In the afternoon, after dealing with a group of incredibly curious students, Morris strolled leisurely out of the castle, preparing to return to the Ship in a Bottle.
As soon as he stepped out the door, Fred and George chased after him from behind, flanking him on either side.
"Hey, Morris, wait for us!"
Morris didn't stop walking, casually saying, "Want to come to the activity room? I'm going to be adjusting the brooms today, so I probably won't be able to play with you."
"That...
Fred was unusually hesitant.
Seeing this, George simply asked directly, "Did they say when you'll receive the bonus?"
They provided Sirius Black's location information, and as agreed, Morris was to give each of them three hundred Galleon.
Three hundred Galleons may seem like nothing compared to the total amount of five thousand Galleon. But for an average student, it's an incredibly extravagant sum, enough to squander for a whole year at Honeydukes.
It's understandable that they're anxious.
Morris slowed his pace. "It depends on how fast the Ministry of Magic moves."
Fred sighed dramatically, "That'll have to wait until next year."
They were all too familiar with the Ministry of Magic's slow processing speed.
George suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, Morris, what are you going to do with this prize money?"
"Hmm..." Morris stroked his chin, "I haven't decided yet. I'll probably keep it for everyday use."
His daily expenses are quite high.
Fred and George exchanged a glance, their eyes lighting up simultaneously.
"Haven't decided yet?" Fred leaned closer. "How about considering investing in our store?"
"That was the idea I was looking for, "Morris thought.
The twins had mentioned this topic to him before, saying they wanted to open a prank prop shop after graduation.
"I refuse," Morris replied decisively.
He wouldn't just get on the bus on a whim.
Product category, customer base, location, differentiation... there are too many things to consider when opening a store.
He wasn't very confident.
Moreover, it's still a long time before the twins graduate, so talking about this now is clearly too early.
Upon receiving this reply, Fred and George didn't show any disappointment—the two probably hadn't had high hopes to begin with.
Morris turned to look at them. "Don't you have enough money?"
The Shadow Concealment Stone sold very well, with nearly a quarter of Hogwarts' students being their customers.
Logically, this should have allowed them to accumulate a considerable amount of savings.
Fred scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. "The money's almost gone."
George added bitterly, "We're constantly researching new prank products, trying new formulas, new effects."
It's strange, but their research continued as usual even when they didn't have enough money.
But ever since I had more money, I couldn't resist buying all sorts of samples and precious materials to try even more expensive experiments.
That feeling is addictive.
The joy of spending money is beyond your imagination.
Over time, the money disappeared.
Morris stopped and turned to look at them.
"In that case," he said, "I think it's time to consider selling the Shadow Concealment Stone outside."
The market for Hogwarts is basically saturated, and there's no way to extract more profit from it.
Now they need to expand into broader markets.
Upon hearing this, Fred's face immediately lit up with excitement.
"We've already finalized the plan!" he cleared his throat. "We've contacted several relevant shops, and they've all expressed interest in our products. Just give the word, and we can expand our business throughout the Britain!"
oh?
Morris was somewhat surprised.
These two brothers are quite efficient.
It seems he won't need to expend too much energy on this matter.
For the next two days, there was no further news about the prize money.
On the third evening, Morris was reading in the common room.
" Morris, the principal wants to see you in his office."
Professor Flitwick's voice came from the doorway.
"Now?" Morris closed the book and glanced out the window.
The moon was already hanging in the sky.
Isn't this a bit too late?
It must be something very urgent.
"The password is honey lemonade," Professor Flitwick said. "Remember to be back before curfew."
"Yes, Professor."
Morris placed the book on the coffee table beside him and walked out of the lounge.
There were few people in the corridor, only the torches on the walls crackling and burning.
He quickly arrived at the familiar stone beast.
Honey lemonade.
The stone beast jumped aside, revealing a spiral staircase leading upwards behind it.
Morris walked up to the door with practiced ease and knocked.
The door opened automatically.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his expression calm.
"You've come, Morris," he said, gesturing to the chair in front of him, "Over here."
As soon as Morris sat down, the first thing he saw was the bulging bag on the table.
Could it be that...
Dumbledore followed his gaze and said gently, " Fudge me to bring your prize money back."
Morris smiled, his tone lighthearted. "Ah, I thought the Ministry of Magic would try to renege on its promise."
But why was it Dumbledore delivered the bounty?
" The Ministry of Magic wouldn't stoop to such a thing." Dumbledore pushed the bag towards him. "Here you go."
Morris gladly accepted it, then weighed it in his hand.
"Now, let's get down to business," Dumbledore paused, a hint of seriousness in his eyes, "Did Sirius say anything at the time?"
"What do you mean?" Morris looked up.
"Did he say anything special before he was taken away?"
Morris thought for a moment, then suddenly realized.
"Yes." He roughly repeated Sirius's words.
Sirius Black said Peter was the traitor, an Animagus in rat form, the one who worked with Ron. What was his name again... Ah, Scabbers!
After listening, Dumbledore pondered for a while.
"Do you believe it?" he asked.
After thinking for a moment, Morris carefully chose his words: "I don't know what he meant by 'betrayal,' but as for that rat... it's a 50/50 split."
He suddenly remembered that his cat had pointed out something unusual about Ron's mouse.
However, he was not able to determine at the time whether it was Animagus.
In addition, he had heard Ron mention that the rat had been missing for a long time—like a pet in the Wizarding World, it would come back on its own if it got lost.
Thinking about it that way, Sirius Black might not have been talking nonsense; Ron's rat might actually be an Animagus.
Could there be another hidden story behind this?
Morris glanced at the bag of Galleon in his hand, raised his eyes, and said seriously, " Professor Dumbledore, to be honest, I recommend you go and verify this with that rat. I'm not joking."
Dumbledore rubbed his temples.
He does want to find it.
Even he couldn't possibly find an Animagus- turned-rat in such a large castle in such a short time.
Worse still, the Dementor are no longer stationed at the school.
Peter could find an opportunity to escape at any time.