Chapter 1176: Infiltration
Chapter 1176: Infiltration
Hogsmeade Village, Honeyduke's Sweetshop.
Ambrose Flume was restocking the shelves in his store, preparing for the influx of Hogwarts students who would soon be visiting Hogsmeade.
"Ah!"
Flume sat back down behind the counter, his eyes fixed on the notebook in front of him as he let out a soft sigh.
The sweet shop owner had been in a foul mood lately. Ever since Fred and George's "House of Fun" joke shop rose to prominence, he could clearly sense a decline in business for Honeyduke's. What angered Flume the most was the betrayal of Zonko. They had agreed to work together to suppress the Weasley twins' business, but that guy had turned around and defected, now raking in profits while Flume was left feeling like he had eaten dirt. He was debating whether to accept an invitation he had received.
The magical candies that Fred and George sold didn't actually overlap with the candies and sweets he sold, so there seemed to be no direct conflict. However, there were only so many magical children in Britain, and most of them had limited spending money. Once they bought treats from the "House of Fun," they wouldn't have any left to spend at Honeyduke's.
At least, that was the case for the vast majority of Hogwarts students; magical candies held more appeal for young witches and wizards.
Even though Honeyduke's was famous throughout Britain, Flume was well aware that most of his customers were Hogwarts students.
It seemed that Honeyduke's was losing the battle against the enchanting candies, and he couldn't seem to create anything more alluring.
"Dear, could you mind the store for me? I'm going to have a chat with Zonko." Flume closed the notebook and handed the shop duties to his wife before heading straight for Zonko's Joke Shop.
He spotted Zonko chatting with John, the Hogsmeade postman, and waited for them to finish their conversation before approaching.
"Looks like business is booming over here," Flume remarked.
"It's not booming, but it's decent," Zonko replied with a sigh. "Though it has little to do with me. Why, are you considering joining as well?"
"I've thought about it," Flume admitted, not bothering to hide his envy of Zonko's success. "I plan to talk to Fred and George, but I can't seem to get in touch with them at the moment."
Who wouldn't want a piece of the Galleon pie?
"Don't look at me; I can't reach them either," Zonko shrugged, inviting Flume into the shop to talk.
"You can't get in touch with them either?" Flume furrowed his brows.
"Nope," Zonko complained. "I heard they're being targeted by Death Eaters and have gone into hiding. No wonder they asked me to help sell their products. I feel like they took advantage of me."
Ignoring Zonko's grumbling, Flume asked, "What did you mean when you said it had little to do with you?" He knew that such complaints were futile unless the Weasley twins were killed by Death Eaters, in which case the reopening of the shop would only be a matter of time.
"Technically, I'm the owner of this shop, and I receive a fixed salary each month. I get a small commission on the items sold, but I chose to retain the ownership of the original products, so my commission rate is quite low," Zonko explained glumly. He felt foolish for realizing that many of the items in his original shop weren't selling, even at discounted prices. If he had chosen a higher commission rate, he would be earning a substantial amount of Galleons each month, and it would have been a sustainable income. What bothered him the most was that Lee Jordan had advised him against making the worst possible choice, but he hadn't listened.
As Flume listened to the terms the Weasley twins had offered Zonko, he frowned. Their proposal held no appeal for him whatsoever. While Honeyduke's wasn't as popular as it used to be, it was still very profitable. Zonko's contract wouldn't benefit him at all.
"Your situation is different since you intended to close your shop anyway," Zonko consoled him. "You could consider contacting them to discuss potential collaboration."
"If only the Ministry could restrict their monopoly," Flume sighed, feeling regretful. He had tried to research those magical candies himself but couldn't unravel their secrets. Even when he managed to replicate the ingredients, the effects were nowhere near as impressive as those of the Weasley twins' creations.
"Don't bother," Zonko said, understanding Flume's frustration. After all, Zonko's Joke Shop had been in an even worse situation than Honeyduke's, which was why he had accepted the offer to collaborate. Now, he was leading a busy life, overwhelmed by the constant influx of items for consignment, sales, and bill settlements. Sometimes, he considered hiring an assistant, but the thought of paying a salary out of his own pocket quickly deterred him from that enticing idea.
"If you ever do get in touch with them, let them know that I'm willing to discuss a collaboration," Flume said, feeling that he should keep his options open. He didn't want to end up like Zonko if the Weasley twins ever decided to venture into the candy business and put Honeyduke's out of business.
"I will," Zonko replied, shaking his head as he looked at his old friend. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up."
As Flume left Zonko's shop and made his way back to Honeyduke's, he spotted two Ministry employees who had just finished their patrol, chatting with Madam Rosmerta, the landlady of the Three Broomsticks.
After a brief moment of eye contact, Flume nodded slightly at Madam Rosmerta and turned back toward his shop.
This interaction did not go unnoticed by one of the middle-aged members of the Crisis Response Team.
"Do you see something amiss?" his younger colleague asked, pausing in his steps and turning back.
"It's nothing," the middle-aged wizard replied.
Back at their temporary base, the two Ministry employees made themselves a cup of tea, picked up a newspaper to catch up on the latest news, and chatted about the current situation.
"Do you think there really is someone in Hogsmeade under the Imperius Curse?" the younger wizard asked.
Ever since the Ministry deployed personnel to Hogsmeade, they had conducted multiple checks on the residents, but nothing unusual had been found.
"If there is, it must be an advanced case of the Imperius Curse, or it would have been detected by now," the middle-aged wizard said between sips of his tea, continuing to flip through the newspaper.
"Why are we so certain that someone in Hogsmeade is under the Imperius Curse?"
"I don't know. Maybe the Auror Office has received some new lead," the younger wizard said, standing by the window and observing the village through a pair of binoculars.
"Perhaps they've planted a spy within the ranks of the mysterious group."
"That's highly unlikely. Who would volunteer to be a spy for the mysterious group, risking their life like that?"
"Well, at least this job isn't too bad. We're not as busy as the others," the younger wizard said, sighing as he scanned the headlines in the newspaper. "I can't help but feel that those guys have gone mad. The situation is getting out of hand, and I dread to think how it will all end once it becomes completely uncontainable."
"It's not that bad..."
"What?"
"I mean, it's not our problem. Let the Minister worry about it." With that, the middle-aged wizard secretly raised his wand and pointed it at his colleague, whispering an incantation.
(End of Chapter)
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