"Will, what are you doing?" Fred hurried to stop Will's hand, but his own struck an invisible barrier and would not budge.
"Don't stand on ceremony," Will said, shaking his head. "You need this money more than I do right now.
"I still have plenty, enough to last me a long time. You're just starting your business, and your family needs money too. Think of it as money I'm leaving in your hands.
"If you really want to repay me, do me a small favor."
George leaned in at once. "What kind of favor?"
Fred was all ears too.
They both wanted to help Will somehow. Otherwise, they would feel guilty—he had done so much for them, and they had no way to repay him.
"Put together a complete set of Alchemy Studies books for me, from introductory material through advanced topics. Don't worry about the most specialized books; I can handle those myself.
"And write up your theoretical knowledge and what you learned from studying alchemy. I'd like your notes on both."
Will did indeed intend to learn alchemy from the two of them.
Alchemy was an ancient and mysterious branch of magic, powerful in its own right, but Will had never studied it in depth.
For Will, it had simply not been a high enough priority.
It did not deal with the underlying principles of this world, nor did it translate directly into personal strength.
Even a master alchemist like Nicolas Flamel was not powerful enough to tip the scales in a battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
Will was taking up alchemy now to prepare for the future. For the time being, his focus would remain on Soul Studies and the other branches of magic in which he was already highly skilled.
"That's it?" George waited, then looked