As soon as Kyle finished speaking, everyone in the compartment looked at Cedric with a strange expression.
Fred, who was sitting nearby, immediately distanced himself from that capitalist and said sarcastically, "I never would have thought that someone with such an honest face would be this kind of person."
Although his thoughts were exactly the same as Cedric's, that didn't stop him from kicking the boy while he was down.
During a long journey, one always needs to find some entertainment to avoid boredom. Of course, the premise is that the entertainment should be at someone else's expense.
"I'm not, I didn't, don't say that." Cedric felt a chill run down his spine and immediately explained, "I was just being honest. You all must be thinking the same thing."
"Oh really?" Kyle said in a drawn-out tone, "Fred, George, is that what you were thinking too?"
"Of course not!" Fred was the first to speak up.
George looked serious, "I'm an honest businessman. I would never try to pass off inferior goods as quality ones."
"Kanna, what about you?" Kyle asked.
"Not me either." Kanna shook her head repeatedly, so vigorously that the hair accessory on top of her head came loose.
"Cho?"
"No..."
"..."
"See? Nobody else was thinking that." Kyle raised his eyebrows, "It's just you, Cedric the swindler."
Cedric's face instantly turned red, and he looked at everyone in disbelief.
This wasn't right. That wasn't how things were at all. In that moment, he felt betrayed and was completely distraught.
"Give it up, swindler. We would never do something like that." Kyle handed a stack of maps to Fred and continued, "After the train arrives, dispose of them in front of everyone."
"Leave it to me." Fred solemnly accepted the maps, his expression very serious, as if he had just received an appointment letter from the Ministry of Magic.
"By the way…" Kyle reminded him, "Make sure you do it before Hagrid arrives, so the first-year students can see it too."
Fred instinctively agreed, but suddenly felt something wasn't right. Looking at how serious Kyle had been just now, he didn't seem to be joking.
By Merlin, he couldn't really be planning to...
Fred felt a bit dizzy. He licked his lips and asked reflexively.
"Kyle, we were just joking with Cedric. Look, his face is completely red."
Kyle shook his head and said, "No, I'm not joking. These things must be destroyed, not a single one can remain."
Seeing his serious expression, Fred and the others couldn't laugh anymore.
George murmured, "But... these are all Galleons."
"I know, but there's no choice." Kyle shrugged, "I've already said it, and if we don't want trouble from certain people, we have to do this. Besides, it's not a big deal. I have plenty of unicorn mane hair, and those gems are just bits knocked off during fire crab fights — they're not worth much. Including the parchment itself, the total cost is less than two Galleons."
For some reason, hearing Kyle's tone, Fred and George really wanted to punch him.
Less than two Galleons, and he says "not a big deal"? Who talks like that?
"Couldn't we think of another way?" Cho was also feeling the pain. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Like using a Transfiguration spell on ordinary parchment..."
But before she could finish, Kyle rejected her idea.
"That won't work. We need to leave enough evidence." Looking at everyone's conflicted expressions, he smiled and said, "You don't think that just a few words would be enough to make everyone believe what I say, do you? Only by doing this will more people willingly buy those maps at twenty Galleons each. We won't lose out."
"I understand the logic..." Fred looked at the maps in his hands with distress, "But destroying something worth over a dozen Galleons seems like such a waste."
He felt like someone had asked him to skip Galleons across water for fun.
Having lived in poverty for over a decade, he simply couldn't accept such an extravagant decision.
At that moment, Cedric, who had been silent until now, suddenly leaned in, staring intently at the maps in Fred's hands, and said, "It's okay. If you can't bring yourself to do it, I can take care of it for you."
Fred immediately clutched the maps tightly, "No need, I'll do it."
Although he couldn't accept it, if he absolutely had to skip Galleons like stones, he didn't want to give this rare opportunity to someone else.
✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭
In just a few minutes, the atmosphere in the compartment had completely changed.
The others sat there with little enthusiasm, occasionally sighing and feeling melancholic, lamenting the waste of over a dozen Galleons.
Only Cedric seemed as if he'd drunk an Elixir to Induce Euphoria, chuckling as he watched them.
The sky gradually darkened, and the villages and wheat fields outside the window transformed into mountains and forests. The train was about to arrive at its destination.
After everyone changed into their robes, Fred became increasingly nervous. He opened his trunk and searched for something inside.
At that moment, two first-years knocked on their compartment door. It was Hermione, whom they had met on the platform earlier, with a very nervous Neville behind her.
After hearing their request, Kyle asked, "So, you want me to help find a toad?"
"Yes." Hermione said, "We've searched everywhere on the train but couldn't find it. Do you have any suggestions?"
"That's not difficult." Kyle said after a moment's thought, "If you didn't leave it at the platform, all you need is a simple spell."
As he spoke, he took out his wand.
✭ Accio ➜ Summoning Charm: Trevor ✭
Suddenly, a croak came from the luggage rack in some compartment, and a toad flew directly toward them.
"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed with joy, reaching out to catch the toad hovering in midair.
"Neville, I think you should try learning the Summoning Charm." Kyle said with a smile, "Once you master it, you'll never have to worry about finding your keys, textbooks, or pets again."
"Yes, you're right." Neville sniffled, "But I don't know if I can learn it. I'm stupid and always mess everything up."
"Have some confidence in yourself, Neville." Kyle said with a smile, "You won't know if you can learn it until you try, and I can teach you."
"Me too." Hermione said, "Learning spells isn't that difficult. I've already learned several over the summer."
"Th-thank you." Neville said, lowering his head, his face pale.
At that moment, the train gradually came to a stop.
Fred took a deep breath and stepped past Hermione and Neville who were standing at the door, his expression solemn as he said, "I'll go now."
"Don't dawdle." Kyle reminded him, "Make sure you do it before Hagrid takes the first-years away."
✭✭✭
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