The Shopkeeper of All Worlds in the British Wizarding World

Chapter 349 Current Situation
"I'm going to use this bonus to invest in our store. With this money, we can officially open it, instead of just selling goods through mail like we do now." Ryan said to the Weasley twins sitting opposite him. It was a week after the end of the Triwizard Tournament. The excitement of the competition and the anxiety caused by the Death Eaters' escape had slowly calmed down. Ryan found the twins after breakfast one morning and told them his plan.

"I don't need all of it. Just another 800 Galleons will be enough." Fred said. He was the one who was in charge of the accounts recently and knew how much money was needed to officially launch the store.

As soon as he finished speaking, George continued, "But we should redistribute the shares. You have contributed more and helped our family a lot. We can't take advantage of you."

After a while of pushing and shoving, Ryan and the twins redistributed the shares. He held 50% and the twins held 25%. After discussion, they decided that the store would be officially opened during the summer vacation.

"Then how do you explain to your mother?" Ryan suddenly thought of Mrs. Weasley.

"I can only be frank. I think if we all try to persuade our mother together, she will eventually agree to our request." The twins said this in unison.

"What's more, the Daily Prophet has been whitewashing the situation recently. My father said that at least half of the people in the Ministry of Magic don't think that what Fudge said about everything being normal is true, because Azkaban has never had ten criminals escaping at once, not to mention that all those who escaped are extremely vicious. Under such circumstances, our mother is not as obsessed with us working in the Ministry of Magic in the future as she used to be." George added.

"Fudge has really gone crazy recently. Just because Dumbledore said in some public occasions that the wizarding world is now in danger and hopes that everyone can be vigilant, he ordered the Daily Prophet to slander Dumbledore and say that he is crazy." Fred also told him the news he had heard recently.

"So what do people think?" Ryan asked. This week he was busy helping Hermione get familiar with using puppets to fight together, so he didn't pay attention to the recent news. But he knew that in the original text, Fudge relied on this kind of vilification to make many people mistakenly believe that Dumbledore was really confused because of his old age.

"Most people think that Dumbledore is a little too nervous, but that's understandable. After all, ten extremely vicious criminals have escaped from prison this time. At the same time, everyone also thinks that Fudge is doing this purely for his own benefit and wants to cover up the news that is unfavorable to him," Fred explained.

"But Fudge just went his own way, and even withdrew the people who had been sent out to search for dark wizards. Even so, there were still people who agreed with Fudge. For example, my father said that Umbridge, the Senior Deputy Minister of Magic, sang praises for Fudge on various occasions. I don't know if her head is full of evil or she is just a despicable person, and she ignored all morals to please her superiors." George added.

After discussing the latest news for a while, Ryan and the twins said goodbye and went to the library to look at the books hidden in the secret room, and did not come out until lunch time.

He was sitting at the table in the hall and was about to eat when he saw Harry running over and handing him an envelope and saying, "Principal Dumbledore asked me to give this to you."

"What is this?" Ryan asked casually after taking the letter.

"I don't know. Professor Dumbledore didn't tell me. He just asked me to give you this letter." Harry's answer was expected. Dumbledore has always been like this, doing many things in a mysterious way.

After receiving the letter, Ryan decided to eat first. Harry sat beside him and wolfed down his food.

"By the way, what did you do in Dumbledore's office just now?" Ryan asked Harry beside him. "Some bad news. He told me that I should go back to the Dursleys to live for a while this summer." Harry looked a little depressed.

"Didn't Sirius buy a house next to your aunt's house? It shouldn't be as bad as before, right?" Ryan said in confusion. The current situation is completely different from the original book. After Sirius regained his freedom, he bought a new house near Harry's aunt's house. He will live there to accompany Harry during the summer vacation.

"That's the problem. Last year I knew that I had to live at my aunt's house every year because of my mother's protective magic. Fortunately, with Sirius' company, living there wasn't so difficult to accept. But this year, Professor Dumbledore just told me that Sirius had something to do during this holiday, and I have to live alone at my aunt's house again. This is terrible." Harry said this and poked his steak.

"It's really bad. I'll try to write to you." Ryan patted Harry's shoulder to express his sympathy. Harry's aunt and uncle did raise him, but that was all. In this case, it was normal for Harry to dislike them.

After finishing his meal, Ryan left the table and walked towards the common room, opening the envelope Dumbledore had given him.

The letter was an invitation to him and Hermione, inviting them to visit Sirius's old house at the end of the second week of the holiday. Dumbledore also specifically noted in the letter that he would introduce them to some important people. There was also a small note attached to the letter, but it stated that it could only be opened and read if the invitation was accepted.

"It looks like Dumbledore has an organization of his own." In the common room, Hermione said thoughtfully as she looked at the invitation letter.

"Indeed, I have seen an album of Harry's. There was a photo in it of his parents and a large group of wizards. Later, when I told the twins about this, Fred told me that his family also had an identical photo. Their father once let it slip that Dumbledore had established the Order of the Phoenix to fight against the You-Know-Who. That photo was of the Order of the Phoenix, and it also included their two uncles whom they had never met. Unfortunately, they were both killed by the You-Know-Who in the last war."

"Then this invitation means that Dumbledore wants to recruit new people." Hermione reacted. "According to Professor Dumbledore's personality, it is very likely that he will disband the Order of the Phoenix after the war. It is very normal to choose to absorb new people now that the war has broken out."

After discussing for a while, the two decided to accept the invitation. As Muggle-born wizards, they were destined to have a relationship with Voldemort. Under such circumstances, it would definitely be better to rely on an organization for a while than to fight alone. Besides, according to Dumbledore's character, he would not push students like them to the front line of the battle under normal circumstances. Compared with Voldemort using Malfoy as cannon fodder, Dumbledore was indeed a good leader.

After confirming his acceptance, Ryan opened the note attached to the letter. Inside, a thin note read: "12 Grimmauld Place, London."

"This is--" As soon as they finished reading, the paper curled up and burned. Hermione was startled by this sudden situation.

"This house is protected by a loyal guard, and the secret-keeper is Professor Dumbledore. It seems that he trusts us very much. At least a place that can make Professor Dumbledore the secret-keeper must not be an insignificant place." Ryan smiled to Hermione.

(End of this chapter)