HP: Spirit Talker

In order to leave Gringotts, I had to hire a courier to go to Madame Malkin's to get a warm winter cloak, a hat, and a pair of boots for Afiri. The girl had lived all her life in Egypt, so even in the ritual hall, where it was cool but not cold, she began to freeze and even shiver. First, I had to take off my outer clothes and wrap myself in a shawl that Kiriko had knitted for me under Miss Travers' guidance.

In the same ritual hall were the corridors to the rooms for cleaning up after the rituals, where I saw a change in my appearance as I washed off the blood. No, it wasn't like that, but my hair was now gray, and on the palms of my hands, where I had cut them to donate blood, there were black complex patterns that I didn't understand at all. Not a tattoo, like skin pigment. The only thing that is more or less clear in this pattern is the sign of the eye, with the drops stretched downward and the rays stretched upward.

The rest is a mystery that I have no one to ask. I mean, what if someone knows but doesn't want to tell me, will I use that knowledge? No, I won't rush into it, I have enough problems as it is, and besides, Afiri's appearance confuses me — I just don't know what to do with her.

But I decided to wait, because other plans are ready and I can't postpone them — I don't know how it can turn out. If things are going to work out, I have to take my chances. And let Afiri stay in London for the week until the first half of my house is finished. She will begin to familiarize herself with the local customs among which she must now live.

I am now anxious to speak to Madame Maxime, for it is a horror what is going on at her school! If I find out that it is the connivance of the school administration, I will bleed. A lot of blood.

After I cleaned up, I sat down to check the papers the goblins had provided as a list/price/bill. No, they wouldn't cheat, but they would quickly adjust the prices. Which they did. After all, nothing they ordered was super expensive or unique, even the bronze roasters didn't have any special enchantments or runes, but no, each roaster was priced at two hundred and fifty galleons. Not bad, huh? The more I read, the more my heavy gaze went to the grinning goblin — non-human expressions were never a big mystery to me, nor were animal expressions — it was a Hoshino family trait.

In the end, I had to pay the more than twenty thousand gold pieces. The goblin shone with sharp teeth and glittering eyes until the very last moment. I especially liked the last additions in the "cloth" about the price for finding "unaccounted for property and artifacts of the client" in the bank and the use of the shower.

I even thought the thing was about to burst with smugness and happiness. Just then, the courier arrived with clothes for Afiri, but I didn't ask for a separate room to change, and the girl, as soon as the courier left, nonchalantly got up from her chair and started changing right in front of me.

— Are you embarrassed about anything? — I couldn't help but ask.

— You are my master, Master, and you have the right to see my body whenever you want.

— And the goblin? — I refuse to remember his name. The girl looked at me strangely as she stood with her breasts bare and her turtleneck in her hands. Then she gave the creature a blank stare and looked at me again.

— Slaves and inferiors don't deserve the feelings of elders. — I left the shop and dressed in far more clothes than I had ordered, but wrote a note to the shopkeeper expressing some of my doubts about — Is this enough to keep a girl from Egypt warm? I'll have to stop by Madame Malkin's to buy more and thank the wise woman.

But that's all right, more important now was the way the goblin was skewered by the words of the oriental beauty, for she had said exactly what she thought. To her, this creature was inferior, dirt underfoot, and what does a man feel when he has to step in mud? Frustration and resentment are all the goblins deserve, Afiri says. And I agree with her. I liked what she said, it seemed that it wouldn't be as difficult as I thought to make a deal with the girl. And before the goblin could say anything, I added.

— The Hoshino family refuses to ever sell their artifacts, amulets or talismans to the Goblin Nation and Gringotts Bank. — My words made the goblin frown. — My family knows how to be grateful for understanding and a timely helping hand, — a short pause. — If they were. But when you pay triple the price just because you're in a bind — that's no help and not even close to showing good intentions — just cruel business. — Afiri finished, and I sealed her things in a ring, and we walked to the door. — Goodbye.

We were escorted to the exit by a very young goblin. No one else tried to speak to us. The hot beauty, once outside the bank, immediately pulled up my scarf to hide her face and frowned slightly. Yes, such a sudden change of climate is not an easy ordeal. By the way, the bodies of the Minhe family are also sealed, and I'll be conducting a ritual cremation the other day.

We spent another three hours in Madame Malkin's shop, but I didn't hurry because I realized that a girl/woman must have a complete set of clothes, otherwise her comfort can be forgotten. A woman's soul is more complex than a man's, she has a lot that depends on exactly how she looks, what clothes and jewelry she wears.

Now Afiri found herself in a place where there is nothing familiar to her — everything is foreign, so let at least in a small way, but the girl will be more comfortable. Also, no one tried to escort me out of the door, because in normal clothing stores sellers clearly understand situations, can read and feel them.

So a man who pays for a woman, and the woman does not resent his presence, will never be sent out of the door when a lady chooses lingerie or nightwear. You should have seen the face of the hostess when I packed the "knickers", and she herself used our service when she heard that we demanded the best despite the price.

 No, most of the clothes were fine, both the quality of the fabrics and the work of the tailors, but the mages didn't do well with the underwear. And Afiri herself looked at this part of the wardrobe with doubt and even a little irony.

I promised her that I'd look in the Muggle part of London later and pick out something she would like. Though she didn't speak, she thanked me with a wink. I understand why pantaloons are in demand here, but purely for my taste, warm intimate places can be different, and that clung to those stupid robes and skirts in the floor.

Here I think about all sorts of nonsense and it even seems important, although at other times I just hum and forget. No, I have to rest — there have been too many shocks, too many emotions and too much energy spent. And how hard it is to feel the death of people whose lives and souls you feel very close, almost dear.

I mechanically noted the beauty of Afiri's legs when she was dressed in leather tights and turned in front of the large mirror. Her thighs were gorgeous, and her ass and waist were there, but at the moment I only noticed them, recognized their presence, but there was no urge at all.

It's like my arm was cut off and it's still bleeding, which is about how I feel about losing the Minhe sisters. It's even scary to think how I would feel if I lost someone closer than my cousins. Granted, the late Shiina-san, Marika and Manami's mother, was a daughter by another woman, so with Junko, they're only sisters by their father, the head of the clan and family.

All in all, I spent the evening, night and part of the morning in the bank for rituals, so Afiri and I were out in London just in time for lunch. We took a taxi to a boutique, I didn't bother to memorize little things like its name, where we stayed for another two hours. Afiri's choice of lingerie was very serious and meticulous. After an hour on the ottoman (or whatever it is called?) I almost fell asleep, so I decided to cheer myself up with a stroll through the boutique.

I know my blonde's size by heart, so when we went back to my London home, I had a paper bag with two sets of lace lingerie in it: one soft pink and one navy blue. It's not pretty: I bought a wardrobe for another girl, but my blonde didn't like anything.

As I drove to the house, I felt my consciousness drift away, so the rest was a blur, and the only thing that stuck in my mind was the idea of going for a walk with Kiriko, because I had neglected her: I had bought a present for Lizzie, given it to her in front of everyone, and forgotten to buy something for the girl. I fell asleep with such a clear memory.