Chapter 1146: The Dark Magic Defense Specialty Store
Chapter 1146: The Dark Magic Defense Specialty Store
In the evening, at number 93 Diagon Alley.
Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and Shanna, who had just finished dinner, furrowed their brows as they stared at the letters on the table. A few hours earlier, they had received some disturbing news from Arthur.
The owner of the joke shop, "Duke Bumblebee and Zoco," had accused them of monopolistic practices and demanded that the Ministry of Magic investigate their store. The ridiculous part was that the alleged monopoly concerned their self-developed patents, and the accusers brazenly wanted access to this technology in the name of ensuring "fair competition."
"This is truly shocking," Shanna said, encountering such shameless individuals for the first time.
"I guess we've pushed them to their limits," Fred said nonchalantly. "But I doubt the Ministry will pass such a ludicrous bill. It's just posturing."
"It's hard to say," George frowned. "Politicians are not known for their integrity. Otherwise, why would Albert offer discounts to the Ministry instead of letting them default?"
"I think it's because we've been making too much money lately, attracting envy from all corners," Lee Jordan added. "That's why they're ganging up on us."
"We should inform Albert about this," Shanna suggested. "He'll definitely have a solution."
"That guy is probably still on his honeymoon, the lucky devil," Fred grumbled, taking a large gulp of butterbeer. "When I get married, I'm going on a year-long trip before coming back."
"Then you'd better start by convincing Angelina to marry you," Lee Jordan shook his head, doubting that Fred would be walking down the aisle anytime soon.
Just then, a flash of red light appeared in the corner of the restaurant, followed by a faint warmth emanating from the watches on their wrists.
This was not a good sign.
Startled, the four of them jumped up from the table, drew their wands, and pointed them at the door, exchanging quick glances.
"What's going on?" Shanna asked anxiously.
"Someone triggered the detector that Albert left in the store," George explained hurriedly.
"Who has the Marauder's Map?" Lee Jordan whispered. "If not, we should leave immediately."
This was Albert's instruction—to prioritize their safety in dangerous situations.
"The other detector didn't react, so it's probably not a Dark Wizard," Fred mumbled. "And the timing is odd. Even if it's a thief, they should strike in the middle of the night, not at this hour."
Just then, they heard footsteps approaching from outside.
After a quick exchange of glances, they began casting Disillusionment Charms on themselves and moved towards the corners of the room, preparing to confront whoever dared to target them.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
Ever since their black magic defense items had become hot-sellers, attracting a lot of greedy onlookers, such incidents had become more frequent.
However, the situation improved after the Ministry of Magic set up a dedicated store for black magic defense items next door.
If it was those envious competitors again, they would teach them an unforgettable lesson.
As the four of them aimed their wands at the doorway, the room's door suddenly opened, and a familiar voice sounded from outside.
"It's me."
Albert scanned the empty room and the spots where they were hiding, saying, "You can come out now!"
"Wow! You just scared us half to death. I thought..."
Lee Jordan heaved a sigh of relief, waved his wand to dispel the Disillusionment Charm, and greeted Albert with a smile.
"You thought it was a Dark Wizard?" Albert raised an eyebrow. "If it were, I suggest you evacuate immediately and use the Marauder's Map to identify whether the intruder is an enemy or not."
"If it were Death Eaters or Dark Wizards, the detectors on our wrists would have shown a red dot," Fred reminded them.
"When did you get back, and why didn't you inform us beforehand?" Lee Jordan, intending to give Albert a hug, found himself deftly avoided.
"I wanted to surprise you and see your reaction," Albert explained. "Detectors can be deceived if someone really wants to hide their presence."
"That's not funny at all," Fred grumbled. "To be honest, the detector's alarm really startled us."
"You're just inexperienced. After a few more incidents like this, you'll handle them with ease," Albert reassured them.
"A few more incidents..." The corners of their mouths twitched.
Ignoring their reactions, Albert turned to Shanna with a smile and asked, "How are you finding the work here?"
"The food and wages are great, but the work is extremely busy. Sometimes I feel like I'm turning into a house-elf," Shanna replied, pouring a glass of chilled butterbeer for Albert. "When did you get back?"
"This afternoon," Albert took the glass but didn't drink, instead placing it on the table. "I came straight here so that certain people wouldn't accuse me of slacking off behind my back!"
"As long as you know," Fred, George, and Lee Jordan chorused in complaint.
"I think it's a misunderstanding on your part. My work is quite different from yours," Albert said earnestly. "You see, I have to develop black magic defense items and secure orders from the Ministry of Magic..."
"Alright, alright, stop making excuses," George interrupted impatiently. While he thought Albert made sense, he was also rambling.
"How are the sales of the black magic defense items going?"
"Extremely well!" Lee Jordan exclaimed excitedly. "In just two months, we've made a pure profit of nearly twenty thousand Galleons."
As he spoke, he picked up the ledger on the table and handed it to Albert.
"This looks much better now," Albert flipped through the ledger to check the recent sales figures and took the opportunity to tease them about their previously messy bookkeeping. "At least I can understand it now without spending hours deciphering it."
"We didn't have any experience with this before," Lee Jordan defended them.
"To be honest, it's a little less than I expected," Albert said, closing the ledger.
"You should be content," George retorted, rolling his eyes. "Lately, countless people have been giving us the evil eye out of jealousy. And there are still a lot of Ministry orders to be fulfilled, which should bring in another ten thousand Galleons or more in pure profit."
As Albert had noticed while perusing the ledger, most of the sales were for the detectors—a total of over a thousand units, including the Ministry's order of five hundred.
