The streets of Hogsmeade are full of students strolling around, especially the third-year students who have just been allowed to visit Hogsmeade. Every place here is new to them.
After a brief discussion, Albert and his companions decided to go to Zonko's Joke Shop first to gather information and see if there were any new products in Zonko's shop.
The unchanging Zonko's Joke Shop will never be their opponent in the future.
"This summer, you can start placing ads in the Daily Prophet. Next semester is a great time to promote and sell joke props. Don't miss it."
When Albert came out of Honeydukes Candy Store, he casually said to Fred and George, "Don't use the candy for skipping classes in advertisements. After all, students need to use it to skip classes. If the professors know about it, the candy for skipping classes will not work."
"I promise that its use for skipping classes will not appear in the product instructions." George said sincerely.
"Or in advertising," Fred added.
"That's a good idea. You just need to give everyone a little hint and they'll know the real purpose of the candies." Lee Jordan laughed nervously. "As soon as the class starts, some students start vomiting and nosebleeds. I don't think even the professor will be able to figure out the real reason for a while."
"As for wizard cards, I plan to release the Hogwarts four major college series first." Albert threw an exploding candy into his mouth and said as he walked, "There may be problems with the imagery, and we'd better combine games with learning, so that our products can be more popular. At least, while playing games, people can also learn some useful knowledge. As long as we convince parents and make children like it, wizard cards will not lack sales."
"That sounds difficult. And how do you plan to convince Snape?" Lee Jordan expressed his doubts. They didn't think Albert could convince Snape. It was too difficult. That guy was like a stone, hard and smelly.
"Other professors should be fine. As for Snape, if he doesn't want to, we can replace him with the previous Slytherin Dean." Albert had already thought of a response plan. "By the way, your last plan was very good. I am helping you revise it. It should be completed next month, and then you can start trying to sell wizard cards."
"You actually know the previous Head of Slytherin?"
"Of course I know him. The last time I participated in the Magic School Potions Championship, it was Professor Horace Slughorn who led the team. I heard that he also founded the Slug Club before."
"The Slug Club. What a disgusting name."
All three of them had expressions of disgust on their faces.
"Professor Slughorn is a pleasure-seeking, vain and somewhat snobbish fellow, but he is not bad at heart. When he was teaching at school, he knew many famous wizards and had a wide network of contacts." Albert simply commented on Slughorn: "It is actually very easy to deal with him. You just need to remember to give him a bottle of aged mead every Christmas, and a pineapple candied fruit and a birthday card on his birthday. He is one of the easiest old friends I know to deal with."
"I don't think he knows as many celebrities as you do."
"He must know more people than I do."
Albert knows quite a few people, but he doesn't really keep in touch with many of them. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace.
"Which type of people do you think are more difficult to deal with?" George asked curiously.
"When it comes to exchanging knowledge, sometimes writing a letter is harder than writing an article for a magazine." Albert didn't lie. He talked less about papers with them recently. He gathered people he knew to form a small circle and then discussed the problems together in the circle.
Albert and his companions crossed the street and walked into the small bar across the street.
The Three Broomsticks was as crowded as usual. When Albert entered, a wave of heat hit him in the face. He quickly glanced across the bar and walked towards the nearest empty table with Fred, George and Lee Jordan.
After they sat down, they exchanged glances and finally got so bored that they played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would go to Madam Rosmerta to buy butterbeer.
"Well, you win!"
Lee Jordan looked at the open palms of the other people, then looked at his own clenched fists, shrugged helplessly and stood up.
Albert pulled two Sickles from his pocket and said, "I want them warm."
"Same here."
Fred and George grinned and took out their Sickles and placed them in front of Lee Jordan.
"Really?"
Lee Jordan took Sickle to the counter to buy beer, and soon got four cups of butter beer heated with warm water. When he distributed the butter beer to everyone, he raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction, and said in a low voice: "Look over there, look, I found something."
