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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 89: A Busy Business Trip
"Ah, I really needed this…" Sirius smiled with joy when the waitress placed the pint of butterbeer in front of him.
"It's been a while since we came to the Three Broomsticks." Remus glanced at James. "A certain someone is usually too busy to accompany us."
"Uh?…" James lifted his eyes from his glass. "Sorry, did you say something?"
"You seem very distracted, James." Peter looked concerned. "Is everything okay?"
"It's nothing important. Just thinking about some stuff." James responded before taking a sip of his drink.
"What kind of stuff? I know it's not homework, pranks, or Quidditch." Sirius said.
"Actually, I need you to do me a favor." James suddenly said.
"That's rare… you don't usually ask us for anything." Peter pointed out.
"I need to make a quick trip to Diagon Alley. Could you wait for me here, so we can go back to the castle together? And if someone asks fo—"
"Diagon Alley? James, you know we cannot leave the premises of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts during the school year." Remus reminded.
"I'm sure James knows that." Sirius gave James a look.
"I am aware of the rules, that's why… can you cover for me? It will just be for an hour or so." James told them.
"What is so important that you cannot wait for the next break?" Remus asked.
"Well… as you know, I was selling potions and buying materials from several shops in Diagon Alley, as well as other places. But now that the Headmaster found out what I was doing, I cannot use my own name to receive mail. I need to set up a drop box with a pseudonym. And…"
"You can't do that." Remus interrupted him.
"Why not?" asked Peter.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? Just make up some name." Sirius added.
Remus frowned. "You two have no idea how the owl delivery works… the mail must always be addressed to your real name, or the owl will never find you. What James is suggesting is creating a fixed point for the owls to arrive at. For example, in this bar, you could address an owl to the Three Broomsticks instead of the name of the owner, and it will still arrive here."
"Oh…" Sirius realized the issue. "You have to register the name, like in the Floo Network."
Remus nodded. "Yes… only the Ministry can do that. It is meant for legit businesses to use. But…"
"There are always alternate ways to do that." James said.
"And it is illegal to do so." Remus pointed out while giving James a look of concern. "You can get into a lot of trouble. And I mean real trouble, not just school detention."
James shrugged. "That's not what concerns me. The issue is that no legit business will want to make deals with someone possessing an unauthorized pseudonym."
"Hold on, James… you are making it sound dangerous." Peter said.
"James, don't do that." Remus advised him.
"Don't concern yourselves with that. I know what I'm doing." James stood up. "I'll be back in less than ninety minutes." He put some coins on the table. "The drinks are on me."
As James was walking to the exit of the bar, Sirius turned to Remus.
"What was that about?"
Remus sighed. "I think James is going to Knockturn Alley. The shops there are going to be the only ones willing to trade with an unregistered potion maker using an illegal drop box."
"You think he is really doing that?" Peter asked.
"Tsk… why is he always taking risks like that? That idiot." Sirius huffed. He couldn't understand what James was trying to accomplish, but he seemed somewhat desperate about something.
"Hey guys!" Alice approached the table. She was accompanied by her boyfriend Frank and Lily.
"We just saw James leaving. Where is he going?" Lily asked.
"Oh… he just had something to take care of. He'll be back soon." Sirius hurried to say.
"Ah…" Lily looked at the door with disappointment on her face. "I haven't seen him that much lately..."
"You three had some worried expressions a moment ago… did something happen?" Frank asked.
"Nothing serious, don't worry, Frank." Remus did his best to avoid looking concerned. They couldn't tell them James was planning on doing.
"Yeah, come on, sit down." Sirius grabbed the coins left by James. "Drinks are on us."
<><><><><><><><><><>
James apparated to an empty alley that was close to the main road in Diagon Alley and got moving at a fast pace. He had several places to go and little time.
Before paying a visit to Knockturn Alley, he had another stop to make.
He used his wand to change his attire a bit and removed any sign of Hogwarts on his robes. He wanted to avoid questions about why he wasn't at school if possible.
James left the alley and made his way onto the main street. There weren't many people walking around the alley, which was definitely a good thing for him.
The Gringotts Bank was ahead of him.
Dealing with goblins was not something he enjoyed doing, but this time it would be a necessity.
He did not trust any shady merchant to handle what he had to sell this time. The goblins were bound to take a big cut of his profits, but at least he was sure they were not going to scam him or try to straight up rob him.
James opened the large wooden doors of the goblin bank and went inside.
Just like in the alley, this place was quite depopulated, with only a couple of wizards talking with some of the goblins at the front.
James looked around. He could not recognize any of the ones present, so it didn't matter which one he spoke to.
He chose the one with the nastiest look. That one may be the one that was more willing to do business with him.
"What do you need, wizard?" The goblin frowned as he spoke to him.
James wasn't sure if he was bored or angry… but perhaps it was both.
"I have something I wish to sell to Gringotts."
"And what would that be? Gold? Silver? Jewels? Perhaps an artifact?" Those were the usual requests.
"Materials from a rare magical beast." James responded.
"Oh… we do buy those sometimes, I suppose." The goblin muttered.
Wizards usually sold those to alchemy or potion shops, so it was unusual for someone to sell materials to goblins.
James knew this already, of course. The goblins had no potion makers among their folk, so they had no use for ingredients. Because of this, they will always pay less than other shops.
"What materials did you bring?" The goblin said with little interest in his voice.
James leaned forward. "A one-thousand-year-old basilisk."
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