“I feel like I’m going crazy!”
Sirius threw aside the rag in his hand and sat down on the chair. They had been cleaning number 12, Grimmauld Place for several days, and it took a lot of effort to clean up the large amount of dust, cobwebs and mess.
However, not even one room has been thoroughly cleaned yet, and it is not easy to make this place habitable.
Sometimes magic is not as practical as imagined, especially when dealing with a house that has not been cleaned in more than ten years. Even if they use a rag to wipe carefully, it is difficult to wipe everything clean thoroughly. Many stubborn molds require them to wipe slowly and with great effort.
"Don't be lazy, Sirius. Think about Harry. If you want to bring Harry to live with you at 12 Grimmauld Place, you have to clean this place up." Lupin frowned at Sirius, who looked listless. He had guessed that his patience was running out. Most wizards were not good at handling housework, and usually preferred to use magic to solve problems.
"I will give Harry a new home, but you have to let me rest first!" Sirius poured himself a glass of butter beer, took a sip, and changed the subject, "Did you return the Galleons to him?"
"Mr. Anderson has been awarded the Order of Merlin, third class. I don't think he needs my cooperation in testing the spell anymore." Lupin sighed softly, "Besides, I felt from the beginning that he gave too much."
"He just gave you some of the 5,000 Galleons he got from me." Sirius drank the butterbeer in the cup, glared at the sneaky shadow outside the door, used his wand to close the wooden door, and continued: "Of course, it is undeniable that the guy is very powerful and generous. He was able to get the Order of Merlin, Third Class, for himself when he was a minor. He is really an amazing guy. I think some guys will probably be furious!"
"I heard that he has won the International Wizard Chess Championship and the Magic School Potions Championship." Lupin was also very shocked when he first learned these things. "Mr. Anderson gave me the illusion that I saw Professor Dumbledore when he was young."
"Tell me about Harry, is that smart little girl he was with last time his girlfriend?" Sirius was obviously more interested in his godson.
"No, Harry and Hermione should just be good friends." Lupin reminded helplessly: "Besides, they are only a few years old."
"I remember James started to like Lily when he was very young." Sirius recalled, "I remember on the train. Well, you probably don't know, we were in the same carriage at the time, and later, James and Snape had some unpleasant conflicts."
"Lily was in the same compartment with Snape. I think James started to be interested in Lily around that time."
"Later, you know, James's clever head seemed to rust whenever Lily was around?"
"Becoming stupid," Lupin added with a smile.
"Yes, that's right." Sirius has been reminiscing about the interesting things about his old friend recently. "They are still young now, maybe when they grow up, they may be together."
"Perhaps."
"By the way, what have you thought about opening a store?" While speaking, Sirius jumped to another topic.
"So what kind of store do you think we should open?" When talking about opening a store, Lupin frowned and asked, "Is your personality really suitable for opening a store? And can you really make money by opening a store? You can't keep losing money, right?"
"Tell me what you think!" Sirius said nonchalantly.
"The last time I wrote to Albert, I mentioned the matter of opening a shop and he gave me two suggestions," Lupin said suddenly.
"What suggestions?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Open a gourmet shop in Hogsmeade, selling exclusively to Hogwarts students, provided that you are interested in all kinds of gourmet food, drinks and sweets, or have a house-elf who is good at this." Lupin smiled bitterly, "He thinks this should be able to make us a lot of money, and he has a way to help us solve most of the problems, but he will be busier at night."
"What's the second suggestion?" Sirius frowned and asked. To be honest, he had no talent for cooking.
At least, it had been a long time since Sirius had used the kitchen.
"The second way is to publish a magazine, a magazine suitable for Hogwarts students to buy." Lupin continued, "And set up a radio station of our own. He didn't say the specific plan, but Anderson said that we might need to use this thing to spread our voice in the future."
"What do you mean?" Sirius felt that there was something else behind this.
"I don't know." Lupin shook his head.
