Customizing the Ideal Trunk

The man's demeanor screamed forced politeness. He obviously still doubted that Harry would actually be making such a purchase, but to his credit, the man answered Harry's question without preamble. "The rooms of the base trunk are completely bare. Many people wish to have the rooms furnished. We have a few different styles to choose from in that capacity. There are also a couple additional features that can be added on."

"Yes, I'd definitely want it to be furnished. Can I have a tour of one of your furnished trunks?" Harry asked the salesman.

"Certainly," the man replied in his salesman tone. "Just follow me." Harry did, and the man led him up to a trunk a few meters away. The trunk was a deep, reddish wood, and had seven little circles evenly distributed across its front. The man reached out with his right hand and touched his index finger into the last circle. A moment later he quietly intoned, "Open."

The lid of the trunk popped open, and the man climbed inside. Harry followed after him and entered into the large room of the trunk. The walls, he noticed, were the same deep red wood of the trunk's exterior and were bare save for the scattered torches that were hung up to provide light to the room. Not far in front of him was a cozy looking couch and a couple of arm chairs. There was a wooden table set up in front of the furniture, and a small brick fireplace set into the wall. There were also two bookshelves set up against the walls of the room.

The kitchen was in one corner of the room, with a small table and four chairs set up in front of it. It had a stove, oven, refrigerator, sink with a drying rack next to it, many different cabinets, which upon inspection contained a few place settings, plates, pots, pans, and silverware. As Harry looked around the room, the salesman told him of all the different things that were included in this package.

The fireplace, for instance, had some sort of charm placed in it to dissipate all the smoke that rose up it. The wood walls, thankfully, were fireproof. What Harry considered to be the refrigerator would preserve anything that Harry placed in it for as long as he should like. The stove could be lit with just a tap from Harry's wand. He was encouraged to try out the furniture, to note how comfortable it was. And Harry had to admit, it was.

The tour continued into one of the smaller rooms, which had been converted into a bedroom. The walls were again bare save for a couple torches, while the queen-sized bed was fitted with dark blue with a gold trim. There was a desk in the room as well as a dresser. A closet was set into the far wall.

The third room was set up similar to the bedroom he had just vacated. It had all the same furniture, only slightly different in style and color. Harry listened as the salesman explained that there were also trunks where the last room was set up as a study instead of a second bedroom. Harry mulled that over for a bit.

He highly doubted that he'd ever have company spending the night in his trunk. So a second bedroom hardly seemed necessary. Then again, he didn't really have that much need of a study either. It would provide more bookshelves, though Harry doubted that he'd be filling the two in the main room any time in the near future, so that was hardly a concern. And he had a desk in each of the bedrooms anyway.

In the end, Harry requested to see a model where the third room was converted into a study. He just couldn't decide which one to go with. While they were looking at that second model, Harry commented, "You know, the only thing missing from these trunks is a bathroom. Toss that in, and you could live in there full time." That earned him a toothy grin from the salesman who informed Harry that there was a new model that did include a bathroom.

So the two took a tour of that model, and Harry was showed into the bathroom. It was small, no doubt about that. But it had a toilet, sink, and a shower. In other words, it had everything it needed to have.

The man asked Harry if he was satisfied with the tour or if he'd like to look around some more. Harry said that he was ready to leave, so the man took his hand again and with a whispered "exit trunk" they found themselves in the warehouse again.

The man turned to Harry once again and asked "Is the trunk satisfactory?"

Instead of answering the question, Harry had a few of his own. "You mentioned that there were some additional features that could be added on. What kind of features are available?"

"Well there are some standard features to protect the finish of the trunk against wear and tear and even from some spell damage. It wouldn't hold up against an Unforgivable or anything, but it would protect the trunk from many different spells should they go astray and strike the trunk. There is also a feature that can be added which will allow you to be able to shrink and expand the trunk. Normally, a shrinking charm would wreak havoc on the space that the trunk holds, but a recent development has allowed us to get around that problem."

"That sounds good," Harry replied. "I think I'd like a trunk with a study and a bathroom. And I'd also like the additional features, both to protect the trunk and to allow me to shrink it, added on as well. Now how much would that set me back?"

The man gave a small smile. "As I said, the base trunk is 1000 galleons. The standard furnishings are an additional 2000 galleons, with the addition of a bathroom being an added 500 galleons. Normally, the additional features would be an added 50 galleons each, but I'll wave those for you."

Harry grinned right back at the man. "I'll take it."

"Excellent," the salesman beamed. "It will take me about five minutes to get everything prepared. You can wait out in the front of the store."

The man made as if to lead Harry out, but Harry held up a hand. "Don't worry about me. I think I can find my way back. Thank you for your help."

"Believe me, the pleasure was all mine, Mr….?"

"Thomas," Harry blurted out. "Dean Thomas." It was the first name Harry could think of that didn't stand out. He couldn't use Ron's name because the Weasleys were fairly well known. And he was learning that many knew of the Longbottoms as well, so Harry didn't want to use Neville's name again. And Dean Thomas sounded more believable than Seamus Finnigan. Harry later realized that he didn't have to use the name of one of his roommates, but as long as it worked, he wasn't going to worry about it.

So Harry made his way back out to the front of the store and browsed around a bit while his purchase was being finalized. He found a selection of backpacks that were charmed to be featherweight and had various amounts of expanded space that might appeal to him come the next Hogwarts term, but Harry had no need of such a thing at the moment, so he just continued to wander the small shop until the salesman came back.

....

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