Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Kanna didn't know why she agreed to Kyle's offer.
Perhaps she truly needed some Galleons, or perhaps it was because of Kyle's words... prove to everyone that you can survive.
Regardless, Kanna agreed without thinking.
After dinner, Kyle, Cedric, and Kanna gathered around the table in the common room, discussing their business plan for tomorrow.
"Anyway, Gryffindor has the Weasley brothers to help, so there shouldn't be any problems. The most important thing now is Slytherin."
Kyle looked at Kanna and said, "Well, tomorrow you find a chance to meet Ruo... Row what's his name?"
Kanna whispered, "Rowle and Yaxley."
"Oh yes, that's them. Find a chance to run into them and say hello."
Kyle thought for a moment and said, "The corridor on the first floor is good. Hufflepuff and Slytherin need to pass by there to go to the Great Hall. Even if they meet by chance, it's normal. You just find a reason to walk with them."
"Yeah." The little witch nodded, taking notes quickly, her expression very serious.
After she finished memorizing, Kyle continued,
"I'll be ahead of you and complain to Cedric about the castle's complicated terrain and how easy it is to get lost. He'll then show off his regular map to me.
You'll need to show your disdain for us and take the opportunity to pull out the limited-edition map."
"Disdain?"
Kanna paused, trying a few expressions... and then Kyle abandoned his previous plan.
"Forget it, just show off the map to them. Tell them it's a limited edition, not for sale to the public, and there are only ten copies."
"Remember this."
"If they ask you later, tell them you have a way to get these maps, and if they want them, you're willing to help them out as a friend."
"Okay." Kanna memorized everything and began to recite it silently.
Then, Cedric asked curiously, "What if they don't ask?"
Kyle spread his hands and said, "If they don't ask, just sell it to someone else."
Turning a regular product into a limited-edition edition was Kyle's idea. After all, those purebloods just fell for it.
Adding Kanna simply made everything more logical.
After Rowle and Yaxley got their hands on the map, they'd definitely show it off, making them the perfect ambassadors.
If they didn't fall for it, then just go back to the original plan.
Release a limited edition, separate it from the regular ones, and the snakes would come looking for it themselves once they got the information.
However, doing so would easily attract the professor's attention. Ten Galleons wouldn't matter, but five Galleons was a significant sum, and it might be banned before it was even sold.
So it was better to do it covertly. Even if they were caught, it wouldn't matter. After all, the Galleons were already in their possession, so how could they get them back?
At most, it would just be a few points deducted.
Hufflepuffs cared less about house points than anything else.
After hearing Kyle's explanation, Cedric was completely elated.
Could it be that way?
He knew that pure-bloods valued things that stood out from the crowd; otherwise, they wouldn't have gilded the parchment.
But his original price was just one Galleon.
Now that Kyle had quintupled it, it suddenly felt familiar.
And even if the Slytherin freshmen found out, it wouldn't matter, because what they really needed wasn't the map, but the "limited edition" item.
It wasn't that purebloods were all suckers; they were just rich, not stupid. They just had different tastes.
Even he had always wanted to get a quill. While it looked like an ordinary quill, it was beautiful, a delight to hold, and it allowed him to write a few more lines on his homework.
Cedric smacked his lips and asked, "Kyle, are you sure it's only ten?"
"Yes, ten," Kyle nodded.
He'd inquired, and while there were thirteen Slytherin freshmen, not all of them were wealthy purebloods, so ten was just the right amount, giving those who didn't buy a decent excuse.
After confirming this, Cedric talked to Kyle about the Quidditch tryouts that afternoon.
As expected, Fred and George also joined the house team, playing as Beaters.
In addition, a second-year witch named Alicia Spinnet joined the bench.
"This year's Gryffindor class is definitely a formidable opponent," Cedric said solemnly.
"Their team is incredibly good. I've seen Alicia's practice, and she's every bit as good as our Chaser, Matt Bullington, but she's only a substitute in Gryffindor.
And Oliver Wood has the highest interception rate of the four Keepers. With him on the field, it's hard for us to gain an advantage."
"Really?" Kyle chimed indifferently. "Then you better keep your best."
No matter how strong the Gryffindor team was, he was just a first-year without a broom. He couldn't play, so he could only cheer a few more times while watching.
Cedric didn't notice Kyle's lack of interest and then moved on to Slytherin. This time, the focus was on brooms.
With five Nimbuses, each worth 1700, they had a clear advantage.
However, when mentioning Ravenclaw, Cedric paused, then naturally passed over the topic.
"We must give our all in every match from now on. We can't afford to slack off,"
Cedric said sternly. "No one wants to finish third at the end of the semester. To that end, Harris has even increased the number of group practices per week from three to five."
Cedric's voice subconsciously rose considerably as he spoke, but Kanna, beside him, remained unfazed, staring intently at the parchment in her hand.
She was so nervous at the thought of having to talk to someone tomorrow that she hardly noticed what Cedric was saying.
In fact, she had thought about quitting countless times while Kyle was discussing the specific plan.
But every time the word "quit" came to her lips, a voice inside her voice told her not to say it.
Kanna didn't know why, but she ultimately chose that voice.
Not long after, Kyle and Cedric yawned as they returned to the dorms.
Kanna was the only one left in the common room, still flipping through the parchment.
[End of the chapter]