RP: Are you really my Pansy? When: 8 January 2004 Who: Frederick Parkinson, mentions of Pansy Parkinson Where: Parkinson estate in Derbyshire Private/Public: Private Rating: G Summary: Frederick Parkinson muses over a strange turn of events.
Frederick stared at the papers on his desk in utter bemusement. Pansy had come to him with a proposal. Not the kind he had expected or hoped for, of course, but a business proposal. For a wizarding hotel, of all things!
He'd almost laughed right in her face, but he knew his daughter well enough to know that she wasn't going to stop talking until she'd said her piece so he'd let her go on. And she had completely astonished him.
Oh, as business proposals go, hers was utter crap, of course. She didn't know the first thing about making a real business presentation. But she'd tried. And there was enough meat to it that he could tell that she was serious.
She'd started by telling him that, after his demand that she find something to do, she'd gone to Diagon Alley to look at what was missing, what was needed that she could provide. He'd been about to tell her that that wasn't what he'd intended when he said that, but something stopped him. Instead, he let her talk.
So she'd told him her idea for a small wizarding hotel...twelve rooms, eight small suites and four larger ones. Some shops, a bar, and a restaurant on the ground floor, a spa in the lower level. She'd even outlined what shops she wanted, and which would be part of the hotel and which she thought she could rent space for, instead.
And here's the part that got Frederick....it made sense. If it had been a business contact presenting the idea, he'd have had no problem with investing.
But it was Pansy....
Still, she'd obviously put some work into it. She had outlined what she'd been reading (he'd almost asked if she'd read a romance novel with a wizarding hotel as part of the setting!), and it was actual business practices. And she had a list of all the buildings in and around Diagon Alley that were available, along with how much they were asking and what elements the building had that did or did not meet the purpose. And she'd ranked them! In an order that made sense for the project, and not based on some ridiculous aesthetic feature!
Her top two choices were the most viable. One was just outside Diagon and was a bit larger than she thought she needed. It was a newer Muggle building, and rather expensive, even as buildings go. Her first choice, however, was near the Alexander club and was almost perfect for her proposed use of space The only problem was that it was for let and not sale. But she'd looked up the owner, an older wizard who had long since retired from his work. And Pansy had outlined a price that she thought the man would accept for an outright sale. Upon further thought, Frederick was sure that he could get the building for less than what she'd quoted, but she'd been pretty close to the mark.
That was when Frederick had realized he was actually considering it. Of course, it was Pansy, who never finished anything. But even if she only got the building renovated and decorated, the latter being something he knew she did have a talent for, and he couldn't wait to see what she did with his retreat that he'd decided to give her for Christmas. To Pansy's tastes, the place was hideous, he knew, and he'd figured she'd get a lot of pleasure out of gutting the place and starting over. But it had been time to let it go, and why not give it to her? It would be good for her to have some land when he was gone, and it did make her more attractive as a marriage partner.
But even if she did only get the building ready and lost interest, at that point the building could be sold for a profit. And it would give her something to do besides shag every wizard in Britain. Didn't the girl know the odds of a contraceptive potion failing? Granted they were slim, but if you dealt in the sheer numbers that she seemed to....and with his luck, it would be with someone completely unacceptable.
Maybe she could do this. It would keep her occupied, at least. He could buy the building, help her some of the business aspects, help her get a loan for the start-up...if she could find someone to handle more of the business side of it, she could probably find some investors. Freddie could have done it, but he and Pansy fought like cats and dogs and would undercut each other at every turn, so he was out.