Chapter 36: Agreement on Price
Bones Manor
Ronald Bilius Weasley
July 15, 1989, Saturday
"Please check again, ma'am," Ron said, pointing to the leather pouch on the table.
Madam Bones, curious, picked up the leather pouch Ron had placed back on the table and began to examine it. She knew the young man had done something to it with his powerful magic, but she had no idea what it was.
Although she was a skilled duelist and a talented witch, crafting was an area she knew almost nothing about.
When she examined the leather pouch, she noticed no change on the outside. So, she opened it to examine the inside, but where the bottom should have been, she saw a dark void.
But this didn't seem strange to her. On the contrary, everything seemed normal.
"This is still just an ordinary leather pouch, Mr. Ronald Weasley. I don't quite understand what you're trying to do," Madam Bones said, placing the pouch back on the table.
Ron knew why Madam Bones couldn't understand the changes to the pouch because he had used the Undetectable Extension Charm on it.
Unlike other ordinary extension spells, the Undetectable Extension Charm not only expanded the area inside the object but also kept the object unchanged from the outside. Additionally, this spell prevented even those exposed to it and those using it from noticing it.
That's why the spell's name included "Undetectable." Only the caster and those he mentioned could sense the charm's effect.
Therefore, even though Madam Bones couldn't see the bottom of the pouch, it seemed perfectly normal to her.
"Perhaps you'd like to take another look, ma'am. Because this pouch was just enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm," Ron said.
With this remark, Madam Bones' eyes widened, and she picked up the pouch she had just placed on the table and opened it. This time, the darkness at the bottom of the pouch screamed its true nature to her.
It was a bottomless pouch.
And her not noticing it the first time could only mean one thing: as the young man had said, the Undetectable Extension Charm had been applied to it.
And she remembered seeing the bottom of the pouch when she first checked it. This meant the charm had just been applied by the young man in front of her.
Madam Bones didn't just look; she put her hand inside the pouch, and suddenly her arm, almost up to her shoulder, disappeared inside.
It really was a bottomless pouch.
"Did you really just apply the Undetectable Extension Charm to this pouch?" Madam Bones asked in astonishment.
And how could she not be astonished? The Undetectable Extension Charm was a highly advanced spell, and this young man had performed it nonverbally and wandlessly.
Its difficulty was many times greater than wandless conjuration, and she didn't think even master crafters could perform this spell wandlessly and nonverbally.
"Absolutely. I hope this is enough to prove my crafting skills to you and for you to write a letter of recommendation for me," Ron said.
"That's certainly enough, but Mr. Ronald Weasley, you know that the Undetectable Extension Charm is a heavily regulated spell, right? Personal use is absolutely forbidden," Madam Bones said.
"Personal use? As you witnessed, I only used this spell in front of an authority to prove my abilities, ma'am. And you can keep this bottomless pouch." Ron said.
"Young man, you're not trying to bribe me, are you?" Madam Bones said.
"A bribe? I didn't know you were so humorous, Madam Bones. I'm simply saying you can legally confiscate this enchanted pouch, which is forbidden for personal use. And if the DMLE, or the head of the DMLE, decides to use it for departmental needs instead of destroying it or storing it in a warehouse, there's nothing I can do." Ron said.
"You're really good with words, young man. You should seriously consider becoming a solicitor. And if you want to work at the Ministry after graduation, find me. I'll arrange a good position for you." Madam Bones said.
"Thank you, ma'am. Does this mean you'll agree to write a letter of recommendation for me?" Ron asked, his voice slightly excited.
A letter of recommendation written by the head of DMLE would definitely catch I.C.W.'s attention, and this meant Ron had overcome the first hurdle in his Crafter License application.
The second and final hurdle, having sufficient crafter skill, wasn't something Ron worried about. In fact, he even had a few extra plans to be on the safe side.
"Yes, I will write a letter of recommendation for you. And now that I've witnessed your abilities, I have nothing to be shy about. So, I'll praise you thoroughly, but in return, I want a good discount." Madam Bones.
"Of course. By the way, while you're at it, could you write a letter for my parents too?" Ron asked innocently.
"You want me to write a letter of recommendation for your parents, too? Are they applying for a license as well?" Madam Bones asked, not understanding.
"No, no. I need my parents to sign the Edict on Permission to Exercise Authority for Minors. But I haven't told them about my plans yet. So, if you could write them a letter of encouragement about me, that would be greatly appreciated." Ron said, adopting his innocent demeanor again.
"Huh? Are you telling me you came here without your family knowing?" Madam Bones asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Well, not exactly without my family knowing. After all, Bill is with me, and he's an adult wizard," Ron said.
"You know that's not what I meant, young man," Madam Bones said in a colder tone. Apparently, she couldn't tolerate jokes about this.
Just then, Bill chimed in, "Madam Bones, Ron actually wanted to tell our parents, but I suggested we leave it for later. It seemed more sensible to talk to a solicitor first to see whether Ron could start a business. But then we ran into the problem of high application fees, and we ended up here. We'll definitely talk to our parents when we get home this evening."
