Chapter 44: Change In Mindscape, and The Sales Pitch (1/2)
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A few days into the summer break between two school years, Quinn laid in the bed in his room. The room had changed little in the years Quinn had occupied it. The only changes were the larger study table and pictures on the wall, accumulated over the years, capturing precious memories in their frames.
Not all of them moved like the magical photographs did and remained still like non-magical photography. There was something in still photos that Quinn liked, and some shots were stripped off their magic, leaving the exact moment they were clicked.
The room's occupant had his eyes closed, laying on his back, away from the real world, and inside his mindscape.
The same mindscape that once had been a white space and was turned into a vast green grass field with clouds above, gracing the blue sky with their pearly white contrast.
On the grassy field stood a manor, a building that acted as a gateway to the place in the mind where the memories resided, bringing them into the mindscape for better access. Inside the manor, memories manifested in the form of books.
Thousands of books sat on hundreds of shelves, each book representing a memory, memories from all over Quinn's life. Be it something as trivial as what he ate at dinner over a month ago to vital things like the proper method for channeling Blood magic without harming the body.
Outside the mind-replica of the West manor stood Quinn, gazing at the building that he had built years ago and had since spent hours upon hours changing the sorting scheme of the memory books, creating and developing methods of crafting new memory books.
Sorting memories so that they would be easier to find and access and, at the same time, the configuration scheme of the books would make it difficult for a legilimens to see his memories.
Quinn turned away from the West manor replica and looked in the opposite direction, suddenly the scenery shifted, and Quinn stood in a much larger building. A building that outclassed the West manor in every size aspect; it covered more ground and stood much taller than the West manor.
A complete replica of Hogwarts castle stood in Quinn's mindscape, exuding the grandeur like the actual one in the real world. He had modified the grassy terrain of the mindscape to suit the castle's surroundings. Rocky canyons, lakes, and trees were now part of the fabricated ecosystem in Quinn's mindscape.
It had taken Quinn two years to complete this replica in his mindscape. Hundreds of nights and days of exploration of the castle, several miles/kilometers of foot mileage, tons of memorization, and hours of immersion in memories of the castle to construct a stronger image of the building and its interior.
Quinn took a step forward, and the scenery once again changed. He stood inside the castle; In the Great Hall, looking at the charmed ceiling, which now showed a clear sky. The same as Quinn's simple fabrication of the sky.
With each step Quinn took, he was in a different room in a distinct part of the castle. There were quite a few differences between the real and replica of Hogwarts.
The portraits in the actual version weren't present here, and the walls were now covered with empty frames. Quinn's variant didn't have a Room of Requirements as he didn't have the time to create a working version of Room of Requirements, so he left it out for now.
Professor's offices and housing were omitted from Quinn's version. Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff common rooms and dorms were just copies of Ravenclaw common room. Even Ravenclaw girl's dorms were a replica of the boy's dorms because he had never been there. Despite all these differences, the Hogwarts replica was a stable structure with no breaks or fissures.
After Quinn was satisfied with the final audit of the castle, he turned away, and he was outside the castle replica.
”Okay, let's do this.”
Quinn closed his eyes, and at the West manor replica, the gateway for his memory to appear in the mindscape closed.
”Connection closed,” whispered Quinn.
He took a deep breath and focused on the Hogwarts castle.
The castle started to rumble as termors filled the building, and the surrounding areas shook with quakes. A new connection to the memories opened up, and the Hogwarts castle became a gateway for memories to gather in Quinn's mindscape.
The whole process took a few moments and consisted of lots of groaning and grunts from Quinn.
”Phew... well, that wasn't any easy than the last time,” sighed Quinn.
”New connection established.”
He raised his hand and swung it down towards the castle. Quinn turned away from the Hogwarts replica and looked at the sky. Within seconds, thousands and thousands of books fluttered across the sky and entered the castle through windows and gates.
”Memories injected into the replica, complete,” noted Quinn.
With Hogwarts standing in his mindscape, he now had a larger space to work with. He could also experiment with new sorting techniques that could use the expanded space, rooms, and floors. The architecture and floor plans of Hogwarts were also much more complex than the more simplistic West manor.
