Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 44 Hehua Hair Tonic and His Path

After leaving Malfoy Manor, Mo Ran returned control of his body to Harry. However, to his surprise, after briefly recounting what had just happened, Harry immediately shifted the topic to their memories and consciousness.

"Hey... if only I could see what was happening outside when you were in control of your body, then we wouldn't have to go through all this trouble every time."

Upon hearing this, Mo Ran remained silent for a long while, then said in a half-joking tone:

"That won't do. If that's the case, then you'll know all my little secrets and the bad things I do in secret?"

"So what? Haven't we done plenty of bad things together? Besides, no matter what we've done, other people can't tell the difference."

Ha used his sincerity and almost unconditional trust to overwhelm Mo Ran. After some deliberation, Mo Ran, unprepared to be honest, chose to run away again.

"Well... actually, I didn't expect to completely control the Malfoy family with just one visit. The main purpose of our operation this time is to show Lucius that there is another path for him. As for how much chance of success or how much benefit this path brings, those are things we need to discuss later."

Faced with Mo Ran's somewhat abrupt change of topic, Harry didn't delve into it, but instead went along with it:

"Okay, so what's the next step?"

Mo Ran said:

"Next, we can resume the Potter family's old business without worrying about being targeted by malicious people. With our own business, we can make money, build connections, and gradually develop our influence... After a few years, once we've captured most of the European market, we can move on to the United States and even the world."

"Oh, so you've moved to the US. Tell me the truth, did you suddenly decide to do all this because you were scammed by that Donald Cooper?"

"How could that be? I was definitely accumulating leverage to fight Voldemort. I would have forgotten the name of such a nobody if you hadn't mentioned it."

To say they forgot Donald Cooper's name would be a lie. But having enough material resources would certainly help them defeat Voldemort.

Like many moviegoers, Mo Ran was initially puzzled as to why Harry possessed such a large fortune. He only knew that it was the legacy left by the Potter family's past business dealings, but he had no idea where the money came from. As it turned out, he was shocked to discover after some investigation that the Potter family had been living a "dangerous" life of living off their inheritance since James's generation.

Harry Potter's grandfather, Fremont Potter, is not only the ancestor of the Saviors, but also better known as the creator of the hair-smoothing serum, a favorite among European wizards. This groundbreaking invention not only brought Fremont immense prestige at a young age but also elevated the already wealthy pure-blood Potter family to even higher social classes. (In the books, Hermione used this product before her fourth-year prom, and even the Bone Regeneration Potion was invented by a Potter ancestor.)

Material abundance makes people value spiritual fulfillment more. Having been childless past middle age, Fremont decided to retire immediately upon learning of his wife's pregnancy, dedicating every moment of his remaining life to his wife and child. And when James Porter was born, Fremont's paternal love reached its peak.

To spare his children the hardship and toil of struggling for money, the retired James Potter, still not content with his current situation, sold the formula for his hair-smoothing tonic and the manufacturing company he had painstakingly built, converting all his fixed assets except his house into cash and depositing it in Gringotts. (James Potter was born a true heir to a family with no sons for eighteen generations. Even his mischievous nature in his youth was inextricably linked to his parents' excessive pampering of him because he was born late in life.)

Unfortunately, life is unpredictable, and misfortune can strike at any time. The Potters never imagined that Voldemort's appearance would prematurely end James Potter's life, a life of relative comfort and success. The vast fortune they left their children—the Galleons—almost became an unclaimed charitable fund before it even finished serving its next generation...

Knowing full well the terrifying power of capital, Mo Ran strongly disapproved of Fremont Porter's actions.

Putting aside the possibility that an overly permissive parenting style might breed arrogant and unruly children, just the fact that he sold off his thriving company made him want to go back in time and slap Harry's grandfather awake.

If you want to spend more time with your family, why not just hire someone to manage the company? Why insist on selling off a business you've worked so hard to build? Does the company only represent money in your eyes? Aren't the employees and business partners you meet also valuable connections? And what about the industry leaders among your consumers—aren't they all worth getting to know?

It's no exaggeration to say that if the Potters had continued to run Sleekeazy, James and Lily would very likely have survived Voldemort with the help of their employees, partners, and customers.

……

It is unreasonable for a son to scold his father.

Even if he was very dissatisfied with the behavior of the Potter family's ancestors, Mo Ran could not say it in front of Harry.

"The Potter family's reputation certainly helps in doing business. However, if we want to use your grandfather's invention of the quick-smooth hair product as a gimmick, we'll have to face the hostility of the current owners of Sleekeazy. In that case, their most likely course of action is to seek an alliance with a family of the Malfoy's caliber."

"Oh! So there's another layer to your intimidation of Lucius Malfoy. If the Malfoy family doesn't dare to go against us, then even if they have any grievances, they can only engage in normal business competition with us, instead of resorting to underhanded tactics."

