Chapter 39: Notes Publication
If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @
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The link is also in the synopsis.
-*-*-*-*-*-
Around the same time Quinn started to dive into the Icy vault, he was visited by a student at the A.I.D office.
He was working in the workspace when he heard the over-the-door chime ring, followed by a voice, "Is anyone here?"
"Yeah, please wait. Take a seat. I will be there in a moment," said Quinn as he removed his work gloves and leather apron. He waved his hand over his workstation, making sure that everything was packed and arranged for him when he returned.
Quinn's clothes straightened them up as he walked towards the office door. When he entered the office, Quinn saw Padma Patil, a first-year Ravenclaw, sitting in the client chair.
"Welcome to the A.I.D office. How may I help you?" Quinn greeted her with a smile.
Quinn sat down on his chair and asked, "Now that the standard greeting is out of the way. What can I do for you, Ms. Patil? This is your first time here at my office."
Quinn already knew the British girl with Indian heritage because they were in the same house, and Quinn was just a year older than her. He had frequent communication with most of the Ravenclaw first-year students.
This year, Quinn had gained most of his business from the students from his own age and then from the new first years. Most older students still didn't treat Quinn's venture as a serious service because of Quinn's age.
Why would they go to a second-year who was still new to Hogwarts? This line of thought and the belief that they knew more than Quinn was why Quinn's A.I.D wasn't popular among the older students. And, Quinn had no intention to lord his actual knowledge and skills to the upperclassmen just so he could gain more business.
Padma Patil looked at Quinn and straightforwardly said, "The final exams are coming in a few months, so I would like to have your first-year notes."
"My notes?" asked Quinn. His expression was one of a mix of surprise and intrigue.
"Yes, your notes. I have heard that you scored more than a hundred percent on all subjects other than Potions and History of Magic. With your reputation, I think your notes would be a lot of help to me," answered the studious of the Patil twins.
Quinn smiled and inquired, "And, where did you learn this reputation of mine?"
"Professor Sprout told us during her Herbology lessons," answered Padma.
Quinn nodded, though it slightly surprised him she didn't hear it from Professor Flitwick.
"Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic," listed Quinn. "Seven first-year subjects, and you want notes on all these subjects."
Padma nodded.
"I can arrange that. You will have my notes of all seven first-year subjects in your hands in a week's worth of time," replied Quinn.
"And, how much will these notes cost me?" asked the Ravenclaw Patil. She had researched Quinn's service before coming to him. She knew he charged money for the help he provided, plus the card stated the terms themselves.
Quinn did some quick math in his head and answered, "Five (5) sickles a subject, that makes thirty-five (35) sickles... so, two (2) galleons and one (1) sickle."
Padma nodded and left after saying goodbye.
Quinn didn't move from his office chair for a long while, thinking about the job he had just taken.
'A great business opportunity has come to my doorstep. It would be a crime not to exploit this, wouldn't it?' thought Quinn.
"I can sell my notes to the entire first and second-year student population," spoke Quinn.
Quinn knew of his reputation for being the smartest of his class, and his notes would be a huge commodity for students preparing for their end-of-year examinations.
"I have to thank Padma. There are still months before the exams, and even Ravenclaws haven't started going into the preparation mode. I still have a lot of time to advertise this," said Quinn. If Padma Patil didn't come here, Quinn wouldn't have thought of this idea this year.
'But, then there is that problem,' sighed Quinn. While it sounded as easy as taking out his first-year notes and compiling them so anybody could read them, but the reality of it was rather different.
His notes weren't just from Hogwarts but from a boatload of different communities. They had a lot of viewpoints and information that wasn't taught in Hogwarts.
"I need to separate the Hogwarts material," said Quinn, rubbing his forehead, "That would take some time."
End-of-year exam notes had to be short and concise. Quinn's actual notes were short and concise but on a different level; they weren't suitable for end-of-year examinations. Quinn's notes had information and knowledge from a boatload of various communities that would not help students in Hogwarts examinations.
"Plus, if these notes become popular, then they would most probably make their way to at least one of the teachers," sighed Quinn.
Quinn needed to be very careful that something out of Hogwarts course books and Hogwarts library didn't make itself into his notes because teachers might see it, and they might notice the oddities.
"Keep the cards close to the chest... all about that long-term game," murmured Quinn.
