My School Life At Hogwarts Chapter 1117: Spreading the Word - Novel Cool

Chapter 1117: Spreading the Word

Chapter 1117: Spreading the Word

"You two are so busy. I'm surprised you found the time to come back."

Mrs. Weasley emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of food and eyed Fred and George, who were seated in the dining room. She arched an eyebrow, recalling that the twins had just moved out to Diagon Alley the day before, reportedly into a tent they had set up temporarily.

"We received a pamphlet from the Ministry of Magic recently," they said in unison.

"With a bit of a twist," they added, exchanging a glance. "We think the stuff they're handing out is rubbish and useless, so we plan to..."

"What are you up to now?" Ron and Ginny interrupted, making their way downstairs.

"We want to create our own helpful pamphlets, so we need Remus and Moody's help," George explained, getting to the point of their visit.

"What about Anderson's 'Self-Defense Guide'?" Ron was baffled by what Fred and George were getting at.

"Yes, but that's not what we're after. We want something simpler, more reliable..." Fred suddenly turned to Ron. "Why am I explaining this to you?"

"This has nothing to do with him," George said, pouring himself a butterbeer.

"You..." Ron sputtered indignantly.

"Is it really necessary?" Ginny interjected, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Sirius's 'Defense Dispatch' serves a similar purpose, teaching people how to protect themselves and their families in these turbulent times."

"It's crucial," Fred asserted. "Dark magic defense items are in high demand, and people are desperate for protection. Many wizards are churning out all sorts of messy, useless junk to mislead those poor confused souls."

"At the very least, we can help them spend their Galleons wisely instead of on a bunch of worthless trash," George added.

"So, you're not going to open a joke shop anymore?" Ron asked skeptically. Fred and George's plans seemed to indicate a shift towards the Dark magic defense field, perhaps intending to open a shop specializing in such items.

"We have our own plans," they replied.

"Which don't concern you," they added, ignoring Ron's growing irritation.

"Are you sure anyone will want to buy that junk of yours?" Ron shot back, his cheeks flushed with anger.

Ignoring Ron's stunned expression, Fred turned to Ginny. "The Ministry placed an order with us. Are they still on duty?"

"I'm not sure. They don't share those details with us, as you know," Ginny replied, shaking her head. "Did the Ministry really place an order with you?"

"It's a thousand Galleon order," they said nonchalantly.

"A thousand Galleons," Ron echoed, his eyes widening.

"It's urgent. They need it soon, apparently for the Aurors," George explained to Ginny. "We actually came back to see Remus."

"What do you want with Remus?" Mrs. Weasley asked, setting down the tray of soup and frowning.

"We want to ask if he'd be interested in working with us part-time," they replied.

"You want to hire Remus?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, clearly surprised and having missed the earlier conversation.

"Yes, and we're willing to pay him well," they assured her.

"But your shop isn't even ready yet, is it?" Mrs. Weasley asked, perplexed. "And with four of you, why do you need more help? Aren't you being wasteful with your startup funds?"

"Mom, they just received a thousand Galleon order from the Ministry," Ginny reminded her, equally impressed by their earning potential.

"A thousand Galleons?" Mrs. Weasley echoed, her eyes wide with disbelief.

A thousand Galleons was roughly what Mr. Weasley earned in a year.

"There will be more orders coming in," George continued, "so we need a skilled Dark magic defense wizard as an advisor and assistant. Remus is clearly talented in this area, and he could use the Galleons to improve his life. We thought we'd offer him the opportunity to earn some extra money in his free time."

"I thought Albert was better at this stuff. He's the International Duelling Champion, isn't he?" Ron asked, still confused.

"He's busy lately. Hiring Remus was his suggestion. With the shop just starting, there's a lot to do. Albert wants us to get more help so we don't get overwhelmed," Fred explained.

"You want to hire Remus?" Sirius appeared in the doorway, looking weary.

"Yes, we want to see if Remus would be interested in taking on some part-time work. He should be good at making magical items, right?" they replied, recalling that the Marauder's Map had been Sirius's creation along with the others.

"I don't see why Remus would object," Sirius said, his interest piqued. "But I thought your shop wasn't ready yet?"

"It's almost done, and we've already received a large order," George clarified. "However, things have been hectic lately, and it would be a big help if Remus could earn some extra money by lightening our load."

"Are you talking about joke items?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"No, we plan to make Dark magic defense items. If Remus is up to the task, we can guarantee this kind of payment," Fred said, making a gesture. "I'm sure it's a lot more than a regular job, but the expectations are also much higher. We have to consider product quality and be responsible to our customers."

"You certainly have deep pockets. Are Dark magic defense items that profitable?"

Ron was astounded; he didn't think their father even made that much in a month's salary.

