Chapter 50: Weaslette, Divergence, and Profits (2/2)
”Okay, you two stop,” she interrupted the two who were rearing to go at each other. She looked up and was just able to see one last look at Quinn before he was out of their sight.
She turned to Hermione and asked, ”Why do you have multiple of those?”
Hermione's eyes shined as she exclaimed, ”The cards aren't always the same. I have six different versions of cards, each one better than the last one. The charms on the cards are so fascinating; every card has charms I don't recognize. Even now, I don't completely understand what went into creating them. I am seriously considering taking the card to professor Flitwick to get some answers.”
Ever since Hermione had found that there were multiple versions of A.I.D cards, she had started to collect them. She even went to older students to look at their cards. And had traded with them to have all the versions.
Hermione Granger was Hogwarts' first A.I.D card collector.
Ron didn't know about the guy and just thought it was another one of the bookworms from Ravenclaw, and Hermione's fascination with Quinn cemented his image of Quinn.
Harry, on the other hand, knew about Quinn. He had seen Quinn plenty of times talking to Katie Bell, who was his Quidditch teammate. He had seen him talking to Daphne Greengrass, who he recognized.
Plus, he had seen him once last year during his time in the Hospital Wing, and his mother had praised Quinn for being a good student.
Now, he caught the sight of the card in Ginny's hand and noticed the words A.I.D.
”Where have I seen that,” Harry thought out loud. He couldn't place a finger on where he had seen those words.
Ivy helped her brother out and spoke, ”A.I.D or Quinn West is the one who wrote the exam notes mum gave you. The colorful one.”
It finally clicked in Harry's mind, ”He made those notes?! I thought mum wrote those for us.”
While Harry wasn't particularly active in the classroom, he wasn't stupid. He had been raised by Lily Potter; he made sure to regularly study as he had been taught to do by his mother.
Ivy looked at her twin like he was an idiot and said, ”Didn't you see them with like everybody? Why would mum make them from everyone?”
”Hey, I don't really have a carefree last year,” said Harry, defending himself.
Ivy didn't give him a hard time, as last year had been a little rough on Harry. He had been in close contact with Voldemort, and that caused his scar to hurt a lot. Plus, there were some attacks on his life.
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While the golden squad was talking among themselves, Quinn had a peculiar experience.
'Damn it! Damnit! Damn it! Damn it!' repeated Quinn in his mind.
”This cannot be happening,” exclaimed Quinn, his tone showcasing panic. He had just experienced something that shouldn't have happened, or at least Quinn hadn't thought of happening.
Like a wrecking ball, a grave piece of information had hit him while he thought he was making progress.
When in Ginny's mind, reading her memories to see the influence of the diary-Horcrux on her mind, Quinn could only find a single memory related to Tom Riddle's diary, and that was the fight at Flourish and Blotts.
In that memory, he noticed a glaring issue. A smoking gun that blew the whole situation apart.
Lucius Malfoy didn't sneakily give the diary to Ginny.
Meaning that Ginny Weasley didn't have the diary-Horcrux.
Meaning that there was a divergence from canon events.
Quinn had checked thoroughly and didn't notice anything going to Ginny or any Potter or Weasley children. Lucius Malfoy didn't have a chance to slip anything into Potters, Weasleys, or Hermione when he was busy being restrained by Auror James Potter for disrupting order by fighting in a public place.
Tom Riddle's diary wasn't with Ginny, and that made some glaring problems. Problems that down the line could create grave situations.
”Now, I don't know if the diary is in Hogwarts or not.” Quinn paced back and forth, thinking about the ramification of his discovery.
The locations of Horcrux were crucial information to Quinn. As long as he was aware of the position of the Horcruxes, he had the upper hand on Voldemort.
But now, he did not know where the diary-Horcrux was.
Quinn began to think about the diary-Horcrux and came up with three possibilities.
First, the diary-Horcrux could still have made its way to Hogwarts but with another student. Lucius Malfoy could have simply dropped it with another student, resulting in it coming to Hogwarts. If this was the case, it was the closest to the canon events, and Quinn would like it the most.
Second, the diary-Horcrux remained at the Malfoy Manor, safe in the protected Manor, as it had been since Voldemort had entrusted it to Lucius. If this was the case, it caused some problems, as when Voldemort gets a body, there was a high chance Malfoy Manor would become Voldemort's headquarters. If that happens, it would mean that Voldemort would have a Horcrux close to him, which was not a pleasant thought.
Third, Lucius had sold the diary-Horcrux, and its location was unknown. This was the worst of the scenario, as that would mean that a Horcrux was out there, and as long as it was intact, Voldemort couldn't die.
This scenario was the least plausible, as Lucious might not sell something given to him by Voldemort. But, one could argue against it by saying that Lucius was carrying the diary with him on the day he was selling dark objects to Borgin and Burkes to get rid of it. He wanted to sell dark items to protect himself if the Ministry arrived knocking at his door because of the stricter standards.
And, let's say that diary-Horcrux never came to Hogwarts, which would mean that diary-Riddle would never wake the Basilisk up and Harry would never kill the beast, and it would be still alive. If Voldemort attacked Hogwarts, then the Basilisk would definitely be part of his forces. A magical beast that could kill with a single glance was a game-changer. It would be more effective on a battlefield than Voldemort himself.
Quinn heaved a heavy sigh as he thought about the situation that was getting out of his hand. The future knowledge was an essential asset for Quinn, and every change would decrease his safety in this world.
He looked up at the ceiling before glaring hard.
”I blame fate for this. Did you hear me?! I blame you!” screamed Quinn at an entity he didn't know if it even existed, but it was the action he took, and while it didn't solve the situation, it did help slightly to alleviate frustration.
He stomped hard on the floor before walking away; he needed time to think and make sure he was safe in Hogwarts.
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It was true that Quinn was having a not-so-good time because of the Horcrux situation or that he had made little progress with the vault riddle, but there was a single thing that was buzzing with positive activity.
Gilderoy Lockhart merchandise produced by Quinn and sold in Hogwarts were selling like hotcakes. Lockhart was good at one thing other than using Memory charm, and that was his ability to create an excellent public presence and knew how to maintain a positive image of himself. His fame and reputation were always riding high, and the common public was full of praises for him.
Riding on the wave of Lockhart's popularity and fame, Quinn sold tons and tons of Lockhart figurines, posters, lapel pins, exclusive trading cards that showcased Lockhart in different poses and with different quotes on each card, and many more products.
Countless students, mostly girls, coughed serious cash to get their hands on the Lockhart products. Quinn worked hard to meet the demand, and because of good planning and preparation, Quinn was able to keep up production and sold so many items that his dream of swimming in a pool of sickles took a significant jump in progress.
Lockharts, the Hogwarts fan club, was the official site for the sales as Quinn had hired a girl in the fan club to handle the sales for a small payment. He didn't have the time or the want to deal with sales, and neither did he want to stay in the club room all day to sell to take orders. He didn't need the A.I.D office to become a place where Lockhart fanatics mingled, so he made sure everybody knew that the club room was the place to go.
Quinn's life was complicated as he made the most money he had ever in his life but didn't have the opportunity to celebrate.
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Quinn West - MC - Has money - check, Hates fate - check.
Ginny Weasley - Gryffindor - Things are looking up for her as she escaped the fate of Voldemort controlling her - Good for her.
Hermione Granger - Collector - Looking forward to the new edition of A.I.D cards.
Lockharts - Cash cows - Being milked for money~.
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50 Chapters!
Half-century!
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