"Which one do you think is more suitable?" Sirius asked.
To be honest, Sirius didn't like either of these two proposals, but if the two wanted to open a shop, he would undoubtedly need to make some compromises and help his old friend get a suitable job.
Lupin shook his head and said nothing. He didn't think Sirius was capable of doing these jobs. His old friend just wanted to give him some money to help him open a shop, that's all.
"We can talk to him again then." Sirius said, "Mr. Anderson has no prejudice against you."
At this time, a snow-white owl flew in from the window.
"It's a letter from Harry." Sirius recognized Harry's Hedwig at a glance. They had been in touch through letters every few days recently.
"What's in the letter?" asked Lupin.
"Harry asked me when I was going to pick him up and told me that the Weasleys had invited him to the Quidditch World Cup."
Sirius looked at the surroundings, sighed softly, and said to himself: "I suddenly feel that I am a very incompetent godfather."
"Don't say that, you just haven't gotten used to your role yet." Lupin comforted softly.
"No, I've messed everything up." Sirius was a little discouraged. "I should try to get some tickets for the Quidditch World Cup first. I need two, three, or five tickets. I also need to invite Harry's friends. I haven't thanked Crookshanks properly yet."
"Mr. Anderson said he didn't need it anymore. He mentioned this in his letter to me. A friend gave him several tickets to the Quidditch World Cup." Lupin suddenly said, remembering something, "He seemed to have guessed that I was helping you clean, so he asked me to tell you."
"Forget it, let's first determine how many tickets we need, and then go get the tickets for the Quidditch World Cup." Sirius looked at Lupin and said, "We can go to the World Cup in advance. It's still a long time before the full moon anyway. Don't refuse, or I'll be embarrassed to ask you to help me clean the house."
"Okay." Lupin hesitated for a moment and had to accept Black's kindness.
…
"How is the recruitment at the Ministry of Magic going?" Mrs. Weasley looked at her son expectantly.
"Very successful. I have entered the Department of International Magical Cooperation of the Ministry of Magic and have been appreciated by Mr. Crouch." Percy proudly announced the good news to everyone.
With his impressive resume, there were many departments in the Ministry of Magic willing to recruit him, but Percy finally chose to trust Albert's judgment and joined the Department of International Magical Cooperation of the Ministry of Magic.
Of course, Percy did not make the choice blindly. Barty Crouch, the director of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation, was a very capable person who liked to get things done. The chances of promotion would be greater if he followed such a person.
As it turned out, Crouch quickly looked at his resume and selected himself to be his assistant, even though he couldn't even remember his own name.
"That's very good." Mrs. Weasley was pleased with this.
"Oh, congratulations Percy, the boring office life will always accompany you." Fred and George each patted Percy's shoulders to express their congratulations.
"Shut up and go away," Percy said impatiently.
"If only you two could give me a break like Percy did."
Mrs. Weasley glared at her son with dissatisfaction, as he was a troublesome person. She was disappointed with Fred and George's OWLs results. Each of them only passed five subjects, and they passed very barely at that.
"What's so good about working in the Ministry of Magic?" Fred curled his lips in disdain and said, "Albert never wanted to work in the Ministry of Magic."
"He is he and you are you," said Mrs. Weasley angrily.
"He is a genius and a master of prophecy. He can predict things more accurately than anyone else. If the Ministry of Magic is really that good, why doesn't Albert want to work in the Ministry of Magic?" Fred retorted, "George and I don't want to work in the Ministry of Magic. We don't want to face boring offices for the rest of our lives."
"Don't talk back." Weasley said, his hands on his hips.
"In fact, many people say that if Albert joins the Ministry of Magic after graduation, he can become the Minister of Magic in ten years at most." George said suddenly, "But he just doesn't want to join the Ministry of Magic. Some even predicted that the Ministry of Magic would collapse in a few years.
"Who predicted the fall of the Ministry of Magic?" Ginny just came down from upstairs and looked at Mrs. Weasley and asked, "When will Charlie and Bill come back?"
