Chapter 103: Weasley Electric Company, Change Begins Here
As Fred continued to wave his wand, they stretched and elongated in the air, gradually forming into neat, flat strips.
On the other side, George used the same spell to suspend the mithril mercury mixture into the air. As a liquid metal, its strong surface tension meant the mithril mercury almost operated itself, naturally shifting into a spherical shape.
When Fred had formed the gelatinous substance into rubber strips, the twins exchanged a glance:
“Ready, George?”
“Ready, Fred!”
“Then let’s begin!”
The two shouted, their eyes wide, staring intently at the rubber strips and spherical mithril mercury in the air, and waved their wands with force.
Because they were trying too hard, both of their faces turned red, and their sitting postures even became somewhat distorted, with their bottoms slightly lifted.
Hermione couldn’t help but cover her mouth. She was afraid she would laugh out loud because everything she was seeing at that moment was truly painful to behold—the twins’ faces flushed red, their bottoms lifted, their postures were so unseemly.
The two even waved their wands as if possessed, but without casting any spells.
The girl again regretted not bringing her camera from home. She decided that no matter what, she would remember to bring her camera in her second year!
In fact, Hermione was still a little disappointed. She was very intelligent. Although Vaughn had looked after her, he hadn’t said it directly, but she had guessed that she didn’t seem to have an alchemy talent.
Because she couldn’t see the symbols.
She knew that Fred and George must be using alchemy right now. The reason she felt their postures were strange was because she couldn’t see it.
And Vaughn, who was beside her, could clearly see it.
Hermione looked up, watching Vaughn, who had recently shot up in height, and was still staring intently at the twins. She asked softly, “How is it going?”
“It’s very strenuous,” Vaughn replied. “But the symbols are collapsing, and the progress is going smoothly.”
In Vaughn’s vision, as the twins used alchemy, the points of light that surrounded their bodies, yet strangely lacked a sense of space and did not form “spheres” but only “circles,” trembled and gradually collapsed towards the center.
They eventually converged into a ball of light within the two of them.
Vaughn’s limited knowledge of alchemy didn’t explain how it was all done. Perhaps it was the flow of magic, or some technique within alchemy.
In any case, the ball of light flowed from their abdomens like a babbling brook, flowed to their arms, passed through their wands, and was finally injected into the rubber strips and mithril mercury respectively.
When the light was completely injected and the “circle” reappeared on the surface of the rubber strips and mithril mercury, the twins gasped for air, finally letting out a sigh of relief.
But they still didn’t dare to delay, as there was one last step.
Fred and George continued to wave their wands. Under their spells, the rubber strips curled inward, and the mithril mercury suddenly split into many small balls the size of soybeans.
Hermione could finally see this scene, but what disheartened her was that when Fred waved his wand again, the mithril mercury balls stretched and deformed again, as if preparing to outline symbols. At that moment, even the mithril mercury disappeared from her sight.
She finally understood why Fred hadn’t drawn the symbols for her… because it was useless!
She only saw George’s controlled rubber strip curl into a cylindrical shape, and then it seemed to hit something. Some invisible substance began to merge into it. The originally pure white rubber strip suddenly showed a faint golden hue, as if it had been painted gold.
Beside them, Vaughn, who had been watching silently, raised his hand.
A silent, wandless Levitation Charm picked up the wires on the ground. The twins, pale with exhaustion, nodded to their younger brother, controlling the freshly made insulating layer to cover the wires, wrapping, joining, and cutting them.
Finally, a wire about 30 inches long, with a faint golden sheen on its surface, fell to the ground.
The twins were panting with exhaustion. George lay directly on the floor. Fred still had some energy. He rummaged through his and George’s satchels, pulled out a small diesel generator and connectors, and handed them to Vaughn: “This is what you provided us with back then. We’ve modified it using the same method. Vaughn, you try it yourself; George and I are completely worn out!”
Vaughn looked at their tired appearances and asked, “Did you use magic for the final alchemy?”
This kind of exhaustion was usually a side effect of excessive magic consumption.
