## Orli
"Having more friends is better than having more enemies, sir. If our cooperation can lead to mutual benefit, would you be open to adding another source of income for the Malfoy family?"
Orli's eyes sparkled. From another perspective, Lucius didn't have to be her enemy forever.
# Lucius
"You, cooperate with me?"
Lucius let out a derisive laugh, as if he'd just heard the most ridiculous joke. In his eyes, Orli and he were as different as a Muggle bicycle and the Hogwarts Express—not even in the same league.
## Orli
"Yes, sir. As you know, I'm in the business of recycling potions. If you have potions to sell, I can offer a price thirty percent above market value."
Orli felt like she had stumbled upon a gold mine.
# Lucius
"Do you have any idea how many potion shops I own across Britain and abroad?"
Lucius's lips curled into a dangerous smile.
# Lucius
"If you want to cooperate with me, there can be no limit on the quantity of potions you recycle—I'm curious to see just how much you can handle."
# Dumbledore
"Lucius!"
Dumbledore interrupted him, but Orli's eyes gleamed with excitement.
## Orli
"Mr. Malfoy, do you have a large potion inventory? Thousands of bottles, or tens of thousands?"
# Lucius
"Arrogant little girl."
Lucius narrowed his eyes.
# Lucius
"I'll make sure to teach you a proper lesson."
---
The next few days were a whirlwind for Orli.
Sorting through all the potions in the school was a monumental task. Orli had to personally inspect each potion and then discreetly send them to the system for recycling. The constant ding, ding, ding of contribution points accumulating was music to her ears. Even though her back ached, her head spun, and her body felt drained, her mood remained jubilant.
The Hogwarts Board of Governors soon received a substantial transfer of funds from Orli. Nobody would turn down money, so she quickly secured an exclusive contract to recycle potions from all Hogwarts students.
Meanwhile, Lucius was busy as well. He transported an entire train carriage filled with potions to Hogsmeade. Naturally, the carriage was packed with unsellable products, many gathering dust and nearing expiration. But the system didn't care about such details, and Orli was equally unfazed, happily accepting the entire load.
As Lucius held the Gringotts check Orli had signed, his expression was a mix of satisfaction and frustration—pleasure at clearing out his inventory and receiving payment, but regret that he hadn't managed to make things difficult for her. After nearly three years of being trained by Snape, Orli had mastered the art of handling snakes (or perhaps their scales?). She extended her hand graciously toward Lucius:
## Orli
"A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Malfoy. I look forward to your next batch of potions."
Lucius stared at her smiling face, as if trying to detect any sign of strain, but he found nothing. Reluctantly, he extended his hand, barely brushing her fingertips.
# Lucius
"Let's see if you'll be this cheerful next time."
He was already plotting how to trouble her again. Orli could clearly read his expression, but she didn't care—her mind was occupied with more pressing matters.
Although the recent experience was hard to replicate (the school's potions could only be recycled once per academic year, and Lucius's inventory would eventually run out), thanks to her extraordinary potion recycling speed over the past few days, her system contribution points had skyrocketed. She finally accumulated enough points to exchange for materials related to Horcruxes.
Late at night, she hid under her bed curtains, holding the newly exchanged Dark Magic: Splitting the Soul and Achieving Immortality. She felt herself drawing closer and closer to her goal. Her next step was to find a way to deal with Voldemort's Horcruxes as soon as possible, preferably dropping some hints to Dumbledore and others along the way.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Discover 10 Amazing Fanfics on My Patreon!Unlock 400+ Advance Chapters and Dive into the Story Early! 👉 [patreon.com/DarkGolds]