The three looked in the direction Lee Jordan pointed and saw Ludo Bagman talking to a group of goblins in a dark corner of the bar.
"Bagman's luck doesn't seem to be very good. Has he been haunted by the goblins again?"
Fred smiled and clinked glasses with George, his tone showing an undisguised gloating. "Do you think we should go over and add fuel to Bagman's fire? I'm sure he'll be in a lot of trouble."
"If you go over there, Bagman will definitely find an excuse to run away." Albert preferred to watch Bagman and the goblin fighting over there. It was a pity that the monitoring technology was still not good enough, otherwise they could sit here and listen to their conversation while drinking beer and having fun.
"Do you want to use this thing?" Fred and George took out flesh-colored retractable ears from their pockets.
"If you want to eavesdrop, try another method. This is too blatant."
"What do you think they're talking about?" Lee Jordan asked, staring at the excited group of goblins and taking a swig of butterbeer.
"The goblins are collecting debts," said Fred and George cheerfully.
"Bagman will definitely not pay back the money, and he probably doesn't have any money," Albert speculated. "If I were Bagman, I would probably play another bet with the goblin. If I win, the debt between the two sides will be written off. If I lose, it doesn't matter if I owe another debt. After all, I won't worry about the debt."
"That makes sense. If I were Bagman, I would bet on you to win the Triwizard Tournament." Fred patted Albert's shoulder vigorously and said, "After all, the other warriors are no match for you. The result is obvious."
"The goblins are not stupid, they will definitely not agree." George added.
"So, they're arguing now." Lee Jordan looked at the goblin with crossed arms and a menacing look with interest. He quietly took out a detection ball from his pocket and rolled it towards Bagman's position, preparing to eavesdrop on their conversation under the guise of picking up the ball.
After all, eavesdropping openly is easy to be discovered, so it is best to find an excuse for yourself.
"That guy really loves these gossips. If you hadn't asked him to participate in the wizard cards, I suspect that Lee Jordan would have become a reporter for the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly after graduation, and would have liked to ask for gossips like Rita Skeeter." Fred said to Albert, looking at Lee Jordan's back.
"We have already thought of a column title for him. It's called 'Little Secrets That Will Make Your Heart Beat.'" George added with a smile.
"Let's continue to study the follow-up arrangements for the joke shop!" Albert felt that these two guys were too idle and was ready to find something for them to do. He reached into the deformed lizard skin bag and took out a notebook.
"I've always been curious about when you started making this notebook." George asked with a raised eyebrow as he flipped through the old notebook.
"I originally planned to sell Defense Against the Dark Arts items in the next two years to make some money, but later you joined me and expanded my plan to make money."
"I haven't seen you playing with the protective bracelet for a long time. What version are you on now?" Fred asked curiously. They knew Albert had this money-making plan a long time ago and had been nagging about it for several years. They didn't expect that the time had quietly approached.
"Version 3.2 has almost reached its limit and cannot be improved any further. The effect is not very ideal. It is just more durable than the previous protective bracelet. It can probably last for two years now. I am not sure, but it can definitely last longer."
"If the next semester is really turbulent as you said, then I will really make a fortune."
The two of them had not forgotten Albert's prediction about the turmoil in the wizarding world. "Perhaps, we should first stock up on some defense against the dark arts and then sell them all at once."
"It's not the right time yet, but you can accumulate some reputation first. Then you can make a fortune by providing defense packages to the Ministry of Magic. It has to be said that most of the employees in the Ministry of Magic are really bad at defense against the dark arts."
"We should probably get an order for 500 copies," George muttered. "That should bring in nearly 10,000 Galleons."
"It would be more popular if we had a dragon suit," Fred suggested. "It would be a good protection."
"Do you think it's possible? That kind of clothes is too flashy." Albert didn't think the dragon suit would work. Many dark wizards particularly liked to use Avada Kedavra.
