I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 479 The Weasley Joke Shop

The group entered the shop, which was full of customers.

Students who had come to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies are now all gathered here, crowding in front of the shelves, taking out their pocket money to buy Fred and George joke merchandise.

To the left of the shop, cardboard boxes were piled up to the ceiling. These were quick-acting truancy candies developed by the twins in their last year before dropping out of Hogwarts. The most popular one was nosebleed nougat, and only one box remained on the shelf, now flattened. There were also several boxes of magic wands, the cheapest of which could turn into a rubber chicken or pants with a single wave, while the most expensive one would give the user a beating on the neck and head if they weren't careful.

There are also boxes of quill pens, including automatic inkjet, spell check, and quick-response quiz pens.

"They've been spending all their time at home producing these things," Ron remarked.

"But we still have someone to help us," Hermione said, glancing at Owen.

"I'll just provide the ideas."

As the crowd pushed and shoved, Ron and Harry surged toward the counter on the other side, where a group of children around ten years old were excitedly watching a small wooden figure slowly climb the steps toward a realistic gallows.

Both items were on top of a box, which was labeled: Reusable Executioner, Hang Him If He Can't Spell It. The executioner is a Scrabble toy, usually consisting of a gallows and a small figure. If a player makes a certain mistake in spelling, the figure will be put on the gallows and executed.

"Patented product: Daydream Curse".

Hermione finally managed to squeeze to the front of the counter, where a huge display case held brightly colored pictures: a handsome young man and a stunningly beautiful girl were lying on a cloud, surrounded by a sky full of stars.

"By simply reciting a spell, you can enter a high-quality, incredibly realistic 30-minute daydream, suitable for use in a regular school class. It's easy to do and absolutely undetectable. (Side effects include a blank expression and slight drooling.) Not sold to children under the age of sixteen."

"Interesting, is there such a spell?" Hermione said with great interest. She planned to buy one and analyze the mechanism of the spell.

She was surrounded by many boys and girls.

Everyone stared intently at the painting.

"Oh my God, this spell is absolutely amazing!" said one of the wizards.

"It's more effective than a love spell. I want to buy one," said a witch.

"I want to, I want to go on a date with someone," a boy said shyly. However, his friends didn't laugh at him, probably because they all wanted to date the same person.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry squeezed in, "Hmm—this witch, why does she look a bit like you?"

He pointed to the pictures in the cabinet.

"What?" Hermione paused for a moment, then examined the painting carefully. "It does look a little bit like it."

"Oh my god—it's Hermione."

"Hermione Granger?"

The little wizard next to him was in an uproar, and everyone then noticed that the famous Star Maiden was right next to him.

Thanks to the starfall over Berlin a week ago, Hermione's name has once again become a hot topic among wizards throughout Britain. Although the Muggle photos did not show the wizard casting the spell on the stars, everyone still assumed that it must be Hermione.

The wizard who had just wanted to buy the Daydream Charm immediately blushed. He was right next to Hermione, stammering and unable to speak.

"Hi—" George walked over at that moment.

He pushed aside the infatuated girls standing nearby.

He said to Hermione, "Sorry, this curse won't sell you and Owen."

"Huh?" Hermione turned to look at him. "Why?"

"Why?" Fred walked over and said, "Daydream curse, daydream! What daydreams are there for you two winners in life?"

"But—" Hermione wanted to argue.

"No sale means no sale," George said firmly. "That's our policy. This product is only sold to single people aged sixteen and over. Thank you."

"single?"

"Of course. What else would they buy it for?" Fred pointed to the boys and girls next to Hermione, who were all blushing and didn't dare to look him in the eye.

"Disgusting." Ginny walked up behind Fred, holding a dwarf cattail in her hands.

"What is this?" she asked.

“It’s not disgusting at all, okay? Daydreaming is everyone’s freedom!” Fred said. “Dwarf Pu, two Galleons.”

"It's still disgusting!" Ginny said with a look of disgust. "It's so expensive, couldn't you give me a discount?"

"It's like you have two Galleons," Fred continued. "Ron, it's on your head!" He said to Ron, who was standing with Koyatl in front of a glass display case with a bunch of flowers.

It's a magical thing; the roses in the flowerpot will slowly wither, and the fallen petals will suddenly grow into new ones.

"Okay." Ron didn't even look up.

A moment later, he realized what was happening.

"Hey—that's your sister!" he shouted at Fred.

"Two Galleons!" Fred said.

"We have to pay for what we buy?"

"Two Galonnaise!"

"Damn greedy bastard!" Ron yelled, cursing as he made a universally recognized hand gesture at Fred.

Fred didn't seem to care at all. He shrugged and looked at Owen, who was standing next to a row of bright pink products.