Quinn took a step away from the castle to instantaneously arrive at the West manor in his mindscape.
He looked at the manor with nostalgia and entered the building to find it empty without any memory books; all left in the buildings were vacant bookshelves.
Quinn touched one of the walls in the building and said, ”Don't worry, buddy, I still have plenty of use for you.”
He had no intention of destroying the West manor replica in his mindscape. He had other plans for it,
”I am going to store all my happiest memories in here,” smiled Quinn, feeling sentimental about the first structure in his mind.
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- (Scene Break) -
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”Uncle Elliot,” said Quinn, calling out Elliot, who was drinking his tea in the living hall.
Elliot looked up from the book he was reading and asked, ”What is it, young master?”
Quinn sat on the sofa in front of Elliot and cleared his throat, ”I have something I want you to do.”
Elliot put down his cup of tea and closed his book, ”Yes, what do you want me to do?”
Quinn put on a slight smile and asked, ”I want you to arrange a meeting for me with grandfather.”
”... Young master, what do you mean by arranging a meeting? You can go and see your grandfather anytime you desire. He won't turn you away.” Quinn's request greatly confused Elliot; he wasn't sure what Quinn was asking for from him.
Quinn shook his head in response, ”I don't want to meet my grandfather for a personal reason.” He took a short breath and continued, ”I want to meet George West for a business proposition. So, my meeting is not for a personal motive, but a professional reason.”
Elliot's brows raised as he leaned forward, ”A business proposition?”
”Yes, I want to sell grandfather something and thought if I arranged a meeting via you, it would seem more professional,” grinned Quinn.
”But, doesn't all this sound a bit silly?” asked Elliot, observing Quinn, interested in the direction of the conversation.
Quinn nodded, but at the same nodded, ”Yes, but as grandfather says, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and ...”
”... while many make a good first impression, only a few will make a good lasting impression,” finished Elliot, smiling as he remembered the words often spoken by George.
Quinn nodded and spoke, ”If I do this, it will create an impression on grandfather, and it will help me out when I go and put my proposal out in front of him.”
Elliot stayed silent for a moment before saying, ”Alright, I will do it. I will set up a meeting with your grandfather.”
Quinn smiled, but Elliot continued,
”But, if I am going to do this, I would have to know that what you are planning is worth it.”
Quinn paused listening to that and blinked in confusion.
”What do you mean?”
Elliot crossed his leg over the other and rested his hands on his lap.
”If we are taking this seriously, then by setting this meeting, I am vouching that you are a legit opportunity and not some waste of time. If I am going to use my name for this meeting, then I have to be sure that you are not wasting your grandfather's time.”
Quinn pursed his lips and asked, ”Alright, what do you want from me?”
”Opportunity is a haughty lady who wastes no time with those who are unprepared,” quoted Elliot, before continuing, ”Before the meeting, we are going to clear out the kinks from your proposal.”
Quinn nodded. He could certainly use some help on this matter.
”But before that, I have to hear your plan. I have to see what you are building on and if it is useful enough,” said Elliot.
Quinn nodded and revealed his idea,
”So, you know about...”
Elliot listened as Quinn spoke about his plan, and as Quinn talked more and more about his idea, Elliot became increasingly interested.
”... Young master, if you can deliver what you are saying, then this would be big,” said Elliot, his eyes shining with eagerness, ”enormous, a game-changer.”
Quinn smiled and spoke while nodding, ”Oh, believe me, I can deliver.”
Elliot nodded, leaned forward, and looked Quinn in the eye, ”Alright then, let's make sure that this goes perfectly.”
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- (Scene Break) -
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George West sat in his study, doing work when he heard a knock on his door.
”Come in,” he said, knowing who it was from the knocks.
Elliot entered the study and closed the door behind him. He sat on the chairs in front of the desk and waited for George to speak to him.
George asked, not looking up from his papers, ”What is it, Elliot?”
”I have a person who I want you to meet,” started Elliot.
He and Quinn had been working on his presentation for quite a few days, and Elliot thought that Quinn was ready, so here he was setting up a meeting for Quinn.