Harry Potter Squib Tales Chapter 72: Business Deals (Patreon)

Chapter 72: Business Deals

Christmas time was here! Hurray! It was bitterly cold and there was a bit too much snow for my liking, but the gifts and the holiday cheer made up for that.

‘I’ve got lots of ideas for my friends,’ I thought to myself. ‘This time, I can finally give Sam the best present ever! And the ones I’ve got planned for Harry and Delilah won’t loose out, either!’

“Ed, you’re cackling evilly to yourself again,” Delilah drawled, pinching my arm. I stopped, wincing at the pain.

“Sorry, dear,” I apologized. “And it wasn’t evil cackles! It was completely normal holiday giggles!”

“Ed, I love you, but no, those were totally the cackles of a mad scientist plotting evil,” Delilah replied before kissing my cheek. “Well, that’s what I love about you.”

“The evil?”

“Prat,” she huffed, elbowing me in the side.

There was a giggle from nearby, and Delilah and I turned towards the other person in the room.

“Oh, don’t mind me, you two,” Delilah’s mother Mrs. Hunt said, waving a hand at us dismissively. “Just enjoying the show.”

Delilah huffed before snuggling closer to me, deciding to take her mother’s advice and just pretend she was alone with me.

I was visiting Delilah’s house, having been invited over earlier, and was enjoying the pre-dinner cuddles on the living room couch. We’d been watching the fireplace crackle merrily away when I’d been struck by a chuckle fit.

“So, what was making you so amused?” she inquired.

“Just thinking about the awesome gifts I’m gonna get everyone this year,” I replied, kissing her forehead. “I’ll be retaining my crown as King of Christmas again! Sam especially is gonna love what I got him!”

“You mean…?” she asked leadingly, perking up.

“Yup. Had to get help from Sirius and Tonks, but we found a way,” I confirmed with a proud grin.

“He’ll like that,” Delilah said with a happy grin. “Sam deserves it.”

“Sure does,” I agreed.

“Sam is such a dear,” Mrs. Hunt commented, sitting down in an armchair nearby. “And so is Mr. Black. I should invite him and his partner over for this year’s Christmas party.”

“Partner…?” I muttered, before choking a little with laughter.

“Mom!” Delilah exclaimed.

“What? If two men want to love each other, I fully encourage it,” Mrs. Hunt replied. “I’m with the times, as they say.”

“Sirius and Lupin aren’t like that, ma’am,” I said, struggling to contain my mirth. “Lupin even has a lady friend he’s been seeing for a while!”

“Oh? But I could have sworn…” Mrs. Hunt muttered with a tiny frown. “The signs were all there…”

“Your tabloid magazines are not a good source for finding out if two men fancy each other, mother,” Delilah sighed, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Speaking of gossip rags, I’m apparently cheating on you,” I commented with a dry, mocking chuckle. “Some busybody took a photo of me talking with a neighbor at the supermarket last week and since she’s somewhat attractive they decided to run with that story.”

“Ugh, vultures, the lot of them,” Delilah groaned, rolling her eyes in disgust. “They always get uppity around Christmas and Valentines. Trying to ruin relationships during the biggest holidays focused around friends, family, and love.”

“Yeah, it’s honestly sad how they’re trying to smear my name,” I scoffed.

“Is it Sir Briar again?” Mrs. Hunt asked, eyes narrowing in anger, and I nodded.

“Yeah, the trashy magazine running the story is owned by a guy who is in his pocket. It has a decently sized following, but it’s not like I care about what morons think of my reputation,” I replied.

“Why can’t that nasty old man just leave well enough alone?” Mrs. Hunt wondered, frustrated, and Delilah shared her annoyance.

“Dunno. But if he doesn’t stop I’m going to have to take action,” I claimed. I didn’t exactly have many legal recourses to deal with the grumpy old man, but so long as he kept his antics to merely trying to slander me, I would let him be.

‘The moment he tries to get me to ‘have an accident,’ though, I will have to something… regrettable,’ I thought to myself.

“Just be careful,” Delilah urged. “He’s a bastard, but he has a lot of money and friends.”

“I know, I know,” I reassured her. “He wants the secrets to my success, but seems to have backed off from trying to do anything physical, so far. So long as it stays that way, I’ll play ball.”

“Watch out for yourself, Ed,” Mrs. Hunt urged. “If you get hurt, it will hurt my baby girl as well.”

“And I’d never want to hurt her,” I promised. I grinned as Delilah blushed, and she smacked me on the chest when she saw my smug expression.

“Jerk,” she grumbled.

