"I told you - wait, can you really do it?" Lucius was surprised by Tom's words. He didn't want just a simple defensive alchemical artifact but one that combined offense and defense.
It wasn't something any alchemist could create.
"I can do it. I'm willing to stake my honor as an alchemist on it," Tom responded seriously.
This statement might have sounded cheesy, but for a pure-blood aristocrat like Lucius, it was quite enticing. Unconsciously, he was already inclined to believe in the unknown alchemist in front of him.
"I can create a ring for you with the Protego, Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, and Impedimenta enchantments. Additionally, on the front of the ring, I can engrave your family crest. As a wizard born into an ancient and noble pure-blood family, how could the ring not have your family emblem?"
Lucius had to admit he was tempted. Just like both wizard and Muggle aristocracies, pure-blood wizards liked to have their family crests engraved on rings and then passed down as family heirlooms. If he could choose, an alchemical item in the form of a ring would be most suitable for Lucius's expectations.
And this ring had four attached enchantments, an unparalleled value!
"I find it acceptable," Lucius said haughtily, thinking the design was rather good. Now it was time to discuss the price.
"One thousand Galleons. However, as you're a friend of Mr. Penney's, I can offer you a 20% discount, so it would be eight hundred Galleons," Tom replied straightforwardly, making an exorbitant offer.
Is he trying to rob me?! Lucius felt a surge of hot blood rushing to his head. This price was way too expensive. Eight hundred Galleons were enough for a family of nine to go on vacation to Egypt for two months. Spending so much money on a single ring, even if it came with four enchantments, was simply too costly.
With eight hundred Galleons, you could buy four front-row tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final! Even the Malfoy family didn't spend their money that way!
Wait a moment, when he thought about the match tickets, Lucius had a sudden idea.
"You've given a negotiable price, but since you've offered me a discount, as the head of the ancient Malfoy family, I cannot ignore your kindness... I've also decided to offer my generosity: four front-row tickets to the Quidditch World Cup final. The price for these four tickets is up to 800 Galleons, and they are even priceless in the current market as they can't be obtained through official means...".
Although Lucius was surprised by Tom's offer of eight hundred Galleons, he showed no emotion on his face. On the contrary, he decided to seize the opportunity to get something in return from the alchemist in front of him.
Those four front-row tickets were definitely worth eight hundred Galleons, and they could no longer be bought through official channels. You would probably need a thousand Galleons to purchase them from scalpers... But Lucius was a well-connected person and could get Quidditch tickets at very low prices from the Department of Magical Sports.
This was a privilege for ancient pure-blood families like his.
So, he would simply exchange the tickets for the debt. Whether Seven used them to watch the match or resold them was no longer Lucius's concern.
Tom frowned, not expecting something like this to happen. Someone wanting to trade tickets for money, and someone else working just to buy tickets? The two quickly reached an agreement and signed the contract.
"Come to pick up your order in three days," Tom said, though he could finish it quickly, he planned to make Lucius wait a bit.
"Very well," Lucius nodded satisfactorily. For him, waiting three days was not an issue at all; it even seemed quite satisfying.
"In three days, I'll come with the tickets. These tickets are nameless and specific, the person who buys them just needs to send a letter to the ticket agency to register their personal information on the tickets; it's very convenient." Here, convenience referred to how easily ticket scalpers could handle them.
There were many people in the Ministry of Magic who were hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to make some extra money. VIP seats and nearly half of the front-row seats were not sold at all; they were entirely absorbed internally by the event organization, with the Minister of Magic leading the game. For example, Lucius obtained two honor tickets by donating a sum of money to St. Mungo's Magical Hospital. These two seats were located in a luxury box on the upper floor, being the best seats in the stadium worldwide.
Mr. Weasley wasn't far behind either, as he had previously helped the head of the Department of Magical Sports, Ludo Bagman, solve some complicated problems, so he also got tickets for the luxury box on the upper floor.
This is the wizarding community. Whether good or evil, pure-blood families always have privileges that common wizards don't.
After Lucius left, Tom hurriedly made his way to his workshop. There was no time to waste; he needed to hurry and make the ring that Lucius had ordered.
The workshop was completely dark, and to turn on the light, a magical coin needed to be inserted into the gas meter.
Tom expressionlessly took out a penny and then his wand. He pointed the wand at the coin, and it transformed into the appearance of a Knut.
Hmm, although a Knut wasn't worth much, Tom didn't want to be cheated by Mr. Penney. So, he had his own way of dealing with the situation.
He was a wizard, and wizards could use Transfiguration! Wizarding world coins were minted by the goblins of Gringotts, infused with magic to make it difficult for common wizards to counterfeit. This copper coin transformed by Tom was like that; any wizard who touched it would realize that something wasn't right.
But could a gas meter be that smart?
Tom tossed the transformed copper coin into the gas meter.
Ding!
The coin fell through the exit hole and clinked onto the floor.
Well, this gas meter was indeed intelligent; it managed to detect that Tom was using a counterfeit coin. But Tom had another trick up his sleeve.
He took out a legitimate Knut and tied a string to it, then he threw it directly into the gas meter.
This time, the gas meter worked correctly.
Ah-ha! Tom pushed the Knut and pulled it out of the gas meter, managing to get fifteen minutes of gas for free.
Tom rushed to the desk and took out the Menes Stone slab. It was a treasure he had acquired previously from Pharaoh Menes, an alchemical relic.
He took out a small bottle filled with blood and dropped it onto the stone slab. The blood drops quickly seeped into the stone, and the onyx on top of the slab slowly rotated. Finally, the blood acquired through the growth allowed the three gems to rotate.
This meant that Tom could perform a three-star alchemical creation.