Not every ride will go smoothly, you’ll met some obstacles along the way, but that’s nothing that a little bit of perseverance can’t overcome, well… a little bit of luck helps too.
But then again, human beings have overcome numerous obstacles climbing with tooth and nails to the ecological apex. Maybe the deciding factor in our success as a species has been our creativity, developing tools turning the arduous and sometimes perilous tasks, into the most mundane of things.
Why should I walk back and forth from the flat to the Leaky Cauldron, I have money, but that doesn’t mean that I should eat take-out every day, I could cook something, but Bill was the one responsible for grocery shopping, and then we are in the same conundrum, walking back and forth from the flat to the grocery store, and on top of that, I’ll have to cook and take care of the dishes, the garbage and leftovers.
I need to exercise, or this will kill me, what little less than a month of relaxation does to peak performing athletes.
Why did he have to go? Why didn’t I stop him? Why do I keep complaining? I need to finish my errands, but every step of the way is so dreadful, where did my dreams of galaxy peace go? Who said that I needed to be the trendiest kind in Hogwarts? Not the current me.
At the halfway point between Tottenham and Charing Road, there she was, the love of my life, truth to be told, I didn’t believe in love at first sight, till the very moment I laid my eyes upon her. There she stood quietly, adorned by an almost divine halo.
- “Hey kid, are you gonna buy something, or what? You’re blocking my door.”
I was dazed by her beauty, but the shopkeeper brought my soul back.
“Sorry sir, how much for that bike”
I don’t have many pounds, but who cares, I can still eat at the Leaky Cauldron. She would also make the daily commute so much shorter, and Hogwarts just said that broomsticks weren’t allowed for first years, there was nothing about Bicycles. Even if I spend all the money Bill left me, I should have enough for the bills.
- “Oh, do you mean that Raleigh Chopper Royal Carmine Metallic Red?”
“Yes sir, how much”
- “You know, that′s a limited edition. It isn’t cheap kid, but it’s a good deal, five speeds, high back rest for extra comfort…”
“How much?”
- “Well, how about ￡200?”
“Yes”
- “And being a Bicycle connoisseur, you wouldn’t take it without its accessories, don’t you?
“No sir, you’re right, how much fully decked-out?”
- How about ￡400? With this price, I can include you a pair of spare official Raleigh tires, you know these are high quality, designed specifically for the Chopper, providing a perfect fit, and optimal performance. So, what do you say?
“Sir, take my money!”
I left the store invigorated, ready for whatever the world had to offer, just me and Camille, together there’s nothing that can stop us, I rode so fast, I felt my soul leaving my mortal husk behind. Maybe not that exaggerated, but I was bloody fast. No more faffing around, but it left me with only thirty quid to for bill’s.
But it was a good deal, I got a pair of spare tires, and with magic, I won’t need to buy new ones ever again, what a chump. I shouldn’t show myself around the store, I don’t want to be chased around by the shopkeeper
I took some laps around Charing Road, getting the feel for my new ride. I must say that I’m a natural at this.
When it was time for lunch I entered the Leaky Cauldron, ordered a Leaky, Leaky Soup, an exploding lemonade and a hearty Game pie, all for the low cost of two gallons and seven sickles. But for supper I should eat something a little lighter, maybe I should change the Game pie for a Roast hog, the exploding lemonade won’t do it either, it felt like thunder in my tummy, maybe Non-alcoholic Butterbeer will do it. I should talk to Mr. Tom.
“Mr. Tom, excuse me sir.”
- “Well, if it’s not Mr. Clean in person, what can I do for you sir?”
“Don’t take care of my previous chatter sir, I was just babbling around, I just wanted to ask if I can schedule my meals with you sir? I’m willing to pay upfront”
- “Well, we can make some arrangements, what will you like to order kid?”
“Well, for lunch I would like a Leaky, Leaky Soup, a Game pie and ice-cold non-alcoholic Butterbeer, and for supper, we an change the Game pie for Roast Hog, and I would like my Butterbeer to be warm, if it wasn’t too much trouble for you sir…”
- “Well, including what you just ate, that would amount to a total of 118 gallons and nine sickles kid, are you okay with that?”
“Yes sir”
I gave Mr. Tom a check from Gringotts for that amount, and felt relieved knowing that, I didn’t have to cook, didn’t have to go grocery shopping, and didn’t have to starve to death.
- “Anything else Mr. Clean”
“Nothing sir, I suppose you don’t engage in delivery sir?”
- “No, it would be a hassle, anything else?”
“Nothing else sir, you can call me James or Solé sir.”
- “Good, I’ll wait for you at supper, don’t be late, I won’t do refunds”
“Thanks sir, see you at noon.”
I finished talking to Mr. Tom and hurriedly went directly to Diagon Alley, that bloody professor Snape, ratted me out to Mr. Tom. But well, I had so much to do, at least I could stroll around with Camille. That will let me finish my errands in no time. Another day I will settle my grudges with a certain dodgy professor, whose name I won’t mention… Snape.