“It’s pronounced ‘lover,’” I smirked. Mrs. Hunt continued to smile at our interaction, but then her face shifted when the sounds of the door opening could be heard.

“Darling, you’re home early,” Mrs. Hunt said as Mr. Hunt walked into the living room. There was still a smile on her face, but it was brittle and fake. There was still love in her eyes when she looked at him, but it was faded and worn down by the lack of emotions in his own gaze.

“Darla. Delilah,” Mr. Hunt said curtly, before his attention shifted to me. “Edward.”

“Mr. Hunt,” I greeted politely.

“Are you going to join us for dinner?” Mrs. Hunt inquired.

“I suppose I should, since I’m here,” he replied. “I did want to discuss some things with Edward, as well.”

An extra plate was added to the dining room table, and when we sat down for the evening meal, it was an awkward atmosphere that filled the room.

“What did you want to discuss?” I asked as we began to eat, trying to ignore the tension in the air.

“Expanding production,” he told me. “Your products are quite impressive, but we need to strike while the iron is hot. We need more of, well, everything. More production facilities to make more creams, and new products to act as a draw.”

“You’re right,” I agreed, seeing his point. “What would you suggest, though?”

“Local factories are good and all, but if we’re going to take the market by storm, the UK simply lacks the right locations. Expand and build overseas,” Mr. Hunt declared. “I have a few ideas from my contacts about places that might serves well. Poland has a lot of cheap land right now, and there’s a couple other places in Eastern Europe that are practically a steal, now that the Soviets are gone.”

“I don’t think that will be possible,” I said slowly. “Setting up outside of the country would mean I’d have to reorganize my supply lines, and that won’t be easy.”

While most of my products used mundane, non-magical materials, but some still needed at least one magical ingredient to properly catalyze and produce the magical effects that made them so much more effective than anything else on the market.

And because of that, my contracts with the Greengrasses were vital, since they could get me what I needed in the bulk amounts I required. But they were a strictly English business. They didn’t sell products outside of the isles. If I wanted to open a factory anywhere on the continent, I’d have to source my goods from local witches and wizards, which would mean getting more people involved, and that could cause the Statute of Secrecy to break. Which, of course, would have the ICW and the Aurors on my head immediately!

“Unfortunate,” Mr. Hunt said. “If supplies are truly the problem, then perhaps it would be better to find or someone who can take care of that for you.”

“I’ll work something out,” I replied easily. “Besides, there are plenty of old buildings here and there still in the country that can be converted into useful places. Put some money back into the economy, eh?”

‘Great, now Delilah’s dad is trying to buy out my businesses,’ I thought to myself in barely disguised annoyance. From the glare my girlfriend shot him, she’d realized it as well. ‘First Sir Briar, now him?’

Mr. Hunt was trying to take over my company before Sir Briar did, I could tell!

‘Gonna have to expand a bit faster than I originally planned,’ I thought to myself. ‘Why oh why did I think starting with magical pharmaceuticals of all things was a good idea?’

Once more, I cursed my younger self for picking that path when I could have focused on the less glamorous but profitable waste disposal.

Luckily, with Merula Snyde working for me, the potion making processes had been significantly smoothed out and sped up, meaning it wouldn’t be too difficult to set up a few more potion factories.

‘Let me think, I have the resources and capacity to open two more. Better move one of them outside of England. I bet I can find some decent land somewhere in Ireland for cheap. Add some extra protection charms to deter the IRA if they come a-knocking, and that should cover things nicely.’

Yes, that was a good idea. Spread the production facilities out across the UK, not just concentrating them in London. Increase production, and see if Cyrus can get me more ingredients.

But that was a topic for later. Right now, I still had a dinner to get through, no matter how awkward it was.

111 ^^^ &&& ^^^ 111

“Gotten cold out there today,” I commented, brushing snow off of my coat as I stepped over to the booth my dining companion had reserved for us that evening. He waved me over towards his table at the Ruby Unicorn and I sat down across from him.

“It certainly has,” Cyrus Greengrass said in greeting. “How much snow have you been getting?”

“Only ten centimeters, but it’s likely to get twice that by next week,” I told him.

“Have you ordered yet?” I inquired.

“No, I just arrived myself,” he replied, and I nodded. Whether or not it was true he’d only recently gotten to the restaurant, I appreciated the fact he was waiting all the same. Not having o play any power games with Cyrus was something of a relief after dealing with Mr. Hunt and Sir Briar.

“Carmen Rouge,” Cyrus said, tapping his wand against his wineglass. It filled with a red cabernet, and I tapped my own glass with one of my runic rings.

