"Thank you, Wayne. Fred's already told me everything was your idea."
Seeing Wayne emerge, Mr Weasley enthusiastically pulled him into a corner to express his gratitude.
The young man smiled modestly. "It was mainly Harry's influence that did it. I just offered some suggestions."
Mr Weasley sighed. "Don't say that. If you hadn't thought of this solution, Harry and the others couldn't have helped me. In a way, this misfortune became a blessing. Fudge promoted me. Though I'm still the only one in the entire department, at least my salary's increased considerably."
"That's wonderful," Wayne congratulated him.
"Just a shame about the car," Mr Weasley said wistfully. "I hadn't even driven it after modifying it before Ron took off with it."
If possible, he'd have loved to give Ron a good thrashing, though it wasn't exactly convenient at school.
"You could try searching the Forbidden Forest," Wayne suggested. "After crashing into the Whomping Willow, the car went charging into the forest. You might get lucky."
"Best not," Mr Weasley shuddered. "Molly would never let me tinker with it again..."
Between his hobby and his life, the latter seemed more important.
Mrs Weasley hadn't been giving him much leeway these past two days either.
Wayne understood perfectly, patting Mr Weasley's shoulder in silent commiseration that spoke volumes.
Middle age truly brought its own constraints.
...
Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's Office.
Dumbledore wore his usual benign smile. "Cornelius, it really wasn't worth your trouble coming all this way for such a minor matter."
"No, no," Fudge shook his head hastily. "This was indeed the Ministry's oversight. Fortunately, Arthur was prepared... Though I don't believe this was an organised malicious attack. What do you think, Dumbledore?"
Fudge probed cautiously, reluctant to attribute the incident to Death Eaters, which could easily cause panic.
"I'm not privy to the details," Dumbledore maintained his smile. "But I have every confidence in the Ministry's investigative capabilities, don't you?"
"Absolutely," Fudge replied cheerfully, relieved by Dumbledore's cooperation. The weight lifted from his shoulders.
Having essentially stumbled into the Minister for Magic position by chance, Fudge was more insecure than most. As long as Dumbledore showed no intention of interfering excessively in Ministry affairs, he was happy to extend the utmost respect.
...
After Fudge departed, the portraits that had been feigning death suddenly revived.
"That was really the Minister for Magic?" Everard's voice brimmed with disbelief: "He's practically grovelling to you, utterly undignified!"
Everard was one of the most renowned Headmasters in school history, having not only led the institution but also held prominent positions at the Ministry of Magic. His portrait still hung in the Ministry's Great Hall.
"Cornelius is simply being overly cautious," Dumbledore chuckled.
He understood Fudge's concerns perfectly.
But even if he stated his complete disinterest in the Minister for Magic position, would Fudge believe him?
Those obsessed with power instinctively distrust anyone who might threaten their position.
To Fudge, Dumbledore, Barty Crouch Sr., and Amelia Bones represented the greatest threats to his ministerial seat.
Still, letting Fudge remain this cautious wasn't entirely bad for the wizarding world.
At least it prevented him from making reckless decisions.
Dumbledore's mood was equally buoyant. He'd initially planned to leverage his connections to help Arthur out of trouble, yet unexpectedly, a few youngsters had resolved the crisis themselves.
This style of problem-solving... even with his eyes closed, he could trace it back to a certain second-year Hufflepuff badger.
It seemed Lawrence possessed not just Headmaster potential, but might also make an excellent Minister for Magic.
At least he wouldn't harbour hostility towards Muggles.
Dumbledore mused, sprinkling another jar of sugar onto his pasta.
...
Late at night, the twins sneaked out for their nocturnal wanderings, summoning Harry and Wayne.
Spotting Cedric working on a map in the common room, Wayne dragged him along too.
Fred and George carried two large sacks brimming with Butterbeer and midnight snacks pilfered from the kitchens.
To celebrate Mr Weasley escaping investigation and receiving a promotion with a pay rise, they'd specially bought these from the Three Broomsticks.
"How about the Room of Requirement? It's safer there," Fred suggested, glancing at Wayne.
"Fine by me."
Wayne voiced no objections as they trudged upstairs.
Harry, visiting the Room of Requirement for the first time, gaped like a country bumpkin.
"Plenty more surprises await you," Fred chuckled, slinging an arm around his shoulders.
"We'll show you every secret passage in the castle. Filch will never catch you then."
