Harry woke up the next day feeling tired the next day. It was inevitable as his magical reserves were not full yet and demanded him to rest but Harry was not the one to keep resting when he could move about. He quickly went to the bathroom to get a quick shower hoping that it would take away some of the sleepiness. And he was right, after the shower he did feel more energised than before. Ron was still snoring so Harry thought not to wake him up and went down to the common room after getting dressed.
There were very few students sitting in the common room, so Harry looked at his pocket watch, then understood the lack of students. It was five in the morning so most of them were still asleep. He could see some fourth years and fifth years sitting and reading. Harry sat down quietly by the fireplace and watched the fire. Its been quite a long time since he had time to freely think about anything he wanted. His thoughts drifted back to one of the dreams he had had. One involving the snake like creature. He had not dreamed about that creature for a while now, but he was still unable to keep it out of his thoughts. He shook his head, thinking about something he didn't know would not work, so he focused on improving his theories about magic. He was staring at the fire and thought of the last time he had casted fire magic when he was at home. This fire and that fire were different. Harry's fire seemed to have had much more magical property than this one.
Harry was contemplating on the differences when he heard his name being called. He looked up to see Fred and George standing over him, grinning.
"Hey Fred, George. What's up?"
"We just wanted to ask you how you were feeling Harry", Fred answered.
Harry smiled and replied, "I am better now, but my magical reserves are not full yet so I still feel tired"
George nodded and both of them sat down besides Harry. He gave them quizzical looks.
"Ok...out with it. What do you want?", Harry smirked.
"Well Harry, we just wanted to try out our new creation and were thinking if you could help us with it", Fred and George smirked back knowing that they were caught.
Harry chuckled. There was no stopping these two. "Ok, what is it?"
George fished some wrapped toffees from his pocket and presented them to Harry, who picked one and looked at it. Then he turned to the twins, "What is this?"
"That Harry, is something we call Chromatic Chews. Pop one of this in your mouth and your hair color will change to a random, dazzling hue!", George said.
Intrigued, Harry took a Chromatic Chew and bit into it. Instantly, his jet-black hair transformed into a vibrant shade of electric blue. Harry looked at the nearby mirror and laughed as the hair color made him look silly with his emerald eyes.
Fred and George, thoroughly pleased with the success of their prank sweet, explained, "It's a great way to add a bit of flair to your style, Harry! And the best part? The color changes every time you have a new one."
"Nice, I like it. Can I take a few?", Harry smirked.
Fred gave him quite a few, pleased that Harry had helped them test their invention.
"Well Harry, we will see you later! Don't drive the girls too crazy", the twins added with a wink.
The got and were about to leave when a sudden idea entered in Harry's mind.
"Hey Fred and George", Harry called out.
The twins turned to look back at Harry and he beckoned them to come and sit near him. They did.
"What's up Harry?", George asked.
"I have an idea. Strictly between us though"
Fred and George smirked, "We are listening"
"How would you like to start a business of these kind of pranks?", Harry smirked.
The twins looked shocked but they were eager to know the details as they had always wanted to do that. Harry's proposal intrigued Fred and George, and they leaned in, eager to hear more about his business idea.
"Imagine this," Harry began, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "a shop in Diagon Alley that sells all sorts of magical pranks and joke items. We could call it 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' or something like that."
The twins exchanged excited glances, realizing the potential of such a venture. "A joke shop? That sounds brilliant!" Fred exclaimed.
Harry continued outlining his vision, "We could have a variety of prank sweets, like the Chromatic Chews, maybe some that cause harmless but funny effects. With your inventiveness and my popularity, we could make it the most popular shop in Diagon Alley."
Fred and George listened to Harry's proposal with growing excitement, but their enthusiasm was dampened by a practical concern.
"But Harry," George began, "starting a business like that requires a good deal of money. We're not exactly rolling in Galleons, you know."
Fred nodded in agreement, "Yeah, and we can't have you spending your money on our dream. It wouldn't be fair."
Harry considered their financial predicament and understood their hesitation. Even if they wanted to they will not let Harry spend his money on them. "Well, I might have a solution for that," he said with a sly grin.
Both twins raised their eyebrows, intrigued. "What solution?" Fred asked.
"How about we start small? We can create a few batches of your prank products, sell them at Hogwarts, and see how it goes. The profits can then be reinvested into expanding your business."
Fred and George were excited about this, but again reality hit them.
"That's an absolutely great idea Harry, but creating batches of these stuffs would require us to purchase the materials. We barely manage to get some materials to experiment with by saving our pocket money.", Fred explained.