He stood up from his desk and exhaled, "This is going to be a busy week."
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- (Scene Break) -
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Quinn stood in front of forty-nine stacked sheets of parchment paper, arranged neatly in the order of seven-by-seven. A fountain pen laid on every sheet of parchment paper.
He was standing in his workshop, and usually, there would be a center island table standing in the place of the stacks of paper, but that island table had been shrunk down and set on the side.
Quinn sat down in front of the stacks of parchments, took in deep breaths, and closed his eyes. Quinn appeared in his mindscape and stood in front of seven books. Seven books, set in a single shelf bookcase, in a room with nothing else inside.
These seven books were the essence of Quinn's knowledge of seven Hogwarts subjects with information from Hogwarts course books and Hogwarts library. He had sorted these seven books from his knowledge bank of Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic.
He had carefully crafted these seven memory books and made sure that there was no extra knowledge from foreign communities.
The seven memory books radiated with light, and when Quinn opened his eyes, all forty-nine of the fountain pens suddenly stood up straight and started to write on sheets of parchments.
Quinn used every ounce of his Occlumency mastery of the efficiency aspect to control forty-nine different objects to perform complex tasks. Simultaneous multitasking was one of the Occlumency skills Quinn was working on, and this was a great way to practice that skill.
He allotted seven stacks of parchments to every subject, and the pens wrote notes on the parchments. The fountain pens wrote paragraphs, drew complex diagrams, and referenced every point for extra information and validation if required.
Little by little, Quinn got in the grove, and the pens began moving faster and faster. As the process became faster and faster, the sheets of parchments also changed quicker and quicker.
Quinn's eyes were now only showing white as the forty-nine pens wrote, wrote, and wrote.
After an unidentified amount of time, all the pens stopped and set themselves down on the few remaining sheets of parchments.
Quinn's eyes still showed white for at least a minute before the irises came back down to the front of the eyes, and Quinn started to badly cough as he leaned down to his side with one hand supported his body and the other hand on his chest.
"Th- *cough* *cough* this needs more work. Definitely needs more work," coughed Quinn. He laid down on the floor and breathed heavily as his chest raised up and down.
He turned his head to the side and saw multiple stacks of parchments, more than the initial forty-nine stacks. There were hundreds of thin stacks of parchments lining the wide floor of Quinn's workshop.
"But, it was worth it," he sighed, watching the sweet result of his work.
He turned his head to look up at the ceiling and sighed, "Now, I have to do this once more for the second-year course." Quinn groaned as he got up from the floor and groaned because of the slight headache.
He looked at the stacks and then at one of the tables on the side of the workshop, and thin post-it-sized slips flew to the hundreds of stacks. The thin post-it slips stuck to the stacks, and after all the parchment stacks were marked, with a snap of Quinn's finger, all the slips changed colors to one of the seven rainbow colors, each representing one of the subjects.
The marked stacks flew up in the air and arranged themselves into seven neat stacks for seven subjects.
Quinn yawned as he walked out of the workshop, "I need a quick nap."
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- (Scene Break) -
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Three days before the deadline he gave to Padma Patil, Quinn entered the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop in Hogsmeade. The shop was owned by the West family, and as the name suggested, it was a stationery store.
Quinn walked inside and approached the counter. He looked around and saw no one behind the counter. Looking down, he saw a bell, so he rang it and waited.
"I will be right there," heard Quinn from a back room.
Quinn turned away from the counter and looked at the store. It was a simple store that sold rolls of parchments, quills, inks, notebooks, binding material, and all other kinds of charmed stationery material.
Quinn noticed things in the store that screamed business strategy to him.
'The Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop catered to Hogwarts students, but with no Hogsmeade weekend nearby, they reduced the section dedicated to Hogwarts to a small corner,' thought Quinn.
He looked around the store and saw the current ambiance of the store was catered to another audience. 'This seems more like a printing business rather than a stationery store.'
The majority of the store's adverts showed the different types of printing parchments, leather bindings, ink packages, charms the store offered that animated letters and drawings in books.
Seeing the store being run dynamically to the demand made him smile.
"Sorry for the wait. How may I help you?" heard Quinn, and when he turned, he saw a middle-aged man walking behind the counter, looking at some letters in his hands.
