Magic Candy

An hour later, Albert, Fred, and George returned to the Leaky Cauldron after their shopping, but Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Percy were still not back. However, their books had been delivered and were piled on the floor next to Herb and Mr. Weasley's table.

Upon seeing Albert return, Herb breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Did you buy everything?"

"If all the books are there, then we've bought them all," Albert said, picking out a marked package from his pile of parcels. "This is a gift for everyone."

"Mrs. Weasley has bought all the books you wanted," Herb said, pointing to the packages beside him. "I'll head back now. Take care of yourself."

"Don't worry, it's very safe where we are." Mr. Weasley smiled as he helped carry the things.

Fred and George had been wanting to invite Albert to their home for a few days, saying that Albert had helped them a lot. This time, they finally succeeded.

"Mr. Anderson is unlike any Muggle I've ever met," Mr. Weasley said with a touch of melancholy, gazing in the direction the car had disappeared.

Every time he discussed certain electrical appliances in the Muggle World with others, they would look at him as if he were crazy.

It was rare to find Muggle like Herb who could patiently explain the uses of those appliances to him, and the way he spoke made him feel very comfortable.

It's easy to see that Herb cares a lot about his son, asking him many questions about the Wizarding World.

Mutual communication and understanding are very important.

"Well, he's very adaptable to certain things," Albert said casually, knowing Herb didn't have much patience. "After all, his son is a wizard."

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Mr. Weasley ordered each of the three Butterbeer, intending to continue his conversation with Albert about Muggle appliances.

However, Albert quickly steered the conversation away from the Gringotts invasion.

"Everyone suspects it was done by a very powerful Dark wizard," Mr. Weasley said, revealing what he knew. "This is not good news. The Goblin of Gringotts are furious. They still can't find any clues about the intruders."

"The Daily Prophet said the item wasn't lost, but it seems someone took it beforehand," Albert suddenly said. "It must have been a very valuable item."

"I don't know." Mr. Weasley was reluctant to discuss the topic.

"Those Goblin are actually quite stupid," Albert suddenly said in a low voice.

Mr. Weasley opened his mouth, but then Albert continued, "If we can't find the culprit, we can ask the owner of the items we left there. Maybe they know who broke into Gringotts."

"Why?"

Mr. Weasley was also stunned, but Fred was the first to ask the question that everyone was wondering about.

"The Goblin didn't reveal what was in the vault, so there must not be many people who know what that item is," Albert said in a low voice. "The fact that the thief targeted it directly means that he knows exactly what's in the vault. Otherwise, why wouldn't he steal other valuables and instead focus on what's in the vault?"

"Yes, that makes sense. The thief certainly wasn't completely unaware," George agreed.

"Then, the wizard who left the item in Gringotts must have known about it. He obviously knew or sensed something, otherwise he wouldn't have taken it beforehand," Albert continued his analysis. "There aren't that many coincidences in the world."

Mr. Weasley had to admit that Albert made a good point.

However, the conversation didn't continue. Mrs. Weasley returned with Ron, carrying a pile of packages, followed by Percy carrying an owl.

They borrowed the fireplace from Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, and used Floo Powder to return to the Burrow.

Albert was the first to emerge from the fireplace. As soon as he moved, hurried footsteps came from upstairs.

"Mom, did you buy it for me...?"

A red-haired girl appeared at the bottom of the stairs, stared blankly at the stranger in the house for a moment, and then looked at Albert warily.

However, she was soon relieved, as Fred and George emerged from the fireplace one after the other.

"Our sister Ginny," Fred introduced them. "This is Albert, the one I told you about; he'll be staying with us for the next few days."

"Hello Ginny," Albert greeted Ginny with a smile. She was a lovely redhead.

"Hello!" Ginny looked Albert up and down, then quickly ran to Mrs. Weasley, who had just come out of the fireplace.

"The wizard's house is incredible," Albert said with a smile, looking at the pot he was cleaning. "It's so magical... By the way, where's Charlie?"

"Charlie went to Romania to study dragons," George said with a sigh. "We just took him to King's Cross Station to catch the train a few days ago."

"Train?"

"King's Cross Station has trains to other countries," George explained.

"I thought wizards would use Portkey or Floo Powder to travel."

"Most of the time, only smuggled wizards use Portkey," Mr. Weasley said, finally emerging from the fireplace. "You'll be staying with Charlie tonight."

"Albert will stay in our room, of course, George will sleep in Charlie's room," Fred said immediately.

"Why don't you sleep in Charlie's room?" George complained.

"Come on, I'll show you our bedroom." Ignoring George's complaints, Fred said to Albert, holding his package, "We've made some progress on that thing you mentioned last time."

"That thing?" Albert paused for a moment before remembering what Fred was talking about.

As they walked through the narrow passageway and climbed the rickety stairs, George said with regret, "Unfortunately, it's only half-finished now."

Fred and George's room was messy, with lots of things piled up inside.

"Originally, we planned to enchant the toffee, but we found that this method wouldn't work. We could only work on Potions, but that's not easy." Fred sat on the cot and tossed the toffee on the table to Albert. "This is a half-finished product we made."

"It seems you need a laboratory where you can try using the Undetectable Extension Charm. Also, no one will eat this stuff; the potion smell is too strong." Albert peeled off the outer shell, smelled the candy, and frowned slightly. The toffee had a strong smell of a Swelling Solution.

"Dad won't agree," George said, frustrated. "He scolded us for this last time."

"Why?"

"The Ministry of Magic does not allow wizards to use that kind of spell at will," Fred explained.

"As long as the Ministry of Magic doesn't find out, it'll be fine." Albert picked up a book and began flipping through it. "Are you planning to try and improve the swelling potion?"

"Well, we tried Swelling Solution, but that stuff is really awful. Last time Fred did something stupid, his tongue couldn't taste anything for days." George continued with a look of utter dismay. "So, we tried Swelling Solution again, but the toffee made with that stuff tasted really strong."

"That thing you're holding is the latest improved version. We're going to try it out on the Gnome," Fred said in a low voice. "Of course, we can't let Mom know. Maybe you can help us improve it."

The Twins looked at Albert expectantly.

"Shall we test the candy's effects first?" Albert blinked. "Where are these Gnome you're talking about?"