Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.
Chapter 18– Business.
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"Good morning, Gilderoy," Andromeda says as she walks into my office early in the morning, ready for another hard day of work. For her, that is, not me since I usually just relax and enjoy myself. I am here quite early as well, before her for once, but that shouldn't be that surprising since I live in the building. Honestly, I got sick of living in my previous home. Everywhere I looked, I had memories there that were constantly bombarding me, and even though they were entirely under my control, I wouldn't say I liked it. Plus, I had spent months on end in that place, and I had even kept a prisoner there.
Overall, just a lot of bad memories there. I couldn't go anywhere near the fireplace without wincing from recalling the amount of torturing curses I received in front of it, so yeah, I moved out. I didn't sell the place, however, partly afraid that someone somehow would discover my secrets from it (with magic, duh), plus it would be good to have a secret place to hide anything or anyone in the future.
"Good morning to you as well, Andromeda, radiant as ever. How are you this fine day?" I reply from my chair, leaning back on it, so it was on two legs like I was an unruly child back in school again and resting my legs on top of my desk. I must say, this new home of mine is exquisite, the location is good, and I got it relatively cheap as well. I am very pleased with the direction my new life is taking me, and it is only going to get better.
The location of my new business and home is in a prime location and is surrounded by good businesses as well, which will drag in more people to our area. To the left of my store is the Owl Post Office, perfect for when we need to send off letters since we are right next door, and plenty of other people will be sending their messages from there as well, giving us heavy foot traffic.
To the left of that is then the magical playground. Plenty of mothers, children and Hogwarts students are always around there and to the left of that is a building which is not actually a store, but Ollivanders workshop, where he makes wands and does repairs, and then to the left of that is his actual store. In comparison to the left, the right side isn't as good since it is only one store, and it is the Shrunken Head Bowling Alley. And yes, it is just as weird as it sounds and not an odd zany name for a regular place, but then again, when in the wizarding world, isn't abnormal actually the norm.
I am guessing that someone, probably a muggle-born, came back to the wizarding world after seeing a muggle bowling alley and thought that it would be a good idea to make one here. But, of course, since we are wizards, we decided that instead of using bowling balls, we would rather use shrunken heads as bowling balls. So, if I were to hedge a bet, the original guy with this business idea was a muggle-born, but he had neither the capital nor the clout to bring it to fruition, so he was backed by someone, most likely a half-blood who introduced the more wacky aspects.
I have yet to have the chance to properly check it out since I have been so busy, but I am definitely planning to one of these days. The place just sounds so interesting. Do you put your two fingers in the eye sockets and then your thumb in the mouth? I have so many questions. Anyway, getting back on topic. Instead of there being another shop to the right of the magical bowling alley, it is instead the entrance to Knockturn alley, something I would have thought would have a negative effect on the stores surrounding it.
But surprisingly, during the scouting of my new store, I discovered that it didn't have any effect on the stores, people just gave the entrance a wide birth and stayed away from it, but they still used the stores surrounding it. So it seems people think that everything dark inside of Diagon Alley is solely contained to the inside of Knockturn Alley, and adversely everything not inside of it is completely fine. Which I know not to be the case given the fact that Galloloans exists, or at least it used to before I kicked out the owners and took over the building.
Honestly, since some of my businesses would be giving out loans, it is only natural that the Gallolooans would be my rival business and competitor, and we would be fighting over luring people in to take loans. But I decided I would rather not have some kind of heated competition with these guys that would end up with them attacking us or something. So I planned an extremely preemptive strike to get rid of them and take their building which is already so nicely furnished and set up for my needs. If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying.
Of course, to take this place, I had to take down all the workers at once and then mess with their minds to get them to see things from my perspective. Which would be infinitely more difficult if I didn't have my new employee to help me out. You see, in the contract, it was stated that for as long as Andromeda was my employee, she would keep all of my secrets and not tell anyone without my permission. However, a little loophole made it, so it wasn't just work secrets she had to keep but all my secrets, no matter what they were.
And this agreement would stay alive for as long as the blood vial stayed safe and would only break if the blood vial was destroyed, and it takes a lot of power to do such a thing, a power that Andromeda does not have. But since the blood oath is to stick to the terms of the contract we signed, it can be broken if the contract is destroyed, which is why in a show of trust, I let Andromeda keep the blood vial, and I kept the contract since only destroying the contract would break the agreement.
Thankfully Andromeda did not discover this loophole because when I told her about my plan, she had no problem with it after I told her how Galloloans operate. Instead of straightaway bombarding her with the fact we were going to go and take this place over, whether she wanted to or not, I was subtle about it. First, I mentioned that they would be our competition in the future, and then I talked about their business methods.