“Of course, alchemy is magic too, my foolish brother!” George retorted feebly.
“How dare you speak to the boss like that!” Fred “scolded,” saying with a smile, “We’re still counting on the boss to be satisfied and support our cause!”
Vaughn, calling Hermione, who was somewhat dejected, over to help connect the generator and light bulb, said upon hearing this, “Don’t worry. If the experiment goes well, I’ll provide you with the funds to open a joke shop.”
The twins exchanged a look.
George, who had been complaining earlier, said with a fawning smile, “Well, dear brother, we don’t want to open a joke shop anymore. Of course, we’ll still make some prank props to play with occasionally…”
Vaughn, who was connecting the wires, glanced at them but didn’t stop.
“You said that once we researched a way to solve the problem of magic interfering with electricity, you would no longer think about joke shops… worthy of our genius brother, you predicted it completely!”
“Nonsense, do you think a troll like you can understand a genius’s mind?”
“Your flattery is too direct, Fred. It lacks any aesthetic appeal. Unlike me, who keeps my admiration and respect for my brother deep in my heart!”
“You…”
While the twins were bickering, Vaughn and Hermione had finished connecting the wires. Vaughn gently pressed the start button, and the generator roared to life.
He and Hermione stared intently at the electric light. On the other side, the twins stopped their bickering.
Four pairs of eyes watched as the generator’s belt began to spin rapidly, and the motor, covered in a golden rubber skin, began to tremble.
They watched as the golden wire suddenly vibrated, emitting a faint, aurora-like magical halo.
At the other end of the wire, the lone light bulb flickered a few times.
The next moment, a dim yellow light illuminated the Room of Requirement, which was lit by braziers and torches!
Looking at the light, so different from magical flames, Fred murmured, “Vaughn, you were right. We have found a greater pursuit…”
While Vaughn and his group were conducting experiments in the Room of Requirement.
On the eighth floor, at the end of the corridor, in the Headmaster’s office, accessible by a moving staircase.
Dumbledore was giving Snape instructions: “Severus, I need you to find a way to force Quirinus, to create a sense of urgency for him, so that he must enter the mechanism at the time we’ve set… Most importantly, Harry must discover all of this!”
Snape’s face lengthened, looking displeased. “Forgive me for saying so, Dumbledore, but even when I was a student, I thought Quirrell was an idiot, especially after he failed his theft attempt on Halloween a few months ago, was stopped by Potter, Granger, and Vaughn, and yet he dared to stay. It made me marvel at his stupidity, but…”
He emphasized, “But I don’t think he’ll ever take such a risk again as long as you’re at the school. After that incident, the Dark… the Dark Lord tortured him for a long time… The Dark Lord is in decline now, but undeniably, he is still cunning, intelligent, and vigilant!”
“At least in the past few months, I haven’t been able to find out how he’s been sustaining his flickering life… even though you and Vaughn have taken all the unicorns.”
Speaking of this, Snape’s expression became somewhat perplexed.
Investigating how Voldemort was sustaining his life had been the focus of his work for the past few months. Theoretically, Voldemort’s choice to drink unicorn blood implied that unicorn blood was likely the only way.
However, for the past few months, neither in Knockturn Alley nor in the Underground District had Snape found any abnormal transactions of unicorn blood. Unicorn blood, due to its curse, had a very narrow range of use. Coupled with the scarcity of unicorns, it was quite a rare commodity in the entire Wizarding World.
If someone were frequently buying it, with his status as Potions Master and his network of contacts, it would be impossible for him not to find out.
Dumbledore’s sky-blue eyes, looking at his anxious yet confused expression, suddenly asked, “Severus, you don’t want Tom to be resurrected?”
Snape replied impatiently, “Of course not. No one wants him to come back…”
“No, you are different, Severus,” Dumbledore interrupted his defense, his expression calm. “I’ve noticed that you’ve kept the Dark Mark, and you haven’t given up your worship and acknowledgment of Tom, yet you don’t want him to be resurrected… because you know Tom will definitely hurt Harry!”
