This was…strange.
Noting their strange looks, Ivan pursed his lips and made no attempt to explain.
Being an Auror or a professor was overkill.
As for dominating the wizarding world? That didn't seem like much fun.
Ivan would never have been interested in forming a force if he hadn't been forced to do so, and he was only fighting Voldemort to protect himself and his family and friends.
He was most interested in the study of magic, and his interest deepened when he learned of its nature from Nicolas Flamel.
Change matter, live forever, rise from the dead…
The power of magic is unimaginable and fascinating!
… .
The first day of school was soon over, and they left for the Gryffindor Lounge.
As they entered, they saw George and Fred standing furtively at the noticeboard.
"George, Fred, what are you doing?" Yvonne asked as she stepped forward to find George and Fred sticking a notice on the noticeboard with magic tape.
Hermione saw this and stopped them. "The Prefects use the noticeboard in the break room for issuing emergency notices, not for you to put up advertisements."
"We'll use it for now. If there's an emergency notice, we'll tear it off…" George said with a grin.
Unfortunately, Hermione was not impressed, and refused to let them use the noticeboard as a place to promote their "products."
"Also, you're not allowed to sell truant sweets, cheat quills, or love potions in school. It's a serious breach of the rules!" Hermione said, glaring at them.
"Don't be so fussy, Hermione, everyone's going to want a bit of fun out of their studies!" Fred emphasised in a tone of belief.
"Yes, yes, for example, our newly developed Wonder Witch (Love Potion), which I think many wizards need to enhance their attractiveness…" George said quietly, nodding in agreement.
'Just think, if you slipped a drop of this into Ivan's drink, he'd love you…'
Hermione's face turned red with anger and she threw the Wonder Witch back. She didn't need it.
Ivan was speechless. George's bribe seemed to be discreet, but his body had been strengthened many times, so it was only natural that he knew about it.
"What's the rush to promote the new product?" Ivan asked.
"To earn more Galleons, of course. Fred and I are going to open our own wizarding shop after we graduate this year. We're still short of money." George spread his hands helplessly.
"Can I help you with that? Three thousand Galleons. Is that enough?" Ivan asked, naming a number.
"Three…three thousand Galleons?!" George and Fred gasped in shock. They had never seen so much money!
Ever since they started making their own magical tools in their third year, they only had around a hundred Galleons at most. The rest of the money was used to buy materials or support the research of new tools.
There were even times when they could not make ends meet…
That's why they're planning to make a lot of money selling flyers this year.
Even so, according to their estimates, it would take at least eight to nine hundred Galleons to rent a cheap shop in Diagon Alley and renovate it.
After all, they were short-handed and had limited time, so they could not expand their production.
"What? Three thousand Galleons isn't enough?" Ivan asked when he saw George and Fred staring at each other for a long time.
"No, no, no, it's too much!" George exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
Three thousand Galleons!
Originally, they only wanted to rent a remote area and have a venue. However, with three thousand Galleons, they could choose the most suitable location and renovate the place better. Most importantly, they would not have to worry about funding for future research.
Just thinking about it made them excited, but it didn't take long for their enthusiasm to cool.
George hesitated for a moment before saying sheepishly, "Ivan, you've helped us too much in the past. We can't accept your help anymore…and three thousand Galleons is too much…"
Ivan put out his hand to stop George from continuing, explaining, "Make no mistake, this is an investment, the kind that pays back! How shall I put it, I have great confidence in the joke toy shop you're planning to open…"
George and Fred looked at each other, then nodded in unison. "Okay, sure, but the proceeds…"
"I'll only take thirty percent, since the magical tools you've developed are the basis of the shop…" Yvonne began.
The Weasleys' Joke Shop was George and Fred's dream, and Ivan was not prepared to take it.
George and Fred, however, felt Ivan was at a disadvantage and disagreed.
After much discussion, they agreed to sell 40% of the shop to Ivan for 1,500 Galleons, with the remaining 1,500 Galleons being on loan.
Unable to dissuade them, Ivan agreed, and then changed the subject, reminding them, "Now that you have money, you should stop sticking up leaflets everywhere. The new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor is not easy to deal with. If she catches you red-handed, you won't just be grounded."
'That Umbridge from the Ministry of Magic? We're not afraid of her…' said Fred casually.
"And you're the biggest shareholder in Weasleys' Joke Toys, so you can't always be on your girlfriend's side, can you? You should act tough, Ivan, you can't go easy on her…" George complained, ignoring Hermione's angry look.
"No, it's nothing to do with Hermione. I'm just worried you're going to get into trouble," Ivan said with a sigh.
"What would you think if someone bought your Wonder Witch (love potion) and slipped it into Angelina's drink? Fred?"
Fred followed Ivan's train of thought and felt a green light flash above his head.
"I always look out for Angelina," Fred said firmly.
"You can't be around her all the time." Ivan shook his head. "That's why you shouldn't sell the love potion. It's too dangerous! If you have time, you might as well study new products… You're graduating soon. If you get caught and you're expelled, things will get ugly…"
After much persuasion from Ivan, George and Fred gave up on the idea of selling dangerous objects and went off happily to plan their grand scheme.
When they were gone, Hermione said, "You shouldn't have said yes, Ivan. It was three thousand Galleons…"
Ron nodded in agreement and was stunned. He had never seen so much money.
"It's only three thousand Galleons!" Ivan said nonchalantly. He could sell an alchemy tool for hundreds of Galleons, and his Philosopher's Stone was like a money-printing machine.
Furthermore, George and Fred were very talented at creating magical objects, and although they often came up with unorthodox ideas, they were very popular with the students.
Why wouldn't he do a profitable business? No matter how much money he did not lack, he would not complain about having too much money. He could even help his friends along the way…
Hermione was frustrated; she knew Ivan was rich, but that was not the way to spend money…and if George and Fred were too focused on the wizarding shop, they would not pass this year's N.E.W.T. exam.