Chapter 5

-oOoOo-

"Ma'am, what is summer fashion like this year?"

"Mr. Potter, what do you mean by fashion?"

"Ma'am, is your shop the only robemaker in Magical Britain?"

"Mr. Potter, yes, I think so."

"Ma'am, do you need a license to be a robemaker?"

"No, I don't, Mr. Potter. May I ask why you asked me all these questions?"

"Then, your business must not be very profitable." Harry concluded, nodding with satisfaction.

Madam Malkin stopped her wand movements, staring at the Boy-Who-Concluded with wide eyes.

Harry continued his questioning as if nothing had happened. "So do you intentionally set the prices so low that your potential competitors wouldn't enter the market, or is there a law governing your price setting?"

Madam Malkin sank to her knees and began to sob. That was when McGonagall returned from the shop's restroom. "What did you do to her, Mr. Potter?"

Harry froze in place. "I...I.."

Madam Malkin got up, wiping tears from her eyes with her handkerchief. "Apologies, Mr. Potter. I didn't intend to get you into trouble. It is just that my debts have been piling up for years, and I have no idea what goes wrong. I think this business does well, with constant customer traffic and reasonable prices, yet I am losing money mysteriously!"

McGonagall said kindly, resting a hand on Malkin's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"

Madam Malkin shook her head in resignation.

Harry said grimly. "Ma'am, I may be able offer you a quick business diagnosis if I can see your financial statements."

"What are financial statements?"

Harry looked genuinely surprised. "Don't tell me you don't separate your business money pocket from your personal money pocket... or don't keep records of sales, purchases, inventory, payroll, and so on."

Madam Malkin was stunned for a few seconds. "That... makes sense, but it would give me a lot of trouble to go through all that."

With a sigh, Harry gave Madam Malkin a brief introduction to the accounting double-entry system, an overview of internal controls and auditing, the benefits of outsourcing non-core business activities, and some key business tools such as demand forecasting and tax planning. McGonagall listened with awe, while Madam Malkin tried to get as much as possible from this valuable lesson, taking notes like students in a lecture, although she didn't understand half of it.

"Ma'am," Harry smiled his best charming smile. "I should like to offer you a proposition. Make me a business partner, and I will turn around your business with strategy, finance and marketing while you offer customer services and actual robemaking. What would you say? I have an experience running a multi-million-pound enterprise already, so this business should not be much of a challenge."

Madam Malkin stuttered. "I.. I didn't expect t-this."

Harry pushed a little more. "Would 10,000 galleons suffice to acquire half the stake in your business, Madam?"

For the first time in her life, Madam Malkin hugged a customer and sobbed in his arms.

Harry felt like this was the moment to say something as a co-president. He wished there were a podium and microphone for this monumental occasion. "From today on, this shop shall be known as Malkin and Potter's or M&P for short. We will mass-produce ready-to-wear clothes that are charmed to fit the wearer's body. We will expand our businesses oversea. We will make our brand cool and our clothes something that our customers do not only love to wear but also think they cannot live without. Clothing will represent part of their identities, lifestyles and freedom of expression."

Malkin and McGonagall gave Harry a sincere applause, impressed. The applause was also joined by a blonde-haired cool-looking boy who had just walked out of the changing room located deep inside the shop.

"Greetings, Mr. Potter. May I introduce myself as Draco of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy? I believe we haven't met, although I'm certain of our fruitful cooperation should we join forces."

Draco offered a firm handshake, which Harry accepted in a professional business-like manner.

"You have to excuse my seeming ignorance. I was raised in a Muggle environment, and just three days ago was the day I discovered my magical heritage. So I do not yet fully comprehend the extent to which our cooperation could entail or what other alternatives have to offer." Harry spoke easily, which basically meant that Draco needed to try harder to convince him that Draco was worthy to be Harry's business partner.

Draco smiled warmly. "Maybe this is an opportune time to mention some trivia about the Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy. Should Gringotts speak of their most significant patronage, or the Ministry speak of their most influential political momentums, or the residents of Magical Britain speak of their largest suppliers of goods and services, our name should easily come up at the top."

Harry nodded, taking notes of what Draco said to be verified later. "I heard that Lord Malfoy himself was a teacher on male grooming. I suspect this is merely a small piece of the big picture that represents the commercial interests of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy. I wonder what other pieces are like."

"I'm sorry to have to interrupt your impromptu business meeting, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall said, amusement in her eyes. She had not seen any 11-year-olds like these two. "But we are on an errand against the flow of time. Mr Potter must hasten to achieve the goal of school supply shopping by the end of day."

"Very well, nice to meet you, Mr. Potter. I believe we will have a chance to continue this discussion at Hogwarts. Since we are both first years -" Malfoy paused but continued when Harry didn't deny "- we will share some, if not all, classes."

