Sunday, December 18, 1994
Champions Prep Room 5
13:21 PM
Percival Ebonwood's POV
"Sorry about setting you off earlier," I said, as I picked up the note I had written. "I'll make it up to you. What was the thing you wanted if you won the bet?"
"That's kinda a long story, and it's too expensive for such a simple bet," she replied as she sat up.
"If we come in the top three, I give you want," I replied.
"Long story short: my mother wants to have another baby, but she's having trouble conceiving. A pregnancy potion would allow her to get pregnant, but it hasn't reached foreign markets yet," Athaliah said.
"That is just a short story. Given the fact the goblins asked for it and it hasn't reached the French market and there are very first alternatives for older women, I guess your request makes sense," I said as I thought about it. "Arranging that could be easily done. I'll ask the Prince Potion Factory for you for the improved potion."
"Thank you."
"No problem," I said as I left the room.
I was feeling a little peckish. There's only so much a cup of tea could do, and curing my hunger was not one of them. Although I had eaten a mere three hours ago, I felt like I could eat a whole chicken. Well, that's not actually that hard.
Given the fact that an average prepubescent wizard has nearly the same caloric intake as a muggle adult, it makes sense how one could easily demolish a whole chicken to themself. A witch or wizard, after going through puberty and their third magical maturation, need the nutrients equal to two average muggle men. That does put into perspective how wealthy we magicals are. A struggling Wizarding family like the Weasley were much better off than the average muggle family. Just imagine how wealthy the Malfoys are by muggle standards.
Well, that is quite easy to calculate. We can use the Weasley family to calculate an estimate conversion rate, but we first need to make three assumptions and believe them to be true. Otherwise, this whole calculation would fall apart.
First, we assume that the Ministry pays Arthur Weasley according to their guidelines for a department head, there are no underhand deals that lead to a reduction, and he has no other source of income. Second, we include every member of the Weasley family and assume that they all consume double the caloric intake as an average muggle. And third, every other cost is proportional to those in the muggle world.
According to the financial reports grandfather mailed me via owl, a low-to-middle income for a family of four in the Muggle world is between £20,000 and £25,000. Arthur supports a family of eight, so his wage might be equivalent to £40,000 to £50,000 in the Muggle world to support a family of this size.
You night be thinking that is estimation is a little low, but this was done under the knowledge that Bill, Charlie, and Percy no longer live with at the Weasley residence. That and the fact that the Weasley struggle to fund anyway above the bare necessities. So the initial comparison to a middle class family is wrong, but the Weasley patriarch does pay for utilities and taxes at a similar rate to a muggle middle class family.
It is common knowledge that all department heads get paid in proportion to the allocation of the public fund, alongside the base salary of 500 galleons. As the Department of Muggle Misuse has one of the lowest funding but not the least, the additional amount should be quite low. I guessing he would be paid around 200 additional galleons per month. That equates to 8,400 galleons per year.
Now the calculation is quite simple. Fo the upper and lower bound of estimate muggle currency equivalent. The calculations we are doing are £40,000 or £50,000 divided by 8,400 galleons. That leaves us with the value of a galleon falling between £4.76 and £5.95. Our estimation aligns quite closely with the exchange rate offered by the goblins at Gringotts. The Galleon appears to be on near-equal footing with the Pound Sterling. The fact that our estimated value closely matches the goblins' offered rate implies that the Galleon is a strong currency, almost equivalent to the Pound.
The Galleon seems to be a relatively stable currency. If the goblins are offering a consistent exchange rate of £5 per Galleon, this suggests that our economy is robust and possibly has mechanisms to protect the Galleon from significant fluctuations in value. This stability could be because of the insular nature of the wizarding economy, which isn't as exposed to the same global market forces that affect Muggle currencies.
