Chapter 130: The Twins

In the corridor, Fred and George raised their eyebrows and looked at Xiang Xiang Xien in perfect unison.

“What do you need, Senior Fred?”

Xiang Xiang Xien continued slowly, following their lead.

“I’m not Fred. I’m George.”

The red-haired Weasley on the left said,

“Honestly, it’s not your fault—hardly anyone can tell us apart.”

“Alright, Senior Fred.”

Xiang Xiang Xien whispered.

“Merlin—”

The red-haired Weasley on the left and the one on the right exchanged a glance, then swiftly surrounded Xiang Xiang Xien and spun around him a few times.

“Who am I?”

The left Weasley crossed his arms and blinked.

“Senior Fred.”

Xiang Xiang Xien said.

“Oh—!”

The red-haired senior looked thrilled,

“We won’t charge you a single Jin Jin Jialong—just tell us how you figured it out—”

“How about a trade?”

The right Weasley also crossed his arms; both crouched slightly—they were too tall for third-years, now at eye level with Xiang Xiang Xien’s calm green eyes.

“You’re always the first to speak, Senior Fred.”

Xiang Xiang Xien explained.

“Even Mother doesn’t know this!”

Fred gasped, but two seconds later he clapped a hand over his mouth and made a “go ahead” gesture.

George blinked:

“Even Mother doesn’t know this!”

“Unbelievable!”

Now it was Fred’s turn to take over.

Both saw mischief in each other’s eyes.

“For your great contribution—by the way, what’s your name?”

Fred stumbled, but didn’t care—he beamed at Xiang Xiang Xien.

“Wizard Sean Green.”

At that moment, Xiang Xiang Xien noticed the strange objects they carried: quills, a biscuit, a small cage holding a toad…

In truth, telling the twins apart was simple: whenever the Weasley twins pulled off something particularly mischievous, it was usually Fred who led.

During Harry’s second year, when the twins and Ron rescued him from Privet Drive, it was Fred who piloted the flying Ford Anglia.

Even in small pranks, he was typically the mastermind.

For instance, the one who “rescued” the salamander from the Care of Magical Creatures class—Fred. That way, they could try feeding it some Extendable Ears;

It was Fred who “accidentally” dropped a Tongue-Tying Toffee in front of Dudley;

It was still Fred who proposed the idea (though it failed) to use the Age Line potion to get their names into the Goblet of Fire—and he was the first of the twins to cross the age boundary.

Even with Umbridge, Fred was the one who talked back, and he led their final flight at Hogwarts.

“The Great Green!”

Senior George’s voice rose and fell dramatically.

Xiang Xiang Xien was confused—such words shouldn’t be spoken lightly—

The last person called “great” was Grindelwald, who sought to make wizards great again—for the greater good;

The most recent “great” was Tom, who sought to restore pure-blood supremacy.

What did they have in common?

“The Great Green!”

George noticed Xiang Xiang Xien’s slight pallor and shouted it playfully.

“For your outstanding contribution, Great Mr. Green, we’ve decided to share this great knowledge with you—”

Fred removed his tie and adopted a solemn, declamatory tone.

Listening to his booming voice, watching his trembling tie,

“Sustaining Charm, Loudening Charm…”

Xiang Xiang Xien tried to analyze.

“I knew he was a genius!”

George exclaimed,

“Teach him that one!”

“So—Green, what do you think alchemy is?”

Fred removed his tie and asked seriously,

“The ancient runes? The magical, wondrous, vast script Professor Babbling taught?—Oh, sorry, I forgot you’re only in first year—”

“He memorized it all, Fred.”

“Alright, I know, George… or—”

Fred suddenly pulled out a biscuit and fed it to the toad; after a strange swelling and shrinking, the toad turned into a canary.

“Canary Creams—our masterpiece!”

George looked immensely proud.

“A few small charms, applied to tiny things, produce extraordinary effects!

—Now look at this! I think you’ll feel it!”

Fred handed Xiang Xiang Xien a quill—it looked no different from a standard shorthand quill, except runes on its surface glowed faintly from a revealing charm.

Xiang Xiang Xien took it—he saw for the first time how runes worked: just a few Levitation Charms and weak Legilimency…

Together, they formed the shorthand quill that had sold for centuries across the magical world.

Xiang Xiang Xien felt the magic flowing through the quill, sensed how each charm functioned, how complexly and mysteriously they intertwined to sustain their effect.

【You have fully observed an alchemical artifact. Alchemy branch unlocked.】

【Unlock Condition: Skilled Potioneer Title (not achieved), Skilled Charm Title (achieved), Skilled Transfiguration Title (achieved)】

“Merlin, I bet you felt it—if you could make a floating quill on your own—”

Fred grinned at Xiang Xiang Xien, who stood dazed.

“Follow our notes—it won’t be hard—we only spent half a term!”

George added.

“Then we’ll introduce you to Professor Tera!”

Fred shouted as he left.

“She’s a big deal—getting an audience with her isn’t easy!”

George raised an eyebrow.

“But we always find a way!”

They spoke in unison.

…

In the Hut of Hope.

The tidy desk held many strange objects.

Ink, a helmet, a study planner, and more.

For a long while, Xiang Xiang Xien remained lost in thought.

The unlock condition for alchemy was the strictest he’d ever seen.

It reminded him of Fred’s words:

“You should know, alchemy electives require an Outstanding in Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, and Charms on your O.W.L.s. They think a Good in Potions is enough—but anyone who believes that will get a massive ‘T (Terrible)’ in alchemy!”

But Xiang Xiang Xien’s experience told him: the stricter the condition, the greater the reward.

Facing the quill and the various tools provided by the Weasleys, Xiang Xiang Xien did not rush to test the steps in the notes—he first studied the twins’ writings.