"You still need this kind of thing?"

"You don't know anything," Irving said without batting an eye. "Do you even understand the little pleasures of life?"

Love potions don't create love; they create a feeling of attachment. If the man and woman already love each other, the potion can amplify that feeling and make it last a very long time.

Do you need a lubricant in your mundane life?

This product shouldn't be sold to young wizards who don't yet have boyfriends or girlfriends, but rather to married couples.

Because it can safeguard the relationship between two people, and the seven-year itch will never occur.

Irving stepped forward and whispered to Fred for a moment.

The other party's eyes lit up immediately.

"Oh—you're simply a genius, Owen," Fred said.

"I know, I'm a genius."

"Take whatever you like in the store, since you own a share anyway. Oh, by the way," he suddenly whispered, "this batch of 'Wonder Witch' products has a 24-hour effect. We haven't tested it on couples who are already in love yet, so remember to tell us the duration." Fred gave him a knowing look.

They heard that Irving could take it whenever he wanted.

Ginny immediately became unhappy.

"Ron has helped you a lot, why are you still taking money from him?"

"Hmm?" George pulled himself away from the crowd of customers. "I didn't know you and Ron were this close?"

"And another thing, this Daydream Charm of yours is disgusting. Don't you know what those guys are going to do with it?" Ginny added.

"This is our invention; I can sell it to whomever I want. What do you say, Owen? How about our Daydream Spell?"

"Huh?" Owen looked up and glanced at the display case next to Hermione. "An invention even greater than the Killing Curse. With this spell, you two will definitely go down in history and be forever recorded in the annals of magic."

"Owen! You—" Ginny looked at him in disbelief.

"I know what you're thinking," Owen said. "I didn't say anything, why are you so angry? Are you afraid someone will date Harry in a dream?" He brushed a stray hair from his forehead. "There's no way to avoid this. Besides, Harry in the dream is part of the caster's own consciousness; it's like dating yourself."

"and"

Right next to Owen, a group of excited girls chattered and laughed incessantly. Their eyes were burning as they examined the Love Potion and the Daydream Charm display case in the distance, and they would occasionally look up and steal a glance at him.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Daydream Curse, quite a few young wizards were secretly observing him, regardless of gender.

"I think your worries are completely unnecessary."

"."

Ginny took it all in, and when she looked at Owen again, her gaze held a newfound sympathy.

"Besides, your thoughts are too filthy."

Owen said in a serious tone, "This spell is clearly a magic tool for involution. You cast it on yourself before going to sleep at night and then review what you learned that day in your dreams. That's the proper use, okay?"

"They're all so young, yet they're always thinking about those lewd things. Is Hogwarts just for matchmaking?"

The young wizards around him blushed deeply.

Ginny was also a little confused, but after a moment she realized that this spell could indeed be used for things like reading.

Hermione, who happened to be walking by, was immediately struck by a bright light.

What a powerful spell.

She can use it.

"Alright, stop thinking about it, Miss Granger." Just as Hermione began to imagine the full effects of draining the spell, Owen immediately interrupted, "Dreaming all the time will affect your sleep quality."

"Heh—" The twins let out a disdainful snort. These two guys in front of them were increasingly disregarding others, constantly showing off their affection, which was infuriating.

"Stop—you two, go home and keep your lovey-dovey stuff," Fred interrupted them, then continued, "Now let's talk about something really good."

He led the young wizards deeper into the shop.

"Take a look at this." Fred took a hat from the shelf beside him. "We call this the Scout Hat. When you wear it, if a Ministry of Magic wanted criminal appears where the hat can see, it will warn you. Of course, you can hear the warning, so it won't alert them at all."

It was a very ordinary wizard's hat, and there was no difference in appearance.

"How wide is the recognition range?"

"Three hundred meters!" Fred said.

"Oh wow! That's really good, all-around? But the view is blocked by buildings?" Owen asked again.

"No. We've added a spyoscope function."

"That's great! It must be very profitable, right?"

"They can make three Galleons on a single hat, it's practically robbery! Our cost is less than eight Silver Sickles. The Ministry of Magic bought five hundred hats for all their staff a while ago, and they're still receiving large orders."

"Wow, we've struck it rich!" Irving exclaimed.

"That's not all." George retrieved another cloak, indistinguishable from a regular cloak in appearance. "A high-grade protective cloak, with a complete set of ancient runes inside, made from dragon hide. It can withstand all low-level spells and curses below the Shattering Curse. It can also block six spells above the Shattering Curse. We've tested it, and it even has considerable defensive power against some dark magic."

"Ugh!"

"The price is eight Galleons. The cost is a bit higher, but Charlie has inside connections and can sell us the dragon skins cheaper, but it still takes three Galleons to make one."

