days at Hogwarts

Chapter 570: Do I need candy if I skip class?
"enough!"

Hermione couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so she stepped past Parvati and Neville to stand in front of the twins and said sternly with a straight face, "You are not allowed to test these...drugs of unknown effect on your classmates! Professor McGonagall would definitely not allow this to happen, and Mrs. Weasley would definitely not want it to happen!"

George and Fred looked at her in surprise. Perhaps because of her aura and Mrs. Weasley's majesty, they did not act like they did with Parvati and Neville. Instead, they looked at each other and George explained, "Relax, Hermione. We did not force or deceive these little guys. This is all voluntary."

Fred nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, we paid them."

"They are only first years. They don't understand what they are doing. This could be dangerous. One of them might get seriously ill!" Hermione stared at the two of them without blinking. While they were talking, Loren came around and took a piece of red candy from Lee Jordan's bag. He put it under his nose, sniffed it, and looked at it with interest.

Neville and Parvati saw someone standing in front of them, and no longer cared about George and Fred's status as seventh-year students. They mustered up the courage to stand beside Hermione and straightened the prefect badges on their chests.

"Calm down, guys, nothing will happen!" Lee Jordan saw that the atmosphere was a little strange, so he stepped forward and comforted them with a smile. He walked among the first-year students and stuffed small boxes of mints into their open mouths. It seemed to be something like a semi-finished antidote.

Fred didn't stop them, but just muttered softly: "We won't let them get sick. We have already tested these candies on ourselves. Now we just want to see if everyone reacts the same way..."

"Yeah, you see, they're all awake now."

As George finished speaking, several freshmen's eyes began to blink, their fingers began to move, various strange symptoms began to subside, and the unconscious freshmen slowly woke up. The little ones saw themselves lying on the floor or slumped in the chairs, their pupils trembling wildly, staring at the black-hearted twin merchants in surprise.

Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly and said faintly, "I can be sure that you definitely didn't tell them what these candies are used for in advance..."

"We just didn't tell them the specific symptoms..." George scratched his head, half squatted down and looked at the short black-haired girl lying next to him, "Are you feeling okay?"

The little girl who had just entered school avoided his gaze and spoke with a trembling voice: "I...I think so."

What kind of people are these? Isn't it said that Gryffindor is a place of solidarity and harmony? After the sorting ceremony, this senior was very enthusiastic towards them. They thought he was a kind, gentle and humorous senior, but they didn't expect him to drug them with a smile...

"Great, the effect of the skipping candy is very stable!" Fred cheered, his eyebrows almost flying up.

"It's not great at all!" Hermione snatched his clipboard and scolded with a stern face, "I really don't understand. Although you have played some pranks before, you always know how to control the degree, unlike those bad jokes of Peeves. But look at what you are doing now, tricking first-year students into trying drugs?! I know you have been planning to open a joke shop. Is this the effort you put into the joke shop?"

George and Fred opened their mouths and looked at Hermione, who was standing straight with her fluffy hair that seemed to be crackling with sparks. There was a vague familiar shadow on her face. The two of them lowered their heads in shame, unable to say anything to defend themselves.

The huge common room fell silent. It was not known whether it was the young wizards' illusion, but they always felt that Hermione, who was scolding people, looked very much like their headmaster. The first-year students, who were either lying or sitting on the ground, looked up at the witch in reverence, with their mouths slightly open.

The twins spent some time apologizing to the freshmen and explaining the situation. They compensated them for some of their prank products and then sent them back, leaving the two class leaders to do the post-cleaning and comforting work. Loren and a group of familiar people found a spacious corner to sit down, and George and Fred slowly talked about the reasons for their confusion.

"Ever since we went through the time in fifth grade preparing for the OWLs, we've figured out some things. We feel that our future lies beyond academic achievement." George shook the writing board in his hand.

"So how many OWLs do you have?" Loren raised his eyebrows. "Three, four?"

