33 The Country of Flanders

The entrance to the magical shopping district of Flanders, according to Matthews Mappa Mundi was located in the Javastraat between a stylish Souvenir Shop and a vintage Cafe. Javastraat was once a rundown street of Amsterdam but in recent years it got cared for and became one of the more popular locations in the city. The only rundown shop which gets ignored by the non-magical was another cafe. A cafe for Witches and Wizards, in reality, it looked like a nice modern coffee shop, unlike the Leaky Cauldron which was rundown outside and inside. The name of the Cafe was, Koffie van Tovenarij.

Inside the Cafe it was bright and inviting, the female shopkeeper led me to a back room that was full of different vinyl records. She tapped with her wand the records in a specific order and they began to fuse together into a black door. The Shop keeper opened it and said, "Welcome to Lohengrin winkelcentrum!", as the shopping district behind the door appeared.

It was a large Mall, it looked quite modern but also not. Like a Steampunk shopping center full of magical products. There were Potion Shops, Book Stores, Restaurants and more but it wasn't as large as Diagon Alley. This is logical since the magical population in Great Britain is bigger than the one in Flanders.

First, he checked out the book stores inside the Mall, their magical knowledge wasn't as developed as in Britain and nothing here could compare to the Library in Hogwarts, but he found a few gems which he bought. They were mainly Books on Herbology and Potioneering, the magical community in Flanders is pretty far developed in this Area, they even managed to create magical vegetables with a high concentration of magical energy which would enhance the magical energy growth of wizards. He bought a collection of Books worth 400 Galleons. Which he instantly scanned with the help of Sarah, since he made sure to scan dutch grammatic books and dictionaries at the Airport, Sarah was able to directly translate the knowledge inside the Books and add it to the Database.

[Beep! Magical grown Vegetables may be able to be used as an energy source for low-level Potions to grow the Magical energy inside Hosts Body. Unlike in Common Potion Ingredients which are mixed with other energies and properties. The Vegetables seem to contain pure magical energy although in low quantity. Further data necessary.

'Hmm. Finally, I found something to create my first Magical energy Formula to grow my reserves more quickly. Hopefully, the Vegetables are not too expensive.' Thought Matthew while getting excited.

After packing away his new books into his trunk, he left the Book Store and started looking for an Apothecary. Which he found quickly. As he entered the Store he got directly greeted in Dutch, "Welcome Young Man. How can I help you.", asked a middle-aged shopkeeper behind the counter.

Matthew replied with the help of Sarah in broken dutch, "Hello I would like to see a list of potion ingredients you have in stock. And your Collection of Magical Vegetables."

"The list is no problem. Here you go. As for the Vegetables, I don't sell them in my shop. You can find them in one of the Food stores inside the Mall. A good one with decent prices is the one at the other end on this Floor." Replied the middle-aged Shopkeeper while handing Matthew a Paper.

Matthew bought a few Ingredients that were rare and expensive in Britain but found nothing else of interest. Everything else was also available in Diagon Alley. After leaving the Shop he continued through the Floor to the other end, until he arrived at a Stall with boxes full of different Vegetables. 'Sarah scan the Vegetables, for their magical energy content.' Requested Matthew while observing the stall.

[Scan Complete. Vegetables can be used as a basis for a magical energy formula. Uploading Data.]

Heard Matthew as a new string of information appeared inside his mind. After he has gone through the data, he decided to approach the vendor. "Hello, I am interested in your selection of Vegetables. What are their prices?" He asked in his broken dutch.

"Greetings, sir. I have a list with prices you can check out. You can also order more from me and get it delivered anywhere in Flanders or you can pick them up in the next few days." Answered the friendly vendor.

"Thank you, let me first check the prices." Said Matthew while checking out the list. He found out that the Magical Corn was the Vegetable with the highest magical energy concentration concerning the Price.

He decided to buy the whole stock and spent all his Galleons to order as much Corn as possible. Because of the Bulk order, he got a nice discount and was able to purchase about half a ton of Corn with his remaining Money. He could pick it up in two days since the vendor first had to order such a large amount. After packing the Corn he bought just now into his trunk he continued onwards.

For the rest of the day, Matthew strolled through the Lohengrin winkelcentrum and did some window shopping. Not much caught his eyes, since the magical communities in Europe, US and Australia are pretty similar, since they have the same origin and use similar products. If he wanted to explore lots of different kinds of Magic, he would have to visit Asia, Africa, or South America. Since they had a different kind of Cultures and developed their forms of magic, before getting influenced by global travelers.

After a day of Shopping, he returned to the Hotel, where he met his parents and they decided to visit a nice Restaurant in Amsterdam while telling each other about their days. His parents looked at him strangely as he explained he just bought half a ton of Corn.

"And how do you plan to bring it with you?", asked his Mother as she stared incredulously at him.

"Magic!", replied Matthew with a smirk on his face. "I have a trunk that weighs almost nothing no matter what's inside and also is larger from inside than from outside. It's a pretty useful piece of Magic." He gave a simplified explanation while enjoying his food.

"That sounds useful. Don't go overboard, especially with smuggling." Said his grinning father, with a half-serious tone while imagining the Possibilities.

After their meal, they returned to their Hotel while taking a nice walk, before going to sleep. The Next day's nothing much happened, Matthew picked up his Order and put it inside his trunk.

He decided to visit other locations of Flanders, like taking a Tour through their Ministry or visiting their National Museum. For Christmas, he got a few nice Gifts from his Friends and Parents but nothing noteworthy.

Their Holidays in Amsterdam and Flanders slowly came to an end, they explored lots of new Places and saw interesting things. After leaving their hotel they arrived at the Airport one day before New Year's Eve and traveled back to London. Where they returned home and enjoyed New Year there. A few days later Matthew sat once again with his Friends inside the Hogwarts express while talking about their Holidays.

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