Hogsmeade Village, Honeydukes.
Ambrosius Flume was restocking the shelves with sweets, preparing for the Hogwarts students' visit to Hogsmeade.
"Alas!"
Flume sat back behind the counter, staring blankly at the notebook on the desk as he let out a soft sigh.
The candy shop owner had been in a terrible mood lately. Ever since Fred and George's Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke shop had risen to prominence, he had clearly felt Honeydukes' business declining. What angered Flume most was Zoko's betrayal. They had agreed to suppress Fred and George's business together, but that fellow had immediately defected to the other side—and was now making a fortune. It left Flume feeling as sick as if he had eaten shit. He was hesitating over whether to accept the invitation.
The magical sweets Fred and George sold did not actually overlap with the candies and desserts he sold. On the surface, there seemed to be no conflict between them. However, there were only so many people in the British wizarding world, and most children had limited spending money. Once someone bought sweets from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, they would have no money left for Honeydukes' candies.
At least, for the vast majority of Hogwarts students, magical sweets held greater appeal for youngsters like them.
Even though Honeydukes was famous throughout England, Flume knew perfectly well that most of his customers came from Hogwarts students.
Honeydukes was clearly on the verge of being defeated by those magical sweets, yet he had never managed to figure out how to make products that were more appealing.
"Dear, watch the shop for me. I'm going to speak with Zoko." Flume closed his notebook, left the shop in his wife's care, and headed straight for Zoko's Joke Shop.
He immediately spotted Zoko chatting idly with John from the post office.