When the person looked up and saw Quinn, he frowned.
"You... are you a Hogwarts student?" asked the person. Quinn's looks showed that he was definitely over eleven, so the shop employee was skeptical about seeing Quinn. But, Quinn wasn't wearing a Hogwarts uniform, so the shop employee wasn't sure.
Quinn smiled and walked towards the counter and said,
"Yes, I am a Hogwarts student. My name is Quinn West. I was told that you would be expecting me."
The shop owner's jaw dropped as he exclaimed, "West?!"
"Yes, you heard it correctly," replied Quinn, taking out multiple matchbox-sized stacks of parchment.
"But, I thought you would be owling the documents you needed to be printed. I never thought you would be coming here personally. There isn't a Hogsmeade weekend anywhere near... scratch that... today is a weekday. How are you here?!" spoke the employee, still feeling a little shock.
"Let's not sweat the small stuff," said Quinn as he took out his fake wand and unshrunk the multiple stacks of parchment on the countertop and continued,
"Now, take note as what I am about to say is important. There are seven color strips, one of those strips mark every stack. This means that the stacks marked by the red strips go together," Quinn looked up and asked, "Are you with me?"
The shop employee nodded, so Quinn continued,
"Good, every strip is marked with a number, which denotes the order they go in while binding the pages. Every page also has a page number just in case the order gets messed up," Quinn continued to explain all the details of the print and binding he wanted.
He stared at the shop employee and asked, "Would you be able to remember all of this?"
The shop employee nodded.
"Good, nevertheless, here you go," Quinn retrieved a couple of sheets of paper and handed it to the employee.
"Everything I said is on the sheets, and there is even more like the design of the cover and the in-between cover pages." He tapped on the pages and insisted, "I want things done exactly according to these documents."
The shop employee looked through the instructions and asked, "And, how many copies do you want?"
"For now, I want twenty copies of each final package, but please keep the print with you. I will need more in the future," answered Quinn.
Quinn also looked up and asked, "How much will all this cost?"
"I can't take money from you," said the employee, his tone incredulous.
Quinn shook his head and answered, "No, this is my personal endeavor. I will pay for this myself."
When Quinn had contacted his family to ask for the services of the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, his grandfather had outright told him he would have to pay from his own trust vault, and Quinn had no problem with it.
Quinn's trust vault had a lot of money, compared to the capital Quinn used for buying beast parts, herbs, books, and other stuff. This bill would be relatively small, and he would most probably break even if a few sets sold.
'Profit was never really the motive,' though Quinn.
"I will send you the bill after the delivery," answered the shop employee. Quinn's family owned the business, and it wouldn't be a problem if Quinn never paid.
"I will be needing these in three days. Would that time be enough," asked Quinn.
The shop employee nodded and responded, "You will have these in two days." He looked at Quinn and asked, "Would you come here to collect?"
Quinn shook his head, "No, shrunk the notebooks and owl them to Hogwarts."
"Understood."
Quinn nodded, "Excellent. Now, I would have to leave. I have to return to the castle."
The shop employee stepped from behind the counter and said, "I will escort you."
Quinn waved his hand and said, "It's okay. I can find my way. By the way, I didn't get your name."
"Oh, my name is Gary," answered the now-named shop employee.
"Good evening, Gary. Let's hope this goes well and we can work more," said Quinn as he bid farewell to Gary.
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- (Scene Break) -
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As Gary promised, Quinn got his delivery on the day he had to give the notes to Padma Patil.
During breakfast, the owl raid brought the Scrivenshaft's package dropped on the table in front of Quinn.
Quinn saw the Scrivenshaft's logo on the package, and a wide grin surfaced on his face. He picked the parcel and placed it in his bookbag.
He hummed a tune while eating his breakfast.
Marcus, who was looking at Quinn, asked, "What got you in a good mood?"
"Today will be a momentous day, Belby. A momentous day," said Quinn. Quinn looked at Marcus, but he was already back eating his food, not paying attention to him.
"You just missed the footnote, you glutton," deadpanned Quinn.
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- (Scene Break) -
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Quinn sat in his office reading a book on Blood magic when he heard the door chime ring. He closed the book and looked up to see Padma Patil enter the office.
"Good evening, Ms. Patil. Your notes are ready," greeted Quinn. He opened a drawer in his desk and took out seven bound stacks of parchments.