“Sparkling Cider, dealer’s choice,” I ordered. A spiced apple cider, perfect for the winter season, appeared within my glass.

We drank and made small talk for a bit, and then after ordering our food, we ate and chatted about recent events in the magical world. Apparently, Magical Spain was feuding with Magical South America again, specifically Peru over access to Peruvian Vipertooth dragon materials, and the Golden Horde was suffering a drought that had obliterated the recent harvest of magical herbs. Only when dessert came did we turn to discuss business.

“So, what can I do for you today, Mr. Rose?” Cyrus asked as he sampled his flan.

“I need more ingredients,” I said without preamble. “More roots, more leaves, more bark… more everything.”

“Expanding your business?” he inquired, even though he knew the answer already. “Unfortunately, I am stretched thin already. I’ve opened up four new greenhouses since the start of the year, and hired two dozen new employees, and I’m still barely able to keep up with your demands.”

“I apologize,” I said with a wince. “But I don’t have a choice.”

“Hm. I can see you have your own circumstances. And I certainly won’t say anything to making more money. But there comes a limit to what I can do with my resources alone,” Cyrus replied.

“That is unfortunate,” I sighed.

“However, if you are that desperate for new ingredients, perhaps I can interest you in an investment opportunity?” Cyrus offered, and I blinked.

“Investment, you say?”

“Yes. The House of Greengrass has a branch family off across the pond in the States. They are rather small compared to the family business over here in Magical Britain, but there is a lot of opportunity to expand operations, especially in the wider agricultural sectors of the New World,” Cyrus explained.

“You want me to help you with expanding into North America’s market, and in exchange, you’ll be able to get me ingredients, and cheaper, is that it?” I guessed.

“Yes, that’s right,” he confirmed. “And there’s no better time to get in on this than right now.”

The head of the house pulled out an envelope. “At the moment, MaCUSA is in a tricky position. It has partially integrated with the Muggle government in order to protect itself from the ICW, but doing so has caused some… let’s call them tax discrepancies, to be brought to light. Simply put, the MaCUSA is broke due to centuries of back taxes it owes to the Muggles. And it needs money.”

“They need investors,” I said slowly, seeing where he was going with this.

“Yes. The magical side has always been smaller than the Muggle side, and while there is a slow but steady growth, it’s not nearly enough. Add in the much larger Muggleborn population, and there is currently an unprecedent chance for us to, as my cousin would say, ‘get in while the getting is good.’”

“And what businesses do you want me to invest in overseas?” I asked.

“My cousin sent me this letter, it should have some explanations for you,” Cyrus said, passing me the message he’d been waving around, and I opened it up.

“Are these numbers right?” I asked after reading through it. The letter contained a list of available plots of land for sale as well as the cost of turning them into functional farms that’d grow plenty of potion ingredients. And they were big. Very big, and very cheap.

“Indeed,” Cyrus nodded. “A fine deal, don’t you agree?”

“Yes, it almost seems too good to be true,” I muttered. “You’re sure, though?”

“Absolutely! Land is currently rather cheap, and there’s a lot of former estates that belonged to European Purebloods that got confiscated after the dissolution of the previous MaCUSA governing body that are collecting dust,” Cyrus informed me. “And House Greengrass has a large stockpile of seeds, saplings, and cuttings, but nowhere to plant them. These purchases would help my family keep up with your constantly growing orders.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me,” I said. “I’ll invest in your new agricultural business. I’m willing to go in fifty-fifty.”

“That’s very generous,” Cyrus said, but the grin on his face told me he’d expected nothing less from me.

“That’s my middle name,” I joked, and he chuckled.

“To future success, then,” he said, holding up his glass for a toast, and I clinked my own against his.

“To future success,” I agreed.

111 ^^^ &&& ^^^ 111

I woke up far too early the next day to a loud ringing and it took me a moment to realize it was my phone. Rolling out of bed with a groan I answered it.

“It better be important,” I couldn’t help but growl out. It was half past four in the morning! I should have had another two hours of rest before getting up for the day!

‘Not to mention I have a bloody headache. Should not have done those Fire Whiskey shots with Cyrus last night,’ I thought to myself with a disgruntled huff.

“Ed! Ed! Please, you’ve got to come over!”

I blinked as Sam’s panicked voice came through the phone and the sleepiness I still had vanished.

“Sam, what’s happening? What’s wrong?” I asked sharply.

“It’s my sister! Kate! Oh, God, please you have to hurry!”