The close parity between the Galleon and the Pound indicates strong confidence in the Galleon as a currency. The fact that goblins, who are known as shrewd bankers and known for hoarding even the smallest amount of gold, offer such an exchange rate implies that the Galleon is trusted and holds considerable purchasing power, both within the wizarding world and, to an extent, in the Muggle world through this exchange rate.
The richest person in Britain is the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Grosvenor, who had an estimated net worth of around £4.7 billion. His wealth primarily comes from extensive real estate holdings, including much of London's prime property, particularly in areas like Mayfair and Belgravia.
While exact figures for the Malfoys' wealth were never published and never will be, it is known that their fortune is almost equal to the Black fortune. However, even with their vast wealth, it's unlikely that they would compare to someone like the Duke of Westminster in terms of sheer monetary value. The richest Muggle in Britain would have a much larger net worth when converted to wizarding currency.
Both families have substantial real estate holdings, but the Duke's properties are among the most valuable in the world. The Malfoys' wealth is likely more diversified in magical artifacts and gold, rather than just land. The Malfoys have significant influence in the wizarding world, much like the Duke of Westminster had in British society. However, the scale of their influence is smaller, as the wizarding population is much smaller than the Muggle population.
As I let my thoughts about the strength of our currency race through my mind, I walked towards the kitchens. I passed through groups of younger student who were helping the prefects set up the corridors into a festive but formal atmosphere. I even went past a class full of student trying to learn how to waltz. They were probably as good as the goblins in the portrait opposite the room of requirement.
Standing in front of the painting of a fruit bowl, I admired the artistic beauty of such a piece. It was certainly better than the Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier by Paul Cézanne in 1893. I would say that this painting could go on sale for over £50 million. Stepping forward with my hand stretching out, I tickled the pear. Gearing began turning from behind the portrait as the painting swung outwards. I stepped forward.
I had one brief glimpse of an enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the Great Hall above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, and a great brick fireplace at the other end. There were four large tables positioned exactly like the Great Hall above. At the moment, there were mounds of food, lunch just being served, as dishes were sent up through the ceiling to their counterparts above.
At least a hundred little elves were moving around the kitchen, prepping, cooking, and serving as I made my way towards the front. They were all wearing the same uniform: a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest, and tied like a toga. There were numerous barrels around the edge of the room. For those of you that do not know, they were the homes of the house-elves. That was where they spent their free time when not serving the population of Hogwarts. The barrels may look small, but I assume they apply magic to make the interior spacious and cosy. I sat at the table located under where the staff table should be and waited until a house-elf was free.
"Mister Blackthorn visits Misty again. Misty is very happy," said the female house-elf in front of me.
"My last name is Ebonwood, not Blackthorn," I replied.
"But Misty learned that blackthorn is ebony wood," said the house-elf with a half-formed tear in her eye.
"You know what? You are right. My mistake," I said as the tear practically vanished.
"Misty knew what Misty had learned was not wrong. How can Misty help Mister Blackthorn?" the house-elf asked.
"Lunch time is basically over, and I have not eaten. Could I get some food?"
"Would Mister Blackthorn like Misty to deliver it to your room?"
"Yes please," I replied. "Could I have a roast beef and horseradish sandwich, with a jug of apple juice, and some pastries for desert?"
"Misty is on it. Misty will deliver it to Mister Blackthorns' room when it is done," said the house-elf.
"Thank you, Misty," I said as I got up and left.
Friday, December 23, 1994
Ravenclaw Common Room
11:45 AM
Percival Ebonwood's POV
"Percy! It's done!" Pricilla said as she handed me a parcel. "My aunt had a blast working with Bewilder Beast hide. It's not every day your favourite niece hand you one of the most expensive materials, courtesy of one of her best friend, to sew together something that is going to be used in a competition that has not been held for centuries."
I opened the parcel to reveal a white scaly scuba suit. It looked a little different to the blueprint I had given Pricilla's aunt.