The cover of each stack had a different color, the seven books covered all seven colors of the rainbow. The design on the cover was quite mentalistic. Mentioned in the center of the cover page were the subject names and the year. On the bottom right corner, there was a small box with A.I.D written inside it.
The cover page was made from a slightly thicker parchment than the pages inside, but it was still parchment, so the notes had a paperback feel instead of a hardback.
Quinn had the notes made from parchment instead of paper so that all would readily accept them.
He pushed the seven notebooks towards Padma and let her take a look.
The looks of notes surprised her. She wasn't expecting them to look so aesthetically pleasing.
"These are your notes?" she asked as she opened the Charms notebook.
"Yes, these are my notes, an amalgamation of my knowledge. These notes contain everything I consider important, written in easy words and figures. You will find everything from the course books and the books I have read from the library," said Quinn, not lying at all. He was just omitting that he knew a lot more than this.
"Why do they look like this," asked Padma, not looking at Quinn at all. The notebooks intrigued her too much.
"Oh that," Quinn smiled and said, "I have decided to sell these notes, so I made them look good. This design will attract a lot more attention."
He leaned forward and spoke, "Now, Ms. Patil, I have a proposition that I would like to offer you."
Padma looked up from the notes and asked, "What proposition?"
"I would give you a discount of ten (10) sickles, or two of these seven notebooks if you advertise these notes to your friends. Study in the common room. Keep the notes out on the tables; so they remain in view, and everyone can see them. You know that kind of stuff," answered Quinn.
Padma thought for a second before nodding, "I can do that." She put twenty-five (25) sickles on the table.
Quinn counted the money before asking, "Can you sign your name, the subjects you purchased, and the money you gave me on here?" He pulled out a paper from his desk with a table on it. "Write your name here, tick the subjects you purchased and write the amount in sickles... Excellent."
Quinn shook hands with Padma and said, "Pleasure doing business with you."
When Padma left, Quinn looked at the sole name written on the table and talked, "Let's start phase-2."
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Quinn West - MC - Has a plan in mind... *Mwuhahahahaha!*
Padma Patil - Ravenclaw - Talks less - Wants to get a head start on exam prep.
Gary - Shop Employee - "How did he get out of Hogwarts..."
-*-*-*-*-*-
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Chapter 40: Spreading Influence, and Important Customers
If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @
[ https://www.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]
The link is also in the synopsis.
-*-*-*-*-*-
Katie Bell and her friends were walking in the corridors, walking back to their common room after classes, when they were stopped by a voice,
"Bell!"
The Gryffindor Chaser looked back to see Quinn West wave his hand as he weaved through a crowd of students.
"Yeah, what is it?" asked Katie when the Ravenclaw walked near her.
She saw Quinn put his hand into his bookbag and take out a stack of notebooks. She could see the thin colorful spines of the notebooks with the violet notebook on the top.
"What are these?" she asked as Quinn handed them to her. Katie read the topmost violet notebook, "Charms, year two?"
"Yup," said Quinn, popping the 'P' at the end.
"These are my examination notes for all seven subjects for our year," smiled Quinn.
Katie frowned and uttered, "But, the exams aren't for another couple of months..."
Quinn nodded, replying to the Quidditch athlete, "True, but I am giving these to you because I am going to sell these notes from now on."
He tapped the corner of the notebook, directing the attention of Katie and her friends to the words A.I.D written in the box.
"You can buy them at the A.I.D office for five (5) sickles a subject. No need to buy the entire set."
He looked at Katie's two friends and raised his hand to show an A.I.D card. He shifted his thumb to reveal that he had two cards in his hands, showcasing sleight of hand.
"These are for you ladies," said Quinn as he gave the cards to them. "If you want to buy my notes. You can come to this room. As I said, you don't have to buy the complete set, and you can pool money among a group to buy the entire set and share the notebooks."
He turned back to Katie and spoke, "This set is free. But, I want you to do something for me."
When Katie nodded, Quinn continued, "Spread the word that I am selling these notebooks among the Gryffindor house. I have notes for all subjects of the first and second year. Tell them the cost and say that the price is negotiable."
He placed his hand on top of the notebooks, and when he removed it, there was another black and gold A.I.D card sitting on the top of the notebook.
