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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 5, 2007 11:41:05 GMT -5
Silvain took them with a nod. "Thanks," he said.
He glanced at them. Helga Hufflepuff and Minerva McGonagall...Not bad.
He absently set them beside him on the seat, and glanced over at Valiente.
"Y'know, you should start to collect these things" he asked absently. "You'd be surprised at how hard-core some of the first and second years are, and how much they're willing to pay for rare ones. Like this one." He held up Luna Lovegood. "I have this book that automatically updates to the most current prices of cards, and this one is worth twenty Galleons to a real hard-core collector."
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Post by S-to-the-T on Aug 5, 2007 14:39:59 GMT -5
Valiente raised an interested eyebrow, "Really? What about the two I just gave you?" He of course wouldn't take them back, but he was interested in knowing.
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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 6, 2007 10:38:52 GMT -5
Silvain picked them up. "Well, you've got Hufflepuff here, as one, and the founders of Hogwarts...you can generally get more for them if you sell one to someone in that House. Kids will generally pay more to show off the Founder Card of their house to their friends. But the cards themselves are pretty rare, so it's not like you're ripping the kid off..." He glanced up at Valiente, smirking. "You can bargain a couple Galleons out of a kid for a founder card. But all four together is where you can really make money outside of Hogwarts. Did you know there's a shop in Hogsmeade where you can exchange 'sets' of cards for real prizes? I got my Firebolt for ten Galleons and the full set of the original Order of the Phoenix Member Cards last year..." The Firebolt, while it was no longer top of the charts anymore thanks to advances in broomstick technology, it was still very high-quality, worth at least a good hundred Galleons on its own.
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Post by S-to-the-T on Aug 6, 2007 13:15:35 GMT -5
"Ten Galleons and a set of cards?" Valiente sat up, immensely interested, "Are you serious?" The boy and his mother, seeing as his father had died, were low on money. So any short cuts to getting things was a great thing.
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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 6, 2007 13:24:15 GMT -5
Silvain nodded. "Well, they're a pretty rare set of cards. It took me about three years to find every member. Hey, you allowed down to Hogsmeade? I'll show you the shop, and we can get you a copy of my book. It lists prices, prizes, and complete sets. You'd be amazed at what most people are missing out on...You can get school credit for stuff in Diagon Alley, cauldrons, they offer certain potions and a lot of ingredients..."
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Post by S-to-the-T on Aug 6, 2007 14:49:56 GMT -5
Valiente grinned, "Sweet! Yeah, I am. That'd be really great, I could use the extra help." Awesome!
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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 6, 2007 15:09:14 GMT -5
Silvain nodded. "I know the feeling. Here, you want these two back? The other one's Professor McGonagall, a teacher who taught Transfiguration and was the head of Gryffindor House when Headmaster Potter was a student. The four Heads of Houses and Dumbledore are a set worth something, but if you want to keep them for the entire staff set, that's worth even more...And I can give you a couple more I've been saving as well." He was surprised that Valiente believed him, and was actually interested in this sort of thing. It was all true, but most people just wrote him off as a liar and a lunatic and a geek for collecting Chocolate Frog cards.
Of course, it didn't help that most people he talked to about it were Slytherins.
He held out McGonagall and Hufflepuff for Valiente to take back, if he wanted them.
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Post by S-to-the-T on Aug 6, 2007 20:12:51 GMT -5
"Are you sure?" Valiente asked, hesitating and not yet taking the cards, "I did give them to you."
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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 6, 2007 20:42:12 GMT -5
"I already have a couple copies of McGonagall ready to sell, and you might as well start out with at least one decently rare card," Silvain said. "Consider it gratitude for not laughing at me."
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Post by S-to-the-T on Aug 6, 2007 21:39:15 GMT -5
Valiente blinked, taking the cards, "Laughing at you? Why would I do that?" He asked. So far, he hadn't found anything about Silvain to laugh at. Not that he would if he did.
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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 7, 2007 10:26:01 GMT -5
Silvain raised a thin, silver eyebrow. "C'mon, Chocolate Frog cards? Have you ever heard anything about redeeming prizes from them before now? I'm one of, like, three people I know who actually take this seriously. I'm personally surprised you'd believe me, not only because it sounds do far-fetched, but also because I'm a Slytherin, of the House known for its talent at lying."
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Post by S-to-the-T on Aug 7, 2007 13:24:48 GMT -5
Valiente blinked, "Hadn't thought of that, really." He said, tucking the cards carefully into his pocket, "But I'll take my chances. A discount on stuff would be nice."
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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 7, 2007 14:33:45 GMT -5
Silvain nodded. "I actually can prove it. All the stuff I got from them as a small Chocolate Frog decal somewhere on it fixed there with a Permanent Sticking Charm that only they have."
Of course, that never exactly helped my geek status...
He continued, regardless of his thought. "Plus, I can show you the book, and...enlarge that card, and look on the back. The address of the shop is on the bottom, written along the gold border, inside that design along the edge."
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Post by S-to-the-T on Aug 7, 2007 15:07:49 GMT -5
Valiente grinned, "Don't worry, I believe you. Don't really see why you'd trick me anyways." He shrugged.
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Post by S-to-the-D on Aug 7, 2007 15:38:30 GMT -5
Silvain raised an eyebrow. "You're probably the first Gryffindor who didn't think being in Slytherin House was enough reason to not trust someone," he said.
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