“Inky!” I shouted. “Take me to wherever Sam is!”

A second later I felt the world shift and wobbled a bit, blinking rapidly to clear the spots out. When I opened them again, I realized I was outside a hospital.

“Shit,” I uttered, and began to look around for Sam. I found him quickly, staring down at the payphone in his hands.

“Ed?” he exclaimed, spinning around upon hearing the sound of Inky’s magic teleporting me over to him, and I rushed to his side.

“Sam!” I cried out.

“Ed! Thank God you’re here!” he exclaimed tearfully. “It’s awful! This whole month has been awful! First mum, now Kate!”

“What happened to your mum?” I asked, confused. I thought Kate was the one in trouble?

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, it’s nothing important,” Sam said, trying to wave my concern off, but I simply folded my arms across my chest and gave him a look. Seeing it, he winced, before sighing.

“Mum got let go the other day,” he admitted.

I blinked, concerned. I hadn’t heard anything like that the last time I’d been over!

“Yeah, it was… recent,” Sam chuckled, though it was bitter. “Her firm was bought by another company a couple months back, and they started downsizing recently. Oh, they said they’d contact her if they had a place for her in another department, but reading between the lines, it’s unlikely. Add in Kate’s accident…”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” I said, running a hand across my face. A part of me felt disquieted as I digested this information. I felt like something was off about the whole situation.

‘Jumping at shadows comes later! Right now, my best friend needs me!’ I thought, snapping myself out of my paranoid musings, and grabbed Sam’s shoulder.

“Okay. It sucks that Mrs. Parson lost her job. But she’s a good PR woman and she’ll find a new job soon. For now, tell me everything about Kate.”

“Right, right,” Sam said, taking a shuddering breath. “She was out late with friends, but the car they were in hit a patch of ice and spun out. Nobody died, but everyone got banged up bad. Especially Kate. Something went wrong with the airbags and her spine… it’s broken, Ed. Docs say she’ll never walk again.”

I stared at him in horror before shaking my head.

“What happened to her spine? Was it a clean break? Are her nerves pinched?” I demanded, trying to find out more.

“Dunno, you’d have to ask one of the nurses or doctors,” Sam replied. “But… do you think some of your medicine can help her?”

He was of course referring to my potions, and I frowned, thinking it over.

“Depending on what exactly happened… maybe. But the spine is a bloody complex piece of anatomy, and doing it wrong could make things worse. So, I’d only really trust a professional.”

“But nobody magical will treat her!” Sam said, wringing her hands, and I grimaced, well aware of the fact. Saint Mungos’ would turn her away at the door, and the other magical hospitals in the country wouldn’t be much help either for the same reason.

‘However… what if she was a Squib, and not a Muggle?’ I thought to myself, a mad idea popping into my head.

“Sam… what if we could make it so Kate has a chance to see a Healer?” I asked, and he blinked before instantly cottoning on to what I meant.

“I… Ed, if it helps, I’ll do anything,” Sam said. “If the ritual is safe… then yes. Please, save her!”

“I’ll get things started immediately,” I vowed and had Inky pop me to the secret warehouse.

It was bitterly cold and there wasn’t much chance Kate could do the ritual standing up, so I’d have to find something else. Having Sam’s sister be my first test subject for the long-ranged casting of the ritual wasn’t ideal, but this was all I could do.

So, I set up the ritual circle on the floor, carefully making sure it was perfect, and then popped back to Sam.

He then led me up to his sister’s room, where his parents were sitting vigil next to her bedside. They looked terrible, with faces streaked with tears and hands trembling as they held their daughter’s hands. Kate was currently asleep, likely drugged to keep the pain down, and I felt a dreadful as I took in the bandages covering her.

“Mr. and Mrs. Parson?” I said softly, and they both looked over at me in shock.

“Ed? What are you doing here?” Mrs. Parson asked.

“Sam called. I came as soon as I could,” I told her. She nodded, but Mr. Parson frowned.

“How? You don’t live that close by and Sam only just left to call you.”

“Yeah, that’s…” I paused, shooting a look at Sam, who shrugged and gestured at me to get on with it. It was my show, after all, and after scowling half-heartedly at my friend I turned back to them.

“Okay. What I’m about to tell you is the truth: I believe I can help Kate.”

“Help? Ed, that’s… I mean, I know your herbal remedy business is going well, and you’ve got some fine products, but I don’t think creams and oils will heal her spine,” Mr. Parson said with a shake of his head, even while his wife gained a hopeful look.

