Don't Just Go Blabbing About It

Seeing Adam not replying for a long time and already showing a tendency to refuse, Fred gritted his teeth and said:

"If you agree, we can give you sixty percent of the Skiving Snackboxes profits!"

George added:

"Can't go any higher than that, we need to at least recover the Skiving Snackboxes research and development costs."

This was already the bottom line of what they were willing to offer.

Adam's train of thought was interrupted by their words, and he looked at the twins in surprise.

What he didn't know was that the existence of his little shop had, in a way, stimulated Fred and George. They felt that their genius ideas could also be monetized, so they accelerated the research and development of the Skiving Snackboxes. The price of the Skiving Snackboxes being released ahead of schedule was that the brothers' already meager funds were stretched even thinner.

In other words, they might, probably, possibly... have to borrow another sum of money from Adam to produce the first batch of finished products after the Skiving Snackboxes were developed, but they were afraid of scaring Adam away, so they didn't tell him everything at once.

Besides that, Fred and George had to consider whether the Skiving Snackboxes would really be a bestseller. No one could guarantee that, so they needed a senior with business experience to help them.

It had to be said that the fact that the research and development of the Skiving Snackboxes hadn't gone as smoothly as expected had been a big blow to them, causing them to lose some confidence.

All of the above, plus the follow-up research and development work of the Skiving Snackboxes, meant that what they needed now was a partner with ample experience in making sweets, running a shop, and sufficient funds.

To put it more bluntly... if they wanted to continue their dream business as soon as possible, they had to win Adam's cooperation.

"..."

Looking at the anticipation for their dream that flickered in their eyes, in addition to nervousness, Adam thought for a while:

"Okay, we can try to cooperate on the Skiving Snackboxes first."

"That's great!"

The twins rushed forward, wanting to hug Adam, but Adam held them back by the shoulders:

"Wait, don't be in such a hurry to be happy. I need a detailed plan, such as how high you plan to keep the cost of the Skiving Snackboxes, the target audience, and so on. We also need to draw up a contract for the specific details of the cooperation."

Seeing Adam looking so professional, the twins nodded repeatedly, took notes, and said that there was no problem.

"We'll give you what you want by tomorrow night~"

"See ya!"

Adam shook his head as he watched the two run away. That wasn't something that could be completed in a day. They would realize that when they started writing it.

After rushing to the Great Hall to eat lunch, Adam didn't expect to be approached again on his way back.

"Adam! Do you remember us?"

"Of course, Hermione, Ron, and Harry."

Adam looked at the trio in front of him, a hint of doubt in his smile:

"Is there something you need from me?"

The three of them were obviously happy that he still remembered them after so long, especially Ron:

"We wanted to ask you what time your shop usually opens."

"Ron?!"

Hermione glared at him in disbelief.

"Ah—of course—ahem, there's also something else we wanted to ask you about—do you know Nicolas Flamel?"

Ron suddenly remembered the main point and added somewhat awkwardly.

"Except for holidays and special announcements, I'll be open at the North Tower every Saturday afternoon."

After answering Ron's first question, Adam looked at Hermione:

"As for Nicolas Flamel, I haven't heard of that name."

"Is that so... okay."

Hermione sighed with some disappointment.

She had inquired about Adam's recent situation. Unlike the twins, who were more concerned about Adam's business, Hermione paid more attention to Adam's studies.

Thanks to certain two guys who forgot about the investigation during the holidays, their investigation progress was still 0 after a whole vacation. She thought that asking Adam, an honor student, might provide some clues.

Now it seemed that Adam didn't know either.

"Can I ask why you're looking for this name?"

"It's like this, we were..."

To Adam's shock, Harry and the others didn't hold anything back and told him directly about the whole thing they were investigating, adding at the end, "Don't tell anyone."

Emmm...

Does "Don't tell anyone" refer to the situation where someone asks you about the purpose of inquiring about Nicolas Flamel, and you just tell them the whole story?

"So if you find any information related to Nicolas Flamel, remember to tell us."

"...Okay."

Adam gave an awkward but polite smile and then quickened his pace and ran away with a headache.

"That was a bit strange."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, watching Adam's retreating figure.

"Strange? What's strange?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it... it's just a feeling. Adam seems to know something about Nicolas Flamel. His reaction was a little too calm."

Hermione looked at Harry:

"Normally, when someone hears that Professor Snape was messing with Harry during the Quidditch match, they'd have some kind of reaction, right? But he acted so normal, like..."

"Like he already knew!"

Harry clapped his hands together.

"Exactly! Looks like we've found a lead..."

Hermione nodded, turning to Harry and Ron:

"You two, take turns following Adam. See if you can find anything."

"Us?!"

"Or you could go to the library, and I'll follow Adam?"

"Er... okay."

Harry shuddered at the thought of all those words, deciding it was easier to tail Adam.

Ron glanced at Hermione, then at Harry, thinking they were probably being too sensitive. But he didn't have any better ideas, so he kept quiet.

After that day, Adam noticed with some annoyance that Harry and Ron kept popping up around him. Usually it was just one of them, and they never actually approached him, just followed him from a distance.

After a while, the Hufflepuff students also noticed that they seemed to be tracking Adam. Cedric approached Adam while he was eating in the Great Hall:

"What's up with those guys? Do you want us to take care of them for you?"

Even the Boy Who Lived couldn't bully a Hufflepuff!

Especially not Hufflepuff's chef!

Adam glanced towards the Gryffindor table and saw the trio suddenly looking very engrossed in their food. He sighed helplessly:

"It's okay, they don't mean any harm... I'll handle it."

Looks like it's time to go see Professor Dumbledore.

But when he got to the Headmaster's Office, Adam was surprised to find that none of the usual passwords worked.

Could it be a dessert I made?

Not wanting to recite the entire menu outside the Headmaster's Office, Adam guessed that Professor Dumbledore was either not there or didn't want to see him... so he'd have to find another way.

One day, as Ron was sneaking up to follow Adam, he was suddenly grabbed from the side by a figure who wrapped an arm around his neck:

"Hey! Ron, long time no see! Interested in trying some of my brother's new sweets?"

"What are you talking about? We just saw each other this morning! Let go of me! I don't have time for this! Ugh... bleh..."