Chapitre 45: Dreams of Commerce
"So, what do you think?" I asked eagerly, leaning in to hear Archibald's opinion on my idea.
"It's… ambitious," the squib of House Tarsworth said slowly, giving the item in his hands a close look. It was a jar of Wiggenweld Cream, the Cauldron symbol painted onto the front in green paint.
"And it doesn't break any magical laws. Or muggle ones," I said excitedly. "I checked."
"You believe there is a market for something like this?" he asked. "Medical creams and cosmetics made with magical recipes and ingredients?"
"Semi-magical ingredients at best. And yes, I do," I confirmed.
"What about patents and passing federal inspections?" Archibald inquired.
"Patenting my recipes is fine, it doesn't matter if they go public eventually. It's the manufacturing process that matters. Without that, no one else can turn dittany and tree bark into the miracle goo you in your hands," I explained. "And I can pass inspections easy-peasy."
"And what do you want out of this business venture?" he asked me, looking up.
"Money, obviously," I said, folding my arms. "I want wealth and power if I can't have magic."
"Fair enough," Archibald snorted. "What about schooling? In just a couple months you'll be starting your final year of schooling. But what are your plans for higher education?"
"Oxford," I said with a nod. "It's one of the most prestigious university in England, and using that prestige I can expand my business. I have to start small, sure, but a few rich and influential patrons can make a real difference."
'If my luck holds, I can leverage the knowledge I have about Justin Finch-Fletchly to my advantage, too,' I thought eagerly.
The boy who ended up in Hufflepuff during Harry's First Year had claimed he'd been slated for Eton before his Hogwarts letter came. And Eton was an extremely prestigious public school that'd had famous and powerful alumni, such as eighteen former Prime Ministers and members of the royal family.
Although I couldn't attend Eton, there was a wealth of connections to be made with the Finch-Fletchly name alone. They were well connected, a family of wealthy politicians and trust fund babies. All I had to do was use the fact I knew about Hogwarts, possibly leverage myself as a tutor to Justin over the summers, and there were plenty of ways to expand my influence.
"The main issue I have is that mass producing potions isn't easy, or cheap. You need a lot of people to work for you, and the secrets can't be kept forever, even with magical oaths and bonds," Archibald said, snapping me back to the present.
"I have a solution for that," I assured him. "All I need is help with the legal paperwork and getting a loan, and then I can produce enough semi-magical products to supply my clients."
"Interesting," he mused. "And I take it you won't be telling me these methods of rapid potion making?"
"Sorry, not without a binding contract," I told him. He just nodded, not insulted by my refusal.
"Understandable," Archibald said. He picked up the copy of my business plan I'd printed out for him and gave it another look. "I want to look through this again, but I think I can agree to it, tentatively at least. You just turned seventeen, so legally, you are an adult in the magical world and can start your own business, but it's trickier here in the muggle world."
"I know," I said with a sigh. "There's nothing else for it, though. And, technically, I'm only fifteen in the magical world."
"True, but the magicals don't care about us squibs so if your muggle identity says you are seventeen, they aren't going to look too deeply."
"That seems lazy and easy to abuse," I said with a raised eyebrow.
"Tell me about it," Archibald said with a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder how the wizarding world has lasted this long."
We shared a chuckle at that, and then he examined some of my other products. "Hair growth cream, acne remover, burn salve… I've tested them, and they work as far as I can tell. But besides your Wiggenweld cream, are you sure you can make these in large enough quantity to supply the demand?"
"Absolutely, a lot of the ingredients are normal enough I can buy 'em in bulk from either the wizarding world or the muggle one without raising eyebrows, so that's one issue easily solved," I claimed.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do. I'll look into business licenses and suppliers for ingredients and potion brewing supplies in the muggle side of things, and have some store fronts investigated for you, see if they fit your requirements," Archibald said. "Now, I have to ask, is everything doing okay at school?"
"Yeah, things are great since Mr. Birch got removed," I said with a grin. "Thanks for that, by the way."
"No problem. I was surprised when you called and needed by help with getting a man arrested, but it seems to have worked out fine. He was stealing from the school funds and taking bribes to change grades for some students. A lot of people got in trouble for this," Archibald said with a smirk. "And my office got a lot of work prosecuting him, so thank you for that little Christmas gift."
"I knew he was scum," I said with a nod. "Glad it's taken care of."
"Indeed. You take care now," Archibald said, and I nodded back before leaving.
As I left Archibald's law office, I stretched a bit, enjoying the warm spring sun.
It was Sunday, May 19th, 1991. Just a couple months away from Harry Potter's birthday, and his Hogwarts letter. A lot had changed since Christmas.
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