From the corner, Snape instinctively took a step back, hiding his arms and face in the shadows where the candlelight didn’t reach.
As if this could continue to keep his secret.
There was an unspeakable silence in the air.
After a long while, from within that darkness, Snape’s indifferent voice, as faint as a slithering viper, finally came, “I don’t have time to play your boring emotional consultation game. If you have nothing else, please excuse me. My time is precious!”
Dumbledore’s eyes, as blue, high, and cold as the sky, fixed on Snape for a moment, then suddenly crinkled into a smile.
The originally heavy atmosphere instantly lightened.
He laughed heartily, “Just a joke, my dear Severus. Why take it so seriously? Alright, let’s get back to our previous topic.”
“Of course, I know how cunning Tom is, so I will use a plausible reason to disappear from ‘Hogwarts’ for a while.”
“What reason?”
“A while ago, the International Confederation of Wizards forwarded an invitation for Vaughn to visit North America for academic purposes. They also wanted to discuss the proposal to establish a North American branch of the Werewolf Affairs Committee. This matter has been temporarily put on hold by me and Vaughn.”
Saying this, Dumbledore winked. “However, after all, it is an important international invitation, and we can’t keep replying indefinitely. Mr. Vaughn Weasley plans to officially communicate with the North American side through official channels in some time. At that point, it will seem very reasonable for me, the Headmaster, to accompany him!”
Snape’s facial muscles twitched. The old man was always finding ways to trick people.
However, upon careful consideration, the reason was indeed plausible and reasonable.
It was rare for Hogwarts to have an internationally renowned student, so the Headmaster would certainly accompany him throughout the trip. Official communications also wouldn’t lack media exposure.
This way, all they would need to do was read the newspaper every day to keep track of Dumbledore’s movements.
Even if the Dark Lord was cautious, he would likely put aside his suspicions.
But he still couldn’t help but question, “Then, how will you and Vaughn return…?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Snape felt a burning gaze upon him. He followed the gaze and saw, beside Dumbledore’s large, imposing desk, an ugly bird that looked like a chicken, glaring at him with its small eyes.
Dumbledore said with a smile, “You should know your former master, Severus. He was a genius, but precisely because he was too much of a genius, he was arrogant. He looked down on everyone except himself and me, let alone magical creatures.”
“Tom would probably never have imagined that Hogwarts’ Anti-Apparition Charm is ineffective against the magic of magical creatures.”
Snape fell silent again.
With his understanding of the Dark Lord, the Dark Lord not only wouldn’t have thought of it.
Even if he discovered such a thing, he wouldn’t have utilized the magic of magical creatures.
Tom Riddle’s pride in his bloodline and wizardry was a prejudice incomprehensible to ordinary people. In a sense, he could be considered the most obsessed person in this world with wizard purity.
In his view, only wizards were worthy of possessing magic; everything else was a wicked deviation.
After a moment of silence, Snape nodded and asked the same question Vaughn had asked not long ago, “I understand. On what specific day is the plan?”
“Two weeks from now would be a suitable time. By then, the mechanism will be set up, and students and professors will be in the busiest phase of the semester. Everyone will be like a wound-up spring. Most importantly, after Harry completes the trial, he will have ample time to enjoy the pleasure of learning… Severus, you must have prepared a sumptuous after-school package for him!”
At this moment, Snape, who had been wearing a stern expression, finally showed a hint of a smile.
Just as he could no longer contain himself and wanted to share his plans for Harry’s studies with Dumbledore, he saw Dumbledore suddenly look up.
Those sky-blue eyes shone with a bright light.
It was as if they could pierce through the heavy doors and magical defenses of the office and gaze into some unknown place.
“Dumbledore?”
“Ah…” Dumbledore came back to his senses, the light in his eyes dimming. “What did you say, Severus?”
Snape asked doubtfully, “What did you just see?”
Dumbledore didn’t answer for a moment. After thinking for a moment, he replied in an unfathomable tone, “Light… the light that collided from two entirely different civilizations. It’s very faint, but it seems to hold some possibilities…”
Snape: “…Speak human language!”