"Remus is definitely capable, and I'll go get him now. I'm sure he'll be willing to help you out," Sirius said, downing the butterbeer in one go and standing up to stride out of the room. He was happy for his old friend to have a decent job, given how difficult it had been for Lupin to find stable work due to his werewolf condition.

Because of his werewolf identity, Lupin had struggled to find normal employment, and while the 'Defense Dispatch' had been selling well lately, the actual profits were meager. Most of the monthly earnings went towards paying Lupin's salary, and sometimes, Sirius had to dip into his own pockets, which Lupin felt bad about.

"Where's Sirius?" Mrs. Weasley asked in confusion as she came out with the food.

"Sirius went to get Remus," Fred explained.

"Do you think Sirius can convince Remus?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Definitely. Who wouldn't want to earn some Galleons?"

"Of course," Ron said, a little envious as he thought about the sheer number of Galleons Albert had given them. It made him want to go help out at the store.

"That's right," Fred and George chimed in.

Not long after, Lupin arrived, looking a bit resigned, clearly having been dragged there by Sirius.

Fred and George briefly chatted with Lupin about the work, and after he agreed to help, they set a time for him to drop by the store and try things out the next day.

Of course, the real focus wasn't on manufacturing Dark Magic defense items but on Albert's proposal.

"I thought Anderson was quite skilled in this area himself," Sirius asked skeptically.

"He doesn't have the time!" Fred shook his head.

"He's getting married," George added.

"Married? I thought Anderson had just graduated from school not long ago?" Ginny was stunned by this news.

"Yes, he's getting married by mid-next month at the latest, but the details aren't clear yet," Fred said, shaking his head. "This matter is confidential for now, as Albert seems to be drawing the attention of the Death Eaters and the mysterious person."

"How so?"

Mrs. Weasley was shocked by this news, as she had a favorable impression of Albert.

"It seems Albert embarrassed them somehow," Fred said, though he wasn't entirely clear on the specifics either.

"The Death Eaters love to spread propaganda about the superiority of purebloods, and Albert's existence is a direct slap to their faces. Moreover, there's that Snape fellow; I'm sure he's told Voldemort about Albert being a powerful seer," Sirius sneered. "Not to mention, out of all the professors at the school, he's the only one who didn't receive an invitation."

"Sirius..." Lupin frowned slightly.

"Don't tell me I'm biased against Snape," Sirius interrupted Lupin. "You should know that out of all the professors, he's the only one who didn't get an invitation. Albert clearly doesn't trust Snape, knowing that guy is utterly unreliable."

"Dumbledore believes Snape is trustworthy," Lupin reminded him.

"I know, he keeps reminding me that he has unfailing reasons to trust Snape," Sirius said self-deprecatingly. "But with all the professors being invited, I don't think Albert would deliberately leave out Snape unless there was a good reason not to trust him."

The atmosphere in the room turned a bit odd, as it was common knowledge that Albert was a seer, and his bias against Snape likely had other causes.

"Let's eat first," Mrs. Weasley changed the subject. "The food will get cold."

"Aren't we waiting for Dad?" George asked.

"He's working late tonight, so let's start without him," Mrs. Weasley explained.

During dinner, Fred and George chatted with Sirius and Lupin about their plans, or rather, Albert's plans. As Albert had predicted, Sirius didn't refuse, and they were even quite interested in the Dark Magic defense items that Albert had designed.

"Are these all the Dark Magic defense items that Albert researched?"

"Yes, he anticipated the arrival of the Second Wizarding War and started working on these," Fred recalled. "His prophecies are incredibly powerful and accurate; as far as I can remember, they've all come true."

"Except for one," George said.

"Which one?"

"The one about Umbridge going into the Forbidden Forest. That prophecy didn't come true," George reminded him.

"That's not..."

"Don't be foolish; do you really think that old fraud, Trelawney, could make such prophecies?" Fred scoffed.

"Damn."

"What?"

"It looks like Amelia Bones is doomed," Sirius sighed softly.

"She's still alive," Lupin said. "The Aurors from the Ministry of Magic have also increased their protection of Amelia Bones."

"It's useless," Sirius whispered. "You should know that it's useless unless Amelia Bones is willing to go into hiding. Only then will she have a chance to survive."

"Don't talk about this in front of the children," Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at Sirius.

"Let's talk about your Dark Magic defense items," Lupin changed the subject. "The Ministry of Magic really..."

"They really placed a large order."

Fred took out a bag from his pocket and removed the Dark Magic defense items they had prepared beforehand.

"Can't you talk about this after you finish eating?" Mrs. Weasley couldn't help but complain.

Under pressure from Mrs. Weasley, everyone hastily finished their dinner before turning their attention to the Dark Magic defense items.

