Chapter 251: The Fake Wand and Peculiar Percy
Once Fred and George had resolved to address Kyle's schedule later, they dropped the topic. After breakfast, they all headed up to the attic, where Fred pulled out his own Hogwarts letter and book list, heavy with Lockhart's titles.
"All Lockhart's books," he groaned. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan... maybe a witch like Mum."
"Oh, I see it," George said dramatically, holding up an orange as if it were a crystal ball. "This year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class... total disaster."
"That doesn't take much divination," Kyle replied, peeling his "crystal ball" and popping a slice into his mouth. "When has Defense Against the Dark Arts not been a disaster?"
"Oren was good," Fred added, glancing at Kyle. "Well... if he hadn't turned out to be a dark wizard..."
"True," Kyle agreed with a shrug. By teaching standards alone, Oren had been the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in years—too bad he'd been a dark wizard with less-than-friendly intentions toward Kyle.
The conversation took a brief, somber turn, and George, feeling the shift, put his book list aside and rummaged in a corner for one of their current projects: a Trick Wand prototype.
Since their Skiving Snackboxes project had stalled, Fred and George had been spending their days fine-tuning their Trick Wands. Externally identical to real wands, these Trick Wands would turn into random rubber objects if someone tried casting a spell with them. With Kyle's help, they had nearly perfected the design, though they were still struggling with one detail: getting the Trick Wand to transform only when a spell was attempted.
Kyle, however, had left this last part to them—he was willing to help, but he also wanted to ensure they were learning by solving the final hurdle themselves. Plus, their dedication meant he could get a bit of peace and quiet.