"Dragon leather is a good thing. It can basically block or weaken most magical effects, except Avada Kedavra. When I really make a lot of Galleons, I will definitely buy myself a dragon leather jacket first." George said to Albert, "It's safe and handsome. Of course, if you can enhance the defensive effect of dragon leather jackets, they will definitely become top-notch dark magic defense items."
"That's a good idea. We can make it into a high-grade dragon vest to wear." Albert thought it was a good business opportunity. "With this thing, as long as you are not hit by the Unforgivable Curse, there won't be any big problems. The only problem is that your wallet may be damaged."
"Believe me, there is never a shortage of rich people in the wizarding world, especially Aurors. If dark wizards are rampant, they will all be eager to ask you to customize a whole set of fire dragon suits with super defense. And those high-ranking officials must be afraid of death and pay more attention to their own safety." Fred looked very excited. He felt that the field of defense against the dark arts was very promising.
"At that time, we can also divide them into grades." George said with a creative mind: "We can sell ordinary protective equipment and specially customized high-end protective equipment. After all, most wizards can't afford high-end products. Well, it turns out that you have already thought of it. So you are going to let us make the ordinary protective equipment. Is this really reliable?"
"You have mastered the Armor Charm. It is enough to make general protective equipment. Although the use time may be shorter, it should be able to prevent general evil curses. There must be a difference between high-level and ordinary ones. Otherwise, how can you attract those rich people? It's like ordinary flying brooms and firebolts."
"You are indeed the one. Are you planning to monopolize the market?"
"Monopoly, no, we want a brand." Albert shrugged and said, "Even if someone competes with us for the market in the future, they will not be able to beat us."
"What's the story behind the Wonder Witch series?" Fred took the notes from George and flipped through them, only to find that Albert had prepared many plans to make money.
"When did you create so many kinds of beauty products?" George leaned over and asked curiously.
"These are not all my research results," Albert explained. "If someone else wanted to do this part, it would be separated out."
"Your girlfriend?" George asked.
"Isobel is also one of the researchers of beauty potions. Remember the two foreign girls at the last Quidditch World Cup?" Albert reminded.
"Remember, a very beautiful girl." George teased, "At that time, we thought you had found two more girlfriends."
"They are Isobel's friends. We met at the Magic School Potions Championship last time, and then we developed beauty potions together. I am just a helper, sometimes helping the girls." Albert shrugged and said, "They opened a beauty shop in the United States, which is popular with countless girls."
"What beauty potion?" Lee Jordan had returned after picking up the detection ball.
"What the girls like." George shook the notes in his hand and asked, "What are they talking about?"
"Just as we guessed, Bagman wanted to offset his debts by making a bet, but the goblins disagreed with Bagman's choice of Albert as the ultimate winner, so they started arguing." Lee Jordan smiled and said to Albert, "It seems that Bagman has great confidence in you."
While the few of them were chatting, Rita Skeeter followed her pot-bellied photographer into the Three Broomsticks. As soon as she went to the bar to buy a drink, she spotted Bagman who was entangled by the goblins. She ran to talk to Bagman with a glass of mead and tried to interview him, but the conversation between the two was not pleasant. Bagman said a lot of nonsense and soon left with the group of goblins.
"Bagman doesn't seem to want to talk to us. What is he doing? Why is there a group of goblins following him? And he said he was taking the goblins around Hogsmeade... That's nonsense... I bet something must have happened." Rita Skeeter looked at Bagman's departing back with interest and said to her colleague beside her, "... If we can dig up something, Ludo Bagman, the Head of the Department of Magical Sports and Physical Education, will definitely be discredited... This is really exciting... Follow Fuzzo, let's go see what secret Bagman is trying to hide."
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan looked at each other, ready to take this opportunity to tell Rita Skeeter about Bagman.
Just as they were about to stand up, they heard a sharp voice in the bar.
"You wanna ruin someone's life again?"
Many people turned their heads when they heard the voice. Rita Skeeter also stopped and after seeing who was talking, she was no longer in a hurry to follow Bagman. She greeted Harry with a smile on her face, "Great, Harry, I didn't expect to see you here..."
