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Chapter 1613: A War Without Victors (Part 63)
Chapter 1613: A War Without Victors (Part 63)
The morning sun shone through the grimy windows of the newly reopened Leaky Cauldron, casting its light upon the bored figure of old Tom tending the bar. With few patrons to serve, he idly flipped through a newspaper, grumbling to himself about the declining business of the pub.
Ever since the recent Wizarding War, the number of customers had noticeably dwindled, and old Tom suspected that many of his regulars had perished in the conflict.
It was a reasonable assumption.
The sort of people who frequented pubs at night were rarely upstanding citizens, and by all accounts, the battle at Hogwarts had left piles of bodies in its wake.
If this trend continued, the Leaky Cauldron, which had only just recovered from the war, would be forced to shut its doors once more.
Just as old Tom was pondering ways to attract more customers, the few voices that had been echoing through the pub suddenly ceased, as if someone had cast a spell to silence them all at once.
As Tom looked up, he realized the cause of this sudden hush.
Three strikingly beautiful young women, seemingly out of place in this establishment, had inadvertently drawn the attention of every patron present.
Though all appreciated beauty, no one dared to approach them, and even old Tom's customary greeting caught in his throat as he watched them traverse the pub and make their way towards the small courtyard leading to Diagon Alley.
"I'd wager all I have that they're foreign witches," remarked a wizard enjoying his breakfast.
"Your wealth isn't worth much," scoffed his companion.
"If they were British, we'd have at least heard their names, even if we don't know them personally."
The trio, now the subject of much whispered discussion, had just passed through the entrance to Diagon Alley and were taking in the sights of the historic wizarding street.
"I thought this place would be in disarray for a while longer," Valeria commented as she pulled out a simple map of Diagon Alley, her eyes scanning the surrounding shops before pointing towards one in the distance. "Isabella's shop should be near the crossroads up ahead. Let's go take a look."
"Why didn't you arrange a time to meet with Albert and have him pick us up?" Louise asked, looking confusedly at Katherine.
"We did arrange a time, 10 a.m., but we're early," Katherine replied, glancing at her pocket watch and shooting a reproachful look at the blonde leading them forward. "But Valeria here wanted to take a look around and get a sense of the consumer landscape in Britain."
"Don't you want to wander around the wizarding street?" Valeria stopped by a street-side stall selling ice cream and, after purchasing three cones with Sickles, handed one each to Louise and Katherine.
"Do we need to research that?" Katherine was at a loss for words. "There aren't that many wizards in all of Britain, and the recent war took out quite a few. Unless Isabella plans to supply other countries, there's not much money to be made."
Having run a witch's beauty shop herself, she knew a thing or two about making a profit. Before they could truly expand their customer base, Isabella and her sister would only be making a small sum.
"They only have Northern Europe left," Louise remarked between bites of her ice cream. "Brits just don't care much about food."
"There aren't many wizards in Northern Europe either, but I don't think they mind," Valeria replied, a hint of envy in her voice as she thought of their situation. "Opening a shop is probably just a way to pass the time for them."
"If they want to make more money, they could consider expanding into Eastern Europe or the subcontinent," Louise suggested, recalling Britain's significant influence in those regions. "I don't think Isabella's aiming to get rich with this shop, though, considering how wealthy Albert is."
"We should consider unifying the shop fronts; this design concept is quite nice," Valeria said, indicating the shop before them as they walked.
"It's definitely pretty, but it doesn't feel very wizard-like," Louise replied, having also commissioned a custom design for her own shop. Still, she had to admit that this pink and white witch's beauty shop was more aesthetically pleasing.
Most girls would undoubtedly prefer this style; she knew she certainly did.
It was simple, elegant, and appealed to the heart of every young woman.
"You're earlier than we expected," Katrina remarked as she glanced at the wall clock and greeted the three who had entered through the half-open door. "Thankfully, we arrived early as well."
Katherine surveyed the interior of the beauty shop, her eyebrows lifting slightly as she asked, "Did Albert design this?"
As they had made their way here, it had become clear that British wizards had unique tastes.
To put it nicely, their style was vintage; to be blunt, they were out of touch with the times.
Yet this shop felt out of place, unlike any apothecary selling beauty potions. Instead, it resembled a cozy tea house, a place designed for couples to enjoy intimate conversations.
"Albert gave us some suggestions, and we also took inspiration from Muggle aesthetics in certain aspects," Katrina explained, motioning for them to take a seat and offering them refreshing cold drinks. "We realized that even with various beauty potions, some problems couldn't be solved, so we decided to provide consultation and treatment services to our customers."
"Of course, appointments are necessary for those."
The three witches exchanged glances, slightly taken aback. While they offered similar services, they weren't nearly as professional.
After all, they were merchants, not healers, and their knowledge in this area was limited.
Katrina was pleased to see the looks on their faces and continued, steering the conversation toward another topic.
"By the way, Primpenelle will be stopping by later, and I need your help convincing her to join us."
"Why not just do it yourself?" Valeria asked, not understanding Katrina's intentions.
"It was Albert's idea," Katrina explained. "In his words, 'Money is infinite, and leaving opportunities for others can make life easier for yourself.'"
"That does sound like something he'd say," Louise murmured.
"Albert has probably never experienced the struggles of poverty," Valeria added. "If he had, he wouldn't be so carefree about money."
Though she found his attitude a bit amusing, she didn't disagree with it. In fact, she quite liked it.
Who wouldn't want to live that way if they could?
"That guy apparently made a small fortune right after starting school," Katrina recalled, taking a sip of her fruit tea and reminiscing about the impressive incident.
It was because of this that her sister had later become acquainted with him.
"Albert doesn't seem like someone who would ever be short on funds," Katherine agreed, examining the fruit tea in her hand. She could see this beverage being quite popular among young witches and wizards.
He truly was a treasure, and she was glad she had chosen him.
However, she didn't envy Isabella, for soon enough, this treasure would be hers to share as well.
(End of Chapter)
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