Once in Diagon alley, I rode to Gringotts, there I was received with great courtesy, I was escorted to my Vault, I didn’t even need to ride the legendary Gringotts roller coaster to get to it, located in the new Vault’s section, at the door of Vault 1015, a Goblin was waiting for me.
“Good day Mr. Ragnok”
- “Good day Mr. Solé, are you going to deposit or withdraw?”
“Well Mr. Ragnok, neither, today I was just going to inquire if you had any solutions to some small inconveniences that I have encountered.”
- “Oh, what could possibly inconvenience you Mr. Solé, if Gringotts can help you solve them, we’ll be very pleased to help you sir.”
“You see Mr. Ragnok, I have a muggle business to my name, it runs well, but my grandfather decided to retire, and travel around, and I’m going to attend Hogwarts next September, so I wanted to know if you had a way, to keep my business running, also I wanted to store some of my belongings in my Vault, you know, you never take enough precautions when it comes to thieves.”
- “You are right Mr. Solé, those bloody thieves are so obnoxious, without an ounce of respect for private property, we at Gringotts hate those thieves, liars and fraudsters the most. The moment we can get our hands on that damned thief. Oh, I can swear to Gringott that we’ll enjoy it like you wouldn’t believe it. He’ll regret the day that he decided to mess with Gringotts.
“Oh, about my stuff…”
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- “Yes, pardon me Mr. Solé, the moment I think about those damned thieves, my blood just starts boiling. You said something about a business.”
“Yes sir, a record store, located in Tottenham Court Road”
- “Well, we don’t usually do this, but we can help you, hear me out. How about, we contact you with a squib, to take charge of this ?Recording Store? of yours, we can establish a channel to give him remuneration for his work, and we can assign a fellow goblin to inspect the ledgers monthly, to ensure your rights Mr. Solé, what do you think about it?”
A good proposal, I’ll have Gringotts back up the new hire, and they can take care of the legal stuff, its just how much is it going to cost me?
“That would be wonderful Mr. Ragnok, just how much?”
- “It is always a pleasure talking with smart wand-bearers”
“So?”
- “Well, putting you in contact with a capable Squib, would be five gallons, facilitating his subsequent pay, well… for that we may require an opening fee of twenty gallons, and a gallon each subsequent pay, as for the monthly audit, well… how about the modicum price of fifty gallons per month, I would like to believe that it is a fair fee.”
Let’s see, an upfront payment of 75 gallons, and about 250 gallons per month, considering that that would be the minimum wage at the ministry of magic, that would be around ￡1250 monthly in muggle currency, and about ￡150 in utilities. If the average revenue of the record store is ￡3,500, that leaves me with a profit of about ￡2100, then I would have to pay 33% of that in taxes, so about ￡693 that leaves me with a net profit of ￡1407 or about 281 gallons. 6 sickles and 23 knuts. That considering the exchange fee of Gringotts, if not I would be 285 gallons, 6 sickles and 21 knuts, a profit of 3 gallons, 16 sickles and 26.8 knuts for the goblins. I don’t see any problem there, we both make money.
“Mr. Ragnok, we have a deal! but I would like to take 2,000 gallons from my vault to get the store running once more, we can’t have an empty store, do we?”
- “That won’t be a problem, I’ll personally make sure that your store runs smoothly, it is a pleasure working with you Mr. Solé, I hope this is just the beginning of many more cooperations.”
“The pleasure is mine sir, and with respect to my other affair?”
- “That isn’t a problem Mr. Solé, there’s plenty of space in your personal vault to store your precious belongings.”
“So many thanks Mr. Ragnok, I was very troubled with this matter, it’s just, how can I transport all my belongings to my vault, I can’t waste your time, going back and forth with my belongings to the vault.”
- “Well. We can lend you a temporary coffer in which you could transfer your belongings during the transfer.”
“I would appreciate it Mr. Ragnok, you’ve solved almost all of my troubles”
Mr. Ragnok gave me a beautifully decorated chest, it wasn’t big, but it had ample space inside, with this in hand, I can relax and finish my errands in the blink of an eye.
- Well, what else is bothering you Mr. Solé, maybe I can offer a solution.”
“You see Mr. Ragnok, next month I’ll begin attending Hogwarts, but I don’t really want to carry so much luggage, you know the saying ?Pack light and everything goes right?.”
- “Well, I may have the solution for this particular matter Mr. Solé, and you have it right in front of you sir.”
“But this is just a temporary lease, and I would like a more permanent solution”
- “I know sir, I mean, we at Gringotts have a solution to almost anything, for the right amount of galleons. You know Mr. Solé, before we put into use the pipes of our mailing system, we tended to use other methods, and I know of one that will solve your particular problem. Let me see…”
Mr. Ragnok, started rummaging through his numerous pockets, till he took a medium sized sling bag, it was a simple, without many embellishments, the main body was a particularly vibrant teal colour and a striking burgundy in the strap.
