Ron, Molly and Those Robes

[Linda]

No: HPFGUIDX 59364

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Merlin <distractedone at c...> 
wrote:
> Fred asked:
> 
> > Why spend an entire month in Egypt? Wouldn't it seem more 
prudent, 
> > not to mention smarter to stay, oh, 2 weeks? That way you have a 
nice 
> > vaction and still have half the money left to buy school supplies 
and 
> > robes.


 Merlin replied:

> I'm sure the length of time probably didn't make that much of a 
difference since they were most likely staying with their son Bill 
while in Egypt anyways.  This would make the whole trip a heck of a 
lot cheaper, especially if they still at in at Bill's and instead of 
restraunts while there.
 

 Now me:

  The referance to where the family stayed got me thinking about how 
they got to Egypt. I think we can assume that they didn't catch a 
flight at Heathrow. Did they travel by flu powder? Is there, perhaps, 
some kind of Wizard travel industry which utilizes portkeys. If they 
traveled by flu powder the costs involved would have been minimal. If 
the portkey option was used, there may have been certain costs 
involved- sort of like buying an airline ticket. I would think this 
would directly relate to how much the Weasleys spent on the trip. 
Anyone that travels knows that transportation can be a huge part of 
the budget for a trip. Of course, if there is such an industry using 
portkeys it accentuates the need for the time constraints as 
discussed in the portkey thread. 
   I also had one other thought regarding the cost of the trip. Ron's 
letter tells Harry that "most of" the lottery winnings were gone on 
the trip, but would Ron necessarily have the information to make that 
determination? IMO, no. But then again I could be wrong.

  -Linda