Hogwarts: The Greatest Wizard

Chapter 87— Some Small Inspirations

Phineas thought for a moment and said,

"Well, it's simpler—quicklime. Quicklime generates heat when it comes into contact with water. If there are easily flammable substances nearby, like white phosphorus, it can ignite instantly. That could explain how fireworks might go off with just a little moisture."

Since there was no concept of chemistry in the magical world, Phineas wasn't sure how to explain it in magical terms.

To be honest, he had never expected the knowledge from his past life would ever come in handy in a world of magic like this.

Phineas's words sparked sudden inspiration in George and Fred. Both stared at him with wide, red-rimmed eyes.

"Do you have any more ideas? Anything else amazing?" they asked eagerly.

What came to Phineas's mind were some of their future inventions, like the range of joke candies. But he wasn't sure what they had already come up with at this point in time.

"I don't have anything specific in mind right now," he replied, "but do you have any inventions? You can show them to me."

Fred grinned.

"Is there anything we wouldn't show you?"

As he spoke, George stood up and shut the door.

Their conversation hadn't caught Percy's attention—his door was always closed. As someone who loved studying, Phineas had no idea how Percy endured sharing a floor with these two pranksters.

With the door closed, Fred began moving some boxes. The twins worked together with silent efficiency.

"It looks like you've done this more than once," Phineas teased.

George shrugged helplessly.

"No choice. Mum always thinks we're just fooling around."

"As we said, she believes the only proper job is joining the Ministry of Magic," Fred added while opening one of the boxes.

Phineas looked down. There wasn't much inside—just a telescope, a wand, a feather, and a few dung bombs.

"That's it?"

Fred sighed.

"Our mum hates this stuff. She's destroyed and confiscated quite a few already."

"What are these?" Phineas asked.

George began the introductions.

"This is the Boxing Telescope, a fake wand, the automatic inkjet quill, and of course, the classic dungbomb."

Fred added the details,

"When you squeeze the Boxing Telescope, it punches the user and gives them a black eye that's hard to heal. It's one of our favorites."

"The wand turns into a rubber chicken or a pair of underpants when waved."

"The inkjet quill sprays ink all over the user—it's a beauty."

"And finally, the Big Dungbomb! Our masterpiece!"

As they exclaimed the last item in unison, a bead of sweat formed on Phineas's forehead.

These inventions weren't exactly dangerous, but getting hit by them was certainly unpleasant.

"Well," Phineas offered, "have you ever thought of making candy? Like adding a swelling solution to one—"

Fred and George immediately caught on.

"Anyone who eats it would either get a huge tongue or sausage lips!"

Phineas nodded.

"I think those kinds of prank items are brilliant—especially the tongue one."

George nodded.

"Could be useful for skipping class."

Phineas rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? You barely have many classes, and you still want to skip?"

Fred shook his head.

"It's not about saving time. It's about the thrill of skipping class."

"Even if it's just one, we want to escape," George agreed.

Phineas sighed.

"If you're skipping class with an enlarged tongue, it's going to be hard to talk—especially in Snape's class."

At the mention of Snape, the twins immediately imagined the consequences.

"If you had any brains at all," Snape would roar, "you wouldn't put a swelling potion in your own mouth! Are you trolls? You've got the brain capacity of a teaspoon!"

The mental image made them both shiver.

"You're right—definitely not for skipping class."

"Bad idea," they said together.

Phineas continued, "But if you're sick, then you can skip class."

George nodded.

"That's true. McGonagall once sent Fred and me to the infirmary for nosebleeds."

Fred's eyes lit up.

"We could make a candy that causes nosebleeds!"

Phineas nodded in agreement.

"Then it's believable. But if you're going to use it to skip class, you'll need an antidote—otherwise, you'll be stuck in the hospital wing."

George thought aloud.

"We could make it dual-colored—half the candy causes the effect, the other half cures it. Use the first half before class, and the other after."

Fred nodded.

"I think nougat would be a good base for this."

Phineas blinked.

"Nougat? Why nougat?"

George answered casually,

"Because we don't like it."

Phineas narrowed his eyes.

"Don't tell me your little brother Ron does?"

Fred grinned and slung an arm over Phineas's shoulders.

"You're brilliant. Just imagine—Ron eats a piece of nougat and his nose starts bleeding!"

George burst into laughter.

"That would be hilarious!"

"Ron is really unlucky to have you two as brothers," Phineas muttered.

At that moment, he truly marveled that Ron had survived this long. Growing up under the twin's "care" must have been a nightmare.

Then he remembered—the reason Ron feared spiders was because when he was little, the twins had turned his teddy bear into a spider. That bear was Ron's favorite, the one he slept with every night.

Imagine waking up to find a massive spider in your arms…

Feeling fresh sympathy for Ron, Phineas joined George and Fred as they delved into the development of a new type of prank candy.

"To get this to work properly, we'll need advanced knowledge of potion-making," George said.

Phineas nodded in agreement.

"Looks like you'll have to start paying attention in Snape's class."