"They can come to visit at the A.I.D office. I will discuss prices with them there," finished Quinn.
Katie looked at the card sitting on top of the notebook, "How many of these do you carry?"
Quinn waved his empty hand and shook it for another card to suddenly appear in his hand. He held the card with his other hand and revealed a whole deck of contacting cards in his hand, spreading them like a deck of playing cards.
"A lot of them," smirked Quinn, enjoying the look on their faces at the show of simple sleight-of-hand 'magic.'
"Do this for me, will you? Remember, first and second-year subjects only, and the prices are negotiable," said Quinn as he walked backward and waved them goodbye before disappearing among the students.
'Gryffindor seed planted,' thought Quinn.
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- (Scene Break) -
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Megan Jones stood near the Hogwarts kitchen with a dozen sheets of paper in her hands.
"Ms. Jones, as per our agreement, I want you to take these flyers and stick them on the Hufflepuff notice board, entrances of both the girls' and boys' dormitories, and all the places you think these flyers would stick out," said Quinn
Megan Jones was Quinn's very first client. She had come with a simple task of fixing a gift from her mother, Quinn had fixed it without even blinking, and now he was cashing the favor.
A simple task for a small favor that she owed.
She nodded, showing her understanding.
"You just have to place these flyers on the surface, tap them with your wand while saying stick. I have charmed them to stick when you do that. No mess, no fuss," explained Quinn.
"Okay, I will do it," replied Megan.
He waved her goodbye as she ran towards the Hufflepuff common room.
Quinn didn't give anyone in Hufflepuff a free set because he didn't know any first-year and second-year students on a personal level. So he decided to use flyers for marketing the exam notes.
He charmed the flyers with animation charms that really made them stand out and were catchy to look at.
'Heck, they even glow in the dark,' thought Quinn.
He waited for Megan to return to give him a confirmation, and after ten minutes, she returned.
"I did it. I pasted all the flyers on the walls." Her face was a little red as she came running from the Hufflepuff common room.
"Excellent. Thank you, Ms. Jones," replied Quinn, smiling, hoping the flyers would garner some traction in Hufflepuff.
As he was about to leave, Megan suddenly asked, "Will I be able to get your notes later when I start preparing for the exams?"
The exams were still a couple months away, and other than the majority of Ravenclaw students and some studious students in other houses, no one else had started studying. So, Megan didn't want to buy them now and wondered if they would be available later.
Quinn grinned in reply, "You can come to the office on the day of the exams, and you would still get the notes. So, drop by when you are in need."
He waved her goodbye and walked away thinking,
'Hufflepuff is a go.'
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- (Scene Break) -
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Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis sat under the shade of a tree, doing homework in peace. They were sitting on a checkered sheet, with all their things laying comfortably on the cloth.
Tracy was thinking about an answer in her homework when a butterfly caught her attention. The butterfly was no ordinary one, and Tracey tugged on Daphne's clothes, getting her attention.
"What?" asked the blonde in annoyance.
Tracey pointed at the butterfly and exclaimed, "Look! The butterfly changes color with every flap of its wing."
Daphne frowned but followed Tracey's finger and saw a butterfly flapping its way towards the trunk of the tree they were sitting under. She noticed how with every flap, the butterfly's wings would change color.
"You are right," murmured Daphne as she and Tracey turned their heads toward the trunk, following the butterfly as it moved upwards and eventually went behind the trunk of the tree.
The girls waited for the butterfly to reemerge, but it never came back.
"Aww, I should've followed it," whined Tracey. Daphne just shook her, but she too wanted to see the color-changing butterfly.
When they turned back to the front, both noticed something completely unexpected.
"Eep!" shrieked Daphne, shocked at the sudden scare she just felt. While Tracy didn't squeal, she too was shocked and had a hand on her chest, breathing deeply.
The thing that scared them was actually a person. A person both were quite familiar with.
Sitting in front of them was Quinn, sitting there like he had always been with them. He was reading Tracey's homework parchments.
He looked up at Tracey and pointed at the parchment. "Wormwood doesn't have a taproot but a fibrous root. We add wormwood to the Draught of the Living Death because it eliminates the side-effect. You missed it here."
Both of them looked on as Quinn pointed at things in Tracey's homework with a smile.
