Chapter 101: Hogsmeade Surprise

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[The chapter is edited by my Editor: Alan_Loo/AlanL]

After his talk with Harry, Quinn went back to study the butchered-up Braid Wiggle. He was wearing a fresh pair of white cloth gloves and used his magic to separate the guts, but then stopped even before his fresh gloves were stained with blood or bodily fluids.

He once again cast the tender green pyramid-shaped short-term preservation field before taking a seat. He thought about the conversation.

"That was unexpected," sighed Quinn.

Quinn still thought that the A.I.D. had developed into a place where students would bring their problems more than they brought to the professors. But he never would think that Harry Potter would come to him, given his close connection to the professors.

Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid, and Albus Dumbledore were part of the Order of Phoenix in the First Wizarding War, and Harry had grown up with plenty of contact with the above members. Lily Potter, his own mother, was a professor and another viable option. Even though Minerva McGonagall wasn't part of the Order of Phoenix, she was Gryffindor's Head of House and had good relations with Harry's parents.

Ivy's case was different from Harry's, and her interactions with Quinn had started with purely academic purposes. But because of several series of events, their interactions had increased beyond that point. If those events hadn't taken place, Quinn imagined that his interactions with Ivy would have been limited to the annual purchase of study notes.

"I wonder how he will proceed with the knowledge he has now," wondered Quinn as he tapped his finger on the tabletop.

Quinn had read Harry's thoughts when he was exiting the room, and in those thoughts, he had seen impulses of confronting his mother, but from where Quinn was reading, they weren't strong enough for Harry to react on.

"He would definitely share the new information with his sister. That one is inevitable. The first thought in his mind was to share that information with her," murmured Quinn as he continued to tap on the table. "At least he has no intention of telling her the source of information. Let's just hope he does his due diligence before talking to anyone about it."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing how this entire thing turns out," smiled Quinn. He then thought about asking some people some sleeper-favors inside Gryffindor.

- (Scene Break) -..

Quinn took a deep breath in Hogsmeade. "The air's free of something and with that..." Quinn took another deep breath with a smile on his face.

"... What?" uttered Eddie, a confused furrow in his brow.

"Ignore him," said Marcus, eying Quinn, who had a confident expression on his face. "He started intending to say something cool and wise sounding but very quickly realized that he doesn't have anything fitting to say." Marcus sharply pointed at Quinn and continued, "Look at him. Always plastering that confident look on his face, expecting us to buy it, which is complete bullcrap."

Quinn clicked his tongue as he gave Marcus a side look, "You're getting too smart for your own good."

"Nope, we are spending too much time with you," Marcus shook his head as he responded.

Quinn queried a brow as he said, "So you're saying that my presence is making you smarter. Huh, never thought it like that. That is good to hear." A soft yet wide smile made its way to Quinn's face as if he was feeling fulfilled after doing a good deed.

"No! That isn't what I mean-," rebuked Marcus but stopped and sighed, shaking his head, "You know what, leave it." Marcus narrowed his eyes at Quinn and complained, "You know how annoying it is when you lead the conversations that way. Don't do that."

Eddie chuckled at the side as the three amigos moved across the streets of Hogsmeade.

"What are we going to do today?" asked Marcus as he and Eddie followed Quinn.

"I have got to pick something from Scrivenshaft's. Then we'll have fun," answered Quinn as he led the group towards the West family-owned business.

He had gotten a MagiFax message from home in which it said that there was a package for him at the shop and that he should pick it up today. When he wrote back for more details, all he got back was that it was a surprise.

'They could've just shrunk it and sent it to me via an owl,' thought Quinn, and that made him wonder what was it about the package that it couldn't be sent directly to him.

Eddie and Marcus looked at each other and shrugged. They knew that Quinn's family owned the Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop in Hogsmeade. Quinn never talked about his family, so they didn't know much about it. Both of them knew that Quinn's family was loaded, but neither of them knew about the true extent of Quinn's family wealth.

