Chapter 83: Legendary Gold Wizard Stickers

Because of the timing, besides delivering the books, Lockhart also invited Silven to have dinner together at the Leaky Cauldron.

Being able to snag a free meal, Silven naturally had no reason to refuse.

Old Tom's cooking was only so-so, but it won out with its unique flavor; some customers actually quite liked it, and Lockhart was one of them—he seemed to especially love the things here, and every time he came to eat he had to wear a splendid robe and sit in the most conspicuous spot, as though he were always ready to be interviewed by the Daily Prophet's food column.

Too bad he never once ran into one.

Because, including Silven, most wizards weren't really used to this unique taste—when Old Tom was young he might have lived in Spain, so every single dish he made had to have garlic in it, and he was especially generous with the amount.

Before, Silven had even suspected that Quirrell got his inspiration from here, which was why he decided to use garlic to mask that rotting smell on Voldemort's soul.

……

After a not-so-sumptuous English-Spanish style dinner, Lockhart ordered two more butterbeers and began chatting with Silven.

Most of the time it was Lockhart recounting his legendary adventures, with Silven listening beside him.

Lockhart really did have a gift for storytelling—setting aside the self-praising parts, those experiences were still quite interesting.

"These experiences let me meet many friends—the prince of an African wizard tribe, who still sends me some special little gifts to this day, and a mysterious vampire hunter, with whom I once shared a cup of wolfsbane potion beneath the full moon."

"I don't want to brag about how close we are." Lockhart looked at Silven and gave a meaningful wink. "But if you need it, perhaps I could offer some help with your Outstanding Wizard series stickers."

"That would be wonderful." Silven said with a smile. He had known all along that Lockhart wouldn't send someone to deliver a letter to him for no reason, let alone invite him to dinner out of sheer boredom.

"What a pity, the theme and lineup for the first issue are basically already locked in."

Silven took out a glossy poster he'd prepared long ago, with golden cursive lettering at the very top.

【Hogwarts Professor Series】

Besides that, six different wizards were drawn on it, in order: Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and Severus Snape—exactly the four Heads of Houses.

There were also two at the very top, one shimmering silver all over, the other an even more dazzling gold—clearly different from the other four at a glance, but none of them had a face.

"This is……"

"Someone gave me a suggestion, saying that way we wouldn't have to agonize over who to pick as the representative figure." Silven waved his wand, and Dumbledore's face immediately appeared on the gold figure sticker at the top.

"I……" Lockhart had only just begun to speak when he heard Silven continue:

"But I didn't expect that you, Mr. Lockhart, would also be joining Hogwarts, and teaching the most dangerous subject—Defence Against the Dark Arts." Silven's voice grew more and more excited. "This must be the guidance of fate."

Saying so, he waved his wand once more.

The golden Dumbledore vanished and turned into Lockhart, posed in his signature stance from Wizard Weekly.

And Dumbledore became the silver one.

"Ah, this…… haha…… this……" Lockhart's cheeks flushed, his whole body trembling slightly with excitement.

This was his true purpose—to get himself to appear on every wizard's wand, further expanding his fame.

But he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly; he didn't even need to do anything extra, just have a meal with this admirer of his, Silven. Lockhart thought smugly to himself, as though he could already see his own smiling face glittering on tens of thousands of wands.

Because he was too pleased with himself, he completely failed to notice the strange thing about that poster.

It was clearly the Hogwarts Professor Series—why could there be two people above the four Heads of Houses?

After all, Minerva McGonagall, besides being Head of Gryffindor, was also Deputy Headmistress, making her the most suitable candidate for the silver sticker, yet she had, for no good reason, been lumped in with the ordinary stickers.

"You're exaggerating too much… how could I… how could I be mentioned in the same breath as Albus…" Lockhart said with feigned modesty, yet afraid Silven might change his mind.

"Fine, if you insist it's fine—compared to Albus, who's been stuck in the castle grading papers these past few years, my achievements are clearly more…… vivid and lively, aren't they?"

He seemed to have convinced himself.

"Alright, alright, let's just say it's giving the future students a little support within my power." Lockhart said, "I'll buy a hundred of these stickers first, and tomorrow slip them into Magical Me as a surprise gift."

When Lockhart spoke, a hint of superiority unconsciously crept in, as though his choosing the stickers as a gift was a decision that was, for Silven, an immense honor.

In a certain sense, it was quite normal for him to think this way—after all, the name Gilderoy Lockhart was really very famous in the Wizarding World, with countless admirers; although his fame had dipped a bit in recent years, he was still a household name.

"Of course, no problem, Mr. Lockhart." Silven first showed excitement, then suddenly hesitated. "But, it might be…… a teeny, teeny bit expensive."

"No problem, how much?" Lockhart said without a care.

"When I made the Legendary Gold Wizard Stickers, I used real gold for embellishment." Silven carefully held up two fingers. "So, the price per sticker is two Galleons."

Lockhart's expression stiffened.

Wasn't it two Sickles? How did it become Galleons?

One tiny sticker equaled the price of half his book—truly not cheap!

Watching his face shift between cloudy and bright, Silven continued: "Of course, cutting costs a little is also fine—I can use ordinary gold paint, that way it only costs ten Sickles."

"No, use real gold." Lockhart clenched his teeth—how could gold paint highlight his status? Wouldn't that be putting on a front?

"Still a hundred?" Silven asked with a smile.

"I suddenly remembered, it's still better to create a bit of a surprise." Lockhart's eyes flickered. "How about this, I'll take three…… fifty, and make up the rest with Magical Creature stickers."

Fifty stickers meant a hundred Galleons—although giving them away for free stung a bit, it was still within an acceptable range.

Too bad the retail price of Magical Me had already been announced by Flourish and Blotts yesterday. If the pricing could be adjusted to factor the two Galleons into the cost, even giving away a gold sticker with every book would be no problem.

But that wasn't his call alone, so he could only foot the bill himself and treat it as a special gift included with the book.

"Of course, no problem, as you wish." Silven's smile grew even broader.

"It's just that the Legendary Gold Wizard Stickers have a complex craft and tedious production, so I might not be able to produce that many all at once."

Lockhart's eyes lit up—if Silven couldn't produce them, couldn't he justifiably cut down on some of the expense……

"How about I deliver them to Flourish and Blotts tomorrow?" Without waiting for him to speak, Silven went on: "I remember the signing starts at noon, I guarantee they'll arrive before the signing begins."

"N-no problem." Lockhart said, wincing.

That meal really cost a pretty penny.

But Legendary Gold Wizard Stickers…… what a fantastic name, it was practically tailor-made for him!

……

(End of chapter)