Free Web NovelChapter 787: Chapter 698: Dementor-Repelling Necklace, Two Extra People at Home
"Unicorn horns and dragon blood?"
Chris looked at Kael, puzzled, and asked, "What do you want these things for?"
"It’s not for me. Fred and George need them." Kael repeated what they’d discussed in the office. freewebnoveℓ.com
"I think using magical items for protection is a pretty good idea. It might buy some escape time in critical moments."
"If those things are really useful, then you might be right there," Chris said. "We probably have about ten unicorn horns in the department, originally meant to be donated to St. Mungo’s, but if you can get the Minister’s signature, I can give them all to you."
"That many?" Kael exclaimed in surprise.
Unicorn horns aren’t something prohibited for trade. He originally thought having five or six in the department would be pretty good.
"These things are worth more than their weight in gold and are always popular with smugglers," Chris said offhandedly. "We manage to confiscate some every time."
"What about dragon blood?" Kael continued to ask.
"Not an ounce," Chris spread his hands, "If you’d come three days ago, we still had a pint, but it was all donated to St. Mungo’s. They’re urgently needing dragon blood for brewing potions."
"However..." Chris shifted the conversation, continuing, "If you’re in need, I could help you get in touch with Romania."
"The Romanian Fire Dragon Reserve?" Kael blinked, "They still sell dragon blood?"
"They don’t sell it. They only offer a dragon rental service," Chris explained.
"But I have a good relationship with them. With a good enough reason, I think they won’t mind selling me some dragon blood at a low price, about half of the market price."
"Then I’ll take ten pints," Kael blurted out.
Dragon blood is a treasure. Whether it’s for brewing potions or alchemy, it’s essential. It’s definitely not wrong to get more, at worst, just store it up.
But Kael waited a long time without a response from Chris. When he looked up, he found Chris giving him a rather odd look.
"Ten pints?" Chris’s voice changed a bit. "Do you think this is pumpkin juice? Not even if Mr. Scamander intervened could he get ten pints of dragon blood.
"There’s only one pint. If that’s not enough, you’ll have to find another way."
"And with so little, your connections aren’t worth much," Kael grumbled, "Forget it, I’ll just go find Newt."
With that said, Kael turned and went, leaving Chris fuming behind him.
Is one pint of dragon blood still too little? He surely doesn’t think it’s really pumpkin juice!
After leaving the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Kael returned to the Minister’s office to relay the issue to Fudge.
Fudge only thought for a moment before agreeing to the proposal, though he double-checked.
"Are you sure they will sell those magical tools at cost price?"
"Yes, Minister," Kael said, "Fred and George said they want to do something for the Magic Realm, and they’ve already agreed.
"They’re Mr. Arthur Weasley’s sons, they surely wouldn’t joke around about this."
"Oh, Arthur, that’s why their names sounded a bit familiar," Fudge muttered softly.
Mr. Weasley’s good reputation paid off at this moment, and Fudge agreed directly.
Though this approach had never been done before, if they were only subsidizing one Galleon at a time, the Ministry of Magic could afford it.
Moreover, Fudge wasn’t foolish. This was real, tangible benefit and could greatly enhance the Ministry of Magic’s reputation, giving him no reason to refuse.
Ten minutes later, Kael left the Minister’s office with two parchments in hand.
One was the Ministry of Magic’s subsidy announcement, which would later be published in the "Daily Prophet."
The other was an application agreement for Kael to use the department’s unicorn materials.
By the time Kael returned to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures with it, Chris had already prepared the unicorn horns in advance.
However, he didn’t seem very happy, and the entire time he didn’t crack a smile, just stuffed the items in Kael’s hands and told him to hurry up and leave.
Kael didn’t mind though, and just took the elevator again, finding Fred and George who had been waiting a long time.
"So, how did it go..."
He hadn’t even stepped out of the elevator before the two couldn’t wait any longer and asked.
"Of course, it’s all sorted." Kael casually handed them a bag he was holding.
Inside, apart from ten unicorn horns, was also a pint of dragon blood.
The distance from here to Romania isn’t short. The new batch of dragon blood would probably take some time to arrive, so Kael just used his previous stock to cover it.
"That’s great!" Fred said excitedly, "Is everything free?"
"The dragon blood is at half price," Kael replied.
"That’s more than enough." George did some quick calculations, "These should last us for quite a while, and I figured the cost could drop to around two Galleons."
"Hmm... set the price at seven Galleons," Kael thought for a moment and said, "and increase the Ministry’s subsidy to five Galleons."
"Huh?" Fred was a bit confused, "Isn’t that the same thing?"
"Not the same," Kael shook his head, "After all, the materials are provided by the Ministry of Magic, and we have to account for that."
George glanced at Kael, smirking, "Fudge is going to be jumping with joy."
Fred nodded in wholehearted agreement, "No wonder you can be a Senior Ministerial Assistant, there’s a reason for it."