Andromeda was naturally disgusted with them, angry that they were taking advantage of these people and trapping them in a never-ending debt that would last till they died. Even then, it might be forced upon the victim's family. That is actually quite rare, and usually, they would only do it if the next of kin is very rich. Half the time, it's because they have a rich relative that they focus on the victim in the first place.
Naturally, Andromeda was appalled and wanted to contact the Aurors immediately and get the place shut down, but I stopped her before she could run. I told her that, unfortunately, they were a legitimate business and were not technically doing anything illegal, so the Aurors would be unable to do anything. I lamented at that truth, as well as the fact that they are rivals, and how I wished that we could just go shut them down ourselves.
Andromeda quickly hooked onto the bait I had left out, the glint in her eyes looking slightly unhinged, a slight resemblance to her crazy sister. We talked, we plotted and then we acted. She truly is a Black sister, raised in such a household to mould her into nobility and to become a superior witch. The mean streak and edge that allowed her to give her entire family the middle finger and leave that had been blunted by years of suburbia and comfortable life appeared again. And I was happy to see it since my future business expansions needed someone with that vicious acumen.
Long story short, we scouted the place out further and then attacked on a day when every employee would be in the store, and it was late at night. So we snuck in, stupified the lot quite silently since they were all getting pissed off their faces, and then I used my mind magic to have them sign over the whole business and sent them on their way, finishing all the current contracts they had. And the fantastic thing is, it was Andromeda herself who suggested such a course of action and decided on us taking over their store. I didn't even have to nudge her for it; no mental influence whatsoever.
My new building and home were very nice and swanky, and it was already heavily furnished by the previous occupants, who graciously let us keep their stuff. When you enter through the front door, you are immediately greeted by a receptionist's desk, which is unmanned and simply has a bell you ding on it to call for assistance. And then you can wait in the waiting area in front of the reception, made up of a few comfy leather chairs and a desk with the latest magazines like Witch Weekly. One of my only jobs is to keep that desk up to date.
Behind the reception is a partition, on the other side of which is a whole bunch of desks set up for work and interviewing prospective new clients. But, again, Andromeda had her pick of the place; the bullpen was her domain. And then further back is a door to my own private office, pretty much the same as when I took it with its excellent mahogany desk, a lovely comfy sofa and a shelf full of different liquors and other fancy stuff.
The stairs leading to the upper floor are behind a locked door in the bullpen area, to the back of the room, so that it doesn't cause trouble to the people coming in and out. It is on this floor that I now live, and it is not nearly as decorative as the rest of this place because I got rid of pretty much everything since it belonged to someone else. I don't want to be sleeping in someone else's bed, wearing their clothes or using their towels. So I vanished all the crap the owner left behind and bought my own stuff quite quickly, anything can be found within Diagon Alley, and nothing is off limits.
Everything has been going right lately, and working out and, surprisingly, with little to no input from myself, thanks to my brand new employee.
I was very happy with Andromeda, and I still am given her performance so far, and I suspect that I will continue to be pleased in the future. Watching as she closes my office door behind her, I can't stop my eyes from pouring over each and every contour of her body, made even more delicious by the office worker/secretary outfit she has on, looking very professional. Not to mention those stylish glasses she has on to complete the ensemble, enhancing her all-business look. Apparently, they have a charm on them that eases the stress on the eye from working with so much paperwork.
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This woman is as gorgeous as ever, her age and motherhood only ripening her beauty and charm, and each time I see her, I find it hard to keep myself from making advances towards her. But then I stop myself, I don't want to ruin my business and lose a vital employee just, plus I still remember her taking out those loan sharks with me with a stern look on her face, her actions swift and merciless. I don't want to get on her wrong side. Even if I am confident that our contract is one hundred percent airtight, I am sure she could find some way around it to harm me.
"Let's skip the pleasantries, Gilderoy. I can't keep wasting time on them every day. You might not have much to do today, but I have a lot of work to complete, and I don't have time to waste." Andromeda says, getting straight to business and rudely ignoring my friendly greeting. Though I can't lie, I kind of like this attitude of hers.
"Wow, way to hurt my feelings, Andromeda. I was just trying to be nice and friendly, keeping our employer and employee relationship healthy, Andromeda. Androm- you know what, your name is too big, and I can't keep saying it all the time? Do you have a nickname or something?" I question because, honestly, her name is nine letters long, and I can't stop thinking sci-fi thoughts when I hear it. Set course for the Andromeda Galaxy, phasers to thrust or whatever. That is the wrong setting; we are in a fantasy world.
