Chapter 244: Weasleys Prank Store

Everyone deliberately neglected Peter Pettigrew's control of Ron, and their focus quickly shifted to Sirius. The Weasleys were very interested in his fugitive journey over the past six months and the truth of the events of 13 years ago.

Fred and George kept asking questions, and their eyes flashed with admiration.

Sirius made a few simple comments about details not mentioned in the paper, and everyone listened intently. Percy even took notes and recorded them with his pen.

After talking for more than half an hour, the topic moved on to other matters.

With Sirius' upbeat and cheerful nature, the Weasleys soon became intimate with him.

The atmosphere in the ward was becoming increasingly relaxed, and cheerful laughter rang out from time to time, in stark contrast to the sadness of the other wards around.

Lupin, Sirius and Mrs. Weasley sat together reminiscing about the past, while the rest sat around Ron's bed exchanging Christmas presents and news of the past few days.

Ron took the owl out of the cage and was arguing with Harry about naming the pet, and Ginny was listening.

On the couch in front of the bed, Percy and Hermione were muttering about the vacation assignments the professors were giving them before Christmas, future jobs, career arrangements, etc.

In half a year, Percy was going to graduate from Hogwarts.

He had already planned to work at the Ministry of Magic. He excelled in the wizarding test which exhausted him with despair, and he could choose almost any department at his discretion. Then he hesitated between the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

In the corner, Fred and George showed Ivan two of their new joke products developed in the last few days, and Ivan told them about the store.

Fred and George were so excited that they couldn't wait to go to the store immediately.

As they prepared for retail sales, they decided to increase the production of prank products. Subject to funding constraints, they had only completed a few products and most of the research and product development had not been done.

"Skiving snack boxes, Fake Wands, Stink Bombs, these products are selling very well right now. Demand exceeds supply; we can start with these things and increase sales volume a bit." Fred pulled a small notebook from his arm, filled with plans for various products and test data.

"No problem with the Fake Wands!" Ivan looked back and looked carefully at Hermione, lowering his voice and saying, "Better watch out for Skiving snack boxes and Stink Bombs. Hermione especially hates these things. She thinks they're too unhealthy."

"My mother thinks the same thing, she almost confiscated all our products!" Fred said angrily. "She found our order form when she was cleaning the room. She had a big confrontation with us and burned everything."

"We've lost a lot of money, and she won't allow us to do any more research in this area." George continued, "She thinks it's not good business. She asked us to devote more energy to our studies. Looking at her, she must expect us to work at the Ministry of Magic like Dad and Percy. that would be terrible!"

Apparently sensing that the three of them were discussing something on the sly, Mrs. Weasley suddenly approached and Fred hurried to put his notebook in her arms.

"What are you doing? is it related to Weasleys joke products?" asked Mrs. Weasley seriously.

"No, we're exchanging vacation homework with Ivan." Fred said hastily, waving his hand.

"Ivan, didn't you say you were a little thirsty? Let's get a drink, and by the way, let's get some drinks for everyone!" George pulled Ivan out.

The three of them ran out of the room under the suspicious eyes of Mrs. Weasley.

"Mrs. Weasley is..." Ivan was still a little confused.

"You know, we've been keeping everything from Percy, Ron and Ginny regarding the prank product study." Fred explained, "Actually, only the three of us knew about this before Mom found out."

"Everyone knows now. Mom was so angry." George sighed and said in dismay, "Ivan, you'd better be careful from now on. Mom has been investigating our funding sources and she's starting to doubt you."

"Mrs. Weasley's reaction may have been a bit over the top. It's not as bad as she thinks it is." Ivan said, "In my opinion, opening a joke store is no worse than going to the Ministry of Magic."

"We think so too. In fact, it's the only career we want." Fred and George said in unison.

"Maybe we can talk to her..." said Ivan.

"Better not!" said Fred. "She won't tell you anything, but if she knows we took so much money from you to investigate, it's bound to be bad!"

"Yeah, Mom will kill us both, no doubt about it!" George craned his neck.

Ivan heard Fred and George's complaints and didn't know what to do.

In any case, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't agree to them opening a magic joke store unless they succeeded first.

They walked up to the dining room on the fifth floor, and Hermione and Ginny chased after them from behind.

"What are you two doing here?" Fred asked vigilantly.

"Mum asked us to come and keep an eye on the three of you. She seemed worried, afraid they'd throw dung bombs in the hallway." Ginny said with a smile.

"Oh!" George looked at Ginny pitifully. "My dear little sister..."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to tell on you. I think the prank products you've created are very interesting! They're very popular at school!" Ginny said.

"But you can't deny that those things are dangerous and extremely unhygienic. The stink bomb is the most obvious example." Hermione didn't laugh, "Mrs. Weasley is right, you can't sell those things to others, it's..."

Before Hermione could finish, Fred and George quickly shoved Ivan.

"She's all yours, brother!" they grabbed Ginny and hurried up to the fifth floor. There were only two people in the hallway: Ivan and Hermione.

Because Ivan was so close, Hermione's face suddenly turned red.

"Don't blame Fred and George. They just want to bring a little joy to everyone." Ivan could feel Hermione's breath.

"I know..." Hermione whispered, and quickly took a step back.

The two stopped talking about the matter and talked about the decorations inside St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Ailments AND Injuries.

Ivan and Hermione walked down the hallway through a set of double doors and found a rickety staircase with more portraits of brutal-looking healers.

As they climbed, the various healers shouted, diagnosing strange symptoms and suggesting horrible remedies.

They didn't know where Fred, George and Ginny had gone, and they were nowhere to be seen.

They both bought a few cans of drinks from the fifth floor and when they returned to the fourth floor, they suddenly stopped.

Not far away, behind the small window that led to the double doors that marked the beginning of a sign in the hallway that read "Cursed Harm"; a man was staring at all of them with his nose pressed against the glass. He had wavy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a wide vacant smile that revealed dazzlingly white teeth.

"Oh my God!" cried Hermione suddenly, "Professor Lockhart!"