About two hours later, the shop owner personally escorted everyone to the door.
The gray-haired old tailor, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, stood under the porch with his hands folded in front of him, bowing so low that his waist almost bent ninety degrees.
His eyes narrowed into two slits, and the corners of his mouth stretched almost to his ears.
"Just as we discussed, deliver them to Hogwarts tomorrow. No problem?"
Draco stood on the steps, one hand in his pocket and the other hanging casually at his side.
"No problem, no problem!"
The shop owner nodded repeatedly.
"I will definitely deliver the robes to Hogwarts on time. You can rest assured, Mr. Malfoy. You can trust the reputation of our Gladrags Wizardwear. I will personally oversee the fabric, the workmanship, and the embroidery of every single piece. I absolutely won't let you down."
His voice was fast and urgent, as if he were afraid that if he spoke too slowly, Draco would change his mind.
An order this large was something he might not come across once in several years.
Although Gladrags Wizardwear was quite famous, it mostly dealt with individual customers.
A student coming in for a school robe today.
A wizard coming in for a traveling cloak tomorrow.
And a couple coming in for wedding robes the day after.
An order for dozens of robes at once, like today, was something he could count on one hand in all his years of running the shop.
At this moment, the shop owner wanted nothing more than to treat them like his ancestors.
Let alone delivering them tomorrow, even if he were asked to deliver them tonight, he would have to agree first and figure it out later.
At worst, he simply wouldn't sleep tonight and would work through the night, pushing the orders of other customers back a bit.
"Very well."
Draco nodded, his gaze falling on Lynn.
"Then we'll head back first, Lynn."
"Mm."
Lynn responded and waved at them.
Lynn watched the backs of the three disappear around the street corner, his mind unconsciously turning to another person.
Draco's father—
Lucius Malfoy.
Since the last time he had sent Lynn Lord Voldemort's location, Lucius had not sent any more messages.
Lynn flipped through his call logs.
The last time he had contacted Lucius was several months ago.
If Draco hadn't still been attending school normally, Lynn would have even suspected that Lucius had met an untimely end.
Cedric stood nearby, watching the three Slytherins walk away, then pulled his Magic Phone from his pocket and checked the time.
His brow furrowed slightly.
"Sorry, Lynn, Fred, and George."
He put the Magic Phone away and looked up, an apologetic expression on his face.
"I don't think I can accompany you to rent the shop. The team has a practice match to play."
Lynn glanced at him.
"It's not against the Ravenclaw team again, is it?" he asked.
Cedric's gaze began to wander.
Looking left.
Looking right.
Looking at the sky above.
Anywhere but at Lynn.
Looking at him like that, Lynn knew he had guessed correctly without needing an answer.
"Tsk—"
Lynn had just opened his mouth and hadn't even finished the first syllable.
Cedric had already run off.
As long as I can't hear it, Lynn isn't mocking me.
—Cedric.
...
Five minutes later, Lynn followed the twins to the front of a shop.
The location of this shop wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad either.
It was in an alley behind the main street, only a few dozen paces away.
The foot traffic certainly couldn't compare to the shops on the main street, but the advantage was that the rent was cheap.
The shop door was made of dark wood, with a few shallow scratches on the panels, likely from being bumped while moving things.
A sign hung above the door frame, its lettering faded, barely allowing one to make out the words "XX Shop."
Fred and George stood at the entrance, looking up at the sign with solemn expressions.
Lynn followed the twins as they pushed the door open and walked inside.
The shop floor was not small.
Upon entering, there was a rectangular space large enough to fit about a dozen display cases and a counter.
Farther in, there was another door, likely leading to a small warehouse or office.
Beyond that door, one could vaguely see a small courtyard with a single tree of unknown species, its bare branches reaching toward the sky.
Lynn looked around, his mind automatically beginning to estimate.
Display cases could go here.
The checkout counter could go there.
Samples could be hung on the walls.
After all, most of the items sold in a joke shop were small and didn't require much display space.
Moreover, the biggest advantage of this shop wasn't the space itself, but the location.
It was close to the main street, close to Honeydukes, and close to the Three Broomsticks.
Foot traffic was guaranteed.
Just as he was thinking this, a voice came from behind the inner door.
"Coming, coming—"
After a burst of hurried footsteps, a middle-aged man emerged from behind the door.
He looked to be about the same age as Lucius Malfoy, in his forties, but shorter and rounder than Lucius.
His eyes were very small, and his gaze swept over Fred, George, and Lynn before stopping on Fred's face.
