SF Chapter 159: Birthdays III
In a private meeting room inside the H&P Studio office, which was still located in one section of the Pritchett's Closets & Blinds building, the Dunphy family was waiting together with Dani.
The door opened, but Dani quickly remarked, "Oh, damn, I thought it was her," since it was Jay, Gloria, and Manny who walked in.
Gloria narrowed her eyes at him, noticing his disappointed expression.
"What about me?" Prudence joked as she walked in right after. She was the only one coming, since Mischa and Lexi were working.
Dani didn't answer her question and instead looked her up and down, noticing what she was wearing. "Really? Hufflepuff? I thought we were going to be a Slytherin couple."
"There is nothing more Slytherin than being sorted into Hufflepuff," she argued.
"That's assuming you can trick or deceive the Sorting Hat," he pointed out.
"Harry did..."
But before they could continue their conversation, the door opened again.
J.K. Rowling walked in, accompanied by her literary agent, Christopher Little.
Dani approached them.
"It's an immense pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Rowling," he said, shaking her hand.
Noticing that she was trying to remember, Dani added, "Don't worry - the first time was when I was twelve, back in 1998."
"I traveled with my mom to London, and I was lucky enough to get your autograph during the Chamber of Secrets launch."
"That brings back good memories, doesn't it, Christopher?" Rowling remarked with a smile. "The pleasure is mine, Daniel."
Daniel continued with the introductions. "This is my family," he said, gesturing toward the group, "but as I mentioned in the email, they're only here to greet you and maybe get a photo or autograph."
He pulled Alex closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. "She's the only one I'd like to include in our discussion."
"The birthday girl, right?" J.K. recalled. "Happy birthday, Alex. Nice to meet you."
"Thank you!" Alex replied, her enthusiasm bubbling over. "I'm a huge fan of yours!"
After that, introductions were made, photos were taken, and autographs were signed.
Manny looked a little upset that he couldn't stay, and Prudence was pouting too, but everyone else left, leaving just four people in the room: Dani, Alex, J.K., and Christopher.
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"So," Rowling said once the door closed behind them, "you were twelve when we first met, and now here I am visiting your studio."
Dani chuckled. "Pretty cool, right? And the fact that the studio's name is H&P makes it even better."
Christopher glanced at the logo on the wall. "I was wondering whether that was intentional."
"Funny, I was reading one of your interviews, Mrs. Rowling-" Dani began.
"Please, call me Jo."
"Jo, I read a Time magazine interview where you said you chose to publish as 'J.K.' because you were worried young boys might not want to read a fantasy novel written by a woman."
He went on, "With Percy, using the name Daniel H.P. was intentional. It was marketing, a tribute, and I was never afraid of the comparison. I never hid where my inspiration came from."
"But the studio name wasn't about that at all. Since my parents are co‑owners, 'Harper & Pritchett' was simply the most appropriate. It just so happens that people shortened it to 'H&P,' and the abbreviation caught on."
Jo raised an eyebrow. "So you used me for marketing?" she asked, amused.
"Absolutely," Dani admitted without hesitation. "And you can't sue me, those are basically the initials of my surnames."
Alex covered her face.
Christopher chuckled. "He's got you there, Jo."
J.K. did as well. "How about we get started? Maybe the birthday girl can ask the first question?"
Alex lifted her head.
Dani leaned toward his niece and whispered, "Don't ask for spoilers - pretty much no writer likes that."
"Uh," he brightened, "ask for tickets to the HarryPotter premiere this year."
She jerked her head around. "What? I can't ask for that!" she hissed.
"Why not? You're the birthday girl - ask for, like, twenty tickets."
"What?!" Alex cried. "TWENTY?"
"That's how negotiation works, Alex," Dani said condescendingly. "You ask for twenty, she gives you five, and everyone's happy with it."
Christopher burst out loud. "That's certainly one approach to negotiation."
Dani pointed at him. "See? Professional validation."
"That wasn't validation!" Alex made a face.
Jo smiled at her. "How many tickets were you actually hoping for?"
Alex's eyes widened. "No! I wasn't going to ask!"
"Twenty-five," Dani answered for her.
Alex elbowed him. "Dani!"
"What happened to five and everyone being happy with it?" Jo asked.
"Well, I'm including my own request in that," he replied. "With five tickets to HarryPotter, Alex could totally dominate her school!"
"And twenty is what I need for family and friends!"
Jo and Christopher laughed at the boy's audacity.
"I think Warner will have no problem with it," Jo finally said. Even though it might seem brazen, Dani himself could bring in more than enough publicity.
Then they started talking about writing, creativity, and inspiration, and Dani became a bit more technical during the discussion.
[Alex commentary]
"I sometimes forget how intelligent and cultured Dani really is," Alex remarked after hearing his conversation with Rowling. He gave several literary examples.
"He had already read more books than me when he was my age... although he apparently read half of them during class, so I'm not sure that counts."
"Dani also had no problem getting other people to do his homework," she concluded, noting that this gave him an unfair amount of extra time.
[Commentary ends]
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After talking for quite a while, Dani took Alex back to her house. The whole family had already gathered there, with all the preparations in place.
"Happy birthday, Alex!" everyone shouted as soon as Dani and she walked in.
"How was the talk, huh?" Claire asked, kissing her daughter on the head.
"I'm torn between loving my uncle and wanting to kill him," she replied. "So, pretty normal."
"We got tickets for the premiere this year," Dani revealed.
"Sweetie!" Phil exclaimed.
They all started chatting while Alex opened her presents.
After a while, Alex was standing in a corner with Haley, Leonard, and Dani.
"Whoa, so I can sit in on a few classes at Caltech?" Alex asked, surprised by Leonard's gift.
"Yeah," he nodded, "I talked to a couple of professors in the department. They said you could sit in on a few of their classes."
"Thank you, Leonard. I love it!"
"Ugh, classes as a gift," Haley muttered, pulling a face, and walked away, clearly uninterested in the conversation.
"And Dani," Leonard turned to him, "we won't be able to make it to your birthday."
He went on to explain to his cousin why.
Alex almost shouted in disbelief after his explanation. "You four are going on an expedition to test string theory?"
Dani was astonished as well. "The Magnetic North Pole? You're going to freeze your balls off there for three whole months?"
[Sheldon commentary]
"I was granted the proposal I submitted to the National Science Foundation - to detect slow‑moving monopoles at the magnetic North Pole," Sheldon revealed.
"I spoke with the Caltech president about it," he added, "and he was quite enthusiastic: 'Frankly, if I could send you tonight, I would.'"
[Commentary ends]
[Howard, Raj and Leonard commentary]
Howard started, "I still can't believe we'll spend three whole months at the North Pole - with Sheldon!"
"Well, this is still a National Science Foundation expedition," Leonard argued. "If Sheldon is successful, it could mean a massive boost for our careers!"
Raj chimed in, "My religion teaches that if we suffer in this life, we're rewarded in the next. Three months at the North Pole with Sheldon... and I'll be reborn as a well‑hung billionaire with wings."
Howard added, "Or maybe you'll be reborn as a second Dani."
[Commentary ends]
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