"Ahem..." Fred felt guilty for a second, but the next second he picked up a bag full of candy and said proudly, "Our dream is to open a joke shop, not to look for a job with a bag of certificates, so the test scores don't matter."

"We have seriously discussed whether we should return to seventh grade." George said with a beaming face, "As you know, we have already chosen the address for opening a store. The donations from kind people and the money from mail-ordering those fun props during the holidays are enough for us to open the store in the early stage..."

"Then why did you continue to go to school?" Ron asked puzzledly.

"The reason is complicated..." Fred spread his hands, looking helpless. "You know, Mom will definitely not let us leave school early. And if the mysterious man makes a comeback, she will definitely not agree."

"Oh, I see. Compared to your long-cherished dream of running a joke shop, you would rather sacrifice yourself to make Mrs. Weasley feel at ease..." Loren sighed as if he had suddenly realized something, and he dragged out the last word and changed three tones, which made George and Fred feel embarrassed.

"But we have a plan." Fred avoided Ron and Ginny's playful looks and looked around the common room with some nostalgia in his eyes. "We are going to use this year to do some market research to find out what ordinary Hogwarts students want to buy from the joke shop. We will carefully evaluate our research results and then produce products that meet their needs."

Just as they were immersed in the twins' grand blueprint, Hermione suddenly said, "So you tricked the first-year students into being your guinea pigs?"

"Well..." George rolled his eyes and said unsurely, "Researching skipping candy is also for the benefit of you fifth graders. Believe me, you will definitely be able to use it!"

Seeing that Hermione was about to retort, Fred waved his hand and said, "Don't be too confident. The day's class is over. I believe you have already experienced it..."

A one-and-a-half-foot long History of Magic paper, a one-foot long Potions paper, a requirement for Divination class to record all the scenes in dreams, and a review of the textbook assigned by Umbridge...

"hiss……"

Harry and the others took a deep breath. The first day of school was already filled with homework, so one could imagine what the days ahead would be like.

"But the real torture has not yet begun. Think about it, Hermione. When you have to concentrate on reviewing some complex subjects, Professor Binns' History of Magic will become boring and long. I wish the astronomy in the telescope would turn into the symbols in the ancient rune textbook. Not to mention Professor Umbridge's stupid and boring Defense Against the Dark Arts class this semester."

Fred gloated, "If you keep taking exams, they will be like a grinding wheel grinding your nose hard and wearing out the skin on the tip of your nose."

Hermione pursed her lips and looked dazed for a moment. She thought she would not give up History of Magic and Astronomy, but when she thought of the pink toad's face in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, she was not so confident to skip the class.

Harry and Ron stared blankly at the quick-acting candy for skipping classes in the paper bag. The scales in their hearts had gradually tipped over, and they even felt that being the twins' guinea pigs wasn't that hard to accept.

If these things had been made earlier, they wouldn't have to face Professor Binns' lullaby, endure Snape's vicious torture, or endure Umbridge's disgusting voice...

The extra time can be used to review Transfiguration, review Charms, teach myself Defense Against the Dark Arts, research ways to deal with Voldemort, and... practice Quidditch. Maybe as volunteers, they can get discounts on purchases.

"hey-hey……"

George and Fred looked at each other, their smiles grew brighter, and they tried even harder to create the fifth-grade horror atmosphere:
"Because of OWL, half of the students in our grade have some minor problems, crying, losing their temper... Patricia Stinson faints at the slightest provocation..."

"Kenneth Toller had boils all over his body, remember?"

"That's because you put a lot of powder in his pajamas, causing him to swallow the mandrake directly into his stomach and hunt you for a whole week."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot... it's hard to remember things sometimes, isn't it?"

"All in all, fifth grade was a nightmare year."

"..."

Loren, who was sitting next to the little witch, couldn't help but laugh when he saw Hermione was in hesitation.

