Chapter 361: Bankrupt Weasley Twins
Chapter 361: Bankrupt Weasley Twins
"Shall we go together?" Fred turned to George beside him, his tone as casual as if he were asking if they wanted to have breakfast together.
"This is the first step of the brave." George said proudly.
The Weasley Twins stood at the bottom of the stairs, surrounded by pairs of eyes staring at the black floating door and at them. They exchanged a smile and stepped onto the black, mirror-like steps—
"I thought it would be slippery, but it’s quite stable. Good start, George." Fred boasted loudly, making sure the others could hear.
They climbed the seven steps and stood before the black door, feeling a bit at a loss.
"How do we get in?"
"Push it with our hands?"
"Oh, that’s too mundane." George said, but Fred had already reached out and pushed the center of the black door, which was surrounded by swirling black mist.
"No reaction—" Fred said, but his eyes suddenly widened as he began to fade like a ghost. George immediately grabbed his shoulder, and they were both sucked in.
The onlookers held their breath, waiting in silence—
"Did they succeed?" Ron asked uncertainly, hesitating.
"They just got inside; they still have to face unknown challenges." Hermione said, posing a question. "Are they together or separated now?"
"Does it matter?" Dean asked nervously. "I hope they’re together, don’t you, Seamus?"
"Sure." Seamus muttered, pulling out an Ireland Quidditch Team emblem from his pocket and nervously placing it around his neck. "This is my lucky charm."
Harry glanced at the shamrock emblem, knowing that Seamus and his mom were die-hard fans of the Ireland team. During the Quidditch World Cup final in the summer, the team's victory had made them extremely happy. He and Ron had also bought the same emblems, which could shout out the names of each Ireland player. However, the magic had weakened, and the voices were now feeble. Harry tucked his into his sock.
Neville's face was tense, his hand gripping his wand tightly.
About half a minute passed—
The quiet black door began to stir, the black mist swirling around it like a boiling kettle, spewing out large amounts of black vapor. It covered the entire door, and two shadows were forcefully thrown out. The Weasley brothers tumbled and drew a crooked, irregular arc, and at the moment of impact, an invisible force slowed them down, reducing their speed before they hit the ground.
"Ouch!" George landed on top of Fred, and they rolled a couple of times, covered in dirt and grass.
The young wizards were initially stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Brilliant! Thanks to Fred and George Weasley for the entertainment, but it wasn’t quite the grand opening—" A voice suddenly cut through the laughter, amplified by the Sonorus charm, making the ears of those around him ring. A circle cleared in the crowd, revealing a wizard with a shock of long, wild hair.
It was Lee Jordan, one of the Weasley Twins' prankster friends. After failing to make the Gryffindor Quidditch team in a previous tryout, he had become a Quidditch commentator. Jordan was known for his humorous and boastful personality, and his most recent outrageous claim was that he would use his skin color to infiltrate the inner workings of Vagado and gather secrets for Hogwarts' brave.
"It would be even better to learn some new and exciting magic", he had said, full of hope.
...
Now, Jordan shuffled forward, his wand pressed to his throat, casting the Sonorus charm. He announced, "Next, I, the soon-to-be-unemployed Quidditch commentator Jordan Lee, will provide you with an exciting commentary!"
The other students were a bit taken aback, but the Gryffindors clapped a few times to show their support.
"Cough, cough! Thank you, thank you! You’re too kind..." He bowed exaggeratedly to the crowd. "Let’s interview the two protagonists first to get some firsthand information. You must be curious about what happened, right?" Jordan Lee said.
The students quieted down, and a few eager upperclassmen stopped, hoping to hear something useful.
Fred and George Weasley got to their feet, still shaken from the experience. Hearing Jordan Lee’s words, they smiled mischievously.
"Can’t reveal too much—"
"It was really tough!"
"Did you have to fight?" Jordan Lee interjected.
"Um..."
"Indeed, it was a tough fight."
"But you’re clean, and the dust on your robes must have been from when you were thrown out." Jordan Lee looked skeptical, though it might have been an act. He and the twins always had a good rapport.
"Well", Fred sighed, "it was Professor Hep’s magic, from a Memory Master. Think about the Pensieve..."
"Oh, I get it!" Jordan Lee said. "You fought in the Mind Realm!"
