At King's Cross, the crowd on Platform 9¾ watched the group of six friends with undisguised curiosity.
This attention brought immense delight to Ron and Jerry, who puffed out their chests, whereas Neville found himself somewhat unaccustomed to the situation.
Of course, he had been observed and scrutinized like this since he was a small child due to his status, but now, the eyes of the onlookers had changed fundamentally; their gazes were becoming far more friendly, cordial, and respectful.
"That's the Longbottom boy," a witch whispered to her husband. "Heard he fought a thousand-year-old monster."
"And Epifani," another muttered, pointing at Ted. "Top grades two years running. A prodigy, they say. My son says he's a terror with pranks, but brilliant."
Ted had become the "Perfect Child" in the eyes of the public—the standard against which other pure-blood and half-blood children were now unfairly measured.
"Why can't you be more like Ted?" became the new refrain in wizarding households across Britain.
...
Unlike the previous summer, where he had stumbled around trying to find his footing, Ted had a battle plan for this holiday.
Life is short. Why not be a little more carefree?
First on the agenda: Rebranding. "The Arcane Exchange" needed a physical headquarters.
"Mr. Jiggers," Ted asked, leaning against the counter of the apothecary next door, "how much are they asking for the lease on the unit?"
"840 Galleons for the purchase," Mr. Jiggers replied, shaking his head while chopping beetle eyes. "It's extortionate, Ted. The shop is a broom closet. You can barely swing a cat in there, let alone a cauldron."
"Size isn't everything," Ted grinned. "840 is steep, but manageable. Do you think we can negotiate down?"
"You actually want to buy it?" Jiggers looked at the twelve-year-old incredulously. "Do you have that kind of liquid capital?"
"Just about."
"Merlin's beard," Jiggers muttered. "Selling shampoo is that profitable? Fine, I'll talk to the landlord. But Ted, seriously... it's 2.5 meters wide. What are you going to do?"
Mr. Jiggers' concerns were entirely valid; although it was a coveted street-front shop in Diagon Alley, the surface area was simply too minuscule to conduct proper business. However, Ted had already considered this specific logistical question.
"Leave that to me," Ted winked. "Do you think I could try to apply for a permit to perform an Undetectable Extension Charm?" Ted asked.
Jiggers snorted. "Y"It is not easy, not unless you have deep connections within the Ministry, which is a bureaucratic nightmare. And even if you succeed in the application, just finding someone qualified to cast the spell will cost a fortune. With such a small initial area, how much can it really be expanded? Wizards who are proficient in stable spatial extension spells charge very high prices!"
"Let me worry about the Ministry."
Ted immediately contacted his inside man.
"Mr. Weasley! I need to apply for a permit to use an Undetectable Extension Charm on a commercial property. How's the paperwork?"
"Ah! Easy peasy! My friend Perkins works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, but he knows old Jimmy in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It's a standard form if you're just doing a suitcase... wait. Did you say a commercial property?"
"Yeah. I bought a shop."
"You... bought a shop?" Arthur sounded like he'd swallowed a gnome.
For a few seconds, Arthur Weasley felt the crushing weight of his own financial failures. Here was a second-year student buying real estate while Arthur was struggling to find spare Sickles for Ginny's robes.
But Arthur was a man of simple joys. His envy vanished like smoke, replaced by pride. "That's brilliant, Ted! Absolutely brilliant! I'll owl you the forms tonight!"
...
The wizarding world's population density didn't support a daily eBay-style auction house. There simply weren't enough rare items circulating to keep it interesting 24/7.
So, Ted pivoted.
"The Arcane Exchange" would be a hybrid model.
Weekdays: A social hub, information exchange, and forum. Saturdays: Centralized appraisal and live auctions.
Ted successfully bought the small shop not far from Mr. Jiggers' pharmacy; physically, it really wasn't big. However, it cost a significant amount of money. Thankfully, Ted now had a wide range of funding sources. Between the profit sharing from selling gold, the profit sharing from the acne-reducing products, and then the profit sharing from the compounding interest of the smoothing shampoo, it is understandable that they could barely scrape together the 800 Galleons required.
This shop was truly tiny—only 2.5 meters wide and 4.5 meters deep. In the Muggle world, this would be a kebab stand.
But this is magical world!
Through Mr. Weasley's mediation, Ted obtained the official permission from the Ministry of Magic to use the Undetectable Extension Charm to expand the shop's interior space.
Without hiring anyone else to cast the spells, he did it all himself. He spent three days transforming a storefront that was physically only two meters wide into a venue with more than 500 square meters of interior space!
Then, chugging [Mana Spring Water] and casting [Innervate] on himself, he spent three days weaving the spell matrix.
Most wizards could expand a tent to the size of a flat. Ted expanded the 11-square-meter shop into a 500-square-meter flagship store.
Ted's current level is already equivalent to some elite adult wizards. He spent some of his Experience Points to level up the notoriously difficult-to-master Undetectable Extension Charm to Level 3.
Then, using methods such as his "Magic Awakening" skill and mana replenishment potions to sustain the casting, he managed to set up a massive flagship store in just three days!
He even considered directly spending two thousand experience points to raise the Extension Spell to Level 5, and then expanding it into a three-story villa inside the shop. It took a lot of effort to convince himself to keep a low profile...
Saturday Morning.
Diagon Alley was buzzing.
Wizards and witches flocked to "The Arcane Exchange," drawn by the smell of delicious, unconventional snacks.
Ted had hired Hogwarts House-elves—who were currently on their summer break—as part-time chefs. He paid them wages, a revolutionary concept that most of them accepted only because Ted framed it as "resource exchange" for buying their favorite cleaning supplies.
The waiters were an odd pair: Jerry (who was working for pocket money) and Dobby.
Dobby, having been freed by Lucius Malfoy thanks to a certain sock incident, was an anomaly. He wanted work and pay.
"6 Galleons a week!" Dobby had negotiated, puffing out his chest.
"Done," Ted agreed. (In the original timeline, Dumbledore offered 10, but Dobby talked him down. Ted wasn't Dumbledore rich yet, so 6 was fair).
Having a well-dressed, paid house-elf as a waiter at the Arcane Exchange is considered quite prestigious. Many pure-blood wizards were surprised when they first saw it.
Customers didn't just come for the auctions. They came for the "Bulletin Board"—a magical corkboard that spanned one entire wall, updating in real-time.
[Looking for Pen Pals]
"Gentleman from Britain seeks correspondence. Interested parties please send owl to..."
Reply: "Me! Me! From South Africa!"
Reply: "No Dark Wizards, please."
Reply: "Boring~"
[Spell Help Wanted]
"Help! Used a Swelling Solution incorrectly. It's been two days and I can't fit it into my pants. Urgent! Asking for a friend! Really!"
Reply: "I suggest you seek medical attention immediately, otherwise you may suffer long-term consequences. Don't ask me how I know, I need to go check on my own 'big bird'."
St. Mungo's Nurse Reply: "Combining dittany extract with borneol and peppermint, chilling it, then adding Murtlap Essence, and applying it evenly can alleviate symptoms to some extent. Don't ask me how I know, I work at St. Mungo's."
[Quidditch Rumors]
"Randolph Spudmore is releasing the Firebolt soon! Mass production imminent!"
Reply: "Old news. Irish International Team already ordered seven. 0-150 in 10 seconds. Price estimate: 500+ Galleons."
Reply: "500?! I'll stick to my Cleansweep. Or maybe buy some Ashwinder eggs and fly high that way..."
Reply: "Don't let the Aurors hear you say that."
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Word count: 1437
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