"Who's scared of Filch..." Harry shook his head.
To first-years, Filch was undoubtedly the castle's most terrifying figure.
But after several years here, fearing a caretaker who couldn't even use magic to catch students would mean they'd learned nothing.
What nocturnal students truly dreaded was encountering professors returning from late-night bathroom trips or overtime work.
The twins raised their glasses, toasting Harry first, then Wayne.
"Harry, you get 20% off all prank items at Celia Store from now on. Don't worry, Wayne, we'll cover the discount," George declared grandly.
"Really? That's brilliant!" Harry beamed.
After living lavishly the previous year, Harry had grown more frugal.
Necessity breeds economy.
Wayne had charged him a thousand Galleons for just one year's tuition - enough to make even carefree Harry budget carefully.
Sometimes he wondered when another wealthy relative might appear to bail him out. Godfather would do too!
Wayne also told Harry about the Saturday lessons and warned him to prepare for potential injuries.
Harry wasn't afraid of getting hurt—in fact, he was rather pleased. This meant Wayne would definitely be teaching him practical combat spells, hence the risk of injury.
As they ate and chatted, polishing off all the food and butterbeer, midnight came and went.
With a wave of Wayne's hand, all the food scraps vanished without needing sorting.
Just as they were about to leave, he finally spoke up: "Fred, George, have you forgotten something?"
The twins looked at him in confusion, while Harry had a sudden realisation and blurted out.
"The bet!"
"Exactly." Wayne gave him an appreciative glance—he was becoming quite the perfect straight man.
The twins' expressions shifted. Since the term started, they'd been so preoccupied with family troubles that they'd genuinely forgotten about it.
Cedric suddenly understood, too. He knew about the bet and immediately settled in to enjoy the show.
"Wayne..." George said pleadingly, "Could we have a bit more time? We're not mentally prepared yet."
"Absolutely not." Wayne was firm. "Helping Mr Weasley resolve his troubles was precisely so you'd have no distractions. I've even prepared the props for you."
Wayne handed them two biscuits.
"Effects last a full day. No backing out—eat them now."
Everyone stared at him in shock.
After all the commotion that made the front page of the Daily Prophet, even drawing a personal visit from the Minister for Magic...
And it was all just to make them honour the bet sooner?
This was... extravagant.
Seeing no way out, the twins—never ones to shy from consequences—promptly ate the biscuits.
Bang~!
After some transformation, they became two one-metre-tall black macaques with bright red noses and matching hair.
Wayne, Harry, and Cedric couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The two macaques looked at each other, then grinned widely, making themselves even more ridiculous.
Though transformed, Fred and George retained their minds—only their speech became incomprehensible noise.
They quickly adapted, pulling increasingly absurd faces at the trio, their comedic talents on full display.
When Harry led the twins back to the Gryffindor common room, even the Fat Lady was baffled.
Since when did nighttime wanderings involve bringing back monkeys?
...
By the next morning, the entire Gryffindor house escorted the twins to the Great Hall like attendants to their Monkey King, causing another uproar.
At the staff table, Lockhart—having spent a day recovering in the hospital wing—was back in full form, enthusiastically lecturing Professor Flitwick about his invented spells, oblivious to his former Head of House's strained smile.
Nearby, Professor McGonagall's stern expression darkened at the absurd spectacle. She rose to investigate, with Flitwick following gratefully in her wake.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
The Gryffindors quietened instantly at McGonagall's arrival. Harry gathered his courage and stepped forward.
"Professor, it's like this..."
He explained the bet between the twins and Wayne.
Even McGonagall's stern lips twitched upwards despite herself. She eyed the two large monkeys jumping about and suppressed a smile. "Disrupting school order and showing off—two points from Gryffindor."
"But since it's a bet... we Gryffindors always keep our word. It's just one day. Endure it."
Fred and George, who had been arguing heatedly, were dumbfounded. They'd been so lively precisely to convince Professor McGonagall to change them back. Instead, they were told to endure.
'Professor McGonagall, you weren't like this before!'
Professor Flitwick was also highly amused. "Is this Mr Lawrence's handiwork? Quite impressive."
"Ah, human transfiguration," Lockhart circled the pair. "Truly difficult—even I would have to proceed with caution to achieve it. What a talented young wizard, even more gifted than myself."
The other professors couldn't be bothered to humour him.
