Marvolio glanced at Rita and the smirking Burke beside her, sighing helplessly.
One was a renowned journalist in the wizarding world, the other a rare heir to an alchemical family. By all accounts, they should at least possess composure and poise befitting their status. Yet neither seemed particularly bright, so easily thrown off balance.
For the first time, he found himself agreeing with Tver's assessment:
"The magical world is too small, too narrow-minded. If things stay this way, forget progress like Muggles make—we'd be lucky not to regress…"
Faced with such a magical world, even the faintest spark of conquest within Marvolio vanished.
"Stop standing there like an idiot. Sit down. You've got another assignment."
He gestured with his chin toward the seat opposite him as if he were the master of the house. But Rita didn't mind at all; if Marvolio ever spoke gently, that would be the real surprise.
Once Rita had obediently sat down and pulled out a small notebook, Marvolio nudged Burke with his elbow.
"Snap out of it. What are you brooding about? Got a problem with me?"
"Of course not." Burke instantly straightened his posture, stiff as a first-year student.
"So, the subject I'm reporting on this time is this Mr. Burke?" Rita asked tentatively.
Drawing on her extensive network of character knowledge, she finally recognized the patriarch of this fallen pureblood family—and its sole remaining member.
"Pretty much."
Marvolio said, producing a bracelet at the same time.
Unlike the first generation's conspicuous white, this bracelet had a translucent sheen. A small amount of Demiguise fur had been woven into it, making it nearly invisible unless examined closely. But the internal upgrades clearly went far beyond that.
Marvolio tossed it dismissively into Burke's hands. "Your stuff. You explain it."
Burke fumbled to catch it, then proudly held it up for Rita to see.
"It's a werewolf bracelet!"
Yet to Rita, that smile looked downright sinister.
Her eyes flew wide. "This bracelet turns people into wolves?!"
"Ahem." Burke's grin collapsed. "It's a bracelet to suppress werewolves!"
He stretched the bracelet forcefully to show off its remarkable resilience. After all, this was his prized creation—one that had even kept him too busy to groom his hair. Packed inside this small bracelet was much of the knowledge he'd accumulated throughout his life.
And, of course, more than a few suggestions from Tver; otherwise he would never have rushed to produce a finished model…
"Oh." Rita wrote it down with cool detachment.
She wasn't a werewolf or an Auror. Compared to a werewolf-suppressing bracelet, Fudge and that Senior Undersecretary Umbridge were far more interesting.
Still, since it was Tver's directive, she forced herself to focus.
"So how exactly does this bracelet restrain the Werewolf? By strangling them to death?"
"If I wanted to kill a Werewolf, why would I bother making a bracelet?!" Burke snapped.
"Then what's the point?" Rita rolled her eyes within the briefest flicker of a blink, careful not to be caught by Marvolio.
"To restrain them, of course!"
"I mean, how does it restrain them?"
"Oh, you should've asked sooner." Burke shifted the blame without hesitation, but the sound of Rita's teeth grinding made him quickly raise the bracelet.
"This bracelet helps suppress a werewolf's savagery during transformation."
"The moment it detects malevolent intent—even if it's just an instinctive werewolf reaction—the bracelet sends a searing pain that feels like it's burning right through your soul."
"I don't know whether a werewolf can still harbor malice after feeling pain like that, but either way, Master Fawley said that afterward they'd struggle even to walk, let alone attack someone."
Burke was about to describe exactly how excruciating the pain was, but Rita had already remembered the magic that once marked her face.
For someone like Tver, inflicting pain that left a person unable to move would be effortless.
She shuddered involuntarily.
"Brilliant idea! But what if the werewolf just shakes off the bracelet?"
Burke shot Rita a peculiar look as she suddenly grew enthusiastic.
"It's woven from Unicorn tail hair and Demiguise fur—materials with exceptional resilience."
"On top of that, it's been soaked in potion, reinforced with protective magic, and sealed with a Permanent Charm. Ordinary spells can't damage it at all."
"So unless you chop off the entire hand, a werewolf in full transformation has no way of breaking free!"
Burke lifted his chin, looking quite pleased with himself.
This was, without question, the alchemical creation he was most proud of so far.
Though none of its individual functions were particularly advanced, integrating so many different mechanisms into a single device was far beyond what most alchemists could accomplish.
And now it had all been condensed perfectly into one bracelet.
Given how the magical world—especially alchemy—had been declining, unveiling this alone would be enough to shock an entire field of practitioners.
"Professor Fawley is truly amazing! I can't wait to write a whole year's worth of reports about him!" Rita said excitedly.
Burke: [・_・?]
"Wait—I invented this bracelet! Yes, Master Fawley offered guidance, but this is still my work…"
He glanced uncertainly at Marvolio.
If Master Fawley really wanted to claim the credit, he wouldn't be able to refuse.
"How about we split it fifty-fifty?"
Marvolio watched him with the same faint smile.
"Forget it. I'll take the money, and the young master can take the fame."
Burke swallowed hard.
…
The production costs would be recovered eventually… right?
Seeing his anxiety, Marvolio let out a small laugh.
"Don't worry. All the credit this time goes to you. The articles can't mention Tver or anyone else at all."
Tver hadn't explained the reason, but Marvolio immediately understood.
The werewolf bracelet was far too conspicuous an achievement. With Dumbledore already keeping a close eye on Tver, any credit attached to him would instantly paint him as someone trying to recruit werewolves.
Which—while true—was absolutely not something they could afford to reveal yet.
And by pushing Burke into the spotlight while keeping themselves hidden, they'd have far more room to maneuver, especially Tver.
Marvolio let out another sigh.
After working with him for so long, he had fully grasped the nature of Tver's methods:
Every single move served at least two purposes. He could hide his involvement perfectly while achieving the maximum possible effect with minimal action.
To be blunt, even if Marvolio lived another lifetime, he still wouldn't come up with something like the face mask business—a scheme that simultaneously won over wizards, connected them with Muggles, and showcased their capabilities all at once.
...
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