"Why did you treat Hagrid like that?" Harry demanded angrily.
"Our readers have the right to know the truth." Rita Skeeter still had a smile on her face, and she didn't show any embarrassment at all. "I'm just fulfilling my responsibility."
"Who cares about him..."
Harry was about to say something when he was interrupted by Hermione.
"The truth, are you sure?" Hermione looked at Rita Skeeter coldly, with the corners of her mouth raised in contempt. "As long as you can get a story and enough Galleons, you don't care about anything else. No matter who it is, is the truth more important than Galleons? Obviously not. I know you care more about the sales of newspapers and how many Galleons you can get. So, this time you plan to do something to Ludo Bagman—"
"You silly little girl, don't talk about things you don't understand." Rita Skeeter said coldly.
"Are you angry because of what I said?" Hermione sneered, not afraid of Rita Skeeter's gaze at all.
"Oh my god Skeeter, do you never do anything?"
Sirius appeared out of nowhere, put his hands on Harry and Hermione's shoulders, and smiled at the angry Rita Skeeter.
"You actually have time to argue with a little girl here. No wonder the Daily Prophet's reports are getting more and more rubbish recently." Sirius said with a distressed expression, "I used to like reading the Daily Prophet. At least I could get some useful information, but now there is nothing in the newspaper except a bunch of rubbish. Or is the Daily Prophet trying to use this rubbish to help the Ministry of Magic cover up the truth?"
"Cover up the truth?" Rita Skeeter looked at Sirius with a smile, "Oh, are you going to share some big secret with me that I don't know? To be honest, I'm very interested in your so-called truth."
"Do you know that Peter Pettigrew is alive again? That guy also used the Imperius Curse to control and murder Barty Crouch, Director of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation." Sirius said with a smile.
"We have already reported this. You seem to have been in Azkaban for a long time. Your memory has declined quite a bit." Rita Skeeter sneered sharply, "I suggest you buy a memory ball. Maybe it will help you not be so forgetful."
"Then why didn't you report how Peter Pettigrew came back to life?" Sirius didn't get angry, but smiled and asked, "Such an important matter, you didn't investigate it clearly? Or you are unwilling to report it."
"You make it sound like you know it all," said Rita Skeeter dryly.
"Of course, I got the first-hand information." Sirius smiled, "Peter Pettigrew's mother died in Azkaban instead of Peter, so the body of Peter buried by the Dementors was actually Mrs. Peter who drank the Polyjuice Potion."
The entire bar suddenly fell silent. Everyone was shocked by the news. They never expected that Mrs. Peter would be willing to do this for her son.
"Do you have any evidence?"
Rita Skeeter suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Mrs. Peter used half of Peter's family property to make a deal with the Minister of Magic in exchange for the opportunity to visit her son in Hogsmeade. As a result, within two days, Peter died in Azkaban, and Mrs. Peter died soon after, and Peter's house was engulfed in flames." Sirius' smile became more kind, "This matter can be found out. Even the Minister of Magic cannot cover it up. I dare say that the Daily Prophet must know about it, and you don't seem to want everyone to know the truth. Is it because Fudge doesn't allow it, or is it that the Daily Prophet received hush money and kept silent about this matter?"
There was a sudden whisper in the bar.
"Someone once swore that it was her duty to let readers know the truth," Hermione sneered sharply.
Rita Skeeter looked at Hermione's messy hair coldly and fiercely, obviously with bad intentions.
Without giving Rita Skeeter a chance to speak, Sirius continued, "Poor Mrs. Peter, she sacrificed everything for her son, and this is what she got. Look at what Peter did after escaping Azkaban."
"Do you know why Peter Pettigrew used the Imperius Curse to control Crouch? You didn't even report what Peter Pettigrew did in Crouch's house. Has the Daily Prophet become a mouthpiece for the Ministry of Magic now?"
