Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 320: Thanks from the Longbottom Family
"In fact, you can change your thinking. A small radiation range is not a problem. As long as this antenna (George pointed out the Broom Hunter with a serious look on his face) can be effective against any type of flying broom, and then make it fly, it will be fine. If you can do this, you can basically achieve a no-fly zone for a certain area."
Hearing Jon say this, George, who was mainly responsible for the research and development of this thing, suddenly had an idea light up.
It is indeed difficult to expand its casting range, but it is not difficult to make it fly. The difficulty now lies in how to improve it so that it can be effective for all models of flying brooms.
However, George and Fred were not in the mood to think about this for the time being. What really concerned them was Jon's current attitude. From his proposal just now, it was obvious that he had no objection to their research.
"You promised to keep it a secret for us?"
Jon rubbed his temple and said with a headache.
"This is not a question of whether or not to keep it a secret for you. As long as you stay in Hogwarts and the Burrow, the adults will find out sooner or later. And what you are doing now is not a small matter. Can you really ensure that every experiment you make will go smoothly? What should we do if something really goes wrong?"
George and Fred looked at each other and Fred cleared his throat and said.
"We have certainly considered these things. At home we are only conducting some experiments that are certain to be non-hazardous. We have only just returned home recently. Like Ron, this is our second time home."
"As for the fact that it will be discovered by adults sooner or later..."
Fred scratched his head. Apparently he had never seriously thought about this question before, or he was subconsciously avoiding it.
"We'll wait until the day we're discovered. Mom will just give us a lecture and ask us to weed the backyard."
But Jon saw through his thoughts and knew that he was actually avoiding it.
"You can't keep it a secret forever, or don't you plan to tell Professor Dumbledore after you perfect these things that can become alchemical items?"
"Of course I have thought about it." George answered with certainty. "We originally planned to make these things to help the professors share their pressure, but at that time we were just doing some small things, and Professor McGonagall always thought we were playing a prank. Even if we told them, they would not believe in our abilities unless we could produce a finished product."
The Weasley twins have never been fools. They are smarter than anyone else and know very well their reputation in the professors' hearts. If they want to restore such reputation, they need to take action.
Meanwhile, at Durmstrang, those people were meeting the twins for the first time, so they had no idea what they had done before. The librarian, Mr. Alpha, did have an excellent vision, and Grindelwald was also very courageous and decisive, and he could extend an olive branch even to the students of Hogwarts.
Well, just like how he was able to force Jon to take on the appointment of Professor of Transfiguration at Durmstrang.
Jon looked at the "anti-disarmament wand" and then turned his gaze to George and the others.
"Although I think what you have produced now is enough to bring about a change in Professor Dumbledore and the others, it seems that you feel that you still need time to prepare. This is not a bad thing. Anyway, you have signed the contract with Durmstrang and will not lack support and assistance. Then wait until you are all ready and give everyone a surprise."
Fred and George both showed excitement in their eyes.
"Of course we will prepare a big surprise. To be honest, Jon, we still have many ideas waiting to be tried. This fake wand and the half-finished broom hunter are just some preliminary experiments. When our real results come out, it will definitely surprise everyone!"
They made bold statements, and Jon truly believed that they had the ability to do so.
Sometimes you have to admit that talent is innate. Arthur is an excellent expert in alchemical transformation, otherwise he would not have been able to cast magic on a Ford car so successfully. George and Fred have completely inherited his talent.
Although both of them were studying some prank-type magic props in the original work, the different times will also lead to different changes in people.
Now is the time for them to show themselves.
Jon could provide George and the others with some different insights, but he didn't bother them too much. He already had enough things to study, and to be specific, the twins were no longer studying ancient magic runes, but could be said to be studying alchemy.
It is true that he can understand some magic runes, but he has no knowledge of alchemy at all. Therefore, Jon is not arrogant enough to think that he can command experts as an amateur.
In this way, he helped the twins hide their secret temporarily and stayed at the Weasley's house for about a week. Every day when he had nothing to do, he would discuss Muggle transportation with Arthur, find fishing rods with Hermione and Ron to go fishing in the nearby creek, or accompany Gabrielle to help Ginny study her summer homework.
It wasn't until a week later, in mid-July, that the planned trip was finally about to begin.
The Weasley family hasn't gone out to play as a family for ten years, because the situation in the UK did not allow it. Whether it was the twins and Ron in the Hogwarts carriage, or the Weasleys working for Dumbledore in the Order of the Phoenix, they all lived a precarious life.
No one can guarantee whether they can have the next meal safely, let alone travel.
This time it's not just because the situation has temporarily stabilized, but also because they are now in France.
Arthur and Molly may have been here before, but it was the first time for their children, so this was the perfect time and place to go.
Early in the morning, the Weasley family packed their things. Their trip was quite well planned.
Arthur, in particular, had made enough plans. Of course, wizards could not go directly into the deep mountains and forests when they went out. The places they went to most often were Muggle attractions and shopping malls. In order to prevent most accidents that would happen to wizards, he even designed what kind of Muggle clothes everyone should wear.
Arthur's preparation was indeed necessary. For example, Jon did not consider that people wearing shorts would not be allowed to enter in some more solemn occasions.
