Chapter 38: Chapter 38
"Come in." A second later, the door creaks open slowly, and then Andromeda pops her head in to survey the room. And then, seeing that I am fully clothed and presentable, she enters the room daintily, closing the door gently behind her.
"So... I thought you wanted to settle down and raise a family?" She says after a moment, breaking the silence, which was awkward for her, but I was finding it kind of funny. Yes, I do remember saying something like that when stating my reasons for leaving being an author and starting a business. It wasn't true, I just needed a viable explanation for leaving that and starting a business, and I couldn't just say that I was suddenly a shit writer and that it was no longer my passion/only claim to some kind of fame.
"Yes, those are things I want. But I am still a man, and I have needs. I am sure you understand." I do want those things, but very very far in the future. Wizards can live a long time if they are very powerful, and I plan on being a powerful wizard. So yes, a family, somewhere far, far, far down the line. But for now, I want to enjoy my life and sow my oats. And with magic at my disposal, I am going to reach in deep and wrench enjoyment out of the very core of what this world has to offer.
"Just don't do it down here anymore, okay?" She says, giving me a look that I can't quite place, but I know that it isn't anything good, so I quickly nod my head in agreement.
"Haha, I will try not to. But some of the blame is on you as well, you know. Spending all day with a beautiful woman like you, of course, I am going to find it hard like this." I laugh while doing a bit of light flirting and subtly giving her a reason, scratching the back of my head, but I stop when I see her face turn dangerously red. I think it would be better for my health if I just stopped here. Of course, Andromeda might not be able to do anything about my behaviour or quit, but I still don't want to push her too far.
"So, how long until this meeting? Do you want to go out and get a bite to eat first?" I try to quickly move on from that and focus on the more important thing here. The upcoming meeting, and if I have enough time to grab some breakfast since I was a little caught up all morning and last night.
"Technically, we have an hour. However, Mr Spudmore seems to be the kind that would rather arrive early rather than later, and he is waiting in the reception. We are lucky that your office is at the far back, hidden behind various partitions and that the previous owners isolated the sounds from coming out." Right, he is here, and I won't have time to get any food. Why can't people just show up on time, not early, not late, but exactly when they are supposed. Like Dumbledore says, a wizard arrives precisely when he means to. Or is that some other magic, old man?
"Alright... Give it five minutes, and then send him in. You will also be here for the meeting as well, Andi. I will have another chair behind my desk for you to sit at after you escort him in. Pitch in if you think it necessary ." I give her a nod, and she calmly leaves the room, leaving me to my thoughts as I go and sit down behind my desk, straightening out my clothes. I am glad that we took over this building, the loan sharks we took this place from had an emphasis on privacy and keeping things lowkey, which has really worked out for me. I take out my wand and quickly conjure a chair beside me from thin air, which is not even hard, but difficulty scales with the complexity of what you need to conjure and I really need to practice.
Okay, so just get through this meeting. And if this guy actually has something to offer, then take him up on it, but not a loan. If this guy actually has potential, then I will help him start up a broom company and own some of it. Much better in the long run. And when that is done, I can take a backseat and leave things running with Andromeda, and I can focus on my magic again, even try to get some actual experience in the duelling circuits or something. It is all well and good to know how to perform magic, but you also have to understand how to use it as well.
*Knock* *Knock* "Come in." I say once again after quickly checking to make sure my clothes are alright and looking in the mirror across the room to make sure there are no faults, I want to make a strong showing, so this guy will depend on me after all. Andromeda enters once again, though this time, a man is trailing along behind her, who is obviously Randolph Spudmore.
He is a lanky fellow looking like he doesn't eat more than is strictly necessary, quite pale as if he doesn't get to see the sun much as well. Aside from that, his hair is long and frizzy, and he has a scruffy beard, so he doesn't take much care of himself either. Apart from that, though, he is pretty ordinary, with an average face, standard black wizarding robes, nothing fancy and strictly practical. Right now, he is giving me serious reclusive genius vibes, too focused on the work that he doesn't really take good care of himself and devotes all his time to the craft. That is what I am getting strictly from his appearance, and things look hopeful. Let's see if he will live up to my expectations.
"Hello, Mr Spudmore. Please, take a seat. I am Gilderoy Lockhart, and welcome to Unlocking The Heart, where we hope to help make your dreams come true." The man walks in with nervous energy as Andromeda closes the door behind him, and he takes a seat in front of my desk with a nod while Andromeda moves to the seat beside me, though it is slightly behind mine. Hierarchy and standing, my Lockhart memories inform, because that is very important in this society, and I have to observe its customers so that I can thrive in it.
Unlocking The Heart is a name I have come up with for my store, and I just added the slogan now since it seemed to roll off the tongue. The sign in front of my store holds those words in lovely calligraphy, with some elegance and what those words are made out of regular changes. It cost a couple of Galleons to have that done so that it changes into ice, then into fire, and numerous other dozens of things like chains. I could have done something like that myself, but I hired someone whose lifelong craft it is, and you can really tell the difference.
