Gerald paused outside his shop, glanced at the goods on the shelves in the window, then turned and followed Lupin toward the edge of the village.
By the time they returned to Hogwarts, dinner had already begun.
Gerald found a seat at the Gryffindor table. Fred and George sat opposite him, debating whom to hire as shop assistants.
"Percy agreed straightaway, just as we thought. He really must be in love, or why would he work at the sort of joke shop he normally despises?" Fred said, waggling his eyebrows.
"I'm writing to Mum right now," George added.
Besides Percy, Lee Jordan had also recommended a fifth-year Hufflepuff girl who seemed quite reliable.
Gerald listened as he cut up the beef on his plate, forked a piece into his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed. Then he put in, "Let's have Percy and that girl give it a try first."
Fred and George nodded together.
After dinner, Gerald went to the Room of Requirement and made a Flying Letter notebook to give Vivian Carrow tomorrow.
The young lady's family still had some connections. As long as she did not follow the old path of the Death Eaters, those connections could still be useful for business in the future.
Gerald got up bright and early on Saturday morning.
Then he began waking his roommates one after another.
By the time Gerald, Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and Kenneth stood outside the shop, quite a few people had already gathered at the entrance.
Among them were Percy Weasley and Mia Campbell, the fifth-year Hufflepuff girl.
"House of Dreamweavers. Not bad." Percy stepped forward a few paces and offered this understated appraisal.
Gerald stood at the entrance, watching students make their way toward them in twos and threes along the main street.
October sunlight fell