"That's right. Then things will be much easier. We just need to create a product that is in greater demand than the quick-smoothing hair product, earn our first pot of gold, and then we can ride the wave of this era to become the world's leading conglomerate."

"First pot of gold? Didn't Mom and Dad leave behind a lot of money? And why do you want to become a top-tier chaebol?"

"In the Muggle world, a sufficiently wealthy conglomerate can influence the course of a country, or even the world. The Potter family is certainly not short of money, but they are far from being as rich as a country. Perhaps it's because wizards have always been a minority group that they don't quite understand the principle of strength in numbers. However, since our enemy is Voldemort, we must obtain as much help as possible—including resources from the Muggles."

After explaining the importance of money and capital, Moran helped his host return to Hogwarts via Apparition. Without time to catch up with Hermione and Ron, Harry donned the Invisibility Cloak and went straight to the Potions professor's office in the castle's basement.

In the dimly lit corridor, the firelight flickered gently. Even though he was familiar with the roads and environment here because of tutoring, he still didn't want to stay in this place for long.

"Alright, let's change players."

Harry said softly.

"No, that won't do. You need to explain this to Professor Snape yourself."

"I?"

Harry was somewhat surprised by Mo Ran's refusal.

"Yes, there are some things that I can never do for you, and this is one of them."

"OK then."

Boom, boom, boom...

With a hint of confusion, Harry knocked on the wooden door in front of him.

Wearing a black cloak resembling a large bat, Professor Snape, sitting upright in his chair, unlocked the door with his wand without looking up, as usual.

“As I’ve already said, my Advanced Potions class only accepts students who have achieved an O (outstanding) in their OWL exams. If you’ve come to me to plead for me, then I suggest you take a Muggle Studies course; it might be more suitable for your mind than Potions.”

“Uh, Professor? It’s me, Harry.”

Harry's introduction only earned him a sidelong glance from the professor. After all, for Snape, being bothered by a familiar face or an unfamiliar one made little difference.

“Weren’t you on vacation? What are you doing back at school now? I warned you, Potter… This isn’t your shop for buying rare potion ingredients.”

Having long been accustomed to Professor Snape's sharp tongue, Harry slowly took out a roll of parchment he had prepared beforehand and said:

"Professor, this is a hair growth tonic formula that I recently came up with. Although I have tested it several times, I still hope you can help me see if there is any room for improvement."

"What nonsense! I taught you potion-making skills so you could make shampoo..."

Snape's voice, filled with annoyance and disgust, abruptly stopped. Before he could even utter the word "water" in "shampoo," he was choked by the name on the top of Harry's hair growth potion ingredients—Lily Peanut Hair Tonic. (Lily also means lily flower.)

"My original intention was to create a product that could be made available to as many people as possible who need it. Therefore, both the materials used and the complexity of the configuration adhered to the principle of simplicity and convenience..."

"Where did you get this name from... how did you come up with it?"

As Mo Ran had predicted, Professor Snape's attention was not on the recipe on the parchment at all.

"It's because I wanted to commemorate my mother, Professor."

Harry answered very directly:

"When I was choosing flavoring ingredients, I happened to look up and see my mother's photo, so I decided to use it to flavor the medicine."

Professor Snape, who had been looking for trouble just a moment ago, suddenly fell completely silent.

His fingers gently traced the parchment, as if lost in a deep, deep memory. After a long while, he spoke again:

"From what I've seen so far, both the proportions of the ingredients and the preparation steps are reasonable. You mentioned that you want to make this potion available to as many people as possible, so I won't recommend using 'Sunflower Orchid' to increase the stability of its effects. As for the specific operation, you have the skill to do it."

Mo Ran never revealed a single word to his host about his parents or the love and hatred of the previous generation. But no matter how much he kept silent, he could never stop Harry from having his own speculations.

"professor!"

Harry said:

"Would you be interested in becoming a brand consultant for Lily Hair Care Company? As you can see, I'm thinking of starting a company with the same name as our hair growth product. If you agree, I can offer a percentage of the profits based on market rates."

This sudden remark left both Mo Ran and Snape completely bewildered.

According to the original plan, Harry was supposed to have Professor Snape sign the formula so that they could use the Hogwarts professor's identity to increase the hair growth tonic's popularity.

Unexpectedly, Harry, now entering puberty, went so far as to suggest arranging a job for the professor just to watch the drama unfold.

“Potter…”

Snape's helpless voice seemed to contain a hint of reproach.

"Do you know what you're doing? You're a student, are you trying to make your professor work for you?"

Mo Ran, who originally intended to remind Harry to proceed according to plan, chose to wait and see after noticing Snape's reaction.

"No, I'm a professor, not a job!"

Harry's eyes widened, and he said with utmost sincerity:

"After all, the questions I asked were unrelated to my studies, and I couldn't waste your time. Besides, the lily peanut hair tonic won't be my only invention. I hope that even after I graduate, I can continue to learn from the Potions Master I admire."