In full study and discussion, two weeks had passed in a flash.
After Adrian completed the production of various Shield items, only three days were left before the inspectors from the Ministry of Magic would arrive.
Exquisite magical items were placed on the previously empty shelves in the store. Most were researched by Adrian together with Irene and Tom Riddle these days.
The remaining small part was sent by George and Fred.
As early as when he'd first studied the Shield Gloves, Adrian had sent a letter asking them about ancient runes knowledge.
It's just that the number of runes they knew wasn't many and overlapped with what Tom Riddle had taught, so it didn't play a big role.
However, considering that the prank goods they'd produced were very popular in the original story, Adrian had sent another letter a few days ago, asking them to send some finished products to put in the store for sale.
This morning, two owls flew to the magic shop and brought a package and a reply.
To Adrian Hales:
Thank you for remembering us during the pleasant summer vacation.
We have read your letter. George and I, as the shopkeepers of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (although it hasn't officially opened yet), authorize you to sell joke products on our behalf.
We will solemnly introduce you to our latest invention, the Pygmy Puff, a kind of magical creature. It has no attack power and is very fragile, but it looks very cute. We believe this thing will sell well!
In addition, there are Decoy Detonators, Self-Writing Quills, Extendable Ears, Dungbombs... We've written the specific usage on the attached page.
Remarks: In case of being intercepted halfway, protective magic is applied on the attached page. The spell to crack it shouldn't be difficult for you... Finally, we hope the address we filled in isn't wrong. If you really live in Knockturn Alley...
Adrian picked up the package. It was very light, probably had a Weight Reduction Charm on it.
No wonder it could be delivered by owl.
"These days, they haven't been idle either," Adrian sighed as he opened the package and looked at the contents.
He remembered that before leaving school, George and Fred had only made Dungbombs and a Self-Writing Quill. They'd made so many interesting things in just over a month after the holiday.
He didn't know how they'd done research under Mrs. Weasley's nose.
Adrian smiled and turned his gaze to the Pygmy Puff again, very interested in this so-called magical creature.
It looked like a pink fluffy ball, about the size of a young wizard's fist. Adrian tried putting it on his hand and found it was very light.
The Pygmy Puff just stayed quietly on Adrian's hand, shifting its body. The pink fur rubbed against Adrian's palm, surprisingly comfortable.
[Magical Creature: Pygmy Puff]
[Magic Power: Low]
[Description: This may be the weakest magical creature ever. Its abilities include but are not limited to acting cute, rolling, jumping, and spinning. It will absorb magic power radiated by the holder at an extremely slow speed to maintain physical activity.]
Looking at the prompt message in the system display, Adrian was also somewhat speechless.
Well, it's enough for this thing to be cute. What else can you ask for?
Putting the Pygmy Puff on his shoulder, Adrian held the explanatory paper that came with the package, but it was blank with nothing on it.
"Hmm... let me think." Adrian touched his chin and thought about what password the two would use. Then he suddenly realized something and pointed his wand at the blank paper.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
Magical ripples spread along the center of the paper, and lines of text appeared on the surface.
"As expected," Adrian smiled. He'd seen similar protection magic on the Marauder's Map but hadn't expected the two to actually figure this magic out.
In contrast, the attached sheet wasn't as special as the Marauder's Map. It used the most common parchment and wasn't a magical item.
After Adrian glanced through it a few times, he unexpectedly discovered that besides attaching descriptions of the items, the Weasley twins had even written down the production methods of each item on paper and asked him for suggestions for improvement.
Adrian took this trust to heart, then checked the production method of the Pygmy Puff.
After reading it, Adrian realized Pygmy Puffs were actually similar to some intelligent (simple) robots in the Muggle world, only performing some basic actions according to programmed instructions.
George and Fred's father, Arthur Weasley, was originally an employee of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry. There were many Muggle machines in the family, and they'd drawn most of their inspiration from them.
Jingle jingle...
Just as Adrian was about to study the Pygmy Puff more, a crisp bell rang at the door. When he turned his head, he found it was Dougt, whom he hadn't seen in a while.
"What's the matter, Deputy Director Dougt?" Adrian put down the cute Pygmy Puff and asked.
"I received news that the inspectors from the Ministry will be here in two days," Dougt said with a frown, speaking urgently.
After walking in, Dougt realized this place looked different than before, but he didn't look closely and asked anxiously, "It's been so many days. Why haven't you disposed of these dark magical items? Where's Irene?"
"Deputy Director Dougt, this is a formal magic shop. There are no dark magical items you mentioned."
Adrian interrupted Dougt's words with a serious face, then spoke again.
"Don't look down on us just because we're in Knockturn Alley. Even opening a shop here, our hearts long for the light. Therefore, we've been committed to researching protection against dark magic. Now we have some results. Please allow me to solemnly introduce you to the flagship product in our store, Shield Gloves!"
"Do you need to buy a pair, Deputy Director?" Adrian pointed to the conspicuous shelf behind them.
Dougt looked dumbfounded. 'Did I enter the wrong place, or did this kid take the wrong medicine?'
"You'd better save those words to tell the people from the Ministry," Irene said. She'd already walked up behind Adrian and ruffled his hair at some point.
Speaking of it, Irene was also quite helpless. She really didn't know why Adrian had so many strange thoughts at such a young age.
'What do the current professors at Hogwarts teach in class?'
But thinking about it carefully, what Adrian said was quite reasonable. Maybe they could use it when the time came.
"I'm just rehearsing in advance. Deputy Director Dougt, what do you think of the effect?" Adrian shrugged and looked at the stunned man.