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Malfoy."

Once Draco left the establishment, Madam Malkin continued her measurement magic on Harry, her mind set on giving Harry the best robe she had ever made and repaying all her loans after the close of business.

"Ma'am," Harry asked, noting the luxuriance of Draco's robe material. "If I asked you to classify magical people into segments based on their purchasing power and clothing preferences, what would you say?"

-oOoOo-

McGonagall and Harry met Dumbledore at a small cafe. Dumbledore went there first because he was hungry and did not really fancy clothes shopping.

"I used Wizard money to buy some food. Now I wonder if our next step should be eating the food or selling the food to a Muggle market." Dumbledore grinned.

Harry consulted the school shopping list. "We still need to buy a potions kit and school books. Um, Albie, doesn't everyone have to acquire the same potions kit and same set of school books?"

Dumbledore's mouth was occupied by a chicken drumstick, so it was McGonagall who gave Harry an answer. "Yes they do, Mr. Potter. What are you trying to get at?"

Harry scratched his head. "Since Hogwarts monopolises Britain's education industry –" McGonagall raised her brow at Harry's choice of words. "– and therefore has considerable negotiation power, why doesn't Hogwarts negotiate a deal with these potion-making and publishing businesses or perhaps purchase in large quantities so as to pass on bulk discounts to students?"

McGonagall raised her other brow. "If I understand your business principles correctly, this is counted as Hogwarts's non-core business activity. So asking a school staff member to do it would not be appropriate, but I do not think hiring an external agent to handle this task would be economically worthwhile."

"Why is that so, Minnie?"

McGonagall used to hate this nick name, but after a while she thought it was a cute name suitable for her new young face. "Mr. Potter, there are strict and ridiculously detailed Ministerial Regulations on the supply of potions. And nobody could do much on books, as all bookstores in Britain agree to sell at suggested retail prices, regardless of the quantity you would like to purchase."

"And that is a lawful thing to do?"

McGonagall looked amused. "Of course, it is, Mr. Potter. Is there a reason why it should not be?"

Dumbledore spat a chicken bone from his mouth to a dartboard and raised his hand. "I know this! It is called 'price fixing' in the Muggle World, which is anti-competitive and illegal."

Harry nodded grimly, but was brightened by the arrival of the invisible Robot, whom he could see because his special glasses has the Find my i-Robot function.

Robot sneaked up behind McGonagall, almost giving the witch a heart attack. "May I suggest," Robot whispered, "that we have the potions kit and schoolbooks owl-posted to Mr. Potter's new address at Hogwarts? I managed to snatch their brochures while sightseeing and VDO-recording everything."

Harry nodded and turned his face toward the two adults. "Professors, are the bookstore and potionmaker's store worth visiting? In other words, is there any book in the bookstore that the Hogwarts Library doesn't have, or any equipment in the potionmaker's store that the Hogwarts potions lab doesn't have?"

McGonagall looked expectantly at Dumbledore, who shook his head while spitting another chicken bone to a dartboard. Harry was very, very impressed to see that all the bones he spat hit the bull's eye.

"Professors, I think I have everything I need for school. Can we return to Hogwarts now?"

McGonagall smiled. "You may have missed the last line on the school supply list, Mr. Potter. At Hogwarts, students are allowed a small pet to keep as long as the pet does not pose health risks to fellow students."

"No thank you, Minnie. I prefer to have human pets, a.k.a. minions."

The temperature of McGonagall's spine went down 10 degrees when she heard that. A desire to have minions was a sign of an ambition to be a Dark Lord. "Mr. Potter, you objected to the idea of enslaving wands, yet you wish to have human pets?"

Harry chuckled heartily. "You know, Albie once said, Fawkes proves to be more than just a pet. He is a friend. I hope the humans I will meet at Hogwarts are better than Fawkes!"

This sounded all wrong – seeing fellow humans as pets and comparing them to a creature, but McGonagall didn't know what to say.

Dumbledore rubbed his temples thrice, and his stomach once.

Fawkes suddenly appeared on Dumbledore's shoulder, alternating between looking at Dumbledore accusingly and looking at the dartboard. He narrowed his eyes and didn't look very friendly.

"Ok, okay, buddy." Dumbledore let out a long, tiring sigh. "I eat chicken again. But how many times do I have to say that chicken are not birds?"

Fawkes took no time to play Angry Bird again. Dumbledore was the first to leave the cafe, running for dear life, followed closely by a furious Fawkes, an amused Cat-woman, the Boy-Who-Laughed, and an invisible You-Know-What.

"HEEEELLLPP! My bird is going to burn me! HEEELLLPP!" Dumbledore screamed.

Life was certainly interesting around these crazy people. Harry couldn't wait for the school term to start.

-oOoOo-

To be continued.