"That's no problem at all, I've got plenty of money." Vid smiled and said, "Besides, I'm really looking forward to seeing the two of you open your joke shop."
"We won't let you down!" George said excitedly. "From now on you're our VIP customer, with the privilege of using all new products for free!"
"Sounds good." Vid couldn't help laughing. "Even if it looks like I'm taking a bit of a loss now, you'll definitely help me earn a lot more in the future."
"Of course!" Fred puffed out his chest and declared loudly, "We're going to open the most popular shop in the whole world and develop prank products that everyone will love!"
Hermione shook her head helplessly and muttered quietly to Neville, "These three… who would like prank products?"
Always the one getting picked on by such things, Neville nodded in strong agreement. "Yeah, I don't like pranks at all… but then again, those Illusion Gummies are actually pretty fun."
Hermione: "…"
The honest Neville kept asking, "You don't like turning into a Pegasus, Hermione?"
"Actually… flying isn't that bad…" Hermione said, her eyes wandering. "But I hate that out‑of‑control feeling! I just… I just appreciate the finesse of this Transfiguration Magic from an academic perspective! Only from an academic perspective!"
…
Illusion Candy very quickly kicked off a Transfiguration craze at Hogwarts.
Even though the joke shop was nowhere near opening, Fred and George chose to sell on a small scale, which only drove the students even crazier.
At the breakfast tables, in the corridors, on the lawn, Vid would occasionally hear a "bang" as some student suddenly turned into a rainbow‑colored sloth, a little yellow dragon that snorted soap bubbles, or a dopey‑looking penguin.
Rumor had it that some utterly reckless second‑year had actually turned into a slow, sluggish snail right in the middle of Professor Snape's Magic Potion Class. The Professor of Potions was furious: he docked points from several students including the boy, his desk‑mate, and the students in front and behind him, and also gave them detention.
Soon after, Filch's list of banned items gained a new name, but public Transfiguration among the students still couldn't be stamped out.
Whenever they were caught, they would protest loudly and aggrievedly, "I've no idea what happened, Professor! Someone must've slipped Illusion Candy into my lunch!"
Their righteous indignation even made the always‑stern Professor McGonagall laugh.
This was the first time Professor McGonagall didn't say much about the Weasley Twins' pranks. She would even pretend not to see it when someone transformed, as long as it didn't happen right under her nose.
But in private, Professor McGonagall summoned Vid and the twins to her office and asked sternly, face set, "Are you certain this product is safe?"
"What product?" Fred played dumb.
"It's absolutely safe, Professor." Vid said. "We were the first test subjects ourselves, and over this period, we've been recording everyone's transformation results and have collected a lot of data."
The twins immediately turned to stare at Vid as though he were a traitor among the masses. But when Professor McGonagall's eyes swept toward them, they hastily straightened up and chimed in, "Safe, safe, absolutely safe!"
Professor McGonagall stared at them for a few seconds, then sighed. "Don't let me catch you using it in class."
That was practically tacit approval.
The Weasley Brothers did keep their promise, but the students who got their hands on Illusion Candy didn't all understand the meaning of "knowing your limits."
Nobody knew which reckless student (everyone later agreed it had to be a Gryffindor) secretly slipped an Illusion Candy onto one of the plates at the staff table. Judging by where it was placed, he'd probably meant to prank Professor Snape a little.
But the moment Dumbledore sat down, his sharp eye spotted the odd candy. He picked it up and examined it thoughtfully for a moment.
Snape's expression shifted. "That wouldn't happen to be…"
His murderous gaze immediately swept toward the Gryffindor table—more specifically, toward Harry, who was sharing a chicken leg with Ron.
Harry: "…?"
He glanced back in puzzlement at Snape, who was glaring at him viciously, having no idea what was going on, but he still didn't hesitate to return the look with a glare of his own.
Snape's face instantly darkened even more. The fork in his hand gave a faint "creak" as it twisted slightly.
While their eyes were locked in silent combat, Dumbledore had already popped the candy into his mouth with curiosity. On the other side, Professor McGonagall's eyes went wide.
"Bang!"
A huge brown elk was suddenly sitting in the Headmaster's chair, nearly shoving Professor McGonagall right off her own. She grabbed the edge of the table and snapped angrily, "Albus Dumbledore!"
The elk turned its head, its square nose snorting as a pair of bright blue eyes gazed at the grimacing Professor McGonagall. In an especially guileless tone, it said:
"Relax, Minerva, this is merely an interesting experiment."
Even after eating the candy, he actually had more than enough ability to stop the transformation, but Dumbledore simply went along with the Magic Power in the candy and let himself turn into an elk.
During the brief transformation, he even tried clumsily to pick up a roast potato with his front hooves.
As Dumbledore's elk head turned this way and that, the great antlers atop it inevitably bumped into Professor Snape's head.
Snape's expression froze. He slowly turned to look at the elk, his face so menacing that even Harry couldn't help tensing up, half afraid he was about to rip the elk's head off.
But Snape didn't say a word. He simply tossed his fork aside with murder in his eyes, swept his black robes around himself, and strode away. As he passed Vid, he couldn't help shooting him a glare as well.
Vid: "…"
He had the distinct feeling that Professor Snape's favor toward him had been plummeting off a cliff recently.
…
The wardrobe‑space was very quiet that night. The Poppets were all down in the underground area; in the Magic Potion Room, only Vid was there.
The Cauldron in front of him glowed with a ghostly blue light, and pale green fumes rose slowly, giving off a strong "this brew is definitely poisonous" vibe.
In fact, what he was simmering in the Cauldron was the very Magic Potion for the Illusion Gummies that had taken Hogwarts by storm recently—unfinished version.
Vid stirred the reagents intently, the bangs on his forehead dampened slightly by the steam. After three circles clockwise and three counterclockwise, he saw the Magic Potion suddenly change from blue to crystal clear, like a pot of plain water.
Normally, this was the moment to add the leaves of Mandrake and cast a Transfiguration Spell. But tonight, Vid instead took a few slimy, rat‑tail‑like plants from a bottle beside him.
This was the Gillyweed Maki had given him.
The Herbs dissolved the instant they touched the liquid. Vid slowly stirred while sprinkling in the last pinch of Moonstone powder. Silently counting to thirty in his head, he watched as the liquid changed from clear to viscous, then immediately took the Cauldron off the fire.
The flames went out, and the liquid set into a semi‑transparent jelly. With a light wave of his Magic Wand, Vid softly recited a long Spell; after a few rounds, several round candies appeared in the Cauldron.
He reached in, picked one up, and held it before his eyes for inspection.
This candy was two to three times larger than a normal Illusion Gummy, grayish‑green, with a faint salty tang of the sea. It didn't look appetizing at all.
In the young Wizard's eyes, light flickered. He stared at it for a long time, and finally broke into a satisfied smile.
Vid put the other candies away, then left the Magic Potion Room and went all the way to the lakeside—his wardrobe‑space, like Scamander's suitcase, was linked to an external lake, and there was also a sizable lake within the space.
The lake water was icy‑cool, and every now and then a few small fish could be seen swimming near the shore.
Vid took off his outer robe and slowly walked into the water. When the icy lake had risen past his waist, he swallowed one of the green candies.
"Wish me luck," Vid said softly.
"Bang!"
When the Transfiguration smoke cleared, the figure standing in the shallows had vanished, leaving only ripples spreading outward as proof that something had been there moments ago.
Suddenly—
Whoosh!
A sleek fish tail arched up from the lake's surface and then fell. It slapped the water with a splash, droplets flying as its scales glittered in the light like gemstones.