[221] How Far Can You Go

Draco went from initial enthusiasm to utter exhaustion.

"Hall, just how big is this mall...?" Draco called out weakly.

Hall, trained and with top stamina, turned around. "We've only reached the third floor and you're already out of energy?"

Draco's "I'm tired" died in his throat.

Seeing his hesitation, Hall laughed. "Alright, let's find a place to rest and get something to eat."

He pulled Draco into an ice cream shop. Even though it was December, they ordered the largest banana split and shared it.

"The taste isn't much different from Diagon Alley?" Draco said, spoon in hand.

"In some things, there's not much difference between what wizards and Muggles make."

Draco looked thoughtful. Hall didn't continue — some things Draco needed to figure out for himself.

"So this integrated shopping mall model wouldn't be bad in the wizarding world?"

Draco nodded excitedly. Unlike his initial skepticism, he was now very optimistic. Imagine — all your shopping needs solved in one place. Who could resist?

"I think Mum would love it too. But compared to this one, I still prefer the luxury street."

Hall rolled his eyes. A peacock liking a luxury shopping street was no surprise.

"Forget it. It's impossible to go your way. At most, it'll be a fifty-fifty split."

It wasn't that he didn't want to do high-end business, but he couldn't only do high-end business. The wizarding population was too small.

"I didn't say I couldn't do high-end," Hall said. "It's about bundling and scarcity marketing."

He hadn't done it before because he didn't have enough high-end products. Now he did. Squib potions. Instant silver coins. Doppelgangers. Magic notebooks. Every wizard would pay for these.

The mid-to-low-end market had huge demand too, but few were developing it. That was the gap Hall was eyeing.

"For the high-end market, we need irreplaceable products. For the mid-to-low-end, we integrate existing resources, bring businesses into our mall, and earn a commission."

Draco's eyes glazed over. "Wait... my head is spinning..."

"Just listen to me."

Draco hesitated for less than a second. "Okay, I'll listen to you!"

Their day trip to London came to a successful end. Both were satisfied. Before sunset, they went their separate ways.

At Malfoy Manor, Narcissa hugged Draco. He felt embarrassed and quickly took out gifts from his trunk.

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"Perfumes and clothes for Mum! If she likes them, she can have them remade."

Narcissa glanced at the designer items and chuckled. "Mum likes the gifts Dragon prepared."

She'd never wear these in the wizarding world, but she could wear them when the family went out together.

Draco also prepared a gift for Lucius.

The family sat down for a belated dinner. During the meal, Draco hesitated, then brought up the business collaboration.

"Dad, I... can I really do it?"

Lucius Malfoy's feelings were complicated. If Hall weren't involved, he would have taken the idea and done it himself. But it was Hall.

"Go for it. You're a third-year now. You can start getting involved in the family business. Whether you do well or poorly, the Malfoy family will back you up."

Go for it. Ideally, get Hall involved too. Take down that little fox.

Hall rubbed his nose. "Probably someone's talking about me behind my back."

No big deal. Once he got back to school, he'd find someone to collect emotional distress compensation. Starting with Draco.

During the short break, Hall didn't do anything, not even contacting Lydia. He'd find time next semester to contact her once, then again during summer break. Minimise the probability of her discovering his true identity.

Back at school, Hall immediately immersed himself in research on time manipulation.

"Time manipulation is very difficult." Hall sat on the soft sofa, fiddling with a small snake in his hand. "I can't pinpoint time yet. However — I've made progress on the spatial level."

During the holidays, Hall had been thinking about how to get out of Hogwarts. He never imagined that less than a month into the new semester, he would have invented a spatial positioning array. He named it the "Portal Array."

Helena stared at him with her small yellow eyes. She seemed interested because it involved her master.

"Unlike Apparition, using this method won't cause dizziness or nausea," Hall explained seriously.

Apparition was useful, but the physical sensations and learning difficulty were major drawbacks. Hall's Portal Array allowed for a smoother teleportation effect, surpassing Apparition in comfort.

However, there were drawbacks. An anchor point was required — the complete array had to be inscribed at the anchor point. Then there were two options: establish another anchor point at the destination for two-way teleportation, or calculate the coordinates of the opening point.

Every location in this world had a unique set of coordinates.

"Of course. This world is a giant maths problem."

Hall decisively upgraded his Mathematics talent to S-Rank. This allowed him to calculate coordinates quickly.

Without wasting time, Hall began his first attempt. He imprinted his first anchor point in the Room of Requirement. From here, he would return. He changed his appearance to "Henry Slytherin" as he had when he met Lydia.

Hall began calculating the coordinates of the British Ministry of Magic.

"Longitude and latitude... Britain... precisely locate the Ministry..."

Thanks to the Memory Palace, his brain didn't overheat. As Hall completed the calculation and began the teleportation, the array beneath his feet emitted a dazzling light.

The entire process was completely comfortable. The landing point was slightly off-centre — Hall found himself in a small alley.

He glanced outside. He was within the territory of the British Ministry of Magic.

A joyful smile spread across his face.

The coordinates of famous tourist attractions could be calculated. A painless teleportation tourism project was now possible. Faster than airplanes, trains, and cars.

Helena poked her head out and gently bit Hall's fingertip.

Getting down to business.

Go find Lydia.

Lydia looked at the uninvited guest in her office and found herself not surprised at all. Finally. She let out a soft sigh, stepped forward, and closed the door.

"Mr Henry," Lydia called Hall by his pseudonym, her face bearing a distant, polite smile.

Hall shifted into a more comfortable position. "Ms Lydia, or should I address you as Minister Lydia?"

Lydia smiled and sat down opposite Hall. "You can just call me Lydia. I don't think there's any need to be so distant."

"But then again," Lydia launched her attack, "Mr Henry seems quite busy? I haven't seen you in almost half a year. Could it be you're not in England?"

Hall chuckled. Lydia really didn't expect that Henry Slytherin was actually a third-year Slytherin student.

"Lydia, you're joking. Like you, I'm naturally thinking of England, aren't I?"

It's just a charade. As if anyone couldn't do that.