Fred clearly wanted to keep George from realizing he had feelings for Angelina, so he deliberately changed the subject. "Where are Hermione and Annie?"
"They should be here soon; they're riding unicorns."
"Cool! You know, those unicorns never let us get near them.
"During the summer after our first year, George and I dressed up in unicorn costumes to try and sneak close enough to pluck a few tail hairs and sell them to Cedric. We were spotted right away.
"That old unicorn gave me a spinning back kick. Luckily, Niffler took the brunt of the blow for me."
"…"
The three of them soon arrived at the Burrow. The house looked like it had once been a large stone pigsty, with rooms haphazardly added here and there until it towered several stories high, all held together with magic.
The red roof had four or five chimneys poking out, and a tilted sign near the front read, "The Burrow."
By the front door were a few pairs of high-topped boots, a rusty cauldron, and several brown hens pecking at the ground in the yard.
"Come on in. My dad's still at work, but he'll be back soon, and my mum's making dinner," George said, putting an arm around William as they walked inside.
"Mum, William's here!" Fred called out.
Mrs. Weasley appeared from the kitchen, wearing an apron.
"Lovely to see you, dear William. Thank you so much for looking after these two at school. You've been such a big help."
Mrs. Weasley was a plump, kind-faced woman with an air of warmth.
"Come in and make yourself comfortable. Arthur will be home soon," she said warmly.
The living room was spacious but crowded with various items, making it feel a bit cramped.
In one corner stood an old grandfather clock, though it wasn't used for telling time.
The clock had nine golden hands, each inscribed with a family member's name. Instead of numbers, the clock's face displayed various locations or statuses such as "Home," "School," "Work," "Traveling," "Lost," "Hospital," "Prison," and, at the twelve o'clock position, "Mortal Peril."
At the moment, the hands for Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie pointed to "Work," while the rest of the family was marked as "Home."
William examined the clock with great interest.
It was an incredible piece of alchemical craftsmanship, naming magic, divination, and tracking spells.
The Weasley family might seem modest, but they had inherited some incredible treasures.
A clock like this could easily fetch thousands of Galleons in Knockturn Alley's black market.
"Interested in it?" Fred tossed William a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
"Yeah, it's quite impressive. I've been thinking about upgrading our map, and this gave me some inspiration," William said as he popped a bean into his mouth. Luckily, it was grass-flavored—not bad.
"Why not take it apart then? With your skills, you should be able to put it back together, right?" George asked uncertainly.
"Ha, I'd rather pick up a broken one from the black market. Tinkering with something this precise could be risky," William replied with a smile.
Just then, the sound of a wizarding wireless came from the kitchen.
"Now playing on Magical Moments: the famous witch singer Celestina Warbeck performing 'You Stole My Cauldron but Not My Heart.'"
"Oh, here we go again," Fred sighed.
"Why can't we listen to something else? It's the same songs every day," George complained.
"What's going on?" William asked, puzzled.
"Celestina Warbeck. Mum listens to her every day, says it helps her cook better meals.
"It's always the same few songs, and we've been hearing them for over a decade," George explained.
William wasn't familiar with wizarding singers, but from the twins' descriptions, Celestina Warbeck was a well known performer, known as the "Singing Sorceress." At 75 years old, she was the wizarding world's equivalent of a legendary vocalist.
Her hits included A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love and You Bewitched Me with Magic.
These songs held a cultural status comparable to classics like The Moon Represents My Heart.
"Let's head upstairs," George said, pulling William toward the staircase.
As they climbed, they noticed Ginny's bedroom door was ajar.
Ginny was lying on her bed, her head hanging off the edge, twisting her neck around as if practicing something.
When she saw William, she let out a shriek, flipped upright like a spring, and jumped to her feet.
"William, is Annie here yet?" Ginny asked excitedly, slipping on her shoes and rushing over.
"Yeah, they should be here by now."
Ginny was friends with Luna, and since Annie loved wandering around, she naturally got to know Ginny. The three of them were first-year students this year.
"What were you practicing just now?" William asked curiously.
It reminded him of a martial arts technique, something like to Ouyang Feng's toad stance.
"Yoga! Annie taught me. She said it helps maintain a good figure.
"She even said that once we get to school, we should form a yoga club, teach others, and charge fees."
William rolled his eyes. What was Annie up to now?
After picking up a few tricks from Lianna, she was already flaunting them around.
William had even caught Hermione trying something similar on her bed, flailing awkwardly. Couldn't they find a proper instructor?
And who would that be? Of course, not William—definitely not Annie either!
Ginny dashed off energetically to find Annie.
"You know, Ginny's been acting strange lately," Fred said, "She used to talk about Harry all the time, but now it's Annie this, Annie that.
"And when she's not chatting about Annie, she's on her bed practicing yoga, trying to put her leg behind her head."
Fred grimaced, "Doesn't that hurt?"
"It does! I tried it once. Fred helped me lift my leg, and I thought it was going to snap," George added with a sigh.
The twins shared a bedroom with two small beds, alchemical tools scattered everywhere, and a pile of maps.
Fred pulled out an order list from his enchanted ring. It was filled with names.
"We've got so many orders to fill this summer. Our products are becoming famous. Shops in Diagon Alley are buying in bulk," said George.
"Are we sure we don't want to open a store in Diagon Alley?" Fred asked.
Selling wholesale to shops clearly didn't satisfy him.
"Even if we did, who would run it?" William pointed out.
They were all still students, and without someone reliable to manage the shop, it wasn't feasible.
William knew the twins were considering dropping out of school, but he strongly opposed the idea.
Money could always be earned later, but their time at Hogwarts was fleeting. It was a period meant to be cherished.
"So, has Mrs. Weasley been opposing your plans lately?" William asked.
"Not at all! We haven't neglected our studies, and let's be honest, most of the products are made by you. We're just helping out," Fred said.
"And we send a good chunk of the profits home every month," George added.
"You know how hard Dad works overtime, but he hardly gets paid extra.
"With Ginny starting school this year and the possibility of new Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks, the family expenses have gone up.
"Mum doesn't really have grounds to oppose us."
Mrs. Weasley wanted the twins to work at the Ministry of Magic in the future, which was a stable, respectable job.
But with their business already thriving and them contributing financially to the household, she couldn't say no.
Otherwise, they wouldn't even have the money to buy Ginny a new set of robes!
In the end, practicality outweighed dreams.