- “This one should solve all your worries Mr. Solé. It’s just that I would appreciate if you didn’t mention that we at Gringotts provided you with this particular piece of equipment”
I took the sling bag swiftly, and began inspecting it, I shouldn’t question Gringotts professional ethics, this bag has enough space for a small library.
“Do not worry Mr. Ragnok, my lips are sealed, this is a family heirloom that the friendly goblins at Gringotts helped me find. Just how much should I compensate for troubling you.”
- “300 galleon Mr. Solé”
“Deal!”
I left Gringotts, in a particularly cheerful mood, and set my goal to Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, the force was calling me…
Once I got to Madam Malkin’s place, I had to wait to be attended, because Madam Malkin was taking measures of a chubby little wizard, well she was paying more attention to the child’s grandma, judging by the tidbits that I heard, the daughter-in-law of a certain family was cheating his husband, and even the child they had together wasn’t from the husband. I would have liked to report with greater detail, but the elderly ladies caught sight of my presence and put a spell that blocked my hearing, sadly I don’t know lip reading, but by the face of Madam Malkin, I can say that it was more scandalous than I thought.
The ladies continued chatting, and I sat boredly waiting for their chat to end, the little chubby wizard sat dazed at my side.
“Hello, my name is James Acrux Solé, you can call me James, Solé or Jas, whatever suits you, may I know your name?”
- “Neville, Neville Longbottom, you can call me Neville”
“Nice to meet you Neville, what brings you here?”
- “Nice to meet you too Jas, it′s nothing, I just came with my grandmother to take measurements for my school robes, I’ll attend Hogwarts next month, and you, are going to Hogwarts, what does it feel like to be a sophomore?
“I’m not a sophomore, I’m just a freshman, just like you”
- “So, we are be classmates, you know my whole family thought that I wouldn’t assist Hogwarts in my life, they said I was a squib, and that I will be sent to a muggle school and said goodbye to the magical world, you know my uncle Algie threw me out from many high places to probe that I wasn’t a squib”
Magic families are something else…
“Well, I didn’t know I was a wizard until a couple of weeks ago, you know apparently my mother was a witch but I never saw her doing magic, once she died, my grandpa took care of me, but he is a Squib, so I never knew I was a wizard. What about you, did your parents just let your uncle play with you like that?
- “Ah, well, you see, hmm…”
I might have touched a sensitive topic, he’s clearly uncomfortable with my question
- “What are you doing squirming like that Neville, say it loud and clear, your parents were proud Aurors that fought till the very end against the Dark Lord, there’s nothing embarrassing about that”
- “Yes grandma, my parents were aurors, and now reside in St. Mungo’s Hospital”
- “Loud and clear Neville, loud and clear”
- “Yes Grandma!!!”
Misses Longbottom looks at me for a few seconds and continued chatting with Madam Malkin. I whispered to Neville.
“I’m sorry, they should’ve been great Aurors”
- “Don’t worry, I’m proud of them, I visit them every year, and my mother gives me some sweet wrappers every time I visit them. My grandma told me to put them in the bin, but I secretly store them in my room.”
“You do good Neville, that must mean something to her, never reject a sincere gift, my mother always taught me to be grateful of what other gave, never take more than what is needed, never take something that I didn’t earn, never take something I didn’t deserve.”
- “Oh, she sounds like a good mother…”
“She was Neville, she was…”
We got silent I believe he was thinking about his parents, the same way I was thinking about my mother, I miss her so much, but I know we’ll meet again.
“So, do you know which house you’ll belong to in Hogwarts?”
- “Ah, I, I don’t know, my grandma told me how we are assigned to our corresponding house, but I forgot, the only thing I know is that she’ll skin me if I don’t go to Gryffindor, all my family has been Gryffindor since forever.”
“Oh, I thought that you knew something, I tried asking my grandfather, but he didn’t know nothing about the British magic world.”
We continued talking for sometime, and decided to meet at King Cross Station on the 1st of September, then he followed his grandmother, and Madam Malkin attended me. I tried giving her the most detailed description of the garments I will need to customize, for that I had prepared some drawings as a visual guide. She carefully took my measurements and told me to come back next week to get my order, she was busy with the school robes of many little wizards, so I had to wait a little. I didn’t have any problem with that, because I had decided to get one Luke set for each Star Wars movie, a Han Solo set, an I?igo Montoya Set and a secret weapon for Halloween. In total I spent another fifty gallons.
After that I went to Blinkhorn’s workshop, to customize some pair of boots for the garments that I had ordered with Madam Malkin, I also got the shopkeeper to make me some matching utility belt’s. I went one last time to Krakens and Creepy Scrawlers Stationers and bought ten gallons worth of stationaries, having completed all my goals for today’s outing, I hurried back to the Leaky Cauldron, it was time for Supper.
Tomorrow will be another day, I will have people to meet, places to go, and errands to run. Luckily, I have Camille by my side.
Don’t worry mom, we’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when. But I know we’ll meet again, some sunny day. Until then I have a bicycle to ride and new memories to make.