Adrian's mouth twitched. He'd thought Mrs. Moon genuinely found the potion outstanding and planned to purchase more. So that's how it was...
Mrs. Moon's acting skills were impressive, even he hadn't seen through it.
What Adrian didn't know was that Mrs. Moon had originally planned to buy just one or two potions to deal with the matter. But after learning they were made by a Potions Master, she'd been genuinely moved to purchase more.
Still, this whole operation by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement showed Adrian the corruption within the Ministry.
No wonder the Ministry, as the official institution of the magical world, failed against the Death Eater forces that emerged later. In the end, even the newly appointed Minister was hit with an Imperius Curse and became Voldemort's puppet.
From this purchase alone, Adrian could see some clues.
The Ministry would collapse sooner or later!
But Adrian didn't want to worry about messy things like that. He looked at Irene and said, "By the way, Mum, how should we fill the Ministry's order?"
"Didn't you think of a solution?" Irene said, puzzled. She'd assumed Adrian already had an idea when he'd proposed the shop renovation plan.
Why spend all day thinking about the Ministry's bulk order otherwise?
The two were silent for a moment, looking at the deposit on the table. They were stumped.
Adrian had a headache. When signing the contract, he'd promised to deliver everything in two weeks...
With just the two of them, they couldn't finish even if they worked themselves to exhaustion for ten days!
"What about setting up a magical factory?" Adrian suggested.
"Magical factory?" Irene asked, puzzled.
"Like your magical kitchen..." The more Adrian thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He explained Muggle techniques for mass-producing items to Irene.
As for his source, Adrian said he'd heard about it from Muggle-born wizards at Hogwarts.
As Adrian spoke, Irene's eyes grew brighter. Having created the magical kitchen herself, she understood what he meant.
Though making magical items was delicate work requiring magic when carving runes, other tedious steps could be completed with magical versions of machines.
"Where can I find these things you mentioned? I'll get one for reference," Irene said eagerly.
"Muggle gloves are usually made in factories. You can buy them in Muggle shops," Adrian said, touching his chin. There were only ten Protective Rings total. The Shield Gloves needed mass production.
But Adrian immediately realized something was wrong.
Get a machine for reference? How?
Seeing Irene about to Apparate, Adrian hurriedly reminded her, "Muggles don't accept Galleons!"
"Don't worry. If all else fails, I'll use a Memory Charm!" Irene added. With a wave of her wand and a spoken spell, she disappeared.
Memory Charm?
Adrian pressed his hand to his forehead. These things weren't expensive or secret. You could buy them on the market, just exchange a few Galleons for pounds.
Couldn't she follow proper procedure?
After Irene left, Adrian turned his attention to the bag on the table. Opening it, he found the interior had plenty of space, an Undetectable Extension Charm. The deposit was about a thousand Galleons.
But setting up a magical factory would cost a lot, and various materials would need many more Galleons. Not much would be left at the end, let alone the Weasleys' share.
Adrian smiled thinking about it. If George and Fred knew their Extendable Ears and quills could sell this well, they'd probably go mad with excitement.
"Shoo~" Adrian placed his index finger against his thumb, brought them to his mouth, and whistled.
After a moment, a snow-white owl flew down from upstairs, a quill in its beak and an envelope on its claw.
"Good job, Echo!" Adrian took the quill and envelope from Echo's beak and claw, then petted the little cutie with satisfaction.
He felt he was becoming quite talented as an animal trainer.
"Hoot~" Echo flapped his wings and landed on Adrian's shoulder, pecking his cheek affectionately with his beak.
Unfolding the envelope, Adrian picked up the quill and wrote a reply. He mentioned the Ministry's bulk purchase of Extendable Ears and quills, asking them to prepare the order within two weeks and mail everything together.
After writing the reply, Adrian took out fifty Galleons from the deposit. Without this money, George and Fred might not be able to buy materials for making large quantities of Extendable Ears and quills.
Though it was being intercepted midway, Adrian didn't dare give too much at once.
After sealing it, Adrian stuffed everything into the package.
It was the same package George and Fred had sent last time, with a weight-reduction charm fixed on it. Perfect for reuse.
"I'm troubling you again, Echo..." Adrian tied the package to the owl's feet.
The snow-white owl hooted twice in response, then fluttered his wings and flew into the sky, gradually becoming a white speck under Adrian's gaze.
Not long after, the space in the center of the hall twisted, and Irene's figure appeared before Adrian, empty-handed.
"Mum, where's the stuff?" Adrian asked, confused.
"There was too much equipment. I didn't know which to take," Aysia said, blushing. She'd thought Muggle machines were all the same.
Adrian rolled his eyes. He'd known this would happen.
But Irene didn't give him a chance to complain. After waving her wand to close the shop, she Apparated again, taking Adrian with her as they disappeared from the magical shop.
She didn't forget to grab the deposit from the table.
Several hours later, at the Burrow, in George and Fred's bedroom.
A plump middle-aged witch stood with her hands on her hips, pointing angrily at a pile of joke magical goods found on the floor, roaring furiously.
"No wonder your marks in History of Magic are so terrible! You've been wasting time on these pranks all day! If you can't pass your O.W.L. exams in fifth year, I won't be surprised!"
George and Fred trembled under the spray of spit, feeling miserable. They'd known they should have been more careful, they were waiting to go back to school to do research.
They really hadn't expected their mother to find everything while cleaning...
George and Fred looked at each other. Their faces looked worse than if they were crying.