Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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George hurriedly left.
Because the Kyle family wasn't connected to the Floo Network, he needed to return to the Burrow first, and then use the fireplace to get to Diagon Alley.
Fred originally wanted to go with him, but when he passed a mirror, he changed his mind and turned back to the attic.
Although Fred was usually a bit carefree, he wasn't completely indifferent to his appearance, and he didn't want to appear in the crowded Diagon Alley looking like this.
Otherwise, he would probably become the first laughing stock of the new school year.
In the attic, Kyle was studying the twins' work from the past few days.
A large box full of more than ten different kinds of candy, all of which were some of the most popular varieties on the market.
There were honey candies, fudge, toffee, and chocolate candies.
Kyle picked up a fudge, and as soon as he brought it close, he smelled a faint bitterness, which seemed out of place with the sweetness of the candy itself.
"Waaah…"
Fred seemed to want to say something, but Kyle didn't understand.
He took out a notebook and wrote in it:
"This is a failed experiment. We discovered that only toffee can mask the taste of the swelling potion."
Kyle nodded, picked up a piece of toffee, and smelled it. The bitterness was indeed much milder; you couldn't even notice it if you weren't looking closely.
Their method was just too crude; they simply cut a hole in the candy and stuffed the swelling potion inside.
If they had been more meticulous, they might have been able to completely mask the taste of the swelling potion.
Of course, it's also possible they were just too lazy to do it.
After all, until they figured out the dosage of the swelling potion, this thing wasn't even a semi-finished product.
Afterward, Fred gave Kyle a notebook containing all their previous experimental records, clearly outlining the specific reasons for each failure and its adverse consequences.
It was about a dozen pages long, quite detailed.
Just as Kyle was flipping through the notebook, George returned, carrying a paper bag filled with shrunken figs.
"No need to buy so many, George," Kyle said, holding out his hand. "The shriveled figs are just for supplementary use; one or two will suffice."
"Better safe than sorry," George said naturally, handing Kyle the things he was carrying and smiling as he asked, "So, are you joining us?"
Kyle shrugged. "After a week of homework, we need to find some fun."
"Speaking of which…" George suddenly sighed. "I can't believe you would waste your precious vacation time on homework.
Percy did the same; when I got back just now, he was complaining that I disturbed him.
Good heavens, I just opened the door; he wasn't doing his homework in the living room!"
"I have to say, in this respect, you're much better than him. At least you never blame us for not being able to do your homework."
Kyle didn't mind the Weasleys' usual banter, taking out two shriveled figs, peeling them, and squeezing out the juice.
While they were at it, George took out half a bottle of swelling potion from a nearby box. He thought for a moment, then found an empty bottle and emptied half of its contents.
Fred and George's potion-making skills were mediocre, and Mrs. Weasley didn't allow anyone to handle cauldrons in the house. To save time, they had bought these swelling potions directly from Diagon Alley—a full five Galleons and a pint!
They had to use them sparingly.
After adding the juice of the shriveled fig, the swelling potion's color began to lighten, quickly changing from its original sky blue to a pale blue.
Kyle nodded.
It was good that it hadn't turned any other color, meaning the potion's properties hadn't changed.
He picked up the bottle, ready to drip some on his hand to test the effect.
But George stopped him.
"No, no, no, Kyle, you can't do that,"
George said earnestly. "What we need is to enlarge the tongue, not the hand."
With that, he took a new candy from his pocket, dripped some of the potion on it, and put it directly into his mouth.
"I really shouldn't have eaten it," George mumbled. "This tastes so weird, it's like... ugh..."
George's cheeks began to slowly swell, and his words turned into indistinct whimpers.
That was his tongue.
Fred, standing beside him, excitedly waved his arms and legs, making incessant whimpering noises, as if celebrating something.
George's tongue began to swell rapidly, soon extending outwards, looking like a slippery python.
"Looks like it worked,"
Kyle observed George's appearance.
The shriveled fig had indeed neutralized some of the swelling potion and made it much less potent, only working on the tongue, which had the most contact with the potion.
If they could just figure out how to remove the potion's peculiar taste so the young wizards couldn't detect it, this "quick-acting truancy potion" would be truly complete.
Fred and George were overjoyed.
"You've got it, Kyle... haha, shriveled fig!"
After the swelling potion's effects wore off, George excitedly said, "You don't know, we were actually planning to give up."
"Swelling potions are too expensive," Fred shrugged. "We've already wasted a whole bottle before this."
"Five Galleons!" George said with a pained expression. "We really should have waited for you to come with us."
The thought of wasting five Galleons made his heart bleed.
If it were a dung beetle, it would have been enough for them to fight a small battle with Slytherin.
"You guys have money, don't you?" Kyle asked. "A hundred Galleons each, you haven't spent it all, have you?"
"Having money and wasting it are two different things," Fred sighed. "Besides, we only have thirty Galleons left, and that's thirty Galleons in total."
On the first day of the holidays, Mrs. Weasley accidentally knocked the wallets off Fred and George's person while beating them.
The glittering Galleons scattered all over the floor, almost making Mrs. Weasley faint. She thought the twins had stolen some Slytherin student at school.
Although Fred and George quickly explained where the Galleons came from, Mrs. Weasley didn't believe them.
It wasn't until Chris arrived that the matter was clarified.
However, Mrs. Weasley confiscated the Galleons, saying she was afraid they would do something bad.
Now, Fred and George only had the money they had hidden in the box.
Just as they said, thirty Galleons, no more, no less, just enough.
[End of the chapter]