The twins couldn’t help but laugh. "You’re right!"
"What did you encounter?" Jordan Lee asked, genuinely interested. "I’m sure the others are curious too." The young wizards listened more intently, pondering the potential dangers and what they could learn from them.
"We, uh, encountered a snake!"
"A snake?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Yeah, a really big one, big enough to reach the ceiling... George, you tell them!"
"Alright, I think... it had three heads and was patterned."
In the crowd, Hermione muttered to herself, "Three heads and patterned, sounds like a Rune-patterned Snake. But they're usually only six to seven feet long, which doesn't match their description."
Other students shared similar thoughts, feeling that Fred and George Weasley's description was somewhat ambiguous.
"Maybe Professor Hep modified it in secret", Ron speculated, and Harry and Hermione nodded thoughtfully, "It's definitely possible."
On the other side, Lee Jordan bid farewell to Fred and George Weasley as they cancelled the magic and lowered their voices to discuss.
"What do you think the professor's test is?" Fred said.
"By bringing us down to see how we cope", George said without hesitation.
"I think so too, otherwise we wouldn't have gone bankrupt seventeen times in a row..." Fred shuddered, "That feeling was terrifying and so real, completely immersive, you couldn't tell there was something wrong."
"Wait, seventeen times? But I only failed fifteen times!" George's eyes widened.
Fred looked at him hesitantly, "Did you miscount?"
"No way, I remember it clearly!" George said, still shaken, "I'm afraid I'll have nightmares tonight."
"So, we experienced different illusions?"
"Seems like it."
"Alright", Fred nodded, "Let's swap notes on why our businesses failed and write them down. These are valuable lessons."
A seventh-year student stepped up to the black floating door, touched it, and was sucked inside.
Lee Jordan narrated, "The third person has entered! Despite knowing they'll face a three-headed snake—oh, an off-field update tells me it might be a variant of the Rune-patterned Snake, thanks for that—this student still stepped forward! What incredible courage! By the way, is he a senior from Gryffindor?"
The Hufflepuff students started murmuring, and Lee Jordan quickly said, "Uh, it doesn't seem so..." He hurriedly changed the topic, "The third volunteer has entered. Let's guess how long he'll last—oh, my!"
A figure was immediately thrown out, tumbling in the air before landing softly on the ground. The seventh-year student sat there in shock, his empty right arm flailing behind him as if he were waving a wand, shouting, "Obstacle Charm! Obstacle Charm!" He even punched Lee Jordan in the face, causing half of it to swell instantly.
"Ouch! Calm down, calm down! Good heavens, someone help me get him away!" Lee Jordan shouted, clutching his face.
After a while, the hysterical student was led away by his friends, looking utterly devastated. Lee Jordan didn't ask what he had experienced, but everyone had their own ideas.
"Maybe he was eaten by the snake", Ernie Macmillan said to his friend Justin Finch-Fletchley.
"Don't listen to him", Susan Bones interjected, "Last year he said Sirius Black turned into an orange and was bought by Filch..."
"I was just saying!" Ernie Macmillan protested, towering over them with an intimidating presence. "And I got the idea from Hannah, who said he could turn into a flowering bush!"
Hannah Abbott frowned and glared at him.
"Last year you said Harry Potter was the Heir of the Chamber", Susan Bones continued, ignoring the tension.
Ernie Macmillan was furious, "I apologized to Harry! Publicly!" Justin pulled on his sleeve, which he had almost rolled up, revealing his thick, stubby hands.
Ernie grumbled, "Just because his aunt works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement..."
Susan Bones glared at him, but they didn't get into an argument as the seventh-year Hufflepuff student returned, his legs as soft as noodles. His friends asked, "What did you experience?"
"A R-Rune-patterned Snake!" he stammered, "Even more terrifying than what the Weasleys described! It chased me, and something else was following it, I couldn't see what it was, I just ran, casting Obstacle Charms behind me, and then..." He swallowed hard, breathing heavily, "I saw a mouth."
"Whose mouth?"
"I d-don't know, I just ran into it, all I remember is a mouth full of yellow, sharp teeth, clamping shut, and then... then I was out." He shuddered as he finished his story.
The young Hufflepuff wizards looked uneasy. Just then, Cedric Diggory took a deep breath, "I'll give it a try!"
(End of Chapter)
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