"They wrote back, probably in August." Mrs. Weasley turned and looked at Fred and George and asked, "If you don't work at the Ministry of Magic, what do you plan to do in the future?"
"We want to open a joke shop." Fred and George said in unison, "That's our dream. We decided a long time ago to open a joke shop after graduation. You and Dad don't have to worry about us."
"Do you want to piss me off to death?" Mrs. Weasley yelled.
"What's wrong with opening a shop?" Fred and George complained unhappily. "We have our own ideals, our own wishes, and the life we want. We don't want to go to the Ministry of Magic or live that boring life. Our lives are decided by ourselves."
"I'd like to see how you plan to open your shop." Mrs. Weasley stormed off.
"Don't worry, once we make money, Mom will naturally stop objecting." Fred noticed Ginny's gaze and shrugged. "As Albert said, I'll use facts and Galleons to shut you up."
"This is a very realistic thing. Mum is just a bit rigid in her thinking. She thinks that a job in the Ministry of Magic is more stable." George said self-deprecatingly, "Who would refuse if they could live a better life? What's more, the Ministry of Magic is about to collapse."
"Who made that prophecy about the fall of the Ministry of Magic?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Of course Albert," Fred and George said in unison.
"Can he really predict the future?" Ginny had also heard the rumor.
"Of course, if you want to make money, this Quidditch World Cup is a good opportunity. Albert has agreed to help predict the outcome of the last game. You will definitely make a lot of money if you bet with us then." Fred said with a smile.
"Remember to take me with you when you come." Ron came down from the stairs and said to the twins.
"No gambling." Mrs. Weasley looked at her sons angrily.
"Mom, this is a great opportunity to make a fortune. Albert has never lost a bet." Ron complained, "You don't know how many Galleons Fred and George have made by following him."
"No gambling!" Mrs. Weasley said word by word.
"This isn't gambling, it's a sure win." Ron muttered.
"What did you say?"
Mrs. Weasley glared at her son, each of them giving him no peace of mind.
"Nothing. By the way, Mom, Harry just wrote to me. He seems to be in some trouble." Ron quickly changed the subject and told Fred and George to take him along when it came to the betting issue.
"What's the problem?" Mrs. Weasley was successfully diverted.
"Well, it seems that the son of Harry's uncle wants to lose weight, so the whole family is going on a diet. Can you help Harry prepare some food so that he won't go hungry?"
"Oh, no problem, I'll prepare some mincemeat for Harry tonight." Mrs. Weasley went back to the kitchen to solidify the food in the pot.
"lose weight?"
Fred and George had strange expressions on their faces: "Albert always tried to make his cat lose weight, but it just kept getting fatter."
"Tom is very cute." Ginny also touched Tom. She looked up at Fred and George and asked, "By the way, when are you going to open a store? That will definitely require some money."
"No, they already have a lot of money to open a shop." Ron said sourly, "Harry mentioned to me that Albert gave them 10% of the Galleons he got from Black."
"One percent...how much?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Five hundred Galleons."
"Say it again, how much?" Percy's eyes almost bulged out.
"Five hundred Galleons per person," George said, "So, we don't have to worry about opening a store at all."
"How is it possible? How is it possible?" Percy muttered, "Why would Black give Albert 5,000 Galleons?"
"Why not? Albert had been eyeing Black for a long time, and was planning to take us to capture him for the bounty." George glanced at Mrs. Weasley who was eavesdropping in the corner, and continued, "Later, after investigation, we found a lot of unreasonable things, so we didn't take action against Black when he broke into Hogwarts."
"You mean he realized it when Black broke into Hogwarts on Halloween," Percy asked incredulously.
"Of course, Albert is a prophet, and it's easy for him to predict when Sirius Black will appear." Fred said proudly, "Black is just a money bag in his eyes."
