Chapter 70: Thank You and Investment

"Samuel, Irina, what's the matter?" Sean asked as they approached.

"Let's talk over here," Samuel suggested.

He led Sean to a corner of the common room hall to sit down. Then, Irina used her wand to summon a house-elf to prepare some black tea for the three of them.

Once the tea was served, Irina was the first to speak. "Sean, do you remember what you told me before the Quidditch match?"

Sean certainly remembered. He had given Irina the idea to have the Slytherin Quidditch team exceptionally recruit Malfoy in his first year and then use that as leverage to seek a donation of seven new Nimbus 2000s from the Malfoy family. It was just a pity that Malfoy was too useless; even with Harry offline for so long, he still couldn't catch the Golden Snitch.

Looking at Irina, Sean guessed something and nodded. "Didn't that matter end? We still lost the match in the end."

"A loss is a loss, but the idea was very good, and it also received the approval of the seventh-year prefects. Although we still lost the Quidditch match, the benefits we gained from proposing your idea were not diminished at all."

Looking at the smiles on Samuel and Irina's faces, Sean knew that they had obviously benefited a great deal. It seemed that the two seventh-year prefects valued Slytherin's seven consecutive championships for reasons that went beyond simple house pride. Apparently, there were things Sean didn't know about.

"So… Samuel, Irina, you two aren't just trying to make me congratulate you, are you?"

Hearing Sean's words, smiles appeared on both their faces. Irina explained, "Not many people know about this, and not everyone can know. However, according to your ability, joining us should be a sure thing in the future, so telling you should be fine."

"Slytherin graduates," she continued, "formed an organization called the Slytherin Brotherhood. Of course, the name is 'Brotherhood,' but in fact, excellent women can also join; that's not important…"

"What's important is that the members of this organization have agreed to help each other. This is an invisible asset. The two of us were originally on the borderline of whether we would be invited to join or not. Because of your idea, we have officially crossed that boundary and joined the Slytherin Brotherhood. Joining two years before graduation is quite rare, and we will have a very good path for development within the organization in the future. This is all thanks to you."

Sean offered his congratulations while thinking about the Slytherin Brotherhood.

This was obviously very similar to some fraternities in the Muggle world. Once politicians and businessmen joined the same fraternity, the relationship between them was second only to that of family. A school that seemed unattainable to outsiders only needed a recommendation letter from a celebrity in the same fraternity as the headmaster to grant successful admission. The Slytherin Brotherhood was apparently a similar organization.

"Sean," Samuel added, "joining the Slytherin Brotherhood is very important to us. If we enter the Ministry of Magic after graduation, we can immediately establish a connection with the powerful figures in the Ministry who are also in the Brotherhood. The help this provides us is beyond doubt."

"Even if we don't enter the Ministry and choose to do business, we can get more help. So, Irina and I have discussed it and decided to give you a thank-you gift. Please be sure to accept it."

At this point, Samuel took out two contracts from an item on his person that had been charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm and placed them in front of Sean.

Of these two contracts, one was made of ordinary paper and the other of very high-grade parchment. One corresponded to the Muggle world, and the other to the magical world.

"You should have noticed," Samuel said. "One of these contracts is from the Muggle world, and the other is from the magical world. They correspond to a high-end chain hotel in the Muggle world and a shop in Diagon Alley, respectively. The former comes with a five percent share, and the latter with three percent. As long as you sign them, you will receive these shares and the corresponding dividends every year."

Sean flipped through the two contracts and then shook his head. "They are too valuable. I can't accept them."

"Sean, compared to the help you gave us, they are not valuable at all."

Looking at them, Sean knew very well that these shares were not so much a thank-you gift as an investment from Samuel and Irina in his future. If their previous support had been more verbal while they observed him, then now they felt they could truly start investing in him.

Logically, Sean could accept these, and they wouldn't have much of an impact on him, but he didn't like it. He didn't like accepting other people's kindness for nothing because, in the future, one would inevitably have to pay a greater price to repay this kindness. This investment was very appealing, but without it, Sean wouldn't starve. There was no need to put shackles on himself for a bite of good food.

"You two keep the one for the shop in the magical world," Sean decided. "And change the shares in the Muggle world one to two percent as compensation for my help. That way, I can accept it."

Samuel and Irina exchanged glances, both seeing the regret in the other's eyes. They wanted to invest, but the other person didn't necessarily have to accept. If it were the Sean from the beginning of the year, they might have thought he was being foolish, but the current Sean—whether it was his dueling victories, joining the Potions Club, or even the recent rumors that he was writing a paper for The Golden Cauldron—all proved that he was a huge potential stock.

Since he was unwilling to accept their full investment, Samuel and Irina had no choice but to respect his wishes. Irina took out her wand and pointed it at the contract. On the contract for the Muggle world hotel chain, the original "five percent" changed to "two percent."

Seeing this, Sean used his own wand to mark the contract, and his name also appeared on it. From then on, Sean owned a two percent share in the high-end hotel chain in the Muggle world. These shares, in his mind, were prepared for his parents.

As Squibs, although his parents knew about the existence of the magical world, they still lived a Muggle life. Having been raised in the magical world, they lacked the formal Muggle education to pursue high-paying careers, and their life as professors was comfortable but not luxurious. Now, with this two percent share, they could at least live a more comfortable, upper-middle-class life.

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