HP: Hogwart's Journey

"Uh, we know, of course we know," Mr. Weasley's mouth twitched. He took a deep breath, exhaled, thought for a moment, then took another deep breath. Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore and turned to Mrs. Weasley, "Oh, Molly, I'm sorry, I think I messed up..."

Mrs. Weasley seemed still in shock, unable to believe that her two mischievous boys had somehow started a family business. The twins were also dumbfounded, never imagining they would miss out on a business opportunity worth 200 Galleons a month.

Percy's face turned pale, and he instinctively took a few steps back, his body swaying. Headmaster Dumbledore rubbed his forehead, seemingly never expecting that the Quick-Acne Vanishing Sweets would yield such a huge profit. Professor McGonagall frowned deeply but eventually spoke up to comfort them, "Now, Molly, Arthur, this isn't the end of the world..." Before she could finish, she remembered the Weasleys had seven children. Although they could afford new clothes thanks to Madam Malkin's sponsorship, this income was still a fortune for their family.

Taking a deep breath, she softly reassured, "Young wizards don't have much use for so much money, Molly. Don't worry too much about it."

Mrs. Weasley forced a smile and said, "I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall, we need to talk to the children..."

The professors nodded in understanding and led the Weasley family to another room.

"Robert... if you could, would you come with us..." Mrs. Weasley asked in a pleading tone.

Hearing this, Robert was startled. He had only intended to explain the seriousness of the situation to Mrs. Weasley to prevent her from being constantly upset by Percy's reports, but it seemed he had frightened her instead!

"Of course, ma'am," Robert quickly followed, afraid she might overthink things.

Charlie closed the door, sealing the room off from outside noise. Mrs. Weasley hugged the twins, and tears streamed down her face.

"Oh my, when Percy sent me that letter, I was making breakfast..."

"I was about to read it when Madam Bones arrived..."

"I went to get breakfast... and left the letter in front of her... I..."

Mrs. Weasley grew more distraught as she spoke. "When I came back and saw her serious expression, asking why I let my children sell expired candy at school, I was completely stunned."

She sniffled, "Goodness, how could I let my children sell expired candy? That's wrong!"

"I went to find your father, but then I ran into Poppy, and she came along..."

Robert understood—it was all a big misunderstanding.

Percy, wanting to get back at the twins for not selling him candy, had reported them to Mrs. Weasley. But the letter was seen by a visiting guest, who happened to be the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement...

As the head of the largest department in the British Ministry of Magic, Madam Bones had simply asked about the situation out of habit. She might have even felt later that she had overreacted.

However, the twins had always been mischievous, and with them not around, Mrs. Weasley had no idea what the candy actually did. When she heard that the candy had been distributed to young wizards, she was terrified.

In a panic, she went to find Mr. Weasley and ran into a member of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, who naturally had to investigate and follow up. And so...

She ended up with a windfall.

However, if the investigation clarified things, the Weasley twins would likely still retain the rights to their invention. Even if they couldn't have exclusive rights, they would still profit significantly.

So...

Robert looked at Mr. Weasley, wondering, "Sir, what exactly did you do?"

Mr. Weasley looked embarrassed as he comforted Mrs. Weasley, "No, no, Molly, this is all my fault. When I heard you say Fred and George were selling expired magical candy, I rushed off to find Arnold. Little did I know they were in a meeting..."

"Seeing things escalate, I had no choice but to let them test the candy..."

"They told me that if Fred and George's situation got out of hand, it could affect their O.W.L. results..."

That's just a scare tactic, Robert thought silently.

"If they don't get their O.W.L. certificates, they won't be able to find jobs..."

Nonsense. Robert despised such manipulative tactics.

"But since we're a pure-blood family, Fudge assured me that they would investigate the matter thoroughly and give everyone a fair resolution. However, the recipe must be handed over, and it will have no connection to our family..."

What?! Robert was shocked. Did I miss something? Weren't you at the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad? Why was the Minister of Magic there?

"I was so scared I didn't even realize I had walked into the Minister's office..." Mr. Weasley said, still shaken. "Looking back now, I think they tricked me..."

Mr. Weasley grew angry, "They always do this!"

He took a deep breath, put on his hat, and said, "Alright, kids, this was just an accident. I'm sorry, Fred, George. If we had trusted you a bit more, this wouldn't have happened."

"It's okay, Dad," Fred hugged him. "We have plenty of ideas. What they took is just one of many."

"If possible, we'd like to create more magical items, as long as you support us..." George added.

Mrs. Weasley wiped her tears and said, "Of course, we'll support you..."

"Yay!" the twins cheered. "We can experiment at home now!"

"What? What?" Mrs. Weasley's expression changed instantly. "What are you planning to make?"

"Prank products..." George accidentally blurted out.

Mrs. Weasley was furious, "Absolutely not! You should study hard like Percy and join the Ministry!"

Hearing this, the twins' enthusiasm was instantly crushed.

"Like Percy?" Fred asked in disbelief. "Do you really think Percy's behavior of tattling and causing chaos at home is right?"

"No, that's not what I meant..." Mrs. Weasley explained. "I just don't want you wasting time on pranks. They're pointless!"

"How can they be pointless?" Fred raised his voice. "We could sell those prank products and make money!"

George chimed in, "We could make a lot of money, not like Dad, who only earns 35 Galleons a month!"

(End of Chapter)