Sales of the defense items had also been quite brisk, but most of them were sold to the Ministry of Magic, leaving only a small portion for other buyers.
This wasn't surprising. After the Ministry successfully curbed the Death Eaters' activities, people became more optimistic about the future and no longer felt the same urgency to protect themselves as they did when Voldemort first resurfaced. It was only natural that their desperation for protection would wane.
"It seems Scrimgeour has been doing a fine job lately," Albert commented softly.
"Dad said those Dark Wizards have been scared off by him," George added.
"Yeah, many people think Scrimgeour's actions have frightened the Dark Wizards. The Ministry of Magic has stopped the trials of Dark Wizards recently, and I heard from Dad that over seventy percent of the Dark Wizards captured during your wedding were put to death," Fred said, impressed by Scrimgeour's decisiveness.
"Scrimgeour publishes the list of Death Eaters sentenced to death and their crimes in the Daily Prophet every day," George glanced at Albert as he continued, "and with Harry's support, very few people are accusing Scrimgeour of killing innocents these days."
"Most people are bullies when they're strong and sheep when they're weak. Dark Wizards are no exception. When they encounter someone more ruthless than themselves, they naturally become as docile as lambs," Albert handed the ledger back to Shanna and asked, "So, what about the Dark Magic Defense Specialty Store next door?"
"That was Dad's idea," George explained, "He thought there were too many vendors selling inferior Dark Magic Defense items in Diagon Alley. Why not gather them all in one place?"
"Members of the Crisis Response Team and the Office for Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Items would first screen the Dark Magic Defense items. Then, the Aurors from the Ministry would test them. Any items that pass the inspection and are deemed qualified would be allowed to be sold in the specialty store," Fred elaborated.
"After we were targeted by intruders envious of our profits, Dad became concerned about our safety. So, he proposed this plan to the Ministry. Now, the store next door has become the Ministry's outpost in Diagon Alley," Fred informed Albert.
"There will be Ministry employees stationed next door daily, responsible for patrolling Diagon Alley and maintaining stability to ensure everyone's safety, especially since Hogwarts students will be shopping here during this period," he added.
"Scrimgeour's actions have received unanimous praise."
"I remember you mentioned that Fudge's successor was..." Lee Jordan glanced at Shanna but didn't finish his sentence.
"It's not convenient for me to know," Shanna replied, raising an eyebrow.
"No, Fudge's successor is a jinxed man," Albert finished the thought.
"He doesn't seem like one," Shanna said, puzzled, as Scrimgeour appeared quite capable and the opposite of jinxed.
"Scrimgeour still has Bones ahead of him. He died," George recalled, thinking of Dumbledore's injury. Suddenly, he understood why Albert would call Scrimgeour a jinxed man.
Once Dumbledore passed away, Scrimgeour would become an obstacle to Voldemort's control over the Ministry.
Thinking about it carefully, it did seem like Scrimgeour was jinxed.
"I remember the store next door used to be yours, didn't it?" George changed the subject, feeling it was best to keep Shanna in the dark about this particular detail.
The others turned to Albert, suspecting that he was behind the Dark Magic Defense Specialty Store.
"Well, it's not really related to me. It was Diggory's idea. He asked me a similar question a while back," Albert downplayed his involvement.
As for the patrol team, it was Percy's idea, as it would boost Scrimgeour's reputation, and it happened to be around the time when their store was being targeted.
Scrimgeour needed Albert to owe him a favor, which would come in handy when the time came to strike against the Death Eaters.
Putting all the pieces together, the store next door was the result.
"So, you were behind that store after all?"
"Making a huge profit easily invites jealousy and resentment, especially since we're monopolizing the market. By lending the store next door to the Ministry and turning it into a Dark Magic Defense Specialty Store, we can share the attention and ensure your safety," Albert glanced at his pocket watch and continued, "Anyway, the Dark Magic Defense store will eventually be split off, and it will also dispel the notion that we're monopolizing the market..."
"Yes, perhaps we should invite a reporter for an interview? That way, people will understand that we're not monopolizing the market, but that others' Dark Magic Defense items are simply inferior, which is why most customers prefer our products," Shanna suggested with a smile, "We can also promote our brand and create the illusion that we're already established in the minds of customers."
"Yes, that's more or less it," Albert praised, "It seems you have a talent for this."
"By the way, we received this letter not long ago. What do you think we should do about it?" George took out the letter they had been discussing earlier.
After reading the contents, Albert smiled and said, "It seems you're not only selling a lot of Dark Magic Defense items, but your joke items are also quite popular!"
"What do you plan to do about it?"
"Don't worry about the Ministry. They won't cause trouble at this point unless they're idiots," Albert reassured them, "We can talk to them about this, and if possible, we might even turn them into one of our stores."
"I don't think that's likely."
"Zonko's Joke Shop should be easier to deal with. I think we can continue and soon crush them. Then, we can take over their store and give Zonko a share of the profits. We all make money, and we can claim it's a collaboration. That way, we'll have another branch in Hogsmeade, and we'll also have someone to help manage the store," Albert analyzed the situation.
"If Zonko joins us and benefits from the partnership, I think the owner of Honeyduke's will also consider working with us. Instead of squeezing each other's businesses, we can all become business partners and make more money together. Isn't that better?"
"I feel like your idea is a bit naive," Lee Jordan mumbled.
"Trust me, they will definitely be willing to accept our goodwill. No one would turn down money, especially if you want to expand your business. You need to think long-term," Albert said as he drew his wand, "Now, we have customers coming. Get ready!"
(End of Chapter)
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