Fred, George and Lee Jordan all felt bad instantly when they heard Albert say that there would be guests later.
The people who deserve Albert's special attention and make a trip for it are obviously not those guys who are not presentable, otherwise they can solve the problem themselves.
"It must be the poster of Constipated Ren in the window. I told you that it would attract a lot of hatred." Sana felt that Fred, George and Lee Jordan were too much of a troublemaker. They actually dared to openly joke about the You-Know-Who. It was not surprising that they were targeted by the Death Eaters. Even if they were not Death Eaters, someone might have used the Death Eaters' name to cause trouble for them.
"I don't think those people are that stupid." George didn't think the Death Eaters would dare to trouble them. After all, the Ministry of Magic's base was next door, and the Ministry of Magic was hunting for Death Eaters everywhere. No one would be stupid enough to fall into their trap.
"Some are jealous, some want to cause trouble, some want to get rich, some think this store is a nuisance, and some want to eliminate competitors." Albert's nonchalant tone made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
"How do you know... Oh, right, divination, I almost forgot about this?" Fred glanced at the magic mirror in the corner, and his eyes fell on the Marauder's Map that Albert had just handed over.
"You've been too conspicuous lately. I think you should temporarily close the store and only accept owl mail orders." As soon as Albert finished speaking, Fred and George reacted strongly.
"That's for your safety. Besides, after Hogwarts starts, the business in this store will gradually become quiet. The Defense Against the Dark Arts props are protected by the store next door, and the joke props can be handed over to Zuo Ke. Your work will be much easier and safer by then."
"It seems like you have already taken over Zuo Ke!" Fred couldn't help laughing. It seemed like a good idea to open a branch in Hogsmeade.
"Did you predict something bad?" George frowned slightly. He felt that Albert must have predicted something.
"No, I'm just being safe." Albert shook his head and reminded, "Even if it's divination, it's not omnipotent. It's always better to be careful. Anyway, it won't prevent us from making money."
Albert has recently been trying to use divination to record and eliminate possible troubles in the future and find panel tasks for himself, but he doesn't want others to pin their hopes on him.
It is impossible for people to be perfect, as can be seen from Dumbledore, so they cannot be allowed to rely too much on prophecies.
"Should we go next door and inform the people from the Ministry of Magic?" Shannah looked away from the magic mirror and couldn't help but suggest, "Maybe, we can..."
"There's no one next door anymore." Fred interrupted, shaking his head.
"Can… "
"The Ministry of Magic is not stupid. How could they leave people on guard in Diagon Alley at night?" Lee Jordan curled his lips in disdain. "In fact, patrolling during the day is just a show. It can intimidate those who want to take the opportunity to cause trouble and increase everyone's confidence in the Ministry of Magic. It is useless when there is real trouble."
The so-called crisis response team's actual level is really mediocre, not even comparable to Aurors, no, not even trainee Aurors, Kings has complained about this many times.
"I can handle them by myself." Albert said domineeringly, "Besides, if we don't let them see the opportunity, do you think those bad guests will come to our door on their own initiative? They are not idiots."
"Will it be too dangerous for you to go alone?" Sana said worriedly, "Even if we can't do anything, we should be able to help a little!"
"Are we going to catch them all this time?" Fred asked excitedly.
"Why should we catch them all in one fell swoop? That's the job of the Ministry of Magic. We'd better not steal their jobs. It's enough to teach those evil guests an unforgettable lesson." Albert didn't intend to do a thankless task. The mission only allowed him to protect the "Fun House" and the Defense Against the Dark Arts Props Shop, not to catch all the people in one fell swoop.
As long as they are beaten hard enough, few people will dare to cause trouble for them in the future.
The simplest way was to wait for them to arrive and then throw a few mandrake roots outside, which would surely kill those unsuspecting guys. However, in order to avoid corrupting the morals of the wizarding world, Albert eventually gave up this simplest way, lest others would throw mandrake roots around as weapons in the future.
…
At this moment, in a dilapidated house in Knockturn Alley, a group of cloaked men were meeting urgently.
"Isn't it too hasty?" The person who spoke had a tinge of uneasiness in his tone.
"We can't give them any time to react." The masked and cloaked man warned, "The more people know, the less likely it is to be kept secret."
