"Please, sit down," Fred invited the first-year student to sit in the chair.
Richard settled comfortably into the chair. Opposite him, the twins stood on either side of the other piece of furniture, leaning against its back.
- So, gentlemen, I believe you are ready for conversation.
"We have something to show, Lord," George said with slight excitement.
"I'm curious, show me," Richard answered graciously.
Fred showed a small candy and, like a professional salesman, began to describe it with expression:
"Gentlemen, I present to you a unique product. We've called it 'Canary Fudge.' Anyone who eats this candy will turn into a giant canary for a few minutes. We tested these candies on each other."
"Can any of you demonstrate this?" Rich asked.
"Look, and don't say you didn't see it," Fred replied.
Fred swallowed the candy and grew yellow and green feathers, looking like a giant canary.
Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said:
- Interesting. This is, I assume, a joke item?
"Yes," George confirmed. "My brother and I love jokes and pranks. We once thought about opening our own store like Zonko's."
"Uh-huh, I see," Richard interlaced his fingers and placed them on his stomach. "Is it safe? Can you achieve any effect this way? For example, change someone's appearance, and not just for a few minutes, but for a longer period."
"It's safe, but it needs to be tested on volunteers," Fred said.
"It's trivial," George replied. "There's Polyjuice Potion for transforming into someone else. You brew it for a month, add a hair of the person you want, and you transform into them for an hour."
- I see. I'll keep that in mind...
Richie looked closely at Fred in the guise of a canary, who was amusingly walking around the room on half-bent legs and imitating wings with the movements of his elbows.
"And yet, gentlemen," Rich continued, "any ideas for creating something not just a joke, but something useful? I like the concept itself: eat it and you're changed, but the essence of the change... Hmm... Unconventional, to put it mildly."
"Is the lord interested in anything specific?" George asked.
"I might be repeating myself, but I'm interested in beneficial, even short-term, effects. For example, levitation; invisibility; changes in appearance, and so on; increased strength, agility, reaction time, endurance; protection from bullets, knives, and things of that nature."
"Levitation?" Fred stopped writhing. "Ha! It's possible. Do you think, George, we could make a potion to apply to clothing that would give short-term levitation?"
"We could try a charm or combine it with a potion," George said thoughtfully. "We'll just need ingredients for the experiments."
"Gentlemen," Richard said, unclasping his hands, "I certainly don't want to limit your creative impulses. You can continue inventing funny things. I can see your talent. To have created such candies at such a young age is truly admirable. I'm willing to provide a small grant for scientific and magical research, but on one condition."
The twins cheered and straightened up. Fred transformed back into a human and asked:
- Which one?
"You'll have to devote at least some of your time to developing useful things. The criterion is that Muggles can use it."
"Okay, Lord," Fred replied seriously.
"Come to the Hufflepuff dorm after lunch. Will a hundred Galleons get you started?"
"A hundred Galleons?" Fred drawled, hiding his joy. "Do you think that little change will be enough for us, George?"
"Hmm... My brother, Fred, I don't even know... Just a hundred. But what can we do? We have to agree."
"Your Excellency, this small detail will suit us," Fred said with a smile on his face.
- Gentlemen, how much time will it take you to develop it?
"About a couple of months," George answered.
"I look forward to meeting you in two months. Share your development, or at the very least, a progress report and your ideas. If there's potential for further collaboration, you'll receive another grant."