"There are also curse-resistant gloves and boots over there, with runes on them," Fred said happily. "They're not very effective against the Unforgivable Curse, but they'll do well against minor spells and curses..."

"In addition to the protective clothing line, we also made invisibility smoke grenades. The smoke material is imported from Peru. These things are very useful. They don't need to be lit. If you want to get away quickly, they are very convenient to use. Just slam them to the ground," George continued.

"And then there are our decoy bombs, a brand new product that just came off the shelves. Look—" Fred pointed to a bunch of strange-looking, black owl-like things that looked like they were ready to run away at any moment. "Just throw one out secretly, and it will dart away quickly, making a loud noise, and distract people when you need it."

Gemini's products are extremely profitable.

Especially given the current situation.

What Irving was curious about was whether they would have enough time to produce it.

If we let them produce them one by one, it would take forever.

Faced with Irving's doubts.

George and Fred smiled slightly. "We've learned from the advanced experience of the Muggles."

"What experience?"

"Assembly line!" they said.

"Underneath the shops in Hogsmeade Village, there is one of our magical factories. We have hired many house-elves to produce goods, each responsible for a single part of a product, which are then assembled together. This way, the production speed is many times faster."

"."

Upon hearing this, Miss Granger's expression immediately changed.

Irving also sighed softly.

"It's true what they say, they don't learn the good things, but they learn the bad things very easily," he said.

"What's wrong?" George and Fred asked, puzzled. They had expected to receive Owen's approval.

"Although assembly line production greatly improves production efficiency, in essence, it is a cruel form of capitalist exploitation of the working class. When a worker no longer occupies the entire production process, his influence on the means of production will be reduced to the minimum, and he will become a replaceable part. Of course, the ultimate goal of capital is to completely drive workers out of the factory. They will constantly pursue fully automated production and completely crush this class." Owen spoke with a lot of profound terms, and the little wizards beside him all looked confused, completely not understanding what he meant by these internal crises.

"Forget it. The magical world is still in the feudal aristocracy era. A little capitalism would be a step forward."

"I'm afraid that decades from now, wizards will turn to cyberpunk."

"Well, well." Realizing he'd said a bit too much, Owen changed the subject, "Just remember to pay your house-elves. Don't let them degenerate into slave owners instead of becoming capitalists."

"Oh—of course—although they were unwilling to accept it, we still paid each elf a monthly salary of ten silver shiko."

"Ten silver siecos?!" Hermione was shocked, after all, the profit from each item here could be several gallons.

"Let us go, Hermione." The twins immediately surrendered. "If there are any more, they won't want to come to our factory anymore."

"Hmph—I'll investigate their working conditions and all their benefits." The little witch glared and said angrily, which made Owen, who was standing to the side, genuinely happy. Look—this is the spark.

-

I spent an hour in the Gemini store.

The little wizard had just left.

This time, they did not encounter Malfoy and his mother.

They also did not go to Knockturn Alley to encounter the Death Eaters discussing how to repair the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts.

After all, the magical world has undergone tremendous changes.

Voldemort's ideas could not possibly continue in the same way as in the original story.

In the new semester, his main goal should still be to seize the Outer God's magic in the Tower of Gods; Hogwarts is not in his plans.

This year will be a rather uneventful one, at least at school.

I stayed in the humble abode for another week.

During this time, Owen bought a lot of things, mostly nice clothes; he hadn't bought Hermione any casual clothes like this in a long time.

The situation outside remains chaotic, but it is much better than in the previous weeks.

Bill still writes home to tell his parents about his situation, although most of the letters are comforting. The fact that he has time to write indirectly proves that the problems outside are not too serious.

Time passed little by little.

Finally, summer vacation is over.

The young wizards packed their bags in advance, and their departure the next morning went much more smoothly than usual.

When the Ministry of Magic's car arrived at the Burrow, they were already waiting there—this wasn't originally going to happen, but after the Berlin incident, Rufus Scrimgeour had taken notice of them, and Miss Granger's reputation was starting to surpass Harry's.

In the living room, all of Hermione's belongings were in Owen's bag.

Hedwig, Ron's owl-pig, and Ginny's new purple dwarf Pua-Nan from Fred and George are all safely kept in their cages.

After loading everything into the car.

Two unfamiliar Aurors were responsible for picking them up. Owen didn't recognize them, as they didn't appear in the original story, but Mr. Arthur did; the two even exchanged safe words.

The car continued forward, and as soon as it stopped in front of King's Cross Station, two stern-faced Aurors dressed in black Muggle suits, wearing sunglasses, and with stern expressions stepped forward without saying a word, flanking them as they entered the station.

(End of this chapter)