“I almost didn’t react myself.”
There is no way. No matter how you look at it, the plan is too rushed from formulation to execution.
"That's not the point." Another cloaked man said, "We must not let others suspect us."
"No, I've already made arrangements, and they are all on the Ministry of Magic's wanted list. After this deal is done, I will immediately take Galleon away from England." The person who spoke almost patted his chest to make the promise.
"Why not wait until late at night, or at dawn?"
“That’s what they asked for.”
Everyone here knew very well who "they" referred to, as the Death Eaters had been causing a lot of trouble for the Ministry of Magic recently.
The Death Eaters obviously had a hand in this operation.
Of course, there are also reasons for wanting the Death Eaters to take the blame.
"Do you have anything to say?" Mr. Toller turned his head to look at his son.
"I think the biggest problem is that you overlooked someone!" Kenneth frowned and reminded, "I suspect that the owner of that store is not the Weiss twins at all. They don't have Galleons, and those defense against the dark arts props are not something they can make."
"You mean Albert Anderson?" Mr. Toller frowned slightly. Kenneth had told him about this matter. He saw that his son was very afraid of the guy named Anderson.
"Yes, that store is probably his. Otherwise, with the poverty of the Weiss family, they probably can't even afford the rent of the store. Anderson probably shared the profits with the Weiss brothers and asked them to help out. He liked to do this in school." Kenneth looked at his father and warned: "You have never dealt with Anderson, so you don't know how dangerous he is. He is also a fortune teller."
When Kenneth noticed the murderous look his father gave him, he quickly shut his mouth and didn't dare to say anything here, but he still hoped that his father would give up this stupid plan.
However, this is obviously impossible.
They once tried to manufacture and resell low-quality Defense Against the Dark Arts props, but were blocked by the Ministry of Magic's monopoly, which resulted in a large amount of goods piling up and a lot of debt. If no action was taken, they would probably go bankrupt soon.
How could the Toller family, who have been operating in the gray area for many years, tolerate such a thing
As long as that store disappears, as long as the Ministry of Magic's store disappears, the wizarding world will be in chaos again, and they will naturally be able to easily benefit from it.
Yes, benefits.
If there was no benefit at all, who would be stupid enough to take the risk of becoming Voldemort's minion
All I can say is that everyone gathered here is for their own interests.
Someone is blocking their way to wealth, and they gather here to make the guy who is blocking their way disappear.
"You shouldn't have said those words just now."
After the cloaked men left, Mr. Toller glared at his son in dissatisfaction.
"You shouldn't have put everything on the line." Kenneth frowned and said, "You didn't understand your enemy from the beginning. You didn't understand what kind of guy you were about to face."
"That's enough. I don't want to hear this. Besides, we have no way out." Mr. Toller looked at his son and reminded him expressionlessly, "Kenneth, you have to remember that if you want to make money in the gray area, don't follow the rules. Following the rules will only make you lose miserably."
"If you don't want to go, then stay here."
The Toller family had actually been eyeing the Defense Against the Dark Arts pie for a long time, but the Ministry of Magic's monopoly was too harsh, causing most of the shops and stalls selling inferior Defense Against the Dark Arts props to go bankrupt.
They have no way out.
What's more, no one thinks they will fail.
Because many people hope that the guys who are in the way will disappear and hope to obtain those manufacturing technologies.
Even if the Ministry of Magic investigates it, it was the work of the You-Know-Who's minions. There's even a ready-made excuse: the poster of Constipated Ren in the window, which is simply an insult to the You-Know-Who.
Kenneth Toller frowned and looked at his father, and couldn't help but sigh. He still thought this was a rather stupid thing to do.
Even if tonight's operation is successful and their shops are severely damaged, what will happen
Do you still expect others not to retaliate
If it were someone else, Kenneth wouldn't object, because doing business by the book really doesn't make money.
But the opponent is Albert!
Those dark wizards who were executed a while ago, couldn’t that have given them a damn warning
Executed by Scrimgeour
Maybe.
But Kenneth was sure that it was definitely because of Albert, as could be easily seen from the store.
“Why can’t they see clearly?”
Kenneth sighed heavily as he watched the group of people walk away. He was sure that Albert would find a way to find his father.