Quinn, Eddie, and Marcus entered the door as the door chime above the door rang to announce their entry. There were a substantial number of customers inside the store, which were mostly students browsing through school supplies.

"Good morning, Gary," greeted Quinn as he walked towards the counter.

At once, he saw something different in the shop manager of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.

Whenever Quinn saw the lanky man he would dress casually and, most of the time, he would have a work apron on and would've ink stains all over his fingers and clothes, uncombed clothes, and overall, no personal grooming. But today, Gary was wearing a pressed checkered shirt and a new set of pants with no ink stain on any part of his body. He also had very neatly combed his hair, clean shaved, and had cleaned up quite well.

"... Gary, you look great. What's up," asked Quinn, smiling at the man he met whenever he came out to Hogsmeade.

"Good morning, Mr. West," greeted Gary nervously, trying to do a proper greeting, fumbling as he tried.

'Okay, something is wrong,' thought Quinn as Gary didn't call him, 'Mr. West.' Quinn had asked Gary to call him by his first name, so the sudden name change was suspicious.

"... Gary, you are acting weird. What is wrong? Tell me, and I'll solve it," said Quinn, trying to reassure his acquaintance. Also, he was part of the family business, so if Gary had a problem, Quinn would try to make it disappear.

"Nothing is wrong with me. The package is waiting for you in the back room," replied Gary stiffly, clearly looking nervous and anxious.

"... I see," said Quinn and glanced at the door that led to the backroom. He turned to look at Eddie and Marcus and said, "... You guys wait. I will be back."

He glanced at Gary as he walked to the back door, and he could see that sweat was beading on Gary's forehead.

Just behind the door was the staircase that went up to the second floor. Quinn climbed the steps; with each step, the stair beneath him would creak because of his weight.

There was a single corridor on the second floor, and on that corridor were three rooms: two on the sides and one straight ahead. The two rooms at the sides of the corridor were storage rooms filled with shop merchandise and raw materials.

Quinn stared at the white door straight ahead. He had been into the room before. And that was why Gary hadn't specified the room and had just said the backroom. It was the door to the same room in which Quinn had told his secrets to his grandfather, George West.

Quinn opened the door and entered the room. He already knew what was waiting for him inside.

In the room, which had been completely fixed from the last time Quinn's magic had gone ham on it, sat a woman in front of a table, looking over some books. She had been peacefully reading and looked up from the books, which looked like ledges.

"Oh, you're here. Good morning, Quinn," greeted the woman when she looked at Quinn.

"What the hell, Lia. You could've just told me you were coming. For a second, I thought I was going to get jumped and get kidnapped," sighed Quinn as he closed the door and walked towards.

The woman, Lia West, Quinn's sister, smiled as she got up from her chair, walked towards Quinn, and hugged him.

"It is called a surprise, dummy," said Lia as she broke the hug. "Aren't you surprised?" There was a mischievous look in her eyes and a playful smile on her face.

"Of course, I am surprised! If I didn't peek into Gary's mind, I would've bombarded this room with spells," said exasperatedly Quinn. He had used a light Legilimency probe on the shop manager's mind and extracted Lia's face and name in the few seconds Quinn maintained the probe. He sighed as he then asked, "What did you do to Gary? He was all jittery and stiff in his shoes. I haven't seen him dressed properly before this."

"Hmm? I didn't do anything to him. I just asked him to bring me the shop account books. I thought I would audit them as I pass the time while waiting for you. And for his clothes, I am not sure how he usually dresses; this is my first time visiting this particular shop," answered Lia as she and Quinn sat down.

"I see; he was getting audited. That is why he addressed me by our family name," sighed Quinn and reached for a biscuit from a platter on the side of the table.

"I didn't say anything to him. And his accounts are all fine. I can't see any discrepancies, and the shop is pulling good profits. He shouldn't be nervous if he knows that his shop is working properly," talked Lia as she studied her brother.