I decided on the name itself because of its relevance to my name, but there were other reasons as well. First of all, because we are, in essence, a loan business, and so when I say unlocking the heart, I mean the customers since I am going to open it and take it for all it's got and all it can give me. It also has a double meaning in that the heart is where dreams reside, and by unlocking it, we are helping the customer's dreams come to fruition. A lovely double meaning that makes me chuckle, and if I ever get bored of the name someday, then I can easily change it. But right now, I don't know what I would change it to.
[AN: Hint, Hint. If you think you can come up with a better name, then try to. If I like it, I might use it.]
"So, Mr Spudmore. It is my understanding that you are looking for a loan. Can I ask what you need this loan for? And how much would you ideally like?" I need to divulge all the information I can out of this guy, so I am going to use my go-to method. Occlumecy. However, unlike when I was a bit too straightforward with Andromeda, this time, I am going to employ caution because I can't afford for this to go wrong. I have started him talking about the subject, and I am going to probe his mind to see if he has any defences, though I doubt it.
"Ah yes, I am wanting this loan so that I can fund my research. I am a broom maker, and I am trying to make a broom, and I also want to make a company and sell them as well, which is what I need the loan for. As for the amount... I need three- Three thousand Galleons." I pause in my probing of his mind and look at his with some shock on my face. Three thousand galleons is a lot to ask for, way too much to set up a business and even do some research and development. I remember in the books that Harry gave the Weasley twins a thousand Galleons, and with that, they set up Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and developed a ton of joke and prank items.
Randolph here is asking for three times that amount, which is way too much. According to the memories of the loan sharks' minds I perused after we knocked them out and the other people that have approached us so far, people usually ask for around a hundred galleons, five hundred at the max. So Randolph is asking for an exorbitant amount, way more than should be needed to set up a business and even develop a product. Magic does most of the work, after all, when it comes to that, which means his loan is going to be used primarily on buying things.
"I am sorry, but that is a lot. You do understand that this loan comes with interest, correct? If I were to actually loan you this amount, and based off of what you have told me, we would be asking for a fifty percent increase after two years. That would be four thousand five hundred Galleons. You would also be asked to put up something valuable and give someone else name as a guarantor. This is the only type of offer we can give you based on the information we have." I tell him, giving him a ridiculous interest fee. I don't just want this to be a loan. After all, I want to invest and have a big hand in this company he makes if it looks to be profitable.
"Yes, I- I have no other choice. This is the only way now. Please give me this loan. I beg of you." He says, face determined, realising the extent of what he is asking for but going ahead with it anyway. He is a desperate man who has lost all other avenues, and when I showed some opposition, he immediately cracked and buckled, revealing his plight.
"You see, Randolph. I feel even more doubt now. You have no other choice? This is the only way? It does not really inspire confidence, and I kind of don't want to lend you anything without knowing more about the situation because your desperation makes it seem like you won't succeed. Please, inform me of your situation, and I will see what I can offer you. We do not just do loans after all, so maybe there is another way I can help you." The man has already cracked, and I take advantage of it to surge into his mind and start scanning, his desperation making it easy. I don't do a complete dive, though, since that would take way too long, I merely check his thoughts, and I will ask the pertinent questions to bring the crucial ideas to the forefront of his mind.
I find the man's defences are nonexistent after a bit of perusing, and so instead of doing that, I manipulate him slightly and influence him to want to tell me about his woes and difficulties. Of course, I will still be scanning for something in case there is anything that is so crucial that he withholds it even with my influence, but he immediately starts to spill.
"I- yes, please. I was raised by my father, Able Spudmore, from young to be a broom maker, and I have worked with him since I was able. My father was a brilliant man, a genius, ahead of his time. The brooms that he made and sold were only at the insistence of Ellerby, who threatened to cut his funding, and my father had to, even though he was disgusted selling something that wasn't to the best of his ability which is why he bought out Ellerby as soon as he could." He immediately starts to pour out words, surprising me with just how much he is doing with only a slight bit of influence from myself. He even seems to have a look of relief as he does so. He has been carrying a bit of a burden, it seems.
"My father, Merlin rest his soul, was a genius, but he did not have a head for business. He refused to put out something he saw as an inferior product, so he kept researching and developing improvements. And he kept selling off the business and other things to fund it, and he died just recently, having not finished the broom he envisioned. The ultimate broom, he had a name for it already picked out." So he spills, not saying anything that I didn't already know. And I highly doubt his father was a genius, given he didn't produce anything in all these years. If anything, his father was obsessed with being the best, a single-minded fixation that squandered everything he had until he died.
"A name? And what would that be?" I humour the man since I want to gain access to all that research. Maybe I can use it to help another talented broom maker I find. Thirty years of research by a mediocre man is still thirty years' worth of information.
"The Firebolt." Ah, yes, the Firebolt. The ultimate broom, the best broom to ever... exist. Wait, isn't this what I have been looking for?
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