"... so, we learn that by drying the leaves of the Nettle plant, we can get the desired effect and use it in the potion for a cure for boils. Neat, right?"
He passed the parchment to Tracey, who took it from Quinn and then threw a fresh roll of parchment in his face. Daphne followed and threw her own roll at Quinn.
"Prat!" thundered Tracey, glaring at Quinn. A new look on her usual smiling face.
"Oh, come on. It was an innocent joke. I didn't jump out to scare you and silently sat here helping you out," said Quinn, busting out his best innocent look.
The two girls just gave a deadpanned look to Quinn.
"How did you get here? I didn't see you walking," asked Daphne.
Quinn smiled widely, took out his fake wand, and casted a spell. The girls saw Quinn's other hand disappeared from sight.
"A Disillusionment charm to make myself invisible coupled with that butterfly to distract your attention was enough for me to sneak up on you," answered Quinn, conjuring two of the color-changing butterflies that fluttered around the two girls.
He skipped the details that it wasn't a simple Disillusionment charm but advanced light magic to make himself invisible and erasing the surrounding sound.
"Magic with simple misdirection. Quite simple really," said Quinn.
"So, what brings you here?" asked Tracey, as she wrote everything Quinn had said about her homework. She might have been angry, but she was listening. While Daphne admired the butterfly that landed on her finger.
"Oh, I come bearing gifts for you two," said Quinn as he took out two sets of exam notes and handed one to each of them.
"I present to you my notes for all first-year subjects. They have everything you will need to pass your end-of-year examinations. Explained every topic in easy words with diagrams for explanations. Tips and tricks for practical usage. These notes have everything and will help you greatly for your end-of-year exams," explained Quinn, putting on his best salesman smile.
The two Slytherin girls undid the binding on the notebook set, picked the first notebook from the stack, and started reading.
Quinn patiently waited while the girls read the material in the notes. He looked at the grass on the ground and had a sudden urge to pull on it but abstained from doing it.
After a while, Tracey spoke, "These are amazing. They have so much in so fewer words." She looked at Quinn and asked, "You wrote these?"
Quinn smirked, "Of course, I did. And, I am going to sell these." He tapped on the A.I.D symbol on the cover of the notes.
"For that reason, I am going to need a little help." Quinn took out another set of flyers that he had given to Megan Jones and placed them on the picnic blanket.
"In return for these notes, all I am asking from you two is a little promotion in the Slytherin house. You can post these flyers in the common room, and a little word of mouth would also be helpful."
"I thought these were gifts," asked Daphne.
Quinn chuckled and responded, "You can treat my request as a return gift from you two."
Tracey picked up a flyer and said, "Of course, we will help. These notes are going to be a great help."
"Thank you," smiled Quinn. He also handed them a few A.I.D cards for distribution and explained everything about selling first and second-year subjects and how the prices were negotiable.
'With this, Slytherin is locked in too.'
Quinn was going to do the promotion in Ravenclaw on his own, and he was absolutely sure that Ravenclaw students would be his first customers and most extensive buyers.
'As long I am top, Ravenclaw students will buy whatever I sell.'
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- (Scene Break) -
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It took a couple of days before the orders started pouring in, and as Quinn had expected, the first batch of orders were all from Ravenclaw students.
The first one to visit his office was Terry Boot, first-year Ravenclaw.
"I want to buy a complete set," asked the boy.
"Are you sure? It will cost you two (2) galleons and one (1) sickle. It is a sizeable amount. Can you afford it?" asked Quinn, retrieving a set of notes from below his desk.
Terry took out one galleon and the remaining amount in sickles and set them on the table. He looked pained as he did it.
Quinn faintly smiled and placed one finger on the galleon and one sickle and slid them towards himself.
"I am willing to give you a fifty percent discount if you just owe me a favor in the future. You just have to do some work for me in the future. How about it?" asked Quinn.
Terry, with no hesitation, said, "I will do it!" He picked up the remaining sickles from the table and placed them back into his pocket.
"Good," smiled Quinn. He took out the buyer's sheet and asked, "Sign your name here, tick under the subjects you took, which means tick under all of them, and finally, write the amount you paid; in your case, it is seventeen (17), sickles."
Terry picked up the quill that Quinn offered and excitedly wrote on the buyer's sheet.
