Chapter 359: Unbelievable!
Chapter 359: Unbelievable!
"It really is Harry Potter; I saw the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead with my own eyes." Not long after the train started moving, Fred and George hurried back to their compartment with some exciting news: Harry Potter was on this train.
"Was Harry Potter really with you at the station just now?" Lee Jordan asked incredulously. Could it have been that rascal Albert spinning a yarn to deceive him?
"That black-haired boy is indeed Harry Potter. But it seems he hasn't been doing too well in the Muggle world," George said as he sat in the seat across from Albert, eyeing the large spider in the insect box on the table curiously. "Where did you get this big guy?"
"Big guy? This one's not that big!" Fred tapped the insect box with his finger, but the spider inside, a Bagheera kiplingi, didn't react.
"Are you really planning to keep this thing?"
"No, I think I might not be able to afford to keep it, so I'm considering whether to... set it free." There was a hint of unconcealed gloom in Lee Jordan's tone.
"Why?" Fred asked, puzzled.
"If you don't want it, give it to me!"
Lee Jordan rolled his eyes and said irritably, "I'd rather set it free and let it live in the forest."
George, beside him, couldn't help but ask, "Can I take a look?"
"It's best not to," Lee Jordan refused, shaking his head. "It's a venomous spider. If someone gets bitten and poisoned, I won't be able to do anything about it."
"It's alright," Albert teased with a smile. "Just chop off the bitten arm before the venom spreads throughout the body."
George's face twitched involuntarily. Although he thought Albert was exaggerating, he temporarily abandoned his dangerous idea.
"Speaking of which, your cat is even fatter than in the last photo!" Fred reached out to pet the cat but ended up with a torn shirt.
"You fiend!"
"You should have bribed it with food first!" George suggested gleefully.
"What does your cat eat?" Fred took out his wand to repair the claw marks on his clothes and eyed the chubby cat crouching on the table.
"Dried fish!"
"Can't it hunt for its own food?"
"No, if it could, I wouldn't have to bring it to Hogwarts," Albert said helplessly.
"It's so chubby and looks so comfortable to pet." George muttered softly, but seeing Fred's unlucky state, he temporarily gave up the idea of petting the cat.
Unable to pet the cat, the twins turned to other activities, like teasing the spider. Using the stick provided by Lee Jordan, they poked at the Bagheera kiplingi in the insect box, trying to get it to move.
"What does the bagheera spider eat?"
"Dried fish!" Albert answered without hesitation.
"Stop joking!" Fred held the stick, trying to tease Tom, but the latter didn't even acknowledge him and jumped directly from the table onto Albert's lap.
"Be careful, Tom might bring you a dead mouse in your bed tonight," Albert said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Only your cat hunts mice."
"What does this thing eat?"
"Frogs, mice, or other insects." Lee Jordan smiled wryly, "I have no idea where to get this kind of food at school."
"You don't believe me?" Albert took out a small bag of dried fish from his pocket, tore open the package, and casually threw one to Tom before tossing two more into the insect box.
The bagheera spider was quickly attracted to the food and began tearing into the dried fish. The sight left the three onlookers feeling a little queasy.
"See, this thing eats dried fish," Albert said proudly.
Seeing that his food had been stolen, Tom immediately flew into a rage, staring at the spider in the box and letting out a warning hiss.
"I've never heard of spiders eating dried fish," Lee Jordan said, considering whether he should feed dried fish to his spider in the future.
"You can try feeding it Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans," Fred suddenly said.
"Spiders eat meat, and fish meat is meat,"
Albert teased, "As for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, I bet Lee Jordan doesn't even have enough for himself!"
Lee Jordan took out the leftover beans and threw a few into the insect box, but the bagheera spider showed no interest in them.
"Don't force the spider to do something it's not capable of."
Lee Jordan looked a little dejected and asked Albert about the price of the dried fish.
"It's not too expensive, five pounds for a big bag. Hmm, about a galleon or so," Albert replied, not wanting to tease him further. "Why didn't you get some food for your spider at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley?"
Fred and George exchanged glances, wondering if Lee Jordan was worried about not having enough galleons to spend.
"How much do you think it would cost?" Lee Jordan asked curiously.
"Not that many galleons, I often buy owl treats for Sheila," Albert said thoughtfully. "One galleon should last a long time."
"One galleon!" Lee Jordan's face fell.
"Keeping a pet can be expensive," Albert reminded him kindly. "Especially a chubby cat like yours."
"You're right, maybe I should give up on this money-draining idea," Lee Jordan said, feeling even more glum as he watched Tom staring at Albert's pocket. He envied Albert's ability to spend money freely, but he didn't have the same money-making skills.
"Come on, don't be sad. I'll treat you to some sweets," Fred said, taking out a few Treacle Toffees from his pocket and offering them to Lee Jordan. George gave Albert a look, signaling him to not interfere.
Lee Jordan eyed the toffees warily, then glanced at the trio before unwrapping the candy and popping it into his mouth.
"The taste of this toffee..." Lee Jordan chewed, then furrowed his brows as he began to cough violently.
A long, sticky, purple-red tongue shot out of Lee Jordan's mouth, causing him to gag.
"Looks like you succeeded!" Albert quickly drew his wand and helped Lee Jordan return his tongue to normal.
"Cough, you scoundrels, what did you just make me eat!" Lee Jordan lunged at Fred, only calming down after creating a ruckus.
Albert struggled to hold back his laughter.
"You scoundrel, you knew about this too!" Lee Jordan glared at Albert, convinced that he had known about the tampered toffee.
"You couldn't even tell," Albert said, picking up one of the swollen toffees and smelling it. "The taste of the Engorgement Charm is much fainter, but it's still there. You'll need to refine it further. Of course, you can also add other flavors to mask it."
As the three boys stared at him in shock, Albert popped the toffee into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and swallowed, offering a simple critique, "The toffee doesn't taste that good, but I could still tell the difference."
"Why did you...?" Lee Jordan stared at Albert, his face a mix of admiration and bewilderment. At that moment, his expression of admiration was completely replaced by astonishment.
"You mean it didn't work?"
The three boys nodded stiffly.
"Because I only chewed a few times before swallowing," Albert explained casually. "That charm has an effect, but there wasn't much Engorgement Charm added to the toffee. If you don't chew it enough, the effect won't even kick in."
"What do you think about selling these at school?" Fred asked tentatively. They were hoping to make their first galleons with this invention.
"It's not the right time yet. You won't make much money, and it's actually quite easy to imitate," Albert advised. "I suggest you wait until you have more inventions, then sell them together and make a name for yourselves. For now, focus on inventing and accumulating your own products, preparing for when you open a shop. After all, products are the foundation of any business."
(End of Chapter)
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