"You can also take some for yourselves. While they can't resist Dark Magic, they're quite effective against Stunning Spells and Disarming Charms."

"I recall Hermione getting a similar pocket watch." Ron picked up one of the watches from the box and asked, "How many Galleons for one of these?"

"Twenty Galleons," Fred replied without hesitation.

"Twenty Galleons? Are you robbing us?" Ron almost spat out the butterbeer he had just swallowed.

"It's a bargain, and it can give you advance warning of danger. Isn't your life worth twenty Galleons?" Fred countered.

"A Sneakoscope is cheaper than that."

"Those things are unreliable."

"This device specifically targets Dark Wizards and dark creatures, indicating their approximate location, and it's also a watch, providing alerts in a discreet manner. You can't possibly carry a Sneakoscope around in your pocket when you go out." George explained, "And even if you did, as soon as the Sneakoscope goes off, you'd expose yourself as well."

"If it works as well as you describe, it's indeed quite useful." Sirius could already smell the business opportunity. He believed that many people would be willing to pay for one, at the very least to have one in their homes as a precaution. With advance warning of an enemy's approach, one could quickly take evasive measures. If all else failed, one could always use an Invisibility Cloak to hide themselves.

As Fred and George had said, at least one would have a chance to escape unscathed.

To stay alive, any amount of Galleons would be worth spending, and the price wasn't even exorbitant. Sirius was convinced that many wizards craving security would be willing to buy a set to keep at home just in case.

As for using a Disillusionment Charm to escape, or a Disguise Charm to hide? Well, that was a tricky proposition. What if one became nervous and messed up the spell? Most wizards couldn't even cast a decent Shield Charm, let alone a Disguise Charm. And the number of wizards capable of using a Disillusionment Charm was definitely not as high as one might imagine.

"Actually, I'm a bit confused. Do the Aurors really need these things? I mean, these Dark Magic defense devices can't really help them resist Dark Magic, can they?" Ron voiced the doubt that had been nagging at him.

"Of course they do," George shrugged, "Their purpose is more about preventing ambushes and buying time to escape, rather than fighting the enemy head-on. That's why they're called Dark Magic defense devices."

"Of course, we also have some magical items specifically designed for combat." Fred opened the next compartment in the box, revealing nine spherical objects.

"Oh, what are those?"

"These are flash grenades for ambushing enemies." Fred picked up something resembling a hand grenade and introduced it to the group, "When thrown, it emits a dazzling flash of light that can temporarily blind your opponents, giving you the upper hand in a short amount of time."

"Blind them?" Ron muttered.

"You can try it out if you'd like." Fred smiled.

"I'll pass."

"This one here is a smoke bomb, also known as a Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder." Fred took out a black ball and continued his demonstration, "When thrown, it creates a pitch-black cloud that not even light can penetrate, perfect for strategic retreats. It's a very practical item, and I suggest keeping at least two on hand."

"And this one is a decoy bomb used to attract enemies' attention." George held up a round ball painted with a clown's face, "When activated, it emits a loud noise, similar to a Howler."

"This one is a laughing bomb. When thrown, it releases an extract of Aliott leaf, causing uncontrollable laughter in anyone who inhales it." Fred slowly introduced the various Dark Magic defense devices to Lupin and Sirius, sounding like an arms dealer showcasing his wares to prospective clients.

"Are you planning to sell these things?" Mrs. Weasley suddenly asked.

"No, we're only selling the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," Fred shrugged, "We thought others might need them, so we brought them along as well."

"I'm sure Moody would be interested in these too." Sirius smiled, "By the way, how much are these, and can I have a few?"

He intended to get some of the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder for everyone's protection.

"No need to pay, we'll sponsor you with two boxes." Fred smiled and took out two boxes of the powder, handing them to Sirius, "Let us know how they work out in actual combat."

"How much for one of these?" Ron asked curiously.

"You definitely can't afford it."

"Albert is quite skilled with these. Last time, he easily subdued Barty Crouch Jr. with Mandrake roots." George reminded them, "And Peeves the Poltergeist once used Mandrake cries to incapacitate a dozen Aurors from the Ministry."

"But isn't Mandrake deadly?" Ginny asked, confused.

"Immature Mandrakes aren't lethal." Fred explained, "When faced with a group of Death Eaters, you can consider summoning a Mandrake and throwing it at them. With luck, you might be able to incapacitate them all at once. As far as I know, Albert has cultivated a large number of Mandrakes."

Everyone exchanged glances, suddenly feeling that this strategy made a lot of sense. If caught off guard, one might be able to take down the enemy in one fell swoop, even if the method was a bit... unconventional. But it was definitely practical.

Of course, for members of the Order of the Phoenix, throwing Mandrakes at enemies was obviously not an option, but the idea behind it was intriguing.

(End of Chapter)

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