just as tools, you will find that poppets are more reliable than the vast majority of humans.”

Delaine was silent for a long time, finally chuckling softly, ”Consider them as people? So that’s how you think... alright, now I believe your poppet won’t betray you.”

But at this moment, he was more determined than ever not to buy a poppet as a pet.

Their creator unconsciously embedded in them the seeds of thought as ’humans’ at the very beginning, maybe Vid didn’t realize what impact this thinking might have, or maybe this faint spark would never truly ignite throughout its life.

But if one day, poppets awaken to this consciousness, could those who ignore, abuse, and exploit them still earn the poppet’s loyalty?