"The shop is operating as usual, while also working at the Ministry of Magic..." Ron couldn't help saying, "Doesn't that mean they can have two paychecks?"
"That's right."
Mrs. Weasley said, "House-elves don't need salaries... Although when Kael discussed this with me, I suggested giving them some money, like we did with Dobby before, but this time the little elves acted as if they heard something terrifying and kept banging their heads against the wall.
So Kael proposed candy instead of a salary."
Ron couldn't laugh anymore, he bit into a beef pie like it was a lemon... very sour.
But nobody cared about his feelings, Fred and George sat back in their chairs with a sense of despondence.
No wonder Kael and Cedric made them choose black jackets on the train, no wonder they laughed so happily back then.
Now everything makes sense.
They thought about struggling, but Kael seemed to have blocked all the roads. If they didn't go to the Ministry of Magic, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes wouldn't open, which they couldn't accept.
"Well, it's only two months, right?" Fred slammed the table, "We're doing it!"
The only conscience Kael had was probably not keeping them at the Ministry the whole time. It's not yet July, two months later is just the end of August, in time for the busiest season before school starts.
If not for this, they wouldn't agree no matter what.
"Actually, you guys don't have to be mad." Tonks suddenly said, "The job is actually not bad, many people are fighting to get in..."
"But that doesn't include us." Fred muttered.
"No, you guys..."
"Tonks." Kingsley suddenly spoke, cutting her off.
"I'm just saying one sentence." Tonks shrugged, "Aren't you opening a shop that's not like Zonko's Joke Shop? Working there will be helpful to you, you can gain experience... Okay, Kingsley, I won't say anymore, don't stare at me like that."
The next second, Fred and George seemed to realize something, but Tonks stopped talking.
"Oh, and this."
Mrs. Weasley took out a piece of parchment.
"Oh, Mum, what's this now." George was getting a bit anxious seeing parchment.
"It's the inventory list of your store." Mrs. Weasley said.
Because Fred and George were about to enter the Ministry of Magic, her resistance to the joke shop they opened seemed to have lessened.
"Kael added quite a few items for you, right at the end, he also said that if you insist on not going to the Ministry of Magic, I should cross them out.
"Now it seems there's no need for that."
The two took the parchment and leaned in to look.
Marauder's Map
Warm-Up Badge
Automatic Ink Quill
....
About a dozen kinds, all little inventions Kael researched at Hogwarts, all quite popular.
"He gave these to us?" George widened his eyes.
"You have to share some profit with Kael," Mrs. Weasley said seriously, "We can't take someone's things for free."
"Alright, I was just saying..."
"Don't worry, Mum, we won't."
Fred and George looked at the parchment, and their fury subsided a bit...
This is the real good stuff, it must be said that Kael's inventions are quite popular, definitely helping their store quickly gain attention.
Take the map, for example... an automatic pathfinding map, though it can't show everyone's names, in other aspects, it's almost as good as the Marauder's Map.
They believe that not a single new student who walks into the shop would miss such a good thing.
But even so, they can't just forgive Kael, at most when punching him... they'll punch one less.
"Mum." Fred bit into a pie viciously, "We left something at home, can we go back to Ottery St Catchpole tomorrow?"
"That's right, something very important." George narrowed his eyes.
"You can, but quickly." Mrs. Weasley nodded, "Don't forget you have to go to the Ministry of Magic in the morning, on your first day you always want to leave a good impression, being late wouldn't be good."
"Ah, we'll be quick." Fred bit into the pie again as if the pie was someone.
....