When it comes to R&D, their products are varied and each one is very novel. When it comes to marketing, they are even unique. They can even induce a good student like Hermione who loves to study to skip classes.

No wonder they can open a joke shop, these two brothers are really business geniuses!
Loren admired silently, and interrupted their brainwashing speech: "This is not a reason for you to deceive the freshmen."

George and Fred's expressions froze. They stared at him for two seconds and then began to persuade him earnestly, "Listen to me, Loren. The days ahead will be harder than you think, especially for a good student like you. Even someone as outstanding as Cedric would be so anxious that he couldn't sleep all night..."

"First, I don't care about grades." Loren's words blocked the two people's persuasion, "Second, I don't need skipping candy if I skip class."

This time, not only the twins stared at him, but even Harry and Ron beside him turned their heads to stare at him, recalling how he had once openly skipped the Divination class, and found that there was no falsehood in these words, which was shockingly true.

Hermione blinked, vaguely remembering last year's experience.

On her birthday, this guy was in a hurry to go to the barbecue and slipped away from behind Professor Trelawney in front of the whole class, which led many classmates to imitate him in the History of Magic class, and as a result, they were all caught and put in detention.

"No matter what you say, your behavior just now is not reasonable. However, since you can ensure the safety of the drug test, you should go to Professor McGonagall to discuss whether it can be treated as a legitimate practical activity. Maybe you can get some support from the professor... As for how to persuade or trick Professor McGonagall into accepting the candy for skipping classes?" Loren nodded at the two of them. "With your wisdom, it shouldn't be difficult to do."

George and Fred's eyes lit up, they exchanged opinions with each other, and soon came up with a result.

"You're a genius, Loren!"

"It's much easier to trick professors than freshmen!"

The two cheered and happily went to discuss how to fool the professor.

The night outside the window grew darker, and the little wizards of Gryffindor became more and more sleepy. As the flame in the fireplace gradually weakened, the little wizards went back to their dormitories to rest. There were fewer and fewer people in the lounge, and it gradually became quiet.

After Hermione finished writing about the impact of the Giant War on the wizarding world, she wiped the ink from the tip of her quill and put it into the textbook. She put all the stationery and books into the pendant and looked at Loren who was reading a book next to her.

"Are you sleepy?"

"It's fine." Loren closed the book and stretched. "Are you sleepy? If you are, go back to bed. Your mother told you to go to bed early and get up early."

"Hmph..." Hermione curled her lips and pretended to be casual, "I mean, if, if someone is not sleepy, while there is still time, let's go to the astronomy tower to check the stars and predict the weather for the next few days. You know, there is an outdoor class tomorrow..."

Loren was stunned for a moment, and looked sideways. There was no need to go to the astronomy tower. Those beautiful eyes were filled with bright stars.

……

The next morning, the weather was as gray and drizzling as the day before.

While having breakfast, the little wizards could see Umbridge sitting at the guest of honor seat at a glance. She had changed out of her cardigan, but was still wearing a pink suit, chatting with Dumbledore with a bright smile.

Loren could see that Dumbledore had obviously lost his appetite.

Hermione, who was sitting next to him, yawned loudly and poured herself some coffee: "What terrible weather! I have a Care of Magical Creatures class today. I hope it doesn't rain..."

"On the plus side, Snape isn't here today either," Ron said happily across from him.

Harry glanced at the two people sitting opposite him and wondered why they seemed secretly happy about something. However, these two people did not hate Potions class, so why were they so happy?
On the second day of school, two classes of Charms were followed by two classes of Transfiguration. Before the fifth-year classes officially began, Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall spent fifteen minutes stressing the importance of the OWL exam to the entire class. They spent more than an hour reviewing the Summoning Spell, which, according to Professor Flitwick, would definitely be part of their OWL exam.

The situation in the Transfiguration class was not much better. Professor McGonagall started teaching a new magic directly, a rare and fatal vanishing spell...

(End of this chapter)