BANG!
The compartment door shuddered under a heavy blow from outside, making the frame creak unpleasantly.
Kyle, focused on maintaining the copying spell, jumped at the sudden noise. His wrist jerked upward involuntarily.
RRRIP...
A long tear appeared across the newly completed map.
"I..." Kyle's eye twitched as he stared at the ruined map.
That was worth one Galleon...
The violent knock startled the others too. Fred, who had just finished his own copying spell, flinched and accidentally printed the map onto George's robes.
"Merlin's beard! These are my new robes — just bought them this year." George looked down at them in distress, "Kyle, can you remove this?"
"Of course I can. It's quite simple." Kyle narrowed his eyes and turned toward the door.
Through the glass panel, he could see three young boys standing in the corridor.
"That Harry Potter — choosing that wretched Weasley over Malfoy's friendship. How stupid, just like his parents! Ungrateful, the lot of them!"
Draco Malfoy, seething with these thoughts, struck the compartment door again.
"And that Weasley." Gregory Goyle growled, clutching his finger, "He let his pet bite me. I'll definitely beat him up."
Though Goyle was bulky and resembled nothing so much as a wooden stump topped with a teapot, there was no denying the menace in his expression.
"Don't rush, Goyle, there will be opportunities." Draco rubbed his slightly aching wrist and said coldly, "My father is a school governor. Once we get to Hogwarts, I have a hundred ways to make them regret their actions today."
Having said this, he straightened his disheveled hair and was about to leave with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory for other Slytherin compartments.
But just then, the compartment door beside him opened.
"One moment, gentlemen." Kyle stood there, his expressionless gaze scanning the three before him before settling on the pale-faced boy.
Based on his position, he must have been the one banging on the door.
After confirming his target, he said flatly, "You were the one who banged on the door, weren't you?"
"Uh... yes, that was me." After a moment's surprise, Draco said formally, "I'm Draco Malfoy. I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Though his manners were impeccable and his words polite, Kyle could see the undisguised arrogance in his eyes. It became even more apparent after he announced his name.
However, Kyle paid it no mind and calmly said, "Your attitude is acceptable. How about this — just compensate us for our losses, and we'll call it even."
"Losses?" Draco was stunned for a moment, then he spotted Fred and George behind him.
At once, what little courtesy remained on his face vanished, replaced by disgust.
"Red hair... more of those wretched Weasleys and their oddball friends." Draco looked at Kyle, casually pulled out a gold Galleon from his pocket and tossed it over, sneering, "Keep the change... oh, I forgot to mention, this is a gold Galleon. You probably don't even know what one looks like."
With that, he turned to leave. He didn't want to stay a second longer.
But a hand stopped him.
"Wait..." Kyle's fingers lightly wiggled the Galleon as he said softly, "This isn't enough."
Draco paused, took a deep breath, and hurled another gold Galleon at him — throwing it with considerable force, as if hoping to strike down this annoying person with the coin.
Kyle caught it easily, then shook his finger again.
"Sorry, still not enough..."
"Don't push it!" Draco's face turned slightly red as he snapped, "If you keep pestering me, I'll tell my father you're trying to extort me! He's a Hogwarts governor, he has the power to expel you!"
"I think you might have misunderstood." Kyle raised an eyebrow, "I'm a good student who received an Award for Special Services to the School. How could I possibly do something like extortion? I'm simply requesting reasonable compensation for our losses. Even the Minister of Magic couldn't object to that, let alone a school governor."
"Award for Special Services to the School?" Draco sneered, "You're that... wait, are you that new student Kyle Chopper?"
He remembered now — during summer break, his father had indeed mentioned a new student who had received an Award for Special Services to the School. This must be him.
"To be precise, I'm a second-year. You're the new student." Kyle said, "Now then, shall we continue discussing the matter of compensation?"
Draco frowned, wanting to refuse.
Since the other party was hanging around with the Weasley children, Draco figured they couldn't possibly be wealthy. Two Galleons should be more than enough to buy everything they were wearing.
But he couldn't leave now. Not because of Kyle's status — an Award for Special Services to the School was nothing compared to his father's position as governor.
It was the five people standing behind Kyle that made him nervous. Including Kyle, that made six students second year or above, while on their side there were only three of them, all first-years.
In a fight, they wouldn't stand a chance.
"How much do you want?" Draco asked through gritted teeth.
He decided to buy his way out of this — whatever it took, he just needed to get away first.
Kyle thought for a moment, "Not much, two hundred Galleons total. Counting what you've already given, you just need to pay another hundred and ninety-eight Galleons."
"How much? Two hundred Galleons!?" Draco squeaked, certain he must have misheard, "That's impossible, don't even think about it!"
"Don't rush, let me calculate it for you..."
"I won't listen!" Draco's face turned completely red as he drew his wand and pointed it at Kyle, "I get it now, you ARE trying to extort me!"
Two hundred Galleons was more than most Ministry employees' monthly salary.
Just banging on the door a few times — even if he had burst in and beaten everyone up — wouldn't warrant such compensation.
Draco might be rich, but he wasn't crazy. He'd have to be out of his mind to give Kyle two hundred Galleons.
✭✭✭
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