Chapter 541: The Weasley Brothers' Star Product
Chapter 541: The Weasley Brothers' Star Product
The surrounding area immediately fell silent, and naturally, no one came out. Everyone exchanged glances, feigning ignorance and pretending as if nothing had happened.
"I saw it, Professor Karkaroff," a Slytherin student pointed to a particular direction and said, "It was Fred Weasley. He's the one who spoke."
"Hey, I'm George," Fred pouted. "Get us confused before you accuse."
"So, Mr. Weasley, was it you just now?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Of course not," Fred said with an exaggerated expression.
George nodded, "I was still in Transfiguration class a minute ago and didn't even know what happened."
"I can vouch for that," Professor McGonagall said, "They were indeed in my Transfiguration class."
"Slandering your classmates..." Sirius Black pushed through the crowd and said angrily, "Slytherin loses ten points. Perhaps it was you who spoke those words, Millicent Bulstrode."
"It wasn't me! I didn't!" Millicent shouted, "You're talking nonsense..."
"Ah, disrespecting a professor..." Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Slytherin loses another ten points."
Millicent was about to go crazy. She wanted to seek help from others, but the surrounding Slytherins simultaneously moved away from her.
In a situation like this, who would be foolish enough to speak up for Professor Karkaroff? Anyone with a brain would distance themselves from such an act.
She belonged in Hufflepuff!
"What a brainless idiot," a few Slytherins muttered disdainfully before turning and walking away.
Throughout this whole exchange, Professor McGonagall hadn't uttered a word. It was only when Sirius deducted points for the second time that she frowned and said, "You're deducting too many points, Professor Black."
"Am I?" Sirius shrugged nonchalantly.
"And Filch," Professor McGonagall continued, "In recent days... let Mrs. Norris rest for a few days. I've noticed she's been looking rather thin lately. Some proper rest wouldn't hurt."
Filch's face had turned purple with anger, and he glared at Karkaroff with a look of pure hatred. It was a long moment before he croaked out a response.
Karkaroff didn't care at all... A squib who could only clean the castle with muggle tools and a mop—if this were Durmstrang, someone like that wouldn't even be allowed through the school gates.
However, he didn't say anything more because, from the stairs not too far away, Professor Moody was hobbling toward them.
Karkaroff could ignore Professor McGonagall, and he could ignore Sirius, but when it came to Professor Moody, he wanted nothing to do with the man.
However, just as he was about to leave the entrance hall with his students, a small, round ball suddenly flew out from the crowd.
Karkaroff was all too familiar with this object. Because of it, he hadn't been able to eat properly for half a month.
Once was forgivable, but to try it again... Did they really think he'd be foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice?
Karkaroff immediately drew his wand and pointed it at the object.
The Dungbomb exploded in mid-air, spraying a brownish-green liquid everywhere. Those nearby covered their noses and ran away.
Even Professor McGonagall held her breath and took out her wand, ready to disperse the pungent smell.
But the next second, the liquid suddenly converged and flew toward Karkaroff like an arrow.
Karkaroff had been feeling proud of himself a moment ago and was completely caught off guard. He was splattered with the liquid, and to make matters worse, his mouth had been open in a smile.
And so...
"Ugh..."
A thunderous sound of retching filled the entrance hall as Karkaroff clutched his mouth and stomach, rolling and crawling out of the hall. His accompanying students quickly followed suit.
At the sight of this, the surrounding students burst into laughter.
"Quiet," Professor McGonagall said, but her lips twitched as she struggled to maintain her composure.
She then turned her gaze to Fred and George, having clearly seen that they were the ones who had thrown the Dungbomb.
"Gryffindor will lose two points... Don't let it happen again."
...
"That punishment was too much," Fred whispered as they made their way to the Great Hall.
Kyle couldn't help but glance at the corner of the Great Hall where the hourglasses that kept track of house points were located...
Hufflepuff was in the lead, followed by Ravenclaw.
But Gryffindor and Slytherin were noticeably lagging behind. Even if you added the points of the two houses together, they still had less than half of Ravenclaw's points.
And this was all thanks to Snape and Sirius; if there were a competition for point deductions, they would surely take the top two spots.
"Speaking of which, how did you even do it?" Cedric asked curiously. "You even managed to control the Dungbomb."
"That's the beauty of the Weasley Brothers' joke products," Fred replied with a smile. "We modified the Dungbomb so that it would jump once more after exploding."
"Just like the Chocolate Frogs," George added. "We got the idea while eating candy."
"But the downside is that it can only jump once, and we can't change its direction. If someone dodges it, there's nothing we can do..."
"But that's a minor issue..." Fred continued, "...and as you saw, even the headmaster of Durmstrang fell for it. It proves that our idea was a success."
"We plan to include these modified Dungbombs and the Skiving Snackboxes as the first batch of products in the Weasley Brothers' Joke Shop."
"No," George corrected, "they should be our star products. Karkaroff is the best advertisement we could ask for."
"He's already helped spread the word about our special Dungbombs..."
"...and we're thinking of finding an opportunity to make him try some of the different effects of the Skiving Snackboxes." George flashed a mischievous grin. "It'd be best if he experienced each one..."
"I advise you to be more careful," Kyle shook his head. "If there's a next time, Professor McGonagall probably won't let you off so easily. Durmstrang is still Hogwarts' guest, and Karkaroff is a headmaster. We should still give him some face."
"Don't worry," Fred said confidently. "We have a plan, and we won't get caught."
Seeing their determined expressions, Kyle didn't say anything more.
As long as they weren't caught in the act, the worst that could happen was that the professors would suspect them and deduct some points or give them detention.
Detention was a walk in the park for Fred and George; it was basically like going home for them. As for point deductions, well, if things kept going this way, Gryffindor might not have any points left to lose.
The students in the Great Hall were still discussing what had just happened, and everyone seemed excited.
Even Harry, Ron, and the others, who disliked Karkaroff's demeanor, had to admit that he had done a good thing this time... getting rid of Mrs. Norris.
At least, that's how they saw it.
Harry and Ron had lost count of how many times they had been caught by that cat over the years.
Every time they were caught, Filch would appear out of nowhere and berate them for making too much noise in the castle or dirtying the floors...
The two of them lost quite a few points each year because of this.
During their nightly adventures, Harry's greatest fear was also encountering Mrs. Norris, as the Invisibility Cloak didn't work on cats.
This caused Harry's heart to race and his instincts to kick in, urging him to flee whenever he saw a cat in the corridors.
It had almost become a reflex.
But now, the cat problem had finally been solved.
Whether it was Harry, Ron, or the others, they all felt a sense of relief and satisfaction.
From now on, they wouldn't have to worry about Mrs. Norris suddenly jumping out at them as they walked. Although Filch was still around, his efficiency would surely decrease, and it would be easier to shake him off.
With this thought, the Great Hall buzzed with excitement as students happily celebrated, as if it were Christmas.
(End of Chapter)
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