Chapter 68: Filch's Predicament
The night he returned to Hogwarts, Ethan met with the Weasley twins after dinner and gave them the hundred Galleons he had agreed to give them earlier, which he hadn't been able to deliver because Edward couldn't carry that many.
He also showed them a backpack full of Galleons. "These first two hundred Galleons are for developing your products. Use them freely. If you run out while making your products, just ask me for more."
"There's another eight hundred Galleons coming your way after you graduate, to open a shop in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade."
The twins were thrilled. Since enrolling, they had devoted considerable effort to developing prank products.
To that end, they had been studying advanced Alchemy since their first year, dreaming of opening their own joke shop one day.
Now someone was actually offering them investment and hope. How could they not be excited?
Holding the hundred Galleons Ethan had given them and looking at the eight hundred Galleons he showed them, the twins' hearts burned with excitement.
They looked at each other, and Fred said, "Thank you, our dear boss. From now on, we'll work ourselves to the bone for you."
Ethan waved a hand. "It's not that serious. I just think you two have real talent for alchemy. No need to get so worked up.
"Besides, if you really want to thank anyone, thank Hagrid. He told me you often take homemade props into the Forbidden Forest to cause trouble."
"Heh." George grinned sheepishly. Many of their new products were still experimental and couldn't be tested inside the castle, so they turned to the uninhabited Forbidden Forest.
"We'll definitely thank Hagrid properly," Fred said with a wicked grin, though no one could tell what he was plotting.
Ethan zipped up his backpack. "Your call. I'm heading out."
Fred stopped him as he turned to leave. "Wait. We've got some products that aren't finished yet, but we can give them to you to test first. You can give us feedback to help us optimize them."
"Don't call me boss. Just call me Ethan."
"As for these products, I'll give them to Ron, Harry, and the guys in my dorm to try out first. I'll get their feedback on the effects," Ethan corrected them.
"Okay, Ethan. Wait here for a moment. George and I will go get them now." They gave the password and hurried into the Gryffindor common room. Soon they emerged carrying a huge pile of stuff.
"So many!" Ethan said. He thought they were exaggerating a bit.
"Heh, you can pass them around to more people. We still have more up in the dorm that we didn't bring down." Fred looked very proud.
Ethan sighed. "Looks like I really do need to get my hands on a storage item with an Undetectable Extension Charm."
He had looked for this spell in the library before. Perhaps because it was Ministry-restricted, it wasn't in the general collection.
He'd wanted to ask Hagrid to buy one, but Hogsmeade didn't have anything suitable either. Even in Diagon Alley, he'd mostly found camping tents enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm. The handbags and backpacks he wanted simply weren't available.
He couldn't use magic in the corridors, so he had to haul the fireworks, candy, and other supplies himself. With the twins helping to balance the load, he watched his step carefully as they headed toward the dungeons.
Ethan finally reached the dungeons, still weighed down with the goods. He'd just set them down in the dormitory when he smacked his forehead in frustration. Damn! I told them I'd give these to Harry and Ron. Couldn't I have just handed them over at the Gryffindor entrance? I went to all that trouble to bring them back here, and now I have to haul them out again. My mistake. Blame the twins, too; they loaded me down with so much stuff that I completely forgot.
He sighed, packed the items into his backpack the next day, and handed them to Harry and Ron through Hermione.
Ethan didn't particularly enjoy pranks, but most boys couldn't resist them.
Though he'd only given the items to his three dormmates and to Harry and Ron, they soon spread to all the first-years.
Dungbombs and other prank items from Zonko's Joke Shop, purchased through older students, spread through the school as well.
For some time after that, Filch was run off his feet.
The twins' immature joke products and Zonko's Dungbombs went off all over the castle corridors, staining the floors.
Even Mrs. Norris stopped patrolling with Filch. She hated getting her paws dirty.
"Did you throw Dungbombs in the corridor? Was that you?" Filch grabbed a passing Hufflepuff boy, his eyes twitching with agitation.
"No, it wasn't me. I was just passing by!" the boy said, horrified.
"If it wasn't you, then who? You're the only one here!" Having been tormented for days, Filch was eager to punish anyone he caught.
"Mr. Filch, I really don't think it was him. His shoes are muddy, and the footprints lead all the way back to the corridor entrance. He must have just been passing through." Ethan crouched down to pet Mrs. Norris.
"You!" Seeing the young wizard so comfortable with his cat, Filch immediately released the Hufflepuff's robes and marched toward him.
The Hufflepuff shot Ethan a grateful look and quickly fled.
Filch roughly scooped up Mrs. Norris and held her close, preventing Ethan from approaching.
The scrawny cat meowed, struggling to break free from Filch's grip.
Filch's hands clamped down tighter, refusing to let her escape.
Filch's bloodshot eyes widened. "You said it wasn't him. Did you do it?"
Ethan bristled. "Don't go making accusations, Mr. Filch. You just saw me enter the corridor."
"Pah!" Filch glared at him, spat on the ground, then turned and left, clutching Mrs. Norris.
Judging by the direction he went, Filch was probably off to fetch a mop or something to clean the corridor.
Although Ethan disliked Filch too, he felt somewhat guilty about the situation. If he hadn't distributed those prank items, maybe Filch wouldn't be so worked up.
He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then pulled out his wand. "Tergeo!"
The stains in the corridor vanished completely. Ethan nodded, satisfied with the result.
He didn't want Filch to catch him casting spells. There was no telling whether he'd be thanked or get detention.
He walked away quickly without looking back.