"My aunt took a few liberties when putting it together," Pricilla said as she sat down next to me. "She used Bukovac skin as a lining to prevent water leakage before binding it with the hide you gave her. She fixed some of the gadgetry so it's hidden underneath the chest guards. Speaking of chest guards, she added chest guards to prevent your highlighted zone from being hit, and left enough room for the gemstone. Also, the arm guards are detachable. She said your welcome to replace the blades in favour of your own."
"This is more than I asked for," I said while marvelling at the SCUBA suit in front of me. "What gift should I get her for Yule? Would she like a money gift or an actual present?"
"My aunt said she didn't want anything. She was happy with the funding you gave her for working on this, and she a lot left," Pricilla said. "If you want to give her something, she has been trying for another child and it's not working."
"Arranging a potion for her is easily done. I'll also send some additional gifts," I replied. "She is an absolute lifesaver. Do you know if she messed with the sensors too much?"
"She said the sensors are still in the same place. The only thing she changed was where the control box was located. Instead of having them spread out, she place all of them under the chest guard," Pricilla said.
"What about the oxygen gauge?" I asked.
"It's connected to the control box, but there's no display. What's that for?" she asked.
"That's because it's going to make my job easier," I replied as she looked at me, confused. I retrieved my wand and cast accio. A helmet appeared in my hands.
"That looks different to what the blueprints showed," Pricilla stated. "Should it have a circular window, and those pointy out bits?"
"My original design was a diving helmet, but I had more time to design this thanks to your aunt," I said as I handed the white helmet to her. "I took inspiration from the Black Manta from DC comics."
"Your saying that like I understand what that is," she said.
"A supervillain from muggle entertainment. He built a suit based on the design of a black manta. Black Manta is all black and red, while this suit is blue and white," I said as I pointed at the blue lenses.
"What makes this special and better than a diving helmet?" Pricilla asked.
"First, the lenses. There's a colour filter so you can see underwater better. Staying on the lenses, the control box is connected to it. So the user can see everything happening in the suit and around it. Also, there is a calibrated infrared lense, so you have heat vision underwater. Not sure how that helps, but it should," I said. "There's a backup torch built into it that uses the gemstone as a power source."
"The gemstone is powering this?" she asked.
"Yep. I got permission from Luna," I said.
"Where is the oxygen tank?" Pricilla asked.
"I commissioned someone to make it for me. Although I'm good with runes, I'd rather leave that to the professionals," I said as Pricilla handed the helmet back to me.
"Have you tried it out?"
"It's not built for someone like me," I said, showing her the chest guard.
"Oh," she said before falling into silence.
Pricilla watched as I attached the helmet to the suit via ribbon cables located near the spine of the suit. Seeing the lenses light up before returning to normal, it showed that they were now connected properly. Turning the suit over to the front side, I removed the chest guards, leaving the control boxes exposed alongside where the power source should be.
Reaching into the pocket nearest my right hip, I retrieved my gemstone. I carefully placed the gemstone into the space left for the power supply before putting the chest guards back where they should be. My next step was to start the power-on procedure. Pressing the belt buckle and a button below the right ear of the helmet, I felt the air pistons beneath them activate.
A soft blue glow hovered around the chest guard, before splitting up and travelling down through the wire to where all the sensors should be. The brightest glow came from four individual wires that went around the chest area before merging into the spine. Two of the blue glows faded while the others travelled towards the helmet. The lenses flashed on and remained on. It was a success.
"Could you turn that thing off? The hissing is getting annoying, and should it even be hissing?" Pricilla said.
"Since the air tank is not connected, yes, it should be hissing," I said as I powered the suit down in the same fashion I turned it on.
"It works?"
"It works."
"When's the air tank coming?" Pricilla asked.
"On the 27th," I replied, while taking the gemstone out, safely, and placing it in my pocket.
"Should you really be putting that in your pocket?" Pricilla asked. "I put my one in a mole skin bag, then placed another sixty-eight mole skin bags in my personal vault."
"I like to keep it on me. It feels safer that way," I replied before disconnecting the helmet and folding up the suit.