Enthusiastic Galleons

The moment he stepped into Honeydukes, a rich buttery aroma washed over him. Looking around, Albert saw rows upon rows of shelves, filled with all sorts of sweets and treats.

Albert immediately recognized several kinds: peanut brittle, toffee, and nougat in the large jars ahead.

Several green lollipops hung neatly beside the shelves. Albert picked one up and was about to check its description when a familiar voice sounded behind him.

"If I were you, I wouldn't touch that. It's Sour Bopping Candy—very sour." George draped an arm over Albert's shoulder and pointed at the product description. "Fred once bought one for Ron, our little brother, and it burned a hole through his tongue. Mum beat Fred with a broomstick because of it."

Fred glared unhappily at his twin brother and protested, "You were the one who bought that Sour Bopping Candy."

"I never told you to give it to Ron." George looked completely innocent.

Watching the unrepentant twins, Albert quietly put the Sour Bopping Candy back on the shelf.

It could burn through someone's tongue? Was this stuff actually made of sulfuric acid?

"What's this?"

In a corner of the wall to the left of the entrance hung little mice in every color. They crawled across plastic boards on the wall, looking just like living mice.

"These are Ice Mice." Lee Jordan introduced them to Albert. "When you eat them, you'll feel freezing cold—so cold your teeth chatter. After you finish the candy, your stomach will still make crunching noises. Oh, they're a bit like Zonko's Joke Sweets."

"Interesting candy." Albert withdrew his gaze from the Ice Mice and walked toward the shelves on the right. There was a huge barrel of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in all sorts of colors, while large plastic tubs beside it held soft candies in various flavors. Further along, the shelves were neatly lined with all kinds of chocolate.

Albert picked up two boxes of Chocolate Frogs, then set his sights on the large bars of chocolate. He had bought some on the train before, and they had tasted better than Chocolate Frogs.

Oh, right. He needed some chocolate beans too.

Carrying an assortment of chocolate products, Albert walked up to the counter.

Behind it, a smiling woman said, "That'll be 4 Sickles and 10 Knuts."

"Oh, ma'am, we meet again!" Albert stared at the train trolley witch in surprise. He had never expected her to be Honeydukes' owner.

"It's you! Dear, would you like any other sweets?" The woman recognized Albert as well. After all, there were not many customers who bought every item on the trolley.

"Do you have any recommendations?" Albert thought. No wonder so many sweets sold on the train could be found here.

"Exploding Bonbons are very popular with students. They make a small explosion when you bite into them. Of course, they won't hurt you." The woman poured an Exploding Bonbon from a jar and handed it to Albert.

"Want to try one?"

She never skimped on smiles and service when it came to potential customers. Naturally, that had something to do with the Galleons in their pockets.

Albert accepted the Exploding Bonbon and took a bite. Strawberry filling oozed from the sweet. The next moment, a small explosion popped by his mouth. Anyone who did not know what was happening would probably be startled.

This probably counted as one type of Joke item, but the bonbon itself tasted pretty good.

After Albert bought some Exploding Bonbons, the shop owner became even more enthusiastic. She packed them into a paper bag for him, then began introducing the shop's other sweets and desserts.

"Jelly Slugs—you may have tried them already. They're one of our shop's best-selling products."

Albert glanced at the long slug-shaped gummy candies and raised an eyebrow slightly. Rather than Jelly Slugs, Jelly Snakes would have been more fitting. Still, he did not like gummy candy, so he had no intention of buying them. Just thinking about slugs was a little disgusting.

The sweet shop also had all kinds of candies and desserts: the famous Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Balls, Buzzing Bees, Sugar Quills... The sheer variety of sweets dazzled all four of them.

"Are these... cockroaches?" Albert felt rather uncomfortable as he watched the black insects crawling inside a glass jar. Beside it were some Cockroach Clusters, their legs still twitching faintly.

"These are Cockroach Clusters," the woman introduced. "They're one of the sweets Headmaster Dumbledore often buys from us. Of course, not everyone can accept candy shaped like this."

Only Dumbledore would probably like something like this!

"Have any of you tried them?" Albert turned to ask. All three shook their heads in unison.

The woman winked at Albert. "We also have Butter Fudge Flies. They burst with filling in your mouth. And Blood-flavored Lollipops, which are very popular with most vampires."

"If you want to prank someone, I recommend Pepper Imps. After eating one, your mouth will be so spicy it breathes fire..."

They spent at least half an hour in Honeydukes. Before they left, the owner enthusiastically stuffed a shopping list into Albert's hands and winked at him. "If you want to buy sweets, you can have them delivered by Owl post. It's best not to sneak out yourself."

When they left the sweet shop, Albert had another paper bag in his hands. It contained Pineapple Drops he had bought from the shop, which had cost him 10 Sickles.

"This stuff's pretty good." Albert bit into a Pineapple Drop.

"I always feel like that owner was especially enthusiastic toward you," Lee Jordan said somewhat enviously. From beginning to end, Honeydukes' owner had treated Albert with exceptional warmth.

The twins nodded in agreement with Lee Jordan. Their mouths were currently stuffed with Pineapple Drops as well.

"She was enthusiastic about Galleons, not about me." Albert found Lee Jordan's expression rather amusing.

Besides that bag of Pineapple Drops, Albert had bought many other things in the shop. The considerate owner said she would help mail them to Hogwarts so he would not have to carry so much himself.

By the time the four returned to the castle, it was already two in the afternoon. After wandering around Hogsmeade for several hours, they were all exhausted, but they all agreed it had been an interesting trip to Hogsmeade.

"Where have you been?" Percy Weasley sat down beside the four of them, staring at the paper bags before them with a slight frown.

"That's a secret!"

The twins exchanged knowing looks and smiled mysteriously. Of course, they would not admit they had gone to Hogsmeade, or Percy would write home about it.

Honeydukes' owner was very efficient. Not long after Albert returned to the Great Hall, an Owl delivered the package.

"I think we'd better go back to the Common Room." Noticing that the package had drawn other people's attention, Albert called to the other three and had them help carry it back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Watching the four leave, Percy's eyes flickered, though no one knew what he was thinking.