"Anyone would be nervous if the owner popped one day and asked for the ledger," said Quinn as he cleaned his hands with magic. "So why are you here?"

"Isn't that obvious, dumb baby brother of mine? I'm here to see you. I was in the country, and I was talking to grandfather one day when he mentioned you had —what is it called, oh, yeah— Hogsmeade weekend, so I decided to visit."

Quinn sighed once more before another smile made its way to his face. He was happy to see Lia while at school.

"How have you been?" he asked while observing Lia. As he was studying Healing, Quinn's eyes automatically looked for signs about her health. He didn't use magic, but he could tell that she was healthy.

"I'm great. I went to Peru for a week with my friends," started Lia, telling Quinn about her vacation.

"Oh, did you? How was it?" asked Quinn. He was interested because he hadn't been to Peru while traveling.

"It's a beautiful country. We had lots of fun. I brought you some souvenirs. They are at home."

"Bought a company in Thailand," informed Lia with a proud smile on her face.

"Wait, did we have holdings in Thailand?"

"No, we didn't. This is the first one, and I took care of all of it. Grandfather handed me the project. It will be my biggest project to date. I have already submitted a ten-year development plan for Thailand."

"Congratulations!" cheered Quinn, happy for a clearly prominent occasion for Lia's career.

"Thanks! What else I did, hmm," thought Lia with a finger on her chin before her eyes sparkled and she spoke with a brag in her tone, "I entered a flying-horse tourney in Greece and won the entire event."

"Seriously! Woah, that is awesome! Did you get a trophy?" asked Quinn, clearly impressed by this event.

"I did. It's at home."

"What else did you do?"

"Oh, this one is my favorite. Listen to this. I found an old Oakshift 79 broomstick, but not any Oakshift 79, no, it was Jocunda Sykes's Oakshift 79 that she used for the first-ever flight across the Atlantic."

Jocunda Sykes was a woman who was famous for flying across the Atlantic Ocean - the first magical to do so. The broomstick that she used for the historical event would be absolutely priceless.

"No way! How did you manage that? Where is it? Is it also at home?" exclaimed Quinn.

"At home, no. I sold it," smiled Lia.

"Huh?" blinked Quinn, confused by the sudden reversal. "Why would you do that?! That thing is really priceless."

"I found two bottles of Dagueneau Seibel," Lia said as a very wide smirk made its way towards her face.

"... no, you didn't," said Quinn with a face full of disbelief. "From 1905? Are they from 1905?"

"Yes, the 1905 Dagueneau Seibel," nodded Lia smugly. "And I found two of those. I traded the broom for two of those bottles. The guy I traded was a big broom collector, and he didn't even blink when I put down the offer." She raised her hand and showed two fingers. "TWO! I found two. Haha!"

Dagueneau Seibel was a type of magical wine enjoyed by people who liked to indulge in wine. And Dagueneau Seibel, 1905 was an edition of Dagueneau Seibel, coveted by wine collectors. An edition that, with time, had become increasingly difficult to procure. Dagueneau Seibel, 1905, had become a collector and wine lover's dream.

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But the reason Quinn and Lia were so animated about this wine was that their grandfather, George West, loved this wine. George only ever had a tasting pour of said wine; a tasting pour was half a regular serving. And after that single pour, George West had proclaimed that Dagueneau Seibel, 1905, was the best wine he ever had.

After that day, George tried to buy a bottle of Dagueneau Seibel, 1905, but was unsuccessful in acquiring a bottle because it had become increasingly rare, and no collector was willing to part from their bottles.

Another reason that this wine held a special place in George's heart was because the wine was as old as him. George West was born in 1905, and so was Dagueneau Seibel, 1905.

"It seems this year I will be winning the birthday gift contest as well," smirked Lia smugly. If you asked Quinn, she was too damn smugly.

Every year, both siblings would compete on who could get a better gift for their grandfather, and even though both George never told them whose gift he liked more, both grandchildren compared gifts and decided who got the better gift.