"Haah... yeah, I do. It is Dromeda." Andromeda sighs but relents and answers my question. She has been under my jurisdiction for the last few days, and she has been all business, with no time for fun or games, which is boring for me as well. So I decided to try and break that professional mask of hers, so I began just being very annoying in general and trying to tease her. I don't really have much to do here after all, and I have to get my kicks somehow.
"Andromeda? How is that your nickname? A nickname is supposed to be something short you call someone, so you can save time and so you can be in the nick of time for something else, hence, a nickname. Whoever gave you this nickname only knocked off a single letter. They must be pretty stupid." Honestly, there are way better options, Drom, Meda, Med, And, and Romeda.
"That would be my husband." She says dryly, her face still a picture of perfect calm. I kind of stuck my foot in my mouth just then, but who cares? We are locked into a contract now, and she won't be escaping me that easily. So I can act however I want, and she can't leave. What a nice feeling, such a sense of freedom. Is this why people get married and lock it down?
"Well, he must not be the sharpest tool in the shed then. But he must be doing something right if he managed to bag a stone-cold beauty like you. What was it? Is he strong and muscular? Is he rich? Does he have a big-"
"Let's get on with our first order of business. The possible investments we can do, and if we should." She interrupts me before I can finish that last one and tries to move on to actual business. I have been flirting and hitting on her lately since she is already locked in and can't run away, and I need to work on my own skills, and she makes for a pretty good whetstone to build up my own confidence. She mostly ignores my flirting, and I don't really go too far, and I don't push into creepy territory, so she hasn't complained about it yet.
Since her husband was mentioned, I decided to take a few digs at the lucky bastard and try and get Andromeda to break character, which she does. Surprisingly though, it wasn't so she could rush to defend her husband or anything, but when I was about to talk about genitals that she interrupted me. So I guess talking about genitals in the workplace is taking it too far, man am I glad there are no such laws for workplace harassment in the wizarding world.
"Right, so... What do we have today, Andi." Of course, I am expecting a lot since she always goes above and beyond, the hardworking woman that she is. I don't know why but Andromeda came into this job full of zeal and put forth all of her effort to get results. I was honestly a little surprised, I was fully expecting to maybe have to do some slight manipulations and deceptions to motivate her, but it was unneeded.
"Andi?" She questions, and I take a moment to look at her confusedly before my own brain catches up with my mouth and I realise what I said. My mouth did the work before my brain did and gave her a nickname, so I don't have to keep saying Andromeda. So I can call her Andi from now on, and this way, if there is ever a moment I need to express how serious I am with her, I can use her full name. I need that kind of leverage as her lazy boss.
"Yeah, don't get me wrong, Dromeda is a nice name because it belongs to a beautiful woman like you. But I prefer Andi, short and sweet. Do you like it, or do you have a problem with it? Either way, I am going to use it. It makes my life easier." I say, confirming the nickname. Andi will henceforth be referred to as Andi because I can't be bothered to keep saying the full name. I can only imagine how annoyed I would be if I had to write her name repeatedly as well.
"It is fine. Now, I went and investigated all the businesses we could invest in, and right now, we are only going to be capable of getting scraps. Large chunks of the various big and profitable businesses are all bought up and owned by the many pure-blood families, with the Malfoys having healthy chunks in most of them. Right now, we are able to buy up the tiny pieces of the business that people like the Malfoys won't buy since they are so little, plus the current owners of those small shares are selling them for an exorbitant amount." She informs, righting the glasses on her face and taking a seat in front of my desk.
"Alright, yes. But, did you do what I asked you to?" I already expected this sort of situation since the purebloods already have a monopoly on the entire wizarding world, and all that is left is scraps. However, there are no absolutes in this world, so I had to check, and even if they do have a tight grasp on these businesses now, that doesn't mean they will forever. Right now, I am more focused on the task I gave Andi.
"Right, I took a look at the broom industry like you wanted me to. There are currently several companies, including the Cleansweep Broom Company, the Comet Trading Company, Flyte and Barker and the Nimbus Racing Broom Company. " I nod, gesturing for her to continue on.
"The Cleansweep Broom Company was formed by Bob, Bill and Barnaby Ollerton in 1926 when they made their first model, the Cleansweep One, which was produced in large quantities and was an instant hit. They have stayed strong through the years, and they have just recently created the Cleansweep Ten. Then we have the Comet Trading Company, which was formed by Randolph Keitch and Basil Horton in 1929 when they made the Comet 140, and their latest broom is the Comet 260." She says, informing me of the current competition if I were to enter this market, no doubt trying to dissuade me from it since it was already so saturated. However, I have the gift of knowledge, and I know there is an opening in the broom market. I just need to find it.