"Hmm. High application fees, you say? Oh, right, you said you haven't applied for product ownership licenses for your products yet. And there's a fee for the Crafter License application as well," Madam Bones said, a slight curl of her lips.
'Bugger. Bill, you gave away too much information and told her we're short on money. Now I'm sure Madam Bones will use this to her own advantage.' Ron thought.
And just as Ron had predicted, Madam Bones' next words were designed to use her newly acquired information to her advantage.
"I have no problem writing a letter to your family in addition to the letter of recommendation. But we haven't yet discussed the price for the 13 items we agreed to buy for DMLE, have we? We should settle this. And as I said, I expect a good discount, Mr. Ronald Weasley," Madam Bones said with a smile.
"Sure," Ron said, maintaining his poker face and a smile. They might have given the other side an advantage, but that didn't mean they had lost the battle.
"The official retail price of the Magic Power Finder is 250 galleons, and the official retail price of the Truth Seeker is 150 galleons. 3 MPF and 10 Truth Seekers together cost 2250 galleons. But considering I'm doing business with my own country's Ministry of Magic, how about 2000 galleons, Madam Bones?" Ron said.
He could have normally offered a lower price, but since the other party was trying to take advantage of the situation, Ron chose to start with a higher price.
"Impossible. As I said, DMLE's budget doesn't allow for such a transaction. 500 galleons. Besides, you're not even a Crafter with official paperwork yet. Normally, it wouldn't even be right for me to do this on behalf of the Ministry," Madam Bones said.
"1800 galleons. You know better than I do how useful these items are for DMLE, Madam Bones," Ron said.
"650 galleons."
"1600 galleons."
"750 galleons."
"1500 galleons."
"800 galleons. Young man, that's a fortune for someone your age. And quite sufficient capital for your first steps into the crafting profession," Madam Bones said.
Ron smiled, then said, "1400 galleons. Even if that were true, Madam Bones, it doesn't mean I have to sell these items for far less than their value. After all, I'm sure other countries' Ministries of Magic will be very interested in these items."
Then, Madam Bones became a little more serious. Ron's mention of other Ministries of Magic reminded her that there might be other buyers for these products. And Madam Bones didn't want to miss this opportunity.
After all, once the other side found the necessary capital, she would lose her advantage. Then she didn't know what price she would face at the next negotiating table.
Perhaps this young man wouldn't even consider making and selling these products again for a long time.
"Fine 1000 galleons. That's the highest I can offer," Madam Bones said.
"Still a little low, Madam Bones. 1200 galleons is my final offer. Also, this is a price I will only accept this time. In addition, I will give you 6 ledgers instead of 3 for each product. What do you say?" Ron said.
"Hmm. Ledgers? Right, you explained what the ledgers next to the Truth Seekers are for, but you didn't mention the ledgers for the Magic Power Finder. At first, I thought they were for the usage instructions," Madam Bones said.
"Magic Power Finder's ledgers are designed to keep records of people being measured. Each ledger holds records for 100 people, with three pages allocated per person. You can record information such as name, age, and position. And with each measurement, it also records the number of sparks, along with the date and time. But if a person's records exceed three pages, you need to use another person's space. These records cannot be altered. And normally, each additional ledger costs 5 galleons. Same for the Truth Seeker's leggers," Ron said.
"Hmm. Ledgers seem quite useful in both products. We need to dedicate a ledger specifically for official Auror development records. And one for the Auror recruitment program. We might also need to keep records for some other departments," Madam Bones muttered to herself.
"For 13 items, you get 3 extra ledgers per item, totaling 39 ledgers. That's 195 galleons' worth of free products, Madam Bones. I think you're facing quite a lucrative offer here," Ron said, smiling.
"Adding ledgers that sold separately alongside the items... You were truly born to be a merchant, young man. Fine. 1200 galleons. We have a deal," said Madam Bones.
"It was a great pleasure doing business with you, Madam Bones," Ron said.
His target figure before he came here was 1000 galleons. He could have gone down to that amount depending on the situation. And now he was happy to have agreed on a figure above his target.
Perhaps at another time these products could have sold for a much higher price, but he didn't think he was losing money here.
Just as he didn't think he was losing money on his trade with Mr. Flourish.
Because the coins he earned from his trade with Mr. Flourish were later used to pay his solicitor's fee for Mr. Tonks and cover other small expenses.
And a trade with Madam Bones would allow him to obtain his capital and start his business.
Once he had his initial capital and got his business on track, he wouldn't have to haggle like this anymore. Because then others would have to come to him to negotiate, giving Ron the first advantage.
Therefore, for Ron, it was more important to make the necessary profit than to focus on what he lost in these trades.
Because, as everyone knows, for a trader, time is often more important than money. And if Ron wanted to get started quickly, he had to be prepared to lose some of his profits.
End of Chapter 36.
--------------
Author's Note: You folks can also read up to +20 chapters on my P@treon Page as an early access privilege.
www.patreon.com/vanguard_v
P@treon Page Name: V For Vanguard
Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.37: It's a Promise
Ch.38: A Lucrative Job Offer
Ch.39: The Talk