Chapter 244 The Enchantments Of Fred And George
All deliberately overlooked Ron's scrutiny of Peter Pettigrew, and their focus quickly turned to Sirius. The Weasleys were highly intrigued by his journey as a fugitive over the past six months and the truth of the events that occurred thirteen years ago.
Fred and George continued to ask questions, their eyes shining with admiration.
Sirius made some simple remarks about details not mentioned in the newspaper, and everyone listened attentively. Percy even took notes and jotted them down with his quill.
After speaking for over half an hour, the topic shifted to other matters.
With Sirius's optimistic and cheerful demeanor, the Weasleys soon grew close to him.
The atmosphere in the room became increasingly relaxed, and occasional cheerful laughter could be heard, in stark contrast to the sadness in the neighboring rooms.
Lupin, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley sat together to reminisce about the past, while the others gathered around Ron's bed to exchange Christmas gifts and share news from the past few days.
Ron took the owl out of its cage and was discussing with Harry about giving the little pet a name, while Ginny listened.
On the sofa facing the bed, Percy and Hermione whispered about the assignments given by the professors before Christmas, future tasks, career plans, and so forth.
In six months, Percy would graduate from Hogwarts.
He had already planned to work at the Ministry of Magic. Having excelled in the Exhausting Magic Test, he could choose nearly any department at his discretion. At that moment, he was torn between the Magical Law Enforcement Department or the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
In a corner, Fred and George showed Evan two of their new prank products developed in the past few days, and Evan spoke to them about the shop.
Fred and George were so delighted that they couldn't wait to go to the store immediately.
As they were preparing for public sales, they decided to increase the production of prank products. Subject to financial constraints, they had only finished a few products, and most of the research and development of products had not been achieved yet.
"The Trick Boxes, Fake Wands, Dungbombs, these products are selling particularly well right now. The demand exceeds supply; we can start with these items and increase sales volume a bit," said Fred, pulling out a small notebook from his sleeve filled with blueprints of various products and test data.
"There's no issue with the Fake Wands," Evan looked back and discreetly observed Hermione, lowering his voice and saying, "It would be wise to be cautious with the Trick Boxes and Dungbombs. Hermione, in particular, dislikes those things. She thinks they are too unsanitary."
"My mother thinks the same. She nearly confiscated all our products!" Fred said irritably. "She found our order when she was cleaning the room. She had a big confrontation with us and burned it all."
"We lost a lot of money, and she won't allow us to further research in this area," George continued. "She believes it's not a good business. She asked us to dedicate more energy to our studies. Judging from her, she probably expects us to work at the Ministry of Magic like Dad and Percy. That would be dreadful!"
Apparently noticing that the three were discussing something in secret, Mrs. Weasley suddenly approached, and Fred hastily stashed his notebook up his sleeve.
"What are you up to? Does it have to do with Fred and George's Enchantments?" Mrs. Weasley inquired gravely.
"No, we are exchanging holiday duties with Evan," Fred hurriedly replied, waving his hand.
"Evan, didn't you mention you were a bit thirsty? Let's grab a drink and also bring beverages for everyone!" George said, leading Evan away.
The three hastily left the room under Mrs. Weasley's suspicious gaze.
"Even was still a bit confused," he mentioned.
"We've been keeping the secret of studying joke products from Percy, Ron, and Ginny," explained Fred. "Actually, only the three of us knew about this before mom found out."
"Everyone knows now. Mom was so angry," sighed George regretfully. "Even, you better be careful from now on. Mom has been investigating our sources of funding and is starting to doubt you."
"Mrs. Weasley's reaction may have been a bit exaggerated. It's not as serious as she thinks," Evan commented. "In my opinion, opening a joke shop is not worse than working in the Ministry of Magic."
"We think the same. In fact, it's the only career we want," Fred and George said in unison.
"Maybe we can talk to her..."
"Better not!" said Fred. "She won't tell you anything, but if she finds out that we've taken so much of your money for research, it will definitely be bad!"
"Yes, mom will kill both of us, no doubt," George gestured to his neck.
Evan listened to Fred and George's complaints and didn't know what to do.
In any case, Mrs. Weasley would not agree to them opening a magical joke shop unless they succeeded first.
They walked up to the Tea Shop on the fifth floor, with Hermione and Ginny following closely.
"What are you doing here?" Fred asked cautiously.
"Mother asked us to come and keep an eye on the three of you. She seemed worried, afraid you might throw dungbombs down the corridor," Ginny said with a smile.
"Oh," George looked at Ginny with fondness. "My dear little sister..."
"No worries, I won't betray them. I believe the prank products they have created are very intriguing! They are quite popular at school," said Ginny.
"But you can't deny that those things are dangerous and extremely unhealthy. The Dungbomb is the most obvious example," Hermione said seriously. "Mrs. Weasley is right, you can't sell those things to others. This is..."
Before Hermione could finish, Fred and George hastily pushed Evan outside.
"It's all yours, brother!" They took Ginny and hurried off to the fifth floor. There were only two people left in the corridor: Evan and Hermione.
With Evan so close, Hermione's face suddenly turned red.
"Don't blame Fred and George. They just want to bring some joy to everyone," Evan could feel Hermione's breath.
"I know..." whispered Hermione, taking a step back quickly.
They both stopped discussing the matter and chatted about the decorations inside St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Evan and Hermione walked down the corridor through a set of double doors and found a rickety staircase lined with portraits of gruff-looking Healers.
As they climbed, the various Healers called out to them, diagnosing strange symptoms and suggesting dreadful remedies.
They didn't know where Fred, George, and Ginny had gone, and they didn't see them anywhere.
Both bought some drinks on the fifth floor and as they returned to the fourth floor, they suddenly paused.
Not far away, behind the small window in the double doors marking the beginning of a corridor with the sign SPELL DAMAGE, a man was gazing at them with his nose pressed against the glass. He had curly blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a wide empty smile that revealed dazzlingly white teeth.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "Professor Lockhart!"