"Later, Albert reached an agreement with someone to help Black restore his reputation, and Black paid a sum of Galleons as a reward." George said as a matter of course, "Otherwise, why do you really think Sirius was able to restore his reputation so smoothly?"
"So, you are all rich people now?" Ginny was also shocked by Albert's generosity. It was a thousand Galleons, and he gave it to him right away.
"I'll leave my dress to you," Ron asked.
"We'd like to buy you a new suit, but those Galleons are all in Albert's vault. That money will be used as start-up capital for the joke shop in the future." George shrugged, with an expression that said there was nothing he could do. "You can bet with us on the Quidditch World Cup final. It's not difficult to earn a suit."
"He's so nice to you guys," said Ron enviously.
"Albert calls this 'making money together with Galleons'. There is no limit to the amount of Galleons you can earn."
"By the way, Ron, have you invited Harry to go to the game with you?" Ginny asked.
"I'm not sure about that. Maybe Harry will go to the game with his godfather Sirius." Ron said, "I think the probability of Harry going to the game with his godfather is higher. He said he would contact me in two days."
"Where's Hermione?" Ginny asked again. She had a good relationship with Hermione.
"Not sure." Ron shook his head. "Harry said he might invite Hermione to go with me. They seem to be planning to watch more than one game."
"That's great, it would be great if we could spend most of the summer watching games," said Fred and George.
"Percy, how's your application going?" Just then, the door of the restaurant was pushed open and Mr. Weasley walked in carrying a briefcase.
"I have successfully entered the Department of International Magical Cooperation of the Ministry of Magic." Percy said absentmindedly, "I have about a month to familiarize myself with the work of the Ministry of Magic, and then I can officially start work."
"That's wonderful." Mr. Weasley was genuinely happy for his son.
"Dad, Fred and I don't want to work in the Ministry of Magic. We plan to open a joke shop after graduation." George said suddenly.
"Oh, opening a shop?" Mr. Weasley was suddenly silent. He couldn't help his son.
"Don't worry about the money. We are ready." George knew the reason for his father's silence and continued, "I hope you can help us convince mom."
"Oh." Mr. Weasley was silent for a long time, and suddenly asked, "Where did you get the money?"
"The last time Black successfully restored his reputation, it was Albert who helped." Ron simply recounted the whole story. Mr. Weasley's expression froze completely, his mouth opened wide, not knowing what to say.
"You are all grown up now." Mr. Weasley said with a complicated expression, "Since Albert is optimistic about you and is willing to help you, I won't say anything. I will help you convince your mother."
"I agree." Mrs. Weasley was still very angry. "Even if I don't agree, what can I do? You have grown wings and can fly by yourself."
"No, in Albert's words, once you are financially independent, you will be independent as a person." George couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The method Albert gave really worked.
"By the way, Dad, why didn't the newspaper report that Albert received the Order of Merlin, Third Class?" Fred suddenly remembered something while eating and couldn't help asking, "Besides, the Order of Merlin, Third Class, that the Ministry of Magic sent him was gold-plated."
"Gold-plated what?" Ron asked curiously.
"Medals. Albert wrote to us about this two days ago." George added, "I remember he also complained about the gold crucible being gold-plated last time."
"Well, I'm not really sure about this." Mr. Weasley was a little embarrassed. He had heard about this matter. It seemed that Fudge deliberately suppressed the news of Albert's award because some pure-bloods did not want everyone to know that an underage wizard had won the Third Class Order of Merlin.
In their words, it is a kind of protection for underage wizards.
To be honest, Mr. Weasley was also very surprised when he accidentally heard the news from someone else.
"I think it's not unreasonable that Albert hates the Ministry of Magic." Fred said, "I remember the Ministry of Magic deducted his Youth Award last time."
"The Wizengamot British Youth Representative Award," said George.
"Yes, that's it," said Fred.
"Who said that?" Mr. Weasley certainly knew what the Wizengamot British youth representative meant.
"Albert's friend in the Wizengamot told him. We have all read the letter."