In that competition, Lia, who literally traveled almost all the time, got gifts from around the world and had the edge over Quinn, whereas Quinn's reach was limited. But Quinn didn't give up. Even if he couldn't find exotic items like Lia, Quinn explored the non-magical and found items that would be unfamiliar yet interesting items that would work inside a magical home.

But Dagueneau Seibel, 1905 was just another level. This was something that Quinn couldn't top. Even if he found something amazingly interesting, there wasn't anything George had tried so hard to find.

"This year, I'm going to make grandfather say that he likes my gift," smirked Lia as she giggled at the defeated sight of her brother. "Oh Quinn, you won't be beating me this year."

Quinn groaned because things weren't looking good. This competition was an annual affair that both he and Lia took seriously. And neither of the siblings liked to lose.

"You, you, came here to rub this in my face, didn't you?"

Lia laughed louder and nodded,

"... Yeah. I was so excited today. And I am not disappointed. This feels good~."

"Dammit! I will remember this humiliation," grumbled Quinn as he put his head in his hands. "I'm going to destroy you next year. I am going to utterly leave you in the dust."

"Yeah, we will see about that, you squirt," scoffed Lia, smugness oozing out of her.

After the West siblings got back to normal from their competition crazy state, Quinn suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot!" He looked at Lia and said, "You wait here. I will be right back."

Lia watched as Quinn ran out of the room, and she waited for around two minutes before Quinn returned. Quinn wasn't alone when he returned and had two other people in tow.

"Lia, meet my friends and roommates; Eddie Carmichael and Marcus Belby," introduced Quinn as he presented his two best friends to his sister. He turned to Eddie and Marcus and introduced the other way, "Eddie, Marcus, this is my older sister, Lia West."

Eddie and Marcus, who were shocked, stood still as they stared at Lia.

When Quinn had come running to them in the store to find them, all Quinn had said was that he wanted to show them something. He didn't tell them what he wanted to show. He just hurried them to follow him; he practically dragged them to the room.

So when the two entered the room, they had no idea that they would come across a stunningly beautiful woman. The two froze in their spots as heat rushed to their faces as they stared at the woman who was just introduced to them as Quinn's sister, Lia.

"Hello, it is nice to meet you two. I have heard a lot about you two," smiled Lia brightly as she stood up and from her chair. "Thank you for taking care of my troublesome baby brother."

"N-No, it is fine."

"Ah, h-he isn't trouble."

Eddie and Marcus stuttered as they replied to Lia. The two couldn't look away from Lia, partially because she was just too pretty, but primarily because the thought of looking away wasn't anywhere in their adolescent heads.

Quinn smiled widely because Lia always teased him by saying that Eddie and Marcus weren't real and that Quinn had made them up because he didn't have any male friends.

"Take that. They are real," humped Quinn at Lia before looking at Eddie and Marcus. He had to do a double-take when he saw the slightly open jaws of his friends.

"... Seriously," said Quinn in disbelief before sending harsh pinching hexes towards both of them.

Both Eddie and Marcus felt excruciating pinching pain on the sides of their waist as they squealed and snapped out of their dazed state. The two realized what they were doing, and their cheeks burned up for different reasons as they turned their faces towards Quinn, who was making an expression that promised pain afterward.

"Hello, I'm Marcus. Nice to meet you. We didn't know that Quinn had a sister. This is surprising," said Marcus, turning his attention to Lia and this time talking to her properly. He still found Lia very beautiful, but that feeling was overridden by the death stare from the guy who slept in the same room as him for most of the year.

Lia turned towards Quinn and pouted, "You don't talk about me?"

"Don't start," sighed Quinn, shaking his head.

Eddie and Marcus talked to Lia for a short while before leaving the West siblings alone to catch up.

Lia and Quinn remained in the room, talking, trading stories. Lia told him about the places she went, the people she met, the things she had experienced. Quinn would talk about the magics he learned, the students he had had contact with and fun tidbits about his school life. The two siblings talked for an hour or so before Lia had to leave.

