Chapter 197: Becoming a Flying Broom Distributor

"Actually, your godson is richer than you!"

"Your godson is richer than you!"

"Richer than you!"

"Richer than you!"

This sentence echoed over and over in Sirius Black's mind. Wealth had been the only way he could measure his worth as a godfather. Now that even this measure had failed, the fragile confidence he had just built up as a godfather crumbled inside the Gringotts vault.

"Greedy Serpent, devour those Galleons."

With a flick of his wand, Regulus Black cast a brand-new spell, one no one had ever used before. A snake appeared—so short it was almost comical, with only a head and the tiniest sliver of a tail. Curled up, it looked just like a golden ball.

Once it hit the ground, the serpent whipped its tail against the floor, launching its head upward as it lunged toward the nearest Galleon.

The goblin who had escorted them into the vault watched, horrified, as the Greedy Serpent swallowed Galleon after Galleon, growing longer with each one. The corner of his eye twitched involuntarily, as if it were his own fortune being devoured.

The spell "Greedy Serpent" had been developed by Regulus based on the classic game Snake. Inspired by spells like Serpenting Launch and Undetectable Extension, it could only consume small items of the same kind.

Since it had started with Galleons, it ignored the surrounding Sickles and Knuts completely.

But if it was Galleons, the Greedy Serpent could consume them endlessly. The only thing that changed was the length of its body.

Aside from its comical head and tail, the entire snake's body was formed from neatly aligned Galleons, encased in a transparent membrane. As it slithered along the ground, the coins moved like orderly vertebrae.

Each Galleon was about 2 millimeters thick. With 6,407 of them, the total length added up to more than 12 meters but less than 13.

"Regulus, I'm serious! Couldn't you have made it a bit smaller?"

Sirius pointed at the Greedy Serpent coiling around him and sighed, clearly troubled. There was no way they wouldn't attract attention walking out like this.

"Don't you want to make a grand entrance when shopping?"

Regulus replied casually as he swept the leftover Sickles and Knuts into a coin pouch.

Watching this made Sirius's eye twitch again. You have a space-enhanced coin pouch! Then why on earth did you need to create such an ostentatious way to carry the Galleons?

You did this on purpose, didn't you? You just want to embarrass me!

Sirius closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying his best to hold back. His dear little brother was clearly up to something. He couldn't fall for it and lose his temper.

"Take this, Sirius. We still need to negotiate with the merchants. Not a single Firebolt has sold yet, and the price we settle on will affect their future pricing standard."

Regulus handed the coin pouch to Sirius and boarded the rail cart.

"Could you… also put that snake into the pouch?"

Sirius shook the pouch with a look of desperation, trying hard not to roll his eyes.

"Why?" Regulus asked innocently, pretending not to understand.

"Please. Help me out here, Regulus... my dear brother," Sirius pleaded, forcing out the words with great reluctance.

"Of course! Just a simple Shrinking Charm. Happy to serve. Reducio!"

Regulus, satisfied to see Sirius give in, cast the spell and shrank the 12.814-meter-long Galleon snake into a 1.28-centimeter golden necklace. The Greedy Serpent coiled itself around Sirius's neck, the head and tail meeting at the center of his chest.

"Quite fancy! Looks great on you—though you're about to lose it soon."

Regulus eyed the necklace with clear temptation. He almost wanted to make one for himself. A gaudy gold chain like that was a classic for any nouveau riche—but money came fast and left even faster.

"You'll handle the price negotiations yourself. After all, it's a birthday gift for your beloved godson."

Regulus was firm about that. It was also his way of pushing Sirius to reintegrate into wizarding society. Spending too long in fringe circles never ended well—far too many members had bled out in alleyways as proof of that.

In the month when Regulus Black hosted a matchmaking banquet for Sirius, Sirius had already been thoroughly trained into decent shape.

By now, he knew when to back down and when to ask for help. Today, he even managed to negotiate independently with a shrewd businessman.

As early as his first year in the Harry Potter world, Regulus Black had already begun revitalizing his finances. He earned not only in the Muggle world but also converted pounds into Galleons to invest across various sectors in the wizarding world. All of this, however, was under his personal name and separate from the Black family assets.

Becoming a distributor for flying broomsticks was naturally part of the investment strategy.

Flying brooms were originally a means of transport for wizards, but their development was largely driven by Quidditch. The fierce competition in matches became a battleground for broom performance, with broomstick companies constantly being founded and going out of business.

In 1967, the establishment of the Nimbus Racing Broom Company sent shockwaves through the broomstick world. No one had ever seen anything like the Nimbus 1000.

The Nimbus company combined the safety of traditional Oakshaft models with the maneuverability of the best Cleansweep series. With a top speed of 100 miles per hour and the ability to make 360-degree turns mid-air, the Nimbus quickly won the favor of every professional Quidditch team across Europe.

It dominated the broomstick market with successive models—Nimbus 1001, Nimbus 1500, Nimbus 1700—until it met a serious challenger: the Twigger 90.

First produced in 1990 by manufacturers Flyte and Barker, the Twigger 90 was intended to replace the Nimbus series and dominate the market.

Though exquisitely crafted and packed with gimmicks—including built-in alarm whistles and self-straightening tail twigs—users soon discovered that it warped at high speeds. It gained a poor reputation: people joked it wasn't wizardry making it fly, but sheer Galleons.

Still, when it first emerged, the Nimbus company had no idea how strong a competitor they were facing. Just like stocks in the Muggle world, a monopoly pushes prices sky-high, but once a serious rival appears, the value plummets.

At the height of Nimbus's anxiety, Regulus Black stepped in. With masterful negotiation, he acquired the company's full equity—along with all broom makers and distribution channels.

He immediately ordered the now-devalued Nimbus staff to halt all production and focus entirely on developing a new model. Sales were suspended, giving the Twigger 90 a chance to rise to the top.

Then, Regulus Black withdrew from the Twigger 90 company—yes, he had also been a shareholder there.

He sold all of his Twigger 90 shares back to Flyte and Barker at peak market value and left the company's board amidst their mocking laughter.

Regulus Black had promised to make the Twigger 90 famous—and he delivered.

Through a series of clever tactics and media buzz, he achieved exactly what he'd planned.

As a temporary shareholder of Twigger 90, he then sold his stock after Nimbus's withdrawal, cashing in at market price—again, as planned.

By spending money strategically, Regulus Black acquired the entire Nimbus Racing Broom Company and then publicly shut it down.

Having knowledge of the original timeline, Regulus effectively pulled off a masterstroke: profiting from Twigger 90's IPO and then reaping the bankruptcy dividends of Nimbus—only to emerge as the manufacturer of the Firebolt.

The Firebolt remains the most advanced racing broom ever created. Its handle is made from polished ash wood, aerodynamically sleek and exquisitely crafted, treated with a diamond-hard polish and engraved with a hand-carved serial number.

Each of its tail twigs is individually selected to ensure perfect aerodynamics, offering unmatched balance and precision.

It can accelerate to 150 miles per hour in ten seconds, and its braking system is second to none.

It is the dream broom for every Quidditch player.

Price upon request.

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