"Ha ha, my dear viewer Harry Potter, you must have seen our performance, right?" Fred said brightly. "Come on, tell us, how did your Muggle Relatives react?"
"Even Aunt Petunia couldn't take her eyes off it. She never realized you were all real wizards." Harry sighed. "They're busy making calls right now! They want to be the first viewers to 'expose the magic trick.'"
Fred snapped his fingers smugly. "That's exactly the effect we wanted! But simply saying we used wires won't be enough. If they want to expose it, they need to explain the steps clearly, maybe even recreate it, before it counts as a real exposure."
"Then they're done for," Harry couldn't help saying. "Dudley's intelligence is like he has troll blood. He'll never get that thousand pounds from the show."
Laughter from the Twins immediately erupted through the Communication Pea.
Their laughter infected Harry, and the corners of his mouth rose despite himself. His earlier worries no longer seemed like such a big deal, but he still repeated Hermione's concerns.
As soon as he finished, the laughter vanished. Fred and George exchanged a glance, and when they spoke again, their voices were unusually free of mockery.
"About this... the Ministry of Magic really has no other choice, Harry."
Harry's heart sank sharply.
"Something happened in the United States." George leaned closer to the Communication Pea. "The Scourers made a video that could expose the Wizarding World, specifically to show the upper ranks of the Magical Congress."
"Fortunately, they haven't actually spread that video through Muggle society," Fred said. "But unfortunately..."
"—They can do it at any time," Harry murmured.
George paused, then said, "...Exactly!"
Fred continued, "So the Ministry of Magic's only option is to use a great many carefully designed deceptions to conceal a possible truth."