Chapter 34

The four boys decided it was time to leave after finishing their second mug of butter beer. After locating his robe and donning it, Lee Jorden left the Three Broomstick Inn with his companions. Albert prevented Fred and George from opening their umbrella inside.

"Don't you know that opening your umbrella from the inside is unlucky?" said Albert.

The twins agreed, "No, we did not know.

As he escorted the boys outside, Lee Jorden remarked, "Well, you learn something new every day.

The boys were no longer being rained on by the large, dark cloud, and there was much less rain outside. They determined that their umbrellas were still required, though.

"Let's first visit Zonko's Joke Shop!" Fred made an idea. He was concerned that Lee and Albert would prefer to first visit Honeydukes or some other location.

Albert said, turning his head away from the candy store across from them, "Alright by me." He was also interested in the products the joke shop offered. It was obviously sufficient to prevent the twins from acting out.

Honeydukes is right next door to Zonko's Joke Shop. If you didn't read the signs, you could easily enter the wrong shop because the storefronts looked so similar. A strange sound interrupted the four as they entered the store, alerting the owner that there were customers present.

They were immediately struck by how vibrant and chaotic Zonko's Joke Shop's interior was in contrast to its uninteresting exterior. They lined the walls with shelves upon shelves of novelty goods and practical joke supplies, including extendable ears and a fake wand. They could see a small, glass cage in the middle of the store with what they thought was a toy dragon breathing fire toward them. A pair of cuddly unicorn slippers and other "Fantastic Beasts"-themed clothing could also be found at the store's back.

"This is Zonko's Joke Shop, welcome. Are you here to shop or just browse?" Zonko said as he stood up from behind the counter and set down the Daily Prophet for today. He grinned as he greeted the four young visitors.

The twins announced in unison, "We're buying today," as they placed their umbrella in the umbrella rack and vanished into the chaos of the prank section in front of them, Lee trailing behind.

Albert followed suit, but he moved on to the novelty area. He discovered a few amusing items, at the very least.

Albert picked up the quill to examine it and referred to it as a "Automatic Answering Quill."

"This was my own creation. It contains a sizable number of sample answers that have already been written. It's ideal for those of us who are lazy and don't want to complete their own homework "Zonko spoke as if trying to convince him that he needs it.

"A product of excellent quality, but not for me," said Albert. The professors would have had students using the quill in their classes, and they could tell when they were cheating, so he was against it. The extra time, in Albert's opinion, is not worth the detention.

A broom is placed next to the quill. Albert read the product description because he was curious.

It read:

[Product Name: Rodeo Broomstick

Description: Giving your younger sibling this gift for the holidays is a great idea. The broom will behave differently depending on the setting you select when you try to ride it farther than three metres from the starting position. This model has five settings, count 'em, five. They are a Backflip, a Crazy Spin, Extremely Random Brakes, an Emergency Stop, and a Complete Halt.

Price: 15 Gallons]

When he saw the price, Albert's face twitched. It was an updated version of the fake broom he had brought his sister from Diagon Alley. This was worse, in Albert's opinion, as it cost almost twice as much as the one he had brought for his sister, which cost only 8 Galleons. Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were already seated at the cash register when he turned to look for the others. Zonko turned away from Albert and returned to the counter. On the other counter, the three of them were choosing props. He approached and noticed a soap bar with some black spots.

[Product Name: Un-cleaning Soap Bar

Description: Prank your friends by replacing their soap with this. When they use it, instead of getting clean, they will become even dirtier.

Price: 11 Sickles]

Beside the un-cleaning Soap Bars, there were some teacups. Once Albert read the description, he did not reach out to touch them.

[Product Name: Nose Biting Teacup

Description: A must buy for someone who has a tea-loving friend. An American wizard created this product to prank his friend, who was a British wizard. The product does what its name suggests.

Price: 7 sickles]

Albert turned to face the twins and asked, "What are you going to buy?"

They immediately replied, "Dung Bombs! What about you?"

"A Screeching Quill," Albert said as he picked up the first thing his hand touched.

[Product Name: Screeching Quill

Description: Keep what's yours, yours. With this product, thieves will think twice about stealing your quill. When somebody else touches your quill, it will release an ear-piercing screech.

Price: 9 Sickles]

"What are you buying?" Albert looked at Lee Jordan.

"I want to buy this." He pointed to a frisbee with sharp teeth on it.

"This is a Sharp Toothed Frisbee," Zonko said as he looked over at them from his counter. "Be careful when you play it to not get bitten."

"Let me see if there are other things." Lee Jorden looked at the price and was a little vexed. This thing costs 15 Sickles. That's almost a Galleon.

Before paying, Albert bought two Inflatable Screaming Skeletons. It was as big as his fist but when thrown, the ball with inflate to the size of a normal adult male. Lee Jorden bought a Sticky Retractable Hand. After throwing it, it will grab the closest person and stick to them for a while. Although it will not hurt, it will leave a mark on the person. He also brought Dung Bombs.

Soon they left the joke shop with paper bags with the things they had brought and headed to Honeydukes. The twins went crazy when buying stuff and went over their limit. They were about to not buy everything until Zonko offered a small discount and Albert offering to pay for them for the four of them as long as they didn't use the Dung Bombs in the bedroom. He used the money he got as a mission reward for helping Gabriel.

"Remember to never use that in our room," Albert warned them again.

"Yes, we heard you the first time," the twins said in unison.

"That was a great place. I wish there were more places like this in Britain," George said.

"Why don't you open your own joke shop after graduating from Hogwarts," Alber said as he remembered the twins' shop from the movies.

"That sound like a good idea. We should do that, brother," Fred said as he saw his brother nodding at his comment.

"And I'll be the first customer there," Lee said.

"What about you guys?"

"I haven't decided yet." Albert was still thinking about his future career.

He did not intend to give up on entering the financial scene. After all, it was a straightforward job if you knew what you are doing and pays substantial money. According to his calculation, if he completes every mission the system issued him and saves up the Experience points, he can upgrade economics and business management to a high level. This method will guarantee a minimum six figure salary.

"What about you, Lee?" George asked.

"Some place where I can have a real influence on people," Lee Jorden said as they entered Honeydukes.