Quinn pushed the note set towards Terry and smiled, "Thank you for doing business with me. I hope you will like the notes and come back next year."
After Terry, the damn broke, and all of Ravenclaw's first-year and second-year students came running to the A.I.D office for the exam notes set.
All of them asked for a fifty percent discount, and Quinn gladly gave them the deduction in return for a favor.
'Damn, all of them bought full sets,' thought Quinn, smiling at the buyer's table.
After the Ravenclaw wave came, two people, who Quinn had forgotten about, visited the A.I.D. office for the exam notes.
Quinn was working in the workshop when he heard the door chime and walked to the office with a small glass vial in his hand. He was drying it with a cloth because he didn't want magical residue on the vial from using a drying spell.
"Welcome to A.I.D. How may I help you today," greeted Quinn as he walked into the office with the vial and drying cloth in his hand.
He had his eyes on the vial, and when he looked up, Quinn found two Gryffindor looking at him. Not any two Gryffindor, but Ivy Potter and Hermione Granger.
Quinn was surprised but didn't show a change in expression and calmly wrapped the vial in the drying cloth and set it down on the ledge in the wall behind his desk.
Sitting down on his chair, Quinn gestured both of them to sit down and spoke, "Please take a seat. Make yourselves comfortable."
After the Gryffindor brunette and redhead sat down, Quinn asked, "Now, how may I help you two?"
After the Troll incident, Ivy and Hermione had gotten close. Now hung out together all the time and rarely could be seen away from each other.
So, it wasn't a surprise that they came together.
'But, damn, I forgot about these two because of the Icy vault,' thought Quinn as he waited for them to speak.
Hermione took the lead and questioned, "We are here because we were told that you are selling exam notes for first-year subjects."
Quinn put on his sales smile and answered, "You have heard correctly. I am selling exam notes for all first-year and second-year students." He took out a flyer and asked, "Have you seen these?"
Quinn had given Katie the flyers to make her job a little easier. He also wanted to increase his footprint in the Gryffindor common room. When the time for the exams arrives, those flyers would still be there, and they will attract the eyes of panicking students.
Hermione glanced at the flyer and nodded, "Yes, we have seen them."
"Good, then you are familiar with the deal. I sell the notes for five (5) sickles a subject," explained Quinn.
This was a great opportunity if he could have the Potter princess and the future smartest witch of her age owe him a debt.
'Let's not rush things,' thought Quinn. He didn't outright say anything about the negotiability of the prices.
And it seemed that the Ravenclaw students had dipped their toes in the Hogwarts rumor mill, and Ivy Potter had heard something.
"What about the fifty percent discount that you have been handing out?" asked the redhead Potter.
Quinn internally smiled, but on the outside, he shrugged and responded, "I give a fifty percent discount if you are willing to owe me a favor. In the future, you will have to do something for me to get this discount. As simple as that."
Then he waited, waited for them to either reject the offer or accept it.
The answer came immediately.
"No, thank you. We will pay in full," replied Ivy. She was the child of the Potter family. She knew better than to owe someone a favor for something so minor.
Quinn shrugged. He felt a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"So, are you going to buy the entire set, or do you want individual subjects."
"We want two entire sets," answered Hermione.
Both girls took out two (2) galleons and one (1) sickle each and placed them on the table.
Quinn took out two sets and slid them towards the girls.
Picking up the coins off the table, Quinn said. "Please, sign your names here, tick the subjects and write the amount you gave." Giving them the buyer's sheet.
He picked them coins and placed them in his pockets.
After the two completed the form, Quinn said, "Thank you for doing business with me. If you have any problems that you need to get solved or want to gain any information, just come here, and I will help you out." Placing two A.I.D cards in front of them.
Hermione picked up the card and asked, "Any information, you say?" She looked at Quinn and asked, "Then tell me you are utilizing this room, but do you have permission for using it?"
Quinn smiled and answered, "Two galleons, and I will give you the answer. Five more galleons, and I will give you the proof."
Hermione narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Quinn for a while before shaking her head, "You are asking too much money for that information."
Quinn smiled while shrugging, "The information is always available. Come whenever you think the price is acceptable."
Ivy, who had been silent for a while, looked up and asked, "Do you know who Nicolas Flamel is?"
