read lots story at patreon
always update and finish
ilham20 >> 5$
"How about it? The Joke Shop is officially open for business right here!" Fred announced with a grin.
Next to him, George began pulling items out of a small cloth sack: a cauldron, a funnel, brass scales...
Rock stood off to the side, watching blankly as George pulled item after item from the bag, as if the small pouch contained an infinite void.
"Oi! Earth to Rock! What's the matter? Never seen an Undetectable Extension Charm before?" Fred was in the middle of a sales pitch when he noticed Rock staring into space. He grabbed Rock's shoulders and gave him a good shake.
"No, that's not it. You said you were bringing me for a tour, and this is it? Nothing's ready," Rock said, pointing at the empty space and the sack in George's hand.
"For the debut of our Joke Shop, isn't this grand enough?" Fred spread his arms wide, gesturing for Rock to take in their surroundings.
"Real grand... unless the theme is 'dust bunnies and ancient rat skeletons,'" Rock deadpanned.
Ignoring the sarcasm, Fred walked over to help George pull the last few items from the bag. Then, right in front of Rock, they performed the impressive feat of assembling a table from scratch.
"Not bad," George critiqued. "Though the Extension Charm is a bit unstable. Some of the stuff got crushed."
Fred looked pained as he held up a few shattered vials. They had clearly been smashed while inside the bag.
Rock sniffed the air. The entire crawlspace was suddenly filled with a pungent, rotting stench. "What exactly was in those vials?"
"Oh! Just some special substances and potion residue. Raw materials for our Dungbombs," George said without looking up.
Rock fell silent for a long moment. "Don't tell me... you guys are actually playing with..."
"What are you thinking? That's dragon dung we begged Charlie to send us!" Fred retorted immediately. "It's rare material! We've been working on optimizing and upgrading our Dungbombs."
Isn't that still just playing with poop? Rock thought.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt a weight drop into his hand. He looked down to see an irregular, lumpy sphere.
"What is this?" Rock asked, looking at George.
"Something to use if you run into trouble while patrolling the Forbidden Forest," George said, draping an arm around Rock's shoulder and winking.
"Such as?" Rock examined the ball but couldn't spot anything unusual about it.
"Heh, we specifically asked Charlie to record this. It contains the roar of a full-grown Hungarian Horntail," Fred said, gesturing wildly with excitement.
"Just so you know, when we first tested it, we nearly shook the Burrow down to its foundations," George added.
"The Burrow is our house. You're welcome to visit this summer, by the way," Fred said with a raised brow.
"Cut the crap. What's the catch?" Rock didn't buy their innocent act for a second.
"Alright, fine. We want you to test it out in the Forbidden Forest and give us some feedback on the effects," Fred admitted, spreading his hands. "We wanted to test it last time we were in there, but Hagrid was watching us like a hawk."
Rock's mouth twitched.
Of course he watched you closely. If this thing really went off in the forest... sure, it was just sound, but dragons were apex predators in the magical world. A roar wasn't just noise; it was a territorial threat.
"What stage is it at?" Rock asked. He actually had a few ideas about this.
"This is phase three. We used the mechanics of a Howler, combined with a Recording Charm and the Amplifying Charm," George explained, eyes twinkling. "It effectively preserves the sheer shock and awe of a dragon's roar."
" The trigger condition is simple: just cast any spell on the ball," Fred added, clearly proud of the experiment.
Rock examined the ugly little sphere more closely. No wonder he couldn't sense any magic from it; it hadn't been triggered yet, so its magical circuits were dormant.
"I have a better suggestion. Do you think you guys can pull it off?" Rock looked from Fred to George.
"Please, investor, never doubt the capabilities of our Joke Shop." Fred and George straightened their backs, feigning solemnity—or trying to, given the cramped ceiling of the crawlspace.
"Have you considered using a bit of Pyrotechnic Transfiguration? Make it so when it roars, it also explodes into a phantom image of a dragon?" Rock explained his idea as clearly as he could.
"Perfect!" Fred clapped his hands together.
"And the flash from the combustion would perfectly destroy any evidence of the device!" George's eyes lit up.
"Most importantly, compared to just sound, adding a visual shock would make the effect way stronger!" Fred nodded enthusiastically. "Though, we'd have to regulate the temperature to make sure we don't start a forest fire."
Smack!
Fred and George high-fived, speaking in unison: "Safety is always number one!"
"You guys really are pros..." Rock muttered, impressed by how quickly they expanded on his suggestion.
"However... materials are an issue." The twins turned to look at Rock, their expressions conveying a singular, universal message.
We're broke.
Whether it was the fireworks or the raw materials, it all cost Galleons.
"That's easy. I'll ask Grandpa Theseus to handle it," Rock said, snapping his fingers. When it came to supplies, Theseus always came through.
"Perfect!" Fred and George grabbed Rock in a group hug. "That's exactly why you're our top Research Assistant! But... there is one more problem."
"What now?" Rock wanted to get this sorted quickly; the device would actually be useful for him.
"Material processing. It's never really been our strong suit. We've been messing with fireworks for ages, but our color mixing is... well, it leaves something to be desired."
Fred shrugged. It wasn't that they were incompetent, but materials were precious. They didn't have the funds to waste ingredients on trial and error, so they usually operated on a "good enough is good enough" philosophy.
"Leave that to me," Rock said, taking charge. Material processing was his specialty.
"Decision made! Pleasure doing business!" the Weasley twins cheered.
---
With their tasks assigned, Rock entered his busiest phase yet.
Every day began with his morning physical conditioning, followed by Professor McGonagall's extra assignments. Then came Professor Flitwick's Charms Club, and finally, his own newly formed study group.
The location was a spare classroom on the same floor as the Charms classroom.
With Professor Flitwick's blessing and a permission slip signed by Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, the Ravenclaw study group finally had its first headquarters.