Chapter 132: Life Potion: Version XX (Patreon)

However, Dumbledore didn't feel much relief.

He didn't know how many Horcruxes Voldemort had made, nor where they were hidden.

"Elavin, how much do you know about Voldemort's Horcruxes? I think we need to find them and destroy them."

Dumbledore's thinking was simple.

Even if Voldemort was now sealed inside a plush toy and no longer posed an immediate threat, who could guarantee that situation would last forever?

As long as Voldemort was immortal, he remained a danger!

So the Horcruxes had to be found and destroyed.

The only silver lining was that this didn't need to be done urgently.

"At least now that Voldemort is in our hands, maybe we can try Veritaserum?"

"Sorry, Professor, let me interrupt."

Elavin looked Dumbledore straight in the eye. "I think you need to realise something. Voldemort isn't in 'our' hands. He's in *my* hands."

"He's my prize. Understand?"

"Without my magic binding his soul, he'd slip away the next second, and you'd just be standing there watching it happen."

You got carried the whole way, and you still have the nerve to say "our"?

If you'd at least shouted '666' back there, I'd even count that as getting an assist!

Dumbledore fell silent again.

"Also, do you think Veritaserum would work on a toy's body?"

Dumbledore realised the mistake he'd just made. "Alright then, what about using the Imperius Curse to make him write it down?"

He paused mid-sentence, then slapped his own forehead. "Sorry, I forgot again. Voldemort doesn't have hands right now."

"I'll have Quirrell handle this."

"I think he'll be more than happy to extract some information from Voldemort."

"Once he gets the answers, we can revisit this topic."

Elavin knew roughly what the Horcruxes were and where they were, but he couldn't be bothered to look for them himself. He'd let someone else do the legwork.

Besides, he was genuinely curious to see what Quirrell would do to Voldemort.

Dumbledore: 'You just call him Quirrell directly? At least add a 'Professor,' won't you?'

Elavin: 'Professor? Is he even worthy of that title?'

"Oh, by the way, I'll be taking this Philosopher's Stone."

Elavin tossed the Stone in his palm a couple of times, then pocketed it without waiting for Dumbledore's permission.

Dumbledore glanced at Elavin's pocket but didn't stop him. "Of course. I was wondering what to give you as a reward. I couldn't think of a better reward than the Philosopher's Stone."

"But I should warn you. The magic left in this Stone is nearly depleted. It might only work a few more times."

"By the way, what do you plan to use it for? You shouldn't be short on money or worried about your lifespan at this point, right?"

The new potions Elavin and Snape had developed together had been sold in Hogwarts-affiliated shops for some time now, so Dumbledore could easily check how many had been sold and how much revenue each potion had generated.

Because the new potions were highly effective and produced in limited quantities, Elavin had been making a killing under a scarcity marketing strategy.

In the past two months alone, his net profit had exceeded 2,000 Galleons!

Dumbledore knew Elavin wasn't short on money. As for his lifespan...

He'd also seen Elavin feed Quirrell the Life Potion earlier.

"Is that Life Potion also your creation?"

Elavin nodded. "That's right. It can replenish depleted life force. You saw the effect on Quirrell yourself."

Dumbledore silently compared Quirrell's condition before and after taking the potion and thought to himself, Incredible.

"I never expected your talent in Potions to be so outstanding! Severus is the most talented potion-maker I've ever met, but even he hadn't achieved this much at your age."

"Snape?" Elavin didn't feel the least bit ashamed of boasting. "He's definitely a Potions genius, but even geniuses have different levels."

The abilities and talents granted by the system were, of course, *his* own abilities and talents!

If I never turn it off, can you even call it cheating?

"By the way, I plan to put the Life Potion on the market this month. For now, I'll price it at 888 Galleons per vial."

"That's a bit steep! But..."

Dumbledore frowned, his expression turning serious. "There are many wizards in the magical world whose life force has been damaged due to the misuse of magic or other reasons. Though your Life Potion is expensive, once it's released, people will scramble to buy it!"

"Exactly. The more they fight over it, the more I earn."

So far, Elavin had developed four versions of the Life Potion.

The First Version was a failure. It restored life force temporarily, but after seven days, the drinker would suffer backlash and die from life force depletion.

The Second Version had no backlash, but it came with severe side effects, draining the drinker's lifespan significantly.

The Third Version was the first genuinely successful version. It restored life force without side effects, though its healing effect still fell short of expectations.

The Fourth Version, developed after obtaining unicorn blood, was the most perfect version to date, but it was extremely rare and difficult to reproduce.

Elavin decided to put the Third Version on the market.

The raw materials for each batch cost around 20 Galleons, and each batch could yield three or four vials. Factoring in time, labour, and wastage, the average cost per vial was about 8 Galleons.

Elavin felt selling it for 888 Galleons was already very reasonable!

But that price was only temporary. Later, he planned to dilute, repackage, refine, and roll out premium editions of the potion, including a 188-Galleon "Mini Version," a 388-Galleon "Budget Version," a 688-Galleon "Refined Version," a 1,188-Galleon "Luxury Version," and a 1,888-Galleon "Super Luxury Version"...

He had plenty of "predecessors" to learn from in this regard, of course.

For now, he didn't need to tell anyone about these plans.

Little did Dumbledore know that this Hufflepuff was already on the path to becoming an unscrupulous capitalist. He was still planning for Elavin's future.

"Elavin, listen to me. You might still be young and inexperienced, not fully understanding what a Life Potion means."

"What I'm telling you is that it's fundamentally different from the 'Potent Potions' you've previously released!"

"A potion that can restore life force has never appeared in the entire history of magic!"

"That means it carries enormous commercial value!"

"Once it hits the market, it will inevitably attract countless disputes and trouble!"