Dumbledore regained his composed posture and smiled. “I’m sorry, Severus, that’s the most human-like expression I could think of.”
In the process of solving the problem of magic interfering with electricity, the twins gained a deep understanding of electrical energy, an energy that permeated the history of modern Muggle technology.
And based on electrical energy, the technology that Muggles had developed over hundreds of years.
This greatly broadened their horizons.
Their perspective on Muggle items was no longer superficial; they began to try to set aside their wizardly thinking and understand from a Muggle perspective what principles a Muggle technological product applied, what functions it achieved, and why it developed.
The feeling of encountering a new field for the first time was so fascinating that the twins even lost interest in their beloved joke shop, and were now solely focused on electricity and machinery.
This was also Vaughn’s original intention.
He had always understood that beneath the twins’ mischievous surface lay not a love for play, but a strong sense of curiosity and a thirst for knowledge.
It was just that in the past, the two had not been guided properly—in terms of how to conduct themselves and moral education, Arthur and Molly were undoubtedly successful parents.
However, when it came to guiding their children’s studies, they were not so competent, or rather, with so many children, their energy was inevitably scattered.
The older ones, Bill, Charlie, and Percy, were fine. From the twins onwards, they had become somewhat laissez-faire, and Ron was simply a slacker.
To change the future destiny of Fred and George, they couldn’t let them continue on the same path. Vaughn had no prejudice against making prank props. If it were a peaceful era, it would also be a skill that could sustain one’s livelihood.
The problem was that the future was not peaceful.
Vaughn, with his experience from two lives, knew very well that teenagers in their teens were at their most rebellious age. Forceful intervention and change often had the opposite effect.
That was why he had deliberately concealed the news that the school was cracking down on Dungbombs, watching the twins fall into a deep pit and amass heavy debts, and then, step by step, guided them to channel their curiosity and thirst for knowledge into the direction he had planned!
For example, at this moment.
“Vaughn, what do you think about George and me starting a Weasley Electric Company?”
“Producing electricity?”
“Magical electricity!” Fred emphasized seriously, clearly highlighting the selling point. “Of course, the current products might only be easy-to-modify items like wires and light bulbs.”
Vaughn was noncommittal, only saying, “Then, how do you plan to price it? I noticed just now that you used about 4 ounces of mithril powder to modify a 30-inch wire. If I remember correctly, mithril powder is currently 20 Galleons per ounce.”
Thunderbolt!
The twins were stunned.
Vaughn didn’t outright reject it, but shook his head. “If you really want to start an electric company, then your technology still needs further improvement to reduce the amount of mithril powder used, or to find a cheaper alternative. Otherwise, at a cost of nearly 3 Galleons per inch of wire, no wizard can afford such wire!”
In a single sentence, the twins were struck down to a pale gray. Even Hermione felt a pang of sympathy.
Noticing her attempt to speak, Vaughn shook his head at her.
Hermione could only suppress herself and watch Vaughn continue to “strike down” the twins. “But I’m quite pessimistic about finding an alternative. I believe you’ve tested all the materials I provided. If there were no other options, you wouldn’t have thought of using mithril. After all, even without knowing the price, you should be aware that it’s a very precious magical metal.”
Hearing this, Fred slumped in dejection. “Yes… we initially wanted to try to reduce the magical interference. Later, we found it wasn’t ideal. We accidentally tested mithril, and that’s when we came up with our current idea.”
George’s focus, however, took a different turn. He stared blankly at the generator and wires, largely encased in mithril mercury rubber, and his voice trembled. “1 ounce of mithril powder is 20 Galleons… Vaughn, how much did the experimental materials you provided us cost in total?”
Vaughn the tycoon Weasley’s expression was calm. “A total of 2000 Galleons. I would have to sell potions for several months to gather that amount.”
He then changed his tone. “Of course, that was my potion price before. Since developing the Wolfsbane Potion and receiving the Level 2 Order of Merlin, the pharmacies I cooperate with have taken the opportunity to increase the price of my products. Now it only takes a little over a month.”
