When Vaughn entered the Shrieking Shack, he found the twin brothers looking perfectly serious, each tinkering with a fake wand.
Ever since Vaughn had placed a bulk order for fake wands, Fred and George had taken out a pair and made a show of fiddling with them almost every time they saw him, demonstrating how seriously they took their financial backer.
Vaughn saw right through their little act, of course, but he did not mind.
He knew the twins would certainly devote a large portion of their time to researching prank products or other aspects of alchemy technology.
But he also knew that, even so, they would complete his order on time.
That confidence came not only from the research funding he provided, but also from how well he knew them.
The twins might look unreliable, but in many situations, they managed to cover every detail while still acting as though they were just fooling around.
That side of them should have emerged when they joined the Order of the Phoenix and began fighting Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
Under Vaughn's deliberate guidance, however, the twins had already begun to "mature" ahead of schedule.
In the past, neither the Hogwarts professors nor their students would ever have believed that troublemakers like Fred and George could settle down, let alone become so scarce that they were often nowhere to be seen outside class. In reality, Vaughn had simply used a little trick to redirect their attention, making them willing to spend their time and energy on things other than pranks.
At least the method had proved very effective.
Perhaps Dumbledore believed that most of Vaughn's dealings with him were merely attempts to secure greater benefits and room to maneuver.
In truth, however, if Vaughn had really wanted to maximize the value