“Yeah, that has to do with something else I gotta tell you, though it ties into everything, I promise,” I said. “First, though…”

I took out a Silencing Ofuda and activated it before throwing it at the ceiling where it stuck fast. Sam’s parents’ eyes had widened when they saw the ink on the paper talisman glow.

“So! Magic is real,” I began, diving right in. “But the magical folk are mostly backwards and racists and won’t use their magic to heal somebody who isn’t one of them. However! I have a way to possibly give Kate magic of her own, so she can get treatment. It’s a longshot, and experimental, but it’s her best chance to be able to walk again.”

“You… I…” Mr. Parson looked like he couldn’t figure out what to say, and Mrs. Parson had a conflicted look, as if she couldn’t decide if I was crazy or not.

“And this method is safe?” Mrs. Parson asked desperately, finally deciding that regardless of how insane I was, if it could help her daughter she’d do it.

“It is. Sam and myself have both used it, and we’re fine,” I assured them. They shot a look at their son, who gave me an annoyed look for throwing him under the bus as well, but I ignored it and kept my eyes on the Parsons.

“It’s your choice. You two are Kate’s guardians, and she’s currently unconscious so she can’t make her own decision. The sooner the better, though, as I have no idea how it hard it will be to heal her the longer we wait.”

“Dear,” she said, placing a hand on her husband’s arm. He grimaced, but eventually nodded.

“If it works…”

“It will. And thank you for trusting me,” I said with a relieved smile. “Inky! Take all of us to the warehouse!”

The House Elf appeared, causing Mrs. Parson to shriek in shock and Mr. Parson to swear loudly as he shot to his feet, but before anything could happen Inky snapped his fingers and everyone was suddenly inside the warehouse with the ritual circle.

The parents staggered before turning to stare at their daughter lying peacefully next to the ritual circle, and I clapped my hands to get their attention.

“Okay! Let’s do this!” I called out. “Sam! Grab one of the warming potions and give it to Kate! Then put a drop of your blood into the circle to activate it!”

“Got it!” he called back, rushing to the chest to fetch what I’d told him to grab. His parents just stood there dumbly, unsure of what to do, but simply watched as Sam poured the fire-colored potion down his sister’s throat.

“Please be okay,” Sam murmured before pricking his thumb on a pocket knife and let the crimson bead fall onto the ritual circle. It burned with light and flashed brightly, and Kate started to glow and twitch. However, to my absolute surprise, so too did her parents. They acted like they had bugs crawling all over them, and scratching at their bodies in confusion.

“Huh,” I uttered, taken aback. I had not expected that outcome.

“What? What?” Mr. Parson asked, blinking the stars from his eyes as the ritual circle stopped glowing. “What happened? Is she okay?”

I glanced at Inky, who nodded in confirmation as he sensed my query, and I chuckled.

“Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Parson. Your daughter is okay. The ritual was a success. She’s a magical girl now,” I informed them with a smile. “And good news! You two are also now magical!”

“Huh?!” they both exclaimed, Sam joining in. I wasn’t able to hide my smirk at their expressions. Priceless!

“Yeah, it seems you were close enough to the ritual to get some backwash,” I explained. “I also think the fact Sam used his own blood played some part in it. I’m surprised, I thought you two would need some magical energy to jump start it, but perhaps the ritual was enough? More testing required…”

I trailed off, then coughed when I saw the looks they were giving me. “Sorry, rambling a little. Ignore me. Inky, take us back to the hospital, please.”

A second dizzying bit of elf-based teleportation later, and we were back in Kate’s hospital room before anybody even noticed we’d been gone.

“I… did that really just happen?” Mr. Parson asked in disbelief, looking around while Mrs. Parson looked dazed. From the hospital to the warehouse and then back again, all in a couple minutes. It was enough to make your head spin, and I sympathized with their plight.

“It did,” I confirmed. “I’ll contact a magical hospital, see if they can’t get somebody over here to at least look her over. If that doesn’t work, I’ll make inquiries with some other people I know to hire a personal healer to do what they can.”

I then turned and walked out before the Silencing Ofuda burnt up. “Have fun explaining everything to them, Sam! You have an hour before the talisman breaks!”

I grinned to myself as his parents began to shout at him and I snuck out, feeling good about everything.

‘So, that wasn’t how I expected my day to start,’ I thought to myself, before yawning. ‘Ugh. Better grab some coffee or I’ll crash halfway through class. Can’t have that. Today’s exam day!’

I had Inky take me back home so I could get ready for my Winter Midterms later in the morning. I need to pass them all so I could get ready to grab my diploma early!