“Ugh!!!”
George clutched his chest, struggling to breathe.
Fred, standing beside him, looked ashen. “…In other words, we’ve burned through over 1000 Galleons of yours during this time?”
“To be precise, what has already been provided to you counts as what you’ve burned through!”
“Then… then may I ask, is this money provided to us by you free of charge, or is it a loan, or an investment in us?”
Vaughn asked with a smile, “What do you think?”
What else could they think?
Fred wanted to shamelessly ask for it to be free of charge, but given his understanding of his brother, it would be an investment at most. Free of charge? Don’t dream about it!
The twins exchanged a look, on the verge of tears.
They knew all along that Vaughn’s money wasn’t easy to get. 2000 Galleons, if considered a loan, at the current rate, they would probably never be able to repay it in their lifetime.
If it was considered an investment… that was even more terrifying. At that time, would Weasley Electric Company be named Weasley or… Huh?
Oh, it’s all Weasley. In that case, never mind!
Naturally optimistic, the twins bounced back to life.
They fawned and crowded around Vaughn, massaging his shoulders and feet.
“Dear brother, we know you definitely wouldn’t push your older brothers to their death. The cost of wires is indeed too high to sell, but you must have a way to make them useful.”
“That’s right, everyone knows that in the Weasley family, only our dear Vaughn is the smartest. Fred and George are like baboons who haven’t seen a tiger!”
“Yes, yes, Percy is even worse, he’s not even fit to carry your shoes!”
Enjoying the twins’ solicitousness, Vaughn automatically ignored their “petty” behavior of taking jabs at Percy even while flattering him. After a brief moment, he took out a few items from his satchel.
“Your technology is too expensive, so it can’t be used on wires, mainly because wires are used in large quantities. But if it were used on electronic products, it could significantly reduce secondary costs!”
Fred and George, who were massaging his shoulders and feet, leaned in to look at the machines Vaughn took out, their faces full of curiosity. “What are these things?”
Before Vaughn could answer, Hermione, standing nearby, recognized them. “A V8 cassette camcorder? A home projector?”
Seeing the twins’ confusion, Hermione quickly explained the functions she knew to the two.
Hearing the concept of video recording, the twins looked confused: “Isn’t it just moving pictures? What’s so rare about that? We’ve all learned to mix developing potions, and we can make any photo move.”
“It’s different!” Hermione’s expression was serious, “Wizarding World photos can only move for a few seconds, but these Muggle electronic products…”
She opened the V8 camera, took out the tape, and pointing at the small box said, “A box of tape like this can store 60 minutes of footage. With just a dozen boxes, you can record your entire day’s life and experiences, then use the projector next to it to show it to 10 or 100 people, and you can even copy and re-record it…”
The twins gradually began to understand. This was what Muggles used for movies!
But they still couldn’t imagine what kind of market this thing would have. Who would want to watch what a stranger did all day? Were they going to trick everyone into learning how to make Muggle movies?
Until Vaughn suggested, “You can start with a small goal to try and get people to accept it. For example, a week from now is the last Quidditch match of the semester. This important moment will determine whether Gryffindor or Slytherin wins the championship this year. It’s not just students who care, but many parents and even graduating seniors also care.”
“But it’s hard for them to come back specifically to watch. If you can get the machine working and film it… will you be afraid of not selling copies of the tapes and projectors? With this demonstration, will you be afraid of no one trying it?”
Ding!
A word of enlightenment, and the twins’ eyes lit up instantly!
………………
“A week from now, to be exact, there are 8 days until the match. Friends, that is the most important match, it concerns our year’s sweat and effort, and it touches the hearts of all Gryffindors!”
Early in the morning, Hermione, carrying a book and on her way to the library, passed through the courtyard and saw Wood, as if he had been injected with chicken blood, standing on the stage by the courtyard fountain, shouting to the players below.
Unfortunately, his players were not very cooperative.
Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson were whispering to each other, seemingly discussing some girly topic. Harry stared blankly, looking at the Ravenclaws on the other side of the courtyard, as if his soul had been snatched away.
Alicia Spinnet was watching Wood, but Hermione always felt that her gaze at Wood’s head was not quite right.
Given that she was a Chaser, Hermione dared not think too much about it.
The twins were even more outrageous. They simply gathered by the fountain, using the steps as a desk, discussing and sketching in their notebooks.
Seeing Hermione, the twins immediately dropped Wood and the other players and trotted over to stop her:
“Hermione, we were just about to come find you!”
“Come on, help us check if this circuit diagram is correct? Muggle cameras look unremarkable, but they are really complicated!”
“Yes, yes, Hermione, you’re Muggle-born, so you must understand them better than us. Please give us some advice.”
Hermione was speechless: “Fred, George, not all Muggles understand Muggle technology…”
The twins were very puzzled by this: “But all wizards know magic!”
“…”
Although it was a twisted logic, it sounded so reasonable that Hermione couldn’t think of a way to refute it for a moment.
After a long while, Hermione finally managed to make the twins understand that Muggle technology, like the subjects of magic, also had specialized divisions.
The twins were a little disappointed, but they didn’t let Hermione go. At least Hermione had actually used a camera and projector and was very familiar with their functions, so the two begged her to help guide them in their use.
They said they would follow Hermione to the library.
“Weren’t you in a meeting? Wood has been glaring at you since just now, he looks like he’s about to explode!”
The twins said indifferently, “Don’t mind him. He’s been driven crazy by OWLs lately. （ When Harry was in his first year, Wood was in his fifth year. ）”
“Why do you think he called us to the courtyard for a meeting so early in the morning?”
“Oliver Wood, that guy actually fantasized about having super training every day for the next week. He thought we didn’t know he just wanted to skip classes!”
“Did you see Spinnet’s eyes? She wished she could take Wood’s head off and use it as a Quaffle!”
Hermione was dumbfounded. She had felt a little sympathetic towards Wood earlier.
Dazed, Hermione walked away with the twins, and she could still hear Wood shouting, “Friends, my dear comrades, I implore you not to be influenced by those two Weasleys. They have abandoned themselves to depravity…”
Then, Angelina Johnson’s exasperated roar: “Shut up! Harry, Alicia, help me hold his legs!”
Turning the corner of the courtyard gallery, the last thing Hermione saw was Wood, who, as a Keeper, was not tall or strong, being held by the neck like a chick by Angelina, a Chaser, while Alicia and Harry held his legs.
They were smiling brightly, cheering, and throwing Wood into the fountain…
That was perhaps a rare moment of easy laughter for them recently.
Although Wood’s intentions were not pure, in reality, the Gryffindor Quidditch team faced immense pressure. The Slytherin team was currently leading in total points and was relatively more relaxed. Even if they lost the last match, the outcome would still be uncertain under a point-based system.
In contrast, Gryffindor could not afford to lose at all; they needed to win by a large margin to secure the victory.
As old rivals, the Gryffindors knew best how troublesome Slytherin was. The most worrying thing was that recently, Vaughn, whom the Gryffindor team considered a major threat, had also begun to frequently participate in Slytherin’s special training.
She spent over two hours in the morning explaining the various functions of the camera and projector to the twins in detail.
In the afternoon, Hermione appeared on the Quidditch Pitch to cheer for Slytherin.
She sat in the Ravenclaw stands, staring intently at Vaughn, who was flying at high speed in the air, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest in nervousness, clutching her robe, and occasionally letting out gasps like the other girls around her due to Vaughn’s dangerous maneuvers.
This made Ron, who had secretly sneaked over with Harry and Wood to “reconnoiter,” very displeased:
“Whose side is she on?”
Madam Pomfrey’s medical skills always made young wizards love and hate her. They loved her authoritative medical skills; the sick notes she issued were recognized by every professor.
They hated that her medical skills were too good; as long as it wasn’t a life-threatening serious illness, most injuries could be healed quickly.
