Hogsmeade, Honeydukes Sweetshop.
Ambrosius Flume was restocking the shelves with sweets, preparing for the Hogwarts students' visit to Hogsmeade.
"Ugh!"
Flume sat back behind the counter, staring blankly at the notebook on the desk as he let out a soft sigh.
The sweetshop owner had been in a dreadful mood lately. Ever since Fred and George's House of Fun joke shop had risen to prominence, he had clearly felt Honeydukes Sweetshop's business declining. What angered Flume most was Zonko's betrayal. They had agreed to suppress Fred and George's business together, but Zonko had turned around and joined the enemy outright. Now he was making a fortune, leaving Flume feeling as sick as if he had eaten shit. He was hesitating over whether to accept the invitation.
The Magical Candy sold by Fred and George did not actually overlap with the sweets and desserts he sold. On the surface, there was no conflict between them. But there were only so many people in the British magical world, and most children had limited spending money. Once they bought candy from House of Fun, they had no money left for Honeydukes sweets.
At least, for the vast majority of Hogwarts students, Magical Candy held greater appeal for the young.
Though Honeydukes Sweetshop was famous throughout Britain, Flume knew perfectly well that most of its customers came from Hogwarts students.
Honeydukes was clearly on the verge of being defeated by that Magical Candy, yet he had never managed to crack the secret of making more appealing products.
"Dear, watch the shop for me. I'm going to talk to Zonko." Flume closed his notebook, handed the shop over to his wife, and headed straight for Zonko's Joke Shop.
He spotted Zonko at once, chatting idly with John from the post office. Only after the two