Sirius was in a particularly good mood, and he planned to break a big news here.
Rita Skeeter was about to leave with a gloomy face, but Sirius used magic to freeze her in place.
"Don't leave in a hurry. Everyone needs the truth, not the insignificant truth you tell us." Sirius said, playing with his wand. "You are really incompetent. Since the Daily Prophet knows nothing, as a reporter, you should stay here and listen to me finish my words, then go back and write an article about the information I provided. Readers have the right to know the truth. Otherwise, what's the point of having you? Do you think everyone is a fool? Or do you think everyone is a fool?"
Sirius' words were so sharp that Rita Skeeter, who was stuck in place, began to doubt her life.
"Dumbledore is the man involved in this matter."
Sirius smiled and said to the audience in the bar, "That night, he and Bagman went to see Barty Crouch to discuss the safety of the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. I think everyone knows this, but you don't know what Dumbledore encountered at Barty's house."
So everyone swallowed their saliva, waiting for Sirius to solve the mystery.
"A very ugly baby that couldn't even handle life, but was able to pick up a wand, and it was it that held Dumbledore back for several minutes." Sirius raised his lips in amusement and dropped a bombshell, "That baby was Voldemort."
When the three words "Voldemort" came out of Sirius' mouth, there were gasps and the sound of things being knocked over in the Three Broomsticks Bar.
Madame Rosmerta's hands trembled, and the entire wine jug fell to the ground without her even noticing.
"I know you don't want to believe the truth, but this is the truth. No matter what, the truth is there. No matter how it is twisted or covered up, it can't be changed." Sirius looked at everyone's expressions and felt happier. "We don't know whether Voldemort is alive or dead, but he is definitely there. We don't know what terrible method he used to turn into a baby. Of course, you can rest assured that the baby is dead, but Voldemort ran away under Dumbledore's nose. According to Dumbledore's recollection, Voldemort at the time was very much like a ghost, but he was not a ghost, and no spell could hurt him."
"Mr. Sirius, is the devil who cannot even be named really still alive?" a famous wizard couldn't help asking.
"I don't know. We have consulted many experts, but none of them know what the situation is. But I think he should still be alive." Sirius said calmly, "It's just that, living in that form, his condition is very bad, very weak, very weak. A famous expert told us that as long as Voldemort continues to wander in this way for a hundred years, his soul will decay and he will completely lose consciousness. At that time, he may no longer pose a threat."
"That's really good news."
"No, this is not good news." Sirius said self-deprecatingly, "According to the latest news we have, Voldemort is holding Dumbledore back because he wants Peter Pettigrew to escape, because as long as Peter escapes, Voldemort will be able to turn himself into a baby again. Of course, the Ministry of Magic also knows about this, so Fudge asked the Aurors to hunt down Peter Pettigrew to prevent him from resurrecting Voldemort again."
As he spoke, Sirius pulled out a wanted list of Peter Pettigrew from somewhere and said jokingly, "Believe me, this is definitely the most expensive wanted criminal in history."
The bounty on Peter Pettigrew was as high as 30,000 Galleons, which was much higher than Sirius Black’s original wanted warrant.
Everyone looked at the wanted list of Peter Pettigrew and fell silent.
Peter Pettigrew's wanted list of 30,000 Galleons has always been criticized, and no one really understands why, but it is indeed surprisingly higher than the bounty, and it has attracted a large number of bounty hunters.
"Does the Daily Prophet really know nothing? They just don't want to say it, perhaps afraid of causing panic, but I think they are gradually becoming the Ministry of Magic's mouthpiece." Sirius looked at Rita Skeeter with a half-smile and continued, "Don't worry, the whole thing is not over yet, I will tell you some news that the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet don't want to tell you."
Everyone's heart sank to the bottom at once, and their eyes were fixed on Sirius Black, worried that he would say some bad news again.
