All the boys approved of the announced plan.
Richie immediately called Detective Potter. Since he'd contacted him the previous evening and they'd worked out a plan together, the boy received a reply almost immediately that the two wizards and Scott were already in Hogsmeade. After hanging up, Rich handed the twins the labeled bags of hair and said:
- George, Fred, they will be waiting for you at the back entrance to Honeydukes.
"Yes, boss!" Fred saluted comically.
"Yes sir!" George repeated his brother's antics.
"Wait!" Ron exclaimed. "How are we going to distract Percy?"
Richard shrugged.
- I don't know, Ron. Think of something.
Harry looked closely at his red-haired friend and said:
- Ron, just let's do without the owl this time!
"Yes, Ron!" Richard gave the younger Weasley a similar look. "No owls! I hope you didn't have one stashed away in your bag?"
Ron's face turned red. He exploded with indignation:
- How could you even think that?! Do you think I always carry an owl with me?
Fred and George exchanged glances. A mischievous glint entered their eyes. They glanced at their younger brother simultaneously. Fred asked in an unctuous voice:
- Ronnie, what kind of owl is that?
Ron looked indignantly at the calm Rich and then turned his gaze to the disconcerted Potter. A knowledgeable person could read in the sixth Weasley's gaze: "You brought up the owl yourself, so deal with the twins without me."
Richard took responsibility.
"Guys, this is an old joke. We decided to play a prank on Malfoy. Ron stole his owl last year. The bird turned out to be extremely naughty; it ate something it shouldn't have. The boys ran to you for a laxative. We gave the bird your potion, but Draco suddenly burst in. The owl ended up shitting icy glitter all over him..."
For a moment, the room was deathly silent. George and Fred turned their rapt expressions toward Ronald.
"Well done, brother!" Fred exclaimed happily. "Finally, you made the right choice and started following the example of your older brothers!"
"Brother Gred," George brushed away a nonexistent tear, "our Ronnie's a good one! Look, at this rate he'll outdo us."
"That's true, Brother Forge," Fred agreed.
Richard noticed that the Weasley twins had recently started calling each other by nicknames that were created through anagrams. So Fred became Gred, and George became Forge.
Ron's face flushed even more at the brothers' banter. He was about to explode. But Richard defused the tension.
- Fred, George, it's time for you to go. They're already waiting for you there.
The Weasley twins went after the illegals through the secret passage. Harry and Ron were about to follow the twins out of the room, but suddenly the sixth Weasley paused near the doorway, turned around, and asked:
- Richie, if the twins and I are going to do business, what will you do?
"Lead, Ron," Richard pointed his index finger upward. "Lead, assist, stand guard, cover your asses! Basically, if anything unexpected happens, someone needs to warn you with a call on the mike. So don't hide your communication artifacts. It's very important. Otherwise, the whole operation will fall apart like a house of cards."
Ron's face showed a serious thought process. Finally, he came to a decision, with a groan.
- Hmm... Well then, okay...
***
A emaciated gray rat lay on a soft pillow in the Gryffindor boys' dorm. Percy Weasley sat in a chair by the window, reading a book.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door and it swung open. Harry and Ron burst into the room like a hurricane.
Percy looked up from his book and looked expectantly at the visitors.
"What happened?" he asked dryly.