Harry knew about the financial situation of the Weasleys and wanted to change that, that was the reason he had proposed this idea to the twins.
"How about I invest in it?"
Fred and George looked absolutely shocked. Then they shook their heads in unison.
"No Harry, we can't take your money to do this. It's not right." the twins said in unison.
Knowing that he wouldn't be able to get them to take it. Harry's mind started running at lightning speed trying to figure out something and then he smirked.
"I won't be giving you guys money for free. I invest the money and in return I want three things from you guys"
Fred and George looked at each other and then turned to Harry, "What things?"
"First, I will get your tricks for free for my personal use whenever I want for lifetime"
Fred and George nodded.
"Second, I want 10% of the total profit. This way you guys don't feel burdened about taking the money. Also the 10% will only be counted if the total profit is 10 galleons or more."
Fred and George frowned at this as this meant that if they made 10 galleons as profit, Harry would only take 1 galleon and if the profit was below 10%, he would not take anything. But they still agreed.
"What's the third condition?", George asked.
"Let me borrow that map of Hogwarts you guys have. I want to make a similar map. It's frustrating to keep using my magic to scan everything all the time. I'll return it to you guys after I make my own"
Fred and George looked flabbergasted. They had not told anyone about the Marauders map. Not even to their brothers. How did Harry come to know about it?
Looking at them hesitating, Harry lied, "I came to know it from an original Marauder"
Fred and George exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions a mix of shock and curiosity. George leaned in closer, squinting at Harry as if trying to decipher the truth.
"A Marauder?" Fred questioned, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Are you pulling our legs, Harry?"
Harry maintained a poker face, keeping up the charade. "No joke, guys. I stumbled upon an original Marauder who happened to mention the map. Said he used it during his time at Hogwarts."
The twins continued to stare at Harry, skepticism etched across their faces. George finally spoke up, "But... the Marauders are ancient history. How did you even meet one?"
Harry smirked, "You guys have also met them Fred and George. At least to my knowledge you have met one of them"
The twins were more shocked now. They had met the Marauders? Who? When? They don't remember meeting any ancient old people.
Harry chuckled at the twins expressions and decided to take pity at them,
"The original Marauders are not ancient. The original Marauders were my father, Sirius, Remus and that rat Pettigrew"
The twins' eyes widened in astonishment, their skepticism replaced by sheer disbelief. Fred's jaw dropped, and George's eyebrows nearly reached his hairline.
"You're telling us," Fred began, struggling to find the right words, "that your dad, Sirius, Remus, and that rat Pettigrew were the Marauders?"
Harry nodded, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Surprising, isn't it? But yeah, they created the Marauder's Map during their time at Hogwarts. So, technically, you guys did meet the original Marauders. My father was Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot, Remus is Mooney and that rat is Wormtail."
The twins exchanged glances, processing this unexpected revelation. George muttered, "Bloody hell."
Fred, recovering from his initial shock, let out a hearty laugh. "Well, I'll be... We had no idea we were dealing with legacy pranksters."
George added with a smirk, "Does that mean you inherited their penchant for mischief, Harry?"
Harry shrugged playfully, "Maybe a bit. But enough about me, what do you think of our little deal now?"
Fred grinned, "Deal just got a lot more interesting, didn't it, George?"
George nodded, still coming to terms with the newfound connection. "Alright, Harry. You've got yourself a deal, and you'll get the map. But you better make this business legendary with our pranks."
Harry chuckled to himself. Now his plan to make the Weasleys rich has started. Since Fred and George's pranks were famous at Hogwarts, Harry had no doubt that the business would be booming in a few weeks.
"Now tell me how much should I invest?"
Fred and George looked uncomfortable at that question. They didn't want to say it as it would be kind of demanding money from Harry. Harry noticed their discomfort and decided to make the investment himself rather than asking.
"I think 100 galleons should do it. Right?"
Fred and George exchanged surprised glances, clearly not expecting Harry to propose such a significant amount. Fred managed to stammer, "Harry, that's... that's a lot of galleons. Are you sure about this?"
Harry grinned, his decision firm. "Absolutely. Consider it an investment in our future mischief empire. Now, let's get started on those prank sweets, shall we?"
The twins, still taken aback by Harry's generosity, nodded with grateful smiles. Then Harry remembered that he did not have that much money on him right now and he would have to make a trip to Gringotts if he didn't want Sirius or Vernon to send him the money themselves. He could sneak out of the castle with the twins and make it to Hogsmead and apparate from there to Diagon Alley.
Harry smirked at the twins, "You guys up for some mischief?"