"Remember the Dark Mark at the World Cup? It was actually created by Barty Crouch. Uh, you heard it right. Barty Crouch Sr.'s son is still alive. We have confirmed this through Barty's house-elf. Remember the Daily Prophet reported at the time that 'Bartty's house-elf was found at the scene'; Barty Sr. gave the house-elf clothes and fired the poor house-elf."
"So that's why Winky walked so strangely at that time. It makes sense if she was dragged by someone. No wonder Harry's wand was in her hand." Hermione suddenly realized.
"Now do you understand what the Dark Mark is?"
"After the World Cup, Peter brought Voldemort to visit old Barty, so the unfortunate guy was controlled by the Imperius Curse. As for young Barty, he has been released and is carrying out some evil plan. We suspect that he is trying to help Voldemort restore his original power."
"Is this true?"
"It should be true. We once tried to find Barty Crouch Jr. through a prophet who lived in seclusion in the UK. The prophet did not help us predict Barty's hiding place, but he told us that the environment in the British wizarding world would become worse and worse in the next few years, and he was planning to move."
"Of course, divination is hard to predict, but we will soon see some signs." Sirius shrugged.
"Barty Crouch Jr. is still alive?"
"Yes, I don't think the information revealed by Barty Crouch's house-elf is false." Sirius shrugged, "As for how Barty Crouch Jr. came back to life from Azkaban prison, his situation is actually similar to Peter's. And Barty Sr. paid the price of his life for this mistake, which is actually the reason why Peter took the risk to silence him. They tried to cover up the fact that Barty Jr. was still alive and cover up the truth that Voldemort was trying to take back his original power, because once Barty Sr. was alive, he would tell everything. He knew too much and was silenced."
Sirius waved his wand to remove the magic from Rita Skeeter and said calmly, "Look, the information I revealed is more valuable than your pile of rubbish."
Rita Skeeter walked away without saying a word and without looking back.
"I know you may think this is ridiculous, but whether you like it or not, this is the truth," Sirius said self-deprecatingly as he looked at Rita Skeeter's departing back. "If the Daily Prophet becomes the mouthpiece of the Ministry of Magic and deliberately conceals this part of the report, you can subscribe to this issue of the Defense Guide, where I will explain the whole thing from beginning to end. Especially when everyone needs the truth, the Defense Guide can always bring everyone the truth instead of keeping you in the dark."
"So you are promoting your own magazine?" someone couldn't help but sneer.
"Do you think it's necessary to promote a magazine that's about to be banned?" Sirius didn't get angry, but asked back, "Sometimes, people don't like the truth because the truth is too cruel."
Sirius ignored the others, smiled and said a few words to Harry, then walked towards Albert.
"Great speech. I find you are surprisingly eloquent." Albert said with a smile, "Are you still looking for Peter Pettigrew?"
"There's a reward of 30,000 Galleons on that guy. I think this is a good opportunity." Sirius made no secret of his malice. "We can split the reward in half. How about that? This is a good deal. I'll do it myself."
"It's not bad, but this isn't the place to talk about that," Albert said as he finished his butterbeer and stood up. "Somewhere else, the chances are slim now. I doubt they've left England."
"What are Fred, George and Lee Jordan doing with Rita Skeeter?" Hermione asked as she walked over to Albert's table with a butterbeer.
"They plan to tell Rita Skeeter about Ludo Bagman," Albert shrugged. "They plan to use that woman to retaliate against Ludo Bagman for using fake Galleons to pay for gambling and swallowing their capital. But I don't think it will be very effective. The Ministry of Magic should know something about this mess. In the end, at most, Bagman will lose his reputation and run away. However, I think Bagman will probably run away soon."
"Bagman owes a lot of Galleons?" Hermione couldn't help asking.
"A lot. Not only goblins, but wizards as well. We have set up a debt collection group to get back the principal of the bet and give Bagman a chance to pay back the money slowly." Sirius shook his head and said, "But Bagman seems unwilling to pay back the money, so you don't have to sympathize with him."