After all, a few twelve-year-old students saying they wanted to open a shop would have sounded rather incredible anywhere.
"In Hogsmeade, of course!" Fred gave a wicked grin. "And we're planning to have Percy work for us. Just imagine Percy standing behind the counter with that face of his, solemnly counting out customers' change. The thought alone makes me feel we absolutely have to open this shop."
"Where are you getting the money?" Lee Jordan frowned.
He wasn't trying to dampen their enthusiasm; he genuinely felt the plan was a little beyond his comprehension.
He knew Fred and George's financial situation. Although they had earned a few dozen Galleons selling prank products last term, most of that money had gone back into developing new products and buying materials. They hadn't kept much.
Shop rents in Hogsmeade weren't cheap. Even for the smallest premises, the deposit and first rent payment alone were beyond what an ordinary student could afford.
"Gerald's paying, of course. Opening a shop was his idea, too." Fred pointed at Gerald.
"The shop will mainly sell Fred and George's joke items, followed by ballpoint pens and our proudest achievement, the Flying Letter Notebooks."
Gerald formally joined the discussion.
"The ballpoint pens and joke items are established products with plenty of repeat customers, so we can sell them in volume. The Flying Letter Notebooks are our flagship product, with the highest price and the biggest profit margin. We'll start with twenty notebooks, twenty pages each, and adjust the price based on the market response. We'll leave running the shop to older students. Percy and Penelope are our first choices. If they can't manage between them, we can hire another two people. The five of us will handle product development and the supply chain. The shop only needs to open