Only after they'd left did students from other houses dare approach, gathering around as if visiting a zoo...
One badger even produced a few bananas to feed them, which the twins irritably swatted away.
They'd only been turned into monkeys, not actual monkeys.
Since they couldn't resist, they might as well lie back and enjoy it.
Fred brought an empty basin and kept banging on it while George performed all sorts of ridiculous antics, sending waves of laughter through the Great Hall as Knuts and Sickles kept being tossed into the basin.
Wayne had to admit, these two were born entertainers, merciless even towards themselves when it came to pranks.
Cho was laughing so hard she'd collapsed against his chest.
...
For an entire day, Fred and George actually attended classes with everyone, becoming teaching material in every lesson.
During Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall made the two monkeys stand on the platform, her wand transforming into a pointer to tap the blackboard.
"Observe, class - this represents the most advanced form of human transfiguration."
"While you're still struggling to turn sparrows into inkwells, Mr Lawrence has already achieved what many graduates cannot. Based on my observations, this transformation will last at least a full day. A second-year student outperforms you all so dramatically - what excuse do you have not to work harder?"
The students listened with pained expressions.
'Professor, comparing us to that freak is setting the bar a bit high, don't you think?'
"Cedric, explain to the class what the primary dangers of human transfiguration are..."
Using the twins as teaching aids, Professor McGonagall delivered a lesson slightly beyond their syllabus, eventually awarding them five points each as... compensation.
...
In Potions class, Snape proved even more cutting.
"Lawrence did propose an... interesting idea," Snape drawled, resting his chin on his hand while eyeing the students maliciously.
"If anyone's potion fails to meet my standards, I might let you experience the... joys of being something other than human. Flies, rats, toads..."
The more Snape elaborated, the more excited he became, while the young wizards looked ready to cry.
The mere thought of becoming toads turned their faces green.
...
In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Lockhart - having learned from previous mistakes - didn't bring any Cornish pixies.
Instead, like Quirrell before him, he adopted the reading-aloud mode.
With one key difference: while Quirrell read from the book himself, Lockhart made the students act it out.
George and Fred became Yetis. Initially reluctant, they performed with startling realism the moment Lockhart produced several gleaming Galleons.
...
After a full day of this, when Wayne finally administered the antidote, the twins seemed almost disappointed.
George smacked his lips thoughtfully.
"Actually... being a monkey wasn't so bad."
Wordlessly, Wayne produced an entire box of biscuits. "Shall we extend it another fortnight then?"
"No, no, no!" Fred hastily pushed his hand down. "George was joking. One day as monkeys was plenty. But could you teach us this potion..."
Wayne didn't refuse. "The full version's too complex - you'd never manage it. Here's a simplified formula. Just remember to charge premium prices."
"No problem," the twins chorused delightedly.
...
Late at night in the dormitory, after ensuring his roommates slept peacefully, Wayne took out Tom Riddle's Diary.
Having left Tom alone for two days, it was time for more teasing.
"Tom, you still alive?"
[...]
[Your concern is touching. Though weakened, I can endure a while longer.]
Tom gritted his teeth in hatred but maintained a calm tone.
[I didn't get to ask last time - what's your name and which house were you sorted into?]
Wayne pondered for a moment before writing truthfully: "I'm Harry Potter, a second-year in Gryffindor."
After two seconds, words began appearing.
[Potter... from the pure-blood Potter Family?]
"That's right. But I'm an orphan. My parents were killed by an evil Dark Wizard when I was one. After that, I grew up at my aunt's house."
Tom, inside the diary, perked up.
'Such a background - perfect!'
The more tragic the circumstances, the more repressed the mind would be, making it far easier for him to corrupt.
To empathise with 'Harry', Tom bit the bullet and revealed his own origins.
[How terribly sad, Harry. I never imagined you'd suffered such misfortune...]
[Actually, I'm the same - worse even. I was born into a half-blood family and sent to an orphanage as a child. Fortunately, I entered Hogwarts and learned magic.]
The words appeared rapidly; Wayne could practically sense Tom's excitement.
[We share the same suffering - we're practically kindred spirits!]
Wayne smiled faintly, dipping his quill in ink before writing:
"What? You're a half-blood?"
"Who's the same as you? Even as an orphan, I'm still the Potter Family heir."
"Who do you think you're talking to?... Call me Young Master Potter!"