The next day, at the same time, in the same Hufflepuff common room, Kyle, Cedric, and Kanna sat together again.
Only this time, there was a pile of golden galleons on the table in front of them.
"One, two, three..."
"No need to count..." Kyle glanced at Cedric, raising an eyebrow. "Exactly sixty galleons."
"That much..." Cedric's mouth hung open, his whole body feeling dizzy, as if he were in a dream.
...
In fact, it really did feel like a dream. Today's plan had gone surprisingly well.
Kanna had been so nervous that she'd completely forgotten the specific process and, like a salesperson, pulled out the map as soon as they met. No, even a salesperson would at least say hello and make small talk, not jump straight to the point like Kanna did. This left Kyle and Cedric standing there, unsure if they should continue with the performance.
But soon enough, they had their answer.
Rowle and Yaxley's reaction was just as unexpected. Without even waiting for Kanna to speak, they eagerly asked where she got the map as soon as they noticed its gold border. After learning that only ten copies had been made, they dropped their previous haughty demeanor and eagerly struck up a conversation with her. They took Kanna's arm, laughing and reminiscing about the banquet from a few years ago, acting like they'd been best friends forever.
Kanna just went along with it, stumbling her way through the whole interaction. By the time she made it back to the Hufflepuff table, she had ten galleons in her hand. She had only a vague memory of when she received the galleons. It might have been while they were in the corridor, or maybe at the entrance to the Great Hall.
Rowle and Yaxley were great conversationalists. On the way, they had seamlessly shifted the topic from the feast to the complex structure of Hogwarts Castle and, just as naturally, had asked Kanna if she could help them get a map. After she agreed, the conversation smoothly returned to the original topic without any awkwardness.
Though Kanna's goal aligned with theirs and the two sides were mutually benefiting, Kyle had to admit that Slytherins did possess a unique knack for socializing.
At the table, the first thing Kyle said to Kanna was, "Remember to stay away from Slytherin in the future, or you won't even know when you've been sold out."
Cedric, sitting beside him, nodded in agreement.
To avoid further trouble, after lunch, two gold-edged maps were handed over to Rowle and Yaxley. After their "publicity," it took less than two hours to sell all nine remaining maps, leaving only the sample in Kanna's hand. Some of the smaller houses even requested their family crests be printed on the maps. Kyle initially resisted, but they offered so much money that he couldn't refuse.
The price doubled... who could resist?
And that's how they ended up with sixty galleons.
"Sharing the spoils... ahem, sharing the galleons." With everyone watching expectantly, Kyle pushed half of the galleons in front of Kanna. "As agreed, we'll split it equally."
"No, you've counted it wrong," Kanna shook her head, counted ten galleons from the pile, and placed them back. Then she looked at Kyle, puzzled. "Three people should split it equally, so it should be twenty galleons. Are you that bad at arithmetic?"
"I..." Kyle opened his mouth, but a lump formed in his chest.
"Just let it go. As long as she's happy," Cedric said, laughing so hard he nearly passed out.
Kyle, bad at arithmetic? Cedric could laugh about that for the entire school year.
Kyle grumpily shoved the twenty galleons over to her. He couldn't understand how Cedric, who'd always been so kind, had become like this. Good grief, does he not even have the decency to gloat behind my back?
Cedric, completely unfazed by Kyle's bad mood, picked up one of the galleons and rubbed it between his hands.
"So many galleons, I can buy ten Fwooper quill pens with this."
"Fwooper quill pens?" Kyle frowned. "What's so special about those? And why are they so expensive?"
"They're pretty," Cedric said matter-of-factly. "I've had my eye on the yellow one for a while. That color really suits Hufflepuff."
Kyle thought of something, and his lips curled up before he quickly suppressed the smile. He replied calmly, "Then you should buy a few more, so you can switch them out in the future."
"No, just one for now," Cedric said after a moment of thought. "The rest will go to my father."
Hearing this, Kyle couldn't help but glance at him. Just as he was about to say something, Cedric continued, "Maybe if he's happy, he'll upgrade the broom he got me from the Cleansweep VII to the Nimbus 1700."
Kyle swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.
The Nimbus 1700 was 200 galleons more expensive than the Cleansweep VII. Twenty galleons to two hundred? Cedric's hopes were wildly optimistic.
But then again, knowing Mr. Diggory's personality, once he learned that Cedric had made the academy team and earned a full twenty galleons, he might just get him that Nimbus after all.
Kyle's eyes lit up as a sudden idea crossed his mind, but it was too late to act on it now. He'd have to wait until tomorrow.
...
After dividing up the galleons, Cedric went to the kitchen and returned with biscuits, desserts, and other snacks, along with a large pot of pumpkin juice. The three of them decided to have a small celebration in the common room.
Kyle lifted his glass of pumpkin juice and was just about to take a sip when he noticed Kanna across from him. She was pulling out seven or eight small bags and putting two galleons into each one.
"???"
Seeing Kyle's confused look, Kanna explained, "I'm afraid I'll lose them again, so it's better to keep them separate."
Cedric, astonished, asked, "Kanna, you lost galleons?"
"Hmm," Kanna nodded and briefly explained what had happened.
After hearing her explanation, Cedric smiled and thought carefully. "There shouldn't be any on the Quidditch Pitch. After every flying lesson, Madam Hooch inspects the pitch, so if anyone dropped something, it would be found quickly. And when I was training yesterday, no one mentioned finding twenty galleons. How about this—tomorrow I'll ask around to see if anyone's seen them."
"It's okay, I don't mind anymore," Kanna said, pointing to the small pile of bags in front of her, her eyebrows curving as she smiled. "These will last me a long time."
"Er..."
"You're just going to lose twenty galleons and not care?"
Cedric didn't respond, but somehow, the pumpkin juice in his hand suddenly tasted like bitter lemonade.