Besides, the Daily Prophet had already spent months repeatedly reporting on his legendary experience of being wrongfully imprisoned and then cleared of all charges.
Before Gerald could think any further, Dumbledore ended his start-of-term speech with, "Well, that's all I have to say. Let's eat."
Before his words had even faded, heaping piles of food appeared out of thin air on the golden plates on all four long tables.
Roast beef, pork chops, mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, steamed vegetables, gravy, and great bowls of pumpkin juice.
The aroma of food instantly filled the Great Hall, and the students immediately shifted their attention from the Sorting Ceremony to the dinner before them.
Gerald forked himself three large slices of roast beef and a generous spoonful of mashed potatoes, continuing to plan the shop in his head as he ate.
He needed to settle on premises as soon as possible. Ideally, he would visit Lupin tomorrow; renting a shop would probably be easier with an adult wizard handling it.
Although setting up companies in the Muggle World was already second nature to him, he was still a minor in the Wizarding World and could not sign magically binding business contracts.
The shelving, counter, sign, and other fittings would also need preparing in advance. Ideally, they would officially open before October.
After dinner, they chatted for quite a while longer in the Gryffindor Common Room.
Fred and George took out the Flying Letter Notebook to continue testing it, while Lee Jordan used a ballpoint pen to draw a winged toad in the notebook, which Fred described as having "tremendous value as abstract art."
At some point, the conversation took a turn from opening the shop and product development to the new students.
"Did you see that Cho Chang? An Eastern face-you really don't