"Yes, interesting as that may be, are there any opportunities. We are looking to expand and to make more money. Remember, this doesn't just benefit me. The more we make a year, the more you earn." I needed some kind of incentive more than just a stable wage every year, so I made it so that aside from her salary, she gets paid five percent of our yearly profit at the end of the year. It should be good motivation for her to try and gain us a lot of Galleons.
"I believe that we can only make the correct decision and investment with the proper information, so shut up and listen and then you can make an informed decision. Now, these were the foremost broom companies along with Universal Broom Ltd until 1967, when the Nimbus Racing Broom Company was founded. It was created by Devlin Whitehorn, and the arrival of the Nimbus 1000 galvanised the racing broom market with its revolutionary design. Ever since then, the market has been dominated by Nimbus, and if we were to get involved, then they would be our main competition, and Devlin Whitehorn is known to be a ruthless businessman with a mean streak." Yes, the Nimbus was the ultimate broom and the first broom Harry Potter ever got, but he soon got a better one, didn't he.
"Yes, I know. But no matter what industry we enter, we are always going to be picking fights with guys bigger than us. So we might as well go in with full force and ready for a fight. So, what are our options?" With the background information given and our number one competitor outlined, it is now time to decide where we will invest and begin our point of attack to eventually corner the market.
"Right now, we have the option of buying tiny shares in the Cleansweep Broom Company and the Comet Trading Company. However, the Nimbus Racing Broom Company is not selling since the shares are predominantly under Devlin Whitehorn, and the rest are in the hands of people he trusts. I do not recommend buying into these companies, they are not worth the amount that is being asked, and we honestly wouldn't be earning much with such a tiny portion of the pie." Well, investing in those companies wasn't my goal in the first place. Why only have a single piece of the pie when you can own it all and then eat it too.
"Is there anything we can buy fully, or at least get a healthy portion of? And what about individuals we can invest in? I told you to search for any competent broom makers that might be looking to strike out on their own and make their own new broom." I am looking for a specific name, not the name of a man but the name of the broom. If I can find that broom, then I can make a successful broom company, but I have to find it this year, or the opportunity will pass me by.
"Well, we do have Universal Brooms Ltd, Ellerby and Spudmore and Flyte and Bark that are looking for investment or complete purchase, but there are problems with both. And several individuals have come forth hoping for sponsorship so they can develop their new broom designs. However, idiots are a dime a dozen, and it would be a hard press to find someone with a viable design." So, hmm, three different broom companies are either looking for investment or are being sold entirely. No doubt they each have their problems, but working with a foundation will be helpful and save me a lot of stress in the long run when I finally find exactly what I am looking for.
"Tell me about these three companies, and what are our options? Also, which do you think is the best opportunity?" I ask, wanting her opinion. To be honest, I want to get to the point where I can trust in her abilities and judgement enough that I can stop paying so much attention here and return to my studies. I may have done all of the Hogwarts curricula, but there are many more esoteric magics out there that are waiting to be learnt, and I can still improve.
"First of all, Universal Brooms Ltd is no longer a functioning business. They used to be popular with their Shooting Star broom, which they released in 1955, but since then, they have had nothing but losses and eventually went out of business in 1978. However, while most of their properties and buildings have been bought out, one factory is still held that hasn't been bought due to superstition since there is apparently a poltergeist there." She pauses here. A poltergeist, huh? Don't think I have ever heard of one other than Peeves.
"Then there is Flyte and Bark, and while this company is still in business, it is arguably the most dangerous possible venture and most recent. This company was just established last year by a bunch of pureblood rich guys who have more money than sense, and they created the Twigger 90 broom to rival the Nimbus Broom Company. But they got quite lax with the safety and focused on making it better than the Nimbus. Because of that, the broom is very expensive and also has an unfortunate tendency to warp uncontrollably. They have lost a lot of money on this and are looking for investors. Unfortunately, I think they are trying to sell it off and make it someone else's problem." Hmm, a broom that can warp, but it is not a controllable factor, and it is too expensive. Not something I can use right now, but maybe in the future, when I have the cash to waste, I can buy in and try to improve upon it.
"Okay, now tell me about Ellerby and Spudmore." The previous two companies had significant issues, such as one being shut down and the other having serious expenditure problems. So I wonder what is wrong with Ellerby and Spudmore.
"Well, I say a company, but that isn't really accurate. They have no holdings, no products and no properties. It is basically just a single man holding onto the company name."
"...What?"