He also seriously considered the issue of catching a cold when wearing short sleeves at night when the temperature dropped, so he equipped everyone with a leather jacket.
After everything was ready, the Weasley family, together with Jon, Hermione and Gabrielle, first came to a pub run by wizards in Lyone, where they planned to have lunch and wait for the Longbottom family to join them.
They didn't have to wait long. Just as the waiter brought the appetizers, Neville came here with his father.
Mr. Longbottom's full name is Frank Longbottom.
This is a wizard who gives people a very reliable feeling from his appearance. He has a firm and round face like his son. He is not tall but definitely not short.
When he arrived at the tavern and met the Weasley family, or to be exact, when he met John, he stood there with a serious face, handed everything in his hand to Neville, and then bowed solemnly to John.
Jon, who was staring at an appetizer that looked like octopus balls, was startled and subconsciously tried to move away to avoid Frank's gift.
However, Arthur grabbed Jon's arm and did not let him avoid it successfully, and said very seriously.
"You deserve the thanks you get, Jon, there's no getting around it."
"Actually, after I got the news that night, I should have gone to see you to express the gratitude of the entire Longbottom family. For this reason, I wrote a letter to Neville. He told me that you were still recuperating and it would be impolite to disturb you at that time, so I waited until now. Neville's grandmother and uncle also wanted to thank you in person, but they are old and have difficulty moving, so they let me express their gratitude to you."
Frank spoke very seriously, and his movements were obviously rather abrupt. Fortunately, apart from the Weasley family, there were almost no other guests in the pub, so it did not attract much attention.
"Thank you for avenging Neville's mother Alice. In the future, the entire Longbottom family will be bound to you. No matter what help you need, as long as the wizard's last name is Longbottom, you will be at their disposal."
His promise was equivalent to putting the entire Longbottom family on John, because the Longbottom family member who died at the hands of the Lestranges was not just Neville 's mother.
Although both are pure-blood families, the two families can be said to have a blood feud. This time, John almost killed all the main branches of the enemy, including Rabastan, Rodolphus , and Bella, which was indeed a great favor to the Longbottom family.
After being pulled by Arthur and being hit by Frank, Jon did not avoid it anymore. He knew that Neville's father needed a psychological catharsis.
"Neville and I are friends, Mr. Longbottom," Jon said softly, "and they both deserved to die anyway."
"Their crimes deserve death a thousand times over, but no matter whether you are subjective or not, it is you who avenged us, and this is indisputable." Frank raised his head, as if he could see that Jon was a little uncomfortable. "We won't always mention our favors, nor will we change our friendship with Neville for this, but no matter what happens, please tell the Longbottom family if you need it."
His words were very sincere, and Jon could sense the seriousness in them, so he nodded solemnly.
"I will."
A smile appeared on Frank's face, as if Jon accepting the Longbottom family's thanks was one of the purposes of his trip.
"Okay, now that we've said everything we need to say, let's hurry up and have dinner, Frank. The kids are waiting impatiently. If we wait a little longer, we can probably go straight to Nice to arrange dinner."
Molly pulled Frank to sit on the chair, Neville punched Jon on the shoulder, and then sat down at the dining table.
For Europeans, dinner is the time to have a real feast, so they arranged to have dinner tonight in Nice, the first seaside city at the beginning of the trip, and have lunch at the Wizard Tavern in Lyon, enjoying a fairly hearty French meal.
Whether it is the Weasley family, the Longbottom family, or Hermione and John, it is rare to have the opportunity for so many people to get together and relax .
Hermione and Ginny were teaching Gabrielle how to take care of her hair; George and Fred were whispering to each other away from the others, winking at Jon from time to time; Molly was trying to find out from her eldest son whether he had a crush on any girl recently, and if he didn't know how to pursue a girl, her mother could teach him.
Arthur, Charlie and Frank were discussing the fate of the dragon training farms in Romania. It seemed that someone had recently bought the entire farm. Neville was telling Jon and Ron about his boring experience at home alone since the summer vacation began, and said that after this trip, he would ask his father to agree to let him stay at the Weasley family until the next semester.
"I heard that all the schedules for the Triwizard Tournament have been confirmed. Professor Dumbledore went to England not long ago and completed all the preparations before the start of the competition."
Neville also learned some inside information at home and whispered it to John Neville.
"I heard that the International Magical Federation has already selected three referees. Not only are none of them from Europe, but they are all mixed-race, ensuring that they will not be bribed by any party. However, the list of referees has not been announced yet. It is said that it will be announced on the day of the competition."
Jon blinked. He was actually quite curious whether there would be any wizards from his hometown coming to the International Magic Federation.
"Have you heard where the three referees are from?"
Neville shook his head.
"Not really. I just heard rumors that the three judges are a wizard each sent from America, Asia, and Africa."
Ron said with a pout.
"In fact, if you ask me, the referee doesn't matter, but the venue of the competition should not be held in Hogwarts Castle. It is now the headquarters of the Dark Lord. If he really wants to do something behind the scenes, it will be easy. I don't know why Professor Dumbledore agreed to this in the first place."
In this regard, Jon, who had actually been to Hogwarts Castle, knew some inside information. He shook his head and said.
"Don't think that the Dark Lord is the headmaster of Hogwarts Castle. That school may not necessarily be his territory."
