"You said you would buy me a new wand..." Ron looked at Fred and George, his eyes filled with both hope and worry.
After his initial excitement, he now feared this might be another one of their pranks. After all, these two had a history — similar tricks had played out more than once in their family.
"Of course, my dear brother." Fred said with a smile, patting his shoulder, "Are you doubting your own brothers?"
Beside him, George put on an expression of deep hurt, "Ron, you've wounded our hearts."
"Sorry... I, I didn't mean it that way." Ron's face turned red as he stammered, "I just... was afraid — no, not afraid — I really trust you guys, really, I..."
"Relax, Ron." Kyle said with a smile, "They're the ones joking now. Don't worry, I promise you'll get your new wand today."
Ron was unusually nervous — though, thinking about it, this wasn't too far from his normal behavior.
Compared to Fred and George, Kyle was clearly more trustworthy in Ron's eyes.
"Thank you, Kyle." The redness in Ron's face faded slightly.
Though still anxious, he appeared more composed than before.
But Fred and George weren't pleased.
"Why are you thanking Kyle?"
"See, you still don't trust us."
...
Ron's nervousness returned, "No, no, thank you too."
Fred and George finally nodded in satisfaction.
Afterward, the four left the noisy Leaky Cauldron and headed to Diagon Alley.
At the entrance, Kyle deliberately fell behind and casually extended his leg to kick sideways at a trash bin.
Thud!
Despite the dull sound, the bin didn't budge an inch.
"Hmm?"
Kyle turned his head to examine it carefully, only to discover that someone had used a Fixing Charm to secure the bin to the ground.
No wonder he couldn't move it.
"Must be old Tom's doing..." Kyle's expression darkened.
This was too much — he had said he trusted him just last year, but behind his back, he'd secretly fixed the trash bin to the ground. Was trust between people really this fragile?
Kyle grew increasingly angry and, when the other three weren't looking, quickly drew his wand and pointed it at the bin.
✭ Engorgio ➜ Engorgement Charm ✭
The trash bin visibly grew taller, though only by about the thickness of a brick.
Kyle put away his wand and caught up with the Weasleys as if nothing had happened.
George asked with some confusion, "What were you doing back there? Why the delay?"
Kyle casually replied, "Nothing, just dropped a Sickle."
"Did you find it?"
"Yeah, found it."
George nodded, not thinking much of it.
The group had a clear destination, heading straight for Ollivanders. Ron walked in front, while Kyle and the twins fell slightly behind, conversing in low voices.
"What do you think would happen if we suddenly left now?" Fred whispered.
"Little Ron would be devastated." George said, suppressing a laugh, "And then Mum would give us a thrashing."
"And..." Kyle added, "you wouldn't keep those thirty Galleons either."
"Well, better forget about it then." Fred shrugged, "Let's do it for the Galleons."
Walking at the front, Ron seemed to hear their conversation and quickly glanced back. Seeing the three still there, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"By the way, do you have a plan?" George asked quietly after Ron turned back around, "Little Ron may not be the brightest, but he wouldn't ask that kind of question without reason."
Fred nodded in agreement, "Yeah, his mind must be full of the new wand right now — how would he notice whether Ollivander's shop is dirty or not?"
"If he doesn't ask, we can remind him." Kyle stroked his chin and whispered something to the twins.
Fred frowned after listening, "Will that work?"
"It should be fine..." Kyle shrugged, "If it doesn't, we'll drop it. I'm just curious anyway, it's not like I absolutely need to know."
"Tch, your curiosity is expensive." George grimaced, "Seven Galleons."
Kyle just smiled without saying anything.
Ollivander's shop wasn't far from the entrance to Diagon Alley, just around the corner. Looking at the small, shabby shop, Ron's eyes grew even more excited.
But just as he was about to go inside, Fred stepped forward first, looking down, seemingly lost in thought.
"Careful, Fred!" Ron warned frantically, "You're going the wrong way, that's not... the door—"
Bang!
Before he could finish, Fred "heavily" crashed into the shop window.
"Oh damn, why is this shop so dirty?" Fred brushed the dust off himself with frustration, "I should've known better than to wear robes today. These are new."
George went to help.
The two brushed for quite a while, but the robes still looked dirty, covered in gray dust.
"Fred, you're so careless." George called out dramatically, "Mum will definitely scold you when she sees this."
"Can't help it, it's too dirty here. This dust must be centuries old."
Kyle walked over and said matter-of-factly, "Well, I think you could ask Ollivander for compensation. Remember my roommate Michael? Last year when he got his robes dirty at the pet shop, they gave him an extra pack of pet food."
"Too bad... we're not buying wands." Fred looked regretful, "Otherwise, I would definitely ask Ollivander for an extra wand care kit."
"Yeah, what a shame." George shook his head, "A care kit costs seven Sickles."
"Nothing we can do about it." Fred sighed, "Well, you take little Ron in first."
"Alright..." George nodded and opened the door to Ollivander's shop, "Come on, little Ron."
Ron, who appeared lost in thought, quickly rushed over at his brother's call.
Kyle noticed that Ron deliberately brushed against the doorframe as he entered.
"Did he believe it?" Fred asked eagerly as soon as they were gone.
"I think he did." Kyle took out his wand and pointed it at Fred's robes.
✭ Scourgify ➜ Scouring Charm ✭
In an instant, all the dust vanished.
✭✭✭
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