Ron, who had been electrocuted, only stayed in the Hospital Wing for one night. After the effects of the muscle relaxant wore off, Madam Pomfrey kicked him out of the hospital—yes, the reason he could stay for one night was the potent effect of the muscle relaxant; the damage caused by the electric shock itself was healed by Madam Pomfrey with a bottle of spermaceti.
Actually, Ron didn’t want to be discharged at all.
The reason he shamelessly followed Harry and Wood to reconnoiter that afternoon was also because he didn’t want to return to Gryffindor Tower.
Starting this morning, some inconsiderate person had spread rumors, and everyone who saw him would laugh and call him “Uncontrolled Warrior” or “Jet Hero”…
There was no friendliness in interpersonal relationships.
It was too malicious!
Ron really couldn’t bear to stay in such an environment.
Wood twitched his nose uncomfortably. He couldn’t help it; having also heard the rumors, he couldn’t help but feel like there was a strange smell in the air when he saw Ron, so he always kept Harry between himself and Ron.
However, he agreed with Ron’s dissatisfaction. He said sternly, “Granger’s stance is indeed problematic. This morning she even incited Fred and George to study Muggle things. Her intentions are very impure, right Harry?”
After waiting for a moment without hearing Harry’s reply, Wood looked over and saw Harry staring at the stands, his eyes glazed over: “Harry?”
“Huh?”
“What are you looking at? You’re drooling.”
Harry’s face turned red, and he quickly wiped his mouth: “No, nothing, just spacing out…”
Wood and Ron, who had been single their whole lives, of course, didn’t notice that Harry’s gaze had been revolving around an Asian girl in the stands.
Wood solemnly repeated what he had just said and said worriedly to Harry, “Harry, do you know what the Weasley twins and Granger are doing? I’m very worried about their state. You, and Ron, you are their friends and family, please help me ask them and advise them.”
“Harry, this is our most hopeful year, I really want to win!”
Listening to Wood’s words, Harry looked towards the Ravenclaw stands again, watching the Asian girl intently staring at Vaughn’s figure.
He felt a pang in his heart.
It wasn’t just Wood who wanted to win; he also… really wanted to win!
Harry seemed distracted the entire afternoon, but he still remembered Wood’s instructions and prepared to advise the twins, who were doing who-knows-what again.
In the evening, alone—Ron had escaped to Hagrid’s Hut—Harry, after searching Hogwarts up and down for half the day, finally found Fred and George in the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.
Speaking of which, he had to thank Guo Guo Cha.
Passing by the second floor, he happened to see Guo Guo Cha taking a walk.
Harry had witnessed how smart Guo Guo Cha was the previous year, so he tried to ask Guo Guo Cha to help him find people. Not long after he left the second floor, he saw Filch’s annoying cat, Madam Norris, following the trail.
Madam Norris was very aloof and disdained his dried fish, but she didn’t make her usual eerie meow upon seeing him. Instead, she kept leading the way.
Harry followed Madam Norris to the eighth floor and saw the doorknob appear on the wall opposite the tapestry of the Troll hitting Barnaby. He knew Fred and George were hiding inside the Room of Requirement.
He knocked, and one of the twins opened the door.
Seeing Madam Norris squatting in front of the door, he was startled.
Seeing Harry, he breathed a slight sigh of relief: “You scared me to death. I thought it was that Squib Filch who had come.”
“Squib?”
He casually explained the meaning of “Squib” to Harry, who was a complete novice and failing student in the Wizarding World, and then pulled Harry inside the door: “You’ve come at the right time. We were just thinking of finding you. Come help us test the machine, and then we have something to discuss with you about cooperation.”
“Machine? Test? Cooperation?”
Harry, with a head full of question marks, was dragged into the Room of Requirement.
The room inside the door was not the training ground Harry was familiar with, nor was it Vaughn’s favorite study. Instead, it was a spacious classroom.
In the center of the classroom, parts and instruments were scattered everywhere. A machine was spewing black smoke and roaring, with many golden wires connecting to it, and the other end connected to other instruments.