"Do you have to leave so soon?" asked Quinn. He wanted to hear more from Lia. It was nice to see a family member after so many days, and the short time together felt that it wasn't enough.

"I have to. I have a portkey arranged for travel. I would have stayed longer, but the Thailand ministry requires that the people entering the country come at a time they specify. As such, I need to leave now to prepare for the trip."

"I see," nodded Quinn before his eyes shined, and he spoke, "Buy me books related to body magic. Thailand has a rich culture of body magic, and I would like to enrich myself with it. The books I have aren't that advanced, and I would like to have more information with me."

One of the reasons why Quinn practiced Muay Thai —which wasn't widespread in Britain— instead of Kick Boxing, was because the few books that Quinn had on Body magic referenced the use of Muay Thai for developing a base physique before starting learning Body magic.

Quinn had been slowly and consistently building his body by exercising every day because he wanted to study Body Magic one day. So when Lia mentioned Thailand, he immediately thought of getting more books, and Lia going to Thailand was perfect.

"Alright, I will hire a local who knows about Body Magic to pick out a selection," nodded Lia.

"I want everything on the subjects, so instruct the one you hire to get books that have extensive knowledge. I don't want books that describe things easily. I want the real deal that goes into depth."

Lia ruffled Quinn's hair and said, "I know, I know, you don't have to repeat it every time I go abroad. I already know what kinds of books you want."

"Then don't try to filter the books you hand to me. I want every one of them. Don't take out books you think are dangerous," said Quinn as he narrowed his eyes on his sister.

"I did that one time! Sorry for being a good sister and looking out for her brother," humped Lia and ruffled Quinn's rougher than before.

"If I don't say it every time, you'll do it again," retorted Quinn and removed Lia's hand from his head.

"See you later, alright?" said Lia. The two stood near the floo-fireplace inside the shop.

"Yeah, see you later," replied Quinn and watched Lia as she threw in the floo-powder and vanished inside the green flames.

Quinn looked behind to see Gary almost lying on his chair. The man looked like he had the most tiring day of his life.

"Don't worry, Lia said that your accounts are fine, and she was satisfied with the way you run the shop," said Quinn, giving Gary the good news to relieve him of his worries. "You don't have to worry about anything."

"Really?" asked Gary feebly but with hope.

"Yeah."

"... I want to close the shop early today."

"Of course."

- (Scene Break) -

The same day, Quinn was back in his dorm room reading a book on 'spell damage to muscles' when Eddie suddenly sat on his bed with a jump.

"You know I don't like people on my bed," said Quinn without looking up from his book.

"Do you have any other siblings," asked Eddie, not getting up from Quinn's bed. "Maybe a twin sister or someone near our age."

Quinn abruptly looked up from his book and spat, "Do you want me to beat you up?"

"... No."

"Then sod off from my bed."

Eddie got up from his bed, and as he did that, he heard Quinn speak up.

"We'll be waking up an hour early tomorrow. We're going to have an intense workout session. It will be fun."

"Come on! Not fair! I just asked a question!" whined Eddie and groaned.

"Yeah, whatever. Go to sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow."

Eddie walked to his bed with slumped shoulders, but before climbing up his bed, he spoke,

"... You didn't tell me if you have another sister."

Quinn closed his book with a snap and got up from his bed, "I'm going to beat you up."

"Wait, wait, wait! I was just kidding! Wait... Ouch! Aaah! Stop, no, not the nut tap! F**k!..."

Marcus, who stepped out of the bathroom, looked at his two friends as Quinn was trapping Eddie into a head leglock.

Quinn West - MC - I will win next year.

Lia West - Big sis - Haha, I am the winner!

Gary - Shop Manager - Had a stressful day - Want a drink and then go to sleep.

Eddie Carmichael - His horniness doomed him - Stop! Aaah! I am sorry!

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