"Mr. Weasley?" he asked tentatively.
Fred nodded.
"That's me."
The shop owner's smile deepened.
He stepped forward quickly and shook Fred's hand.
"So?"
His voice was fast and urgent.
"My place is high quality and low price, isn't it? I told you long ago, those shops on the main street are all scams. The rent is ridiculously high, and the location isn't even that much better."
He paused, took a deep breath, and then, as if having made a firm decision, said, "If you've decided, we can sign the contract right now."
Lynn raised an eyebrow, looking at Fred and George, then back at the shop owner.
Was this shop owner in such a hurry?
Lynn discreetly moved a few steps to the side, pretending to examine a crack in the wall.
His fingers lightly brushed the wand in his robe pocket, his mind already calculating.
Was there something wrong with this shop?
He looked around, his gaze sweeping from the walls to the floor, from the floor to the ceiling, and from the ceiling to the door leading to the courtyard.
No traces of hexes.
No lingering curses.
It was just an ordinary, slightly old shop in a decent location.
How strange.
Lynn withdrew his gaze, deciding to wait and see.
Fred clearly sensed the shop owner's eagerness as well.
His expression didn't change, still wearing that same grinning look.
"No rush. We think the price can be discussed further."
The shop owner's tone faltered, and the smile on his face froze.
"That's still high?!"
His voice rose slightly.
"I've already dropped it to eighty percent of the market price! Eighty percent! Go ask around, which shop in Hogsmeade can give you this price? Those shops on the main street would be lucky not to double it for you!"
Fred remained unmoved.
"Brother."
George spoke up, his voice not loud, but enough for the shop owner to hear.
"Wouldn't it be better if we kept this money as pocket money? Why do we have to open a shop?"
Fred seemed to be swayed.
His brow furrowed.
"That's true," he said, his tone carrying a hint of hesitation. "But opening a shop has been my dream since I was little."
George sighed.
"Dreams have to be realistic too."
He spread his hands.
"The money we have is only enough to rent it for eighty percent of the current price."
Creak—
The shop owner gritted his teeth.
If he couldn't tell these two boys were putting on a double act, he would have lived all these years for nothing.
But he had no choice.
He needed to rent this shop out quickly so he could make his getaway.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"Eighty percent it is."
The words were squeezed out from between his teeth.
"It can't be any lower."
Fred and George exchanged a look.
"Sign the contract," they said in unison.
The shop owner pulled a prepared piece of parchment from under the counter and spread it on the table.
Fred picked up the quill, read it from beginning to end, and then handed it to George.
George also read it through and then nodded.
The two took turns signing their names.
The shop owner also signed his name, then took a seal from a drawer and stamped it at the end of the parchment.
The moment the seal landed, a faint golden light shimmered on the parchment.
The magic contract was now in effect.
Fred folded the contract and tucked it into his pocket.
George pulled a cloth bag from his pocket and placed it on the counter.
The shop owner picked up the bag, opened it, took a look, and then nodded.
"The shop is yours now. I'm leaving."
Having said that, he didn't even wait for a reaction and simply ran out at a quick pace.
Lynn: ????
...
Just as the twins were celebrating successfully renting their first shop—
Ding—
A crisp notification sound from a Magic Phone broke the silence.
Fred and George both looked at Lynn.
Lynn pulled his Magic Phone from his pocket.
It was a new message.
Message Notification: From your friend—Platinum Gentleman. Lucius.
Lynn tapped the message to read it.
[Several Death Eaters have gone to Hogsmeade to find Karkaroff.]
A location link was attached below.
Lynn's brow furrowed.
Karkaroff?
What was he doing in Hogsmeade?
He tapped the link Lucius had sent.
Why did this location look so familiar?
"Wait! Isn't this—"
Before Lynn could finish his sentence—
"Ahhh—!!!"
A sharp, piercing scream came from outside.
"Help!"
"It's the Dark Mark!"
"You-Know-Who really is back!"
"Quick! Call the Aurors!"
"There's no time! Just run!"
"Someone help me!"
Lynn stood at the door, looking at the green light in the sky, and fell silent for a second.
Then he turned around and looked at Fred and George behind him.
"You two head back first. Inform Professor McGonagall and tell her to strengthen the castle's security."
"What about you?" Fred asked.
Lynn didn't answer.
He stuffed his Magic Phone into his pocket, drew his wand from his sleeve, and gripped it in his hand.
"I'm going to kill that bastard!"
With that, he didn't wait for them to respond.
He kicked off with both feet and soared directly into the sky.
---
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