In the farthest place, a huge, taut screen stretched on a frame, appearing to be made of metal, was erected.
About 10 feet in front of the screen, the other of the twins was fiddling with a strange-looking machine and asked without turning his head:
“George, who is it?”
“It’s Harry, Fred. We were just saying we wanted to invite him.”
Hearing this, Fred immediately looked up, looking at Harry expectantly: “Harry, this is a gift from fate. We were planning to find you tonight… Never mind that for now. Come, help us test the filming first.”
Harry looked bewildered: “Filming?”
To their surprise, Fred and George were even more surprised: “You don’t recognize these things? Camera? Projector? Hermione recognized them at a glance, but you…?”
Camera? Projector?
Having been ostracized by the Dursleys since childhood and never having the opportunity to participate in family entertainment activities, Harry had only occasionally heard such terms on television.
He widened his eyes, looking at the strange instruments and electric lights around him… Wait!
Harry suddenly noticed something he had overlooked. He looked at the lights on the instruments, the scattered light bulbs around, and the machine spewing black smoke and making noise, and exclaimed in surprise:
“Electricity? You’ve got electricity at Hogwarts?”
Even as a poor student, when he enrolled last year and discovered that Hogwarts still used torches and braziers for lighting, Harry had raised the question of why they didn’t use electric lights.
And he learned from Ron—Ron said he learned it from Vaughn—that Hogwarts’ magic interfered with electricity.
Harry had originally thought that his seven years of schooling would be spent with old-fashioned torches and braziers!
Seeing the long-lost electric lights now, Harry was so excited that he almost forgot his original purpose. Fortunately, he still remembered:
“You’ve been doing this lately? No wonder Wood said you guys weren’t focused on training at all and asked me to persuade you.”
The twins exchanged glances and shook their heads: “Compared to what we are doing now, those things are not important. Since you don’t recognize these things, we’ll let you see.”
Saying that, they picked up a small machine from the ground and pointed it at Harry.
“Look here, Harry.”
Harry, with no understanding of the machine, dazedly followed suit, striking a few poses as instructed by the twins. After a while, the twins stopped, turned on the small machine, and took out a tape.
“The filming effect just now wasn’t very good.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect someone who grew up in Muggle society to have no understanding of Muggle technology. He filmed like a bewildered goose.”
“It doesn’t matter, we’re just testing it anyway.”
“Actually, I think it’s quite meaningful. For example, we could give it a name, like 《 The Boy Who Lived’s Foolish Moments 》. It should attract attention.”
“Oh, you’re a genius, George!”
Harry felt something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what the problem was.
He stared blankly as Fred inserted the tape into the machine facing the screen.
Soon, as Fred turned the roller-like structure on the machine, a beam of light shot out from the machine and illuminated the silvery-gray screen 10 feet away.
Then, Harry, surprised and embarrassed, saw himself on the screen with a blank expression, like an idiot.
But the novelty also appeared.
This was the first time he had seen himself from another perspective, not a photograph, nor a mirror, but with the texture of a movie theater scene he had accidentally glimpsed on television.
Whether watching a movie or appearing in a “movie,” it was Harry’s first time!
After watching for a while, he looked at the twins: “This thing… is it a movie?”
The twins nodded repeatedly: “You could say that.”
“See, Harry? Wood doesn’t understand what great things we are doing. We are bringing technology into the Wizarding World, allowing wizards to enjoy the fruits and conveniences of technology.”
“That’s right. We’ve decided to film the Quidditch match next week in its entirety and distribute these recordings to thousands of households so that everyone can witness the glory of Gryffindor!”
“And to let everyone see how Harry Potter, the Savior of the Wizarding World, turns the tide and directly transmits your brilliant image into people’s eyes and hearts.”
“So, Harry, do you want to cooperate with us?”
Harry listened, vaguely understanding and blushing furiously, perhaps thinking of something else. His breathing became heavy. At this moment, he couldn’t care less about Wood’s instructions and, with a red face, asked, “When you say cooperate, do you mean you want to film me? Like a protagonist in a movie?”