"Ivy!" hissed Hermione, not wanting to reveal that they had been looking for Nicolas Flamel, or they had been to the third-floor corridor. If news leaked, they would be in deep trouble.
Unknown to Hermione, Quinn had just heard all her fears through Legilimency. He had activated the moment Hermione had asked him the question.
He turned his eyes towards Ivy, but here he could only sense emotions and no thoughts or memories.
'She has decent shields,' thought Quinn. If Quinn wanted to hear her thoughts, he would have to spend some time poking around her shields, finding a crack, and gain access, or he could force through the shields, but Ivy might feel a little pain, and that might tip her off.
Right now, he had business to do.
"Of course, I know about Nicolas Flamel," answered Quinn, watching as both Ivy and Hermione snap their heads towards Quinn.
"You do?" inquired Ivy.
Quinn nodded and showed her seven fingers, "For the price of seven (7) galleons, the information would be yours."
He leaned back in his chair, giving them time to think as he peered into Hermione's mind, getting a feel of her thoughts.
'She is worried but wants to know about Nicolas Flamel. Hmm... oh my, the time she spent in the library looking for Flamel.'
Quinn turned his eyes towards Ivy and could sense that she wanted to proceed with Quinn's offer.
After some whispering, Hermione sighed, and Ivy turned to Quinn and asked, "I will pay, so tell me about Nicolas Flamel."
Quinn stood up from his chair and said, "Excuse me for a couple of minutes. I would return with the information."
He walked into the workshop, and the moment he was out of their sight, a wide grin appeared on his face.
'I got in,' thought Quinn. If Quinn could provide them with the information, then it would create a positive impression and return if they have problems in the future.
Quinn took out a sheet of paper and summoned a fountain pen. Quinn manipulated the fountain pen through magic to write every piece of information he could recall about Nicolas Flamel.
He wrote about his personal history, schooling, achievement of being the only known creator of Philosopher's stone and a grandmaster in Alchemy, and his connection with Albus Dumbledore. He mentioned everything that would point to them that a Philosopher's stone was behind the door on the third-floor corridor.
He took the sheet of paper and slipped it into an A-4 size document envelope.
"Here you go; information on one Nicolas Flamel," said Quinn as he put the envelope in front of the two girls.
Ivy tried to pick up the envelope, but the envelope didn't budge from the table.
"What is this?" demanded Ivy, a frown marring her face.
Quinn took out a galleon from his pocket and said, "Pay up, and you will be able to pick it up."
Ivy huffed while she retrieved five galleons from her pocket and looked at Hermione, "Do you have two? I will return them to you later."
The girls pooled the money and gave it to Quinn, and Quinn tapped his fake wand on the envelope, releasing it from the table.
Ivy swiped the envelope and hurriedly read the papers inside it. Hermione joined her, and both read the contents, their eyes widening as they realized what Fluffy the Cerberus was guarding.
The two girls looked at each other, communicating with each other, and nodded. They stood up and looked at Quinn.
"Thank you for this," said Ivy, Hermione nodding in affirmation.
Quinn stood up from his chair and said, "I am glad that you liked my services. Please do come back if you have other problems."
He followed them to the door, and when they were out, Quinn spoke to them, "Ms. Potter and Ms. Granger, the restricted part of the third-floor corridor, is dangerous. The headmaster wasn't joking when he warned about a painful death."
Both the girls turned back with wide eyes and saw Quinn with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Wha-!" exclaimed Ivy, but the door was shut closed before she could finish.
The two girls stood in shock as they looked at the closed door, not knowing what to feel about the unexpected warming from the person who had given them valuable information that they were looking for months.
On the other side of the door, Quinn was grinning widely.
'Mysterious vibe established! Oh~ that felt good. Yeah, that was perfect,' thought Quinn, feeling great about his performance.
-*-*-*-*-*-
[
A/N [1]: Aaah~ Man, this chapter was long, really long.
*
A/N [2]: I contemplated if I should add the last part. But, in the end, it went like most of my decisions; I was like... meh, and thought if I have it then it would go in.
]
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Quinn West - MC - Going through a magician phase.
Ivy Potter - Potter princess - Got what she asked for.
Hermione Granger - Smartest Gryffindor - A little miffed because of the time spent searching for Nicolas Flamel.
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