Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Evening, an empty classroom at Hogwarts.
The dim light of the oil lamp cast the shadows of the three people present obliquely on the wall.
"I'm glad you came to us, Kyle, but we can't do this,"
Fred said, his head bowed, hiding himself from the light.
"We've known each other for so many years, but this is the first time you've come to Hogwarts asking for our help. I can't even remember the last time we ate together."
"Last Wednesday." Kyle, sitting opposite him, paused slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "You wanted to sell my homework to Gryffindor first years."
"My friend, you refused very decisively back then."
George said calmly, "You don't even know how heartbroken we were when we left."
"I just don't need Professor McGonagall's confinement." Kyle said, "Bulk selling homework? How could you even think of that? Do you think Professor McGonagall is Ron, that he can't even find out about something like this?"
"Ahem… well, even if you have a point."
Fred looked up and stared directly at Kyle,
"Then why aren't you worried about whether Professor McGonagall will find out about us today?
It's not difficult. You could do it yourself, or just find someone in Hufflepuff, right?"
"We're being watched very closely by Snape."
"I see, you only think of us when it comes to dirty work…"
George sighed. "You've found your place in Hufflepuff, you like it there, and the professors and students all like you.
Frankly, you probably don't need our friendship, you never even call us 'sir'!"
"Enough talk, are you in or not?" Kyle's lips twitched, and he said impatiently, "You two Weasleys… sirs, I'll count to three, and if you don't answer, I'm going to find someone else."
"One!"
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"George, look, he's threatening us."
"Yeah, Fred, we're not falling for that."
"Two!"
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"I think you could count faster."
Kyle didn't say anything, but simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a glittering gold card, waving it in front of Fred and George.
"…Three."
"We're in!"
Fred and George appeared on either side of Kyle, immediately putting on smiling faces.
"Kyle, that card you just took out, is it Agrippa?"
"Hmm…" Kyle nodded.
Fred pleaded eagerly, "Could I take one more look? Just one more."
Kyle pulled out the rare card again, waving it in front of them.
Fred and George's eyes widened instantly, their gazes following Kyle's arm as he swayed from side to side.
After looking at it for about ten seconds, Kyle put the card away and said to the two still eagerly waiting, "See this Agrippa card? After it's done..."
Before Kyle could finish, George exclaimed with delight, "You're giving it to us?"
"You wish," Kyle said. "After it's done, I can lend it to you for ten minutes."
"Ten days!" Fred frowned.
"Nine minutes..."
"No, at least a week." This time it was George's turn.
"Five minutes..."
"One day, that's our bottom line!" the two said in unison.
"Deal."
Kyle extended his hand and gave the two a high five.
The deal was struck, and now it was time to discuss the specifics of the plan.
"Actually, we never intended to refuse,"
Fred said with a grin, patting Kyle on the shoulder. "We're always happy to do anything to make Slytherin suffer."
"However, you'll need to provide the items," George said. "Those things are custom-made and very expensive; we can't afford them."
"Of course, I've already prepared them."
Kyle took out a stack of Galleons and placed it on the table. "Here are twenty Galleons; that should be enough for those two things."
"More than enough."
Fred picked up a Galleon from the table and gently stroked it in his hand... He had never seen so much money before.
Although he knew that Kyle had made a fortune selling maps recently, that was just a guess, and seeing so many Galleons piled up in front of him was completely different. Making that much money selling maps?
"Kyle, we..."
George looked at the large pile of Galleons in front of him, seemingly wanting to say something.
Kyle gave him a puzzled look.
"Never mind, we'll talk about it later." George shook his head after a moment's thought, then said,
"If it's twenty Galleons, Zonko will definitely deliver what you need on time."
Kyle didn't mind, and after discussing some more details with the two, he prepared to leave.
"I can't wait!" Fred said excitedly, "Slytherin really messed with you, they're really in big trouble."
Kyle glanced at him and reminded him, "Don't talk nonsense, what does it have to do with me? I don't know anything."
"Ha, cunning Chopper."
"Heh, foolish Weasley."
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After saying goodbye to Fred and George, Kyle didn't go back to the Hufflepuff common room immediately, but wandered aimlessly in the corridor on the third floor of the castle for a while.
He needed to find a special ghost; the fat friar had told him that the poltergeist preferred to stay near the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
However, Kyle wandered around for more than ten minutes without finding anything.
Just as he was about to go back and come back the next morning, a balloon filled with liquid suddenly flew towards the back of his head.
Kyle tilted his head slightly, narrowly dodging the balloon.
The balloon hit the ground, releasing an unpleasant odor.
"Heh heh heh, you naughty first-year, staying up all night instead of sleeping, tsk tsk tsk, naughty, you'll get caught."
Suddenly, a little poltergeist appeared in mid-air, with a pair of evil black eyes and a large mouth, floating cross-legged, holding two more balloons in his hands.
"Should I tell Filch? You big foolish little brat, it's so funny."
Kyle stood still, looking at him with interest, and asked, "Are you Peeves?"
For a moment, a hint of doubt appeared in Peeves' small black eyes, but it quickly turned into anger.
The little brat didn't run away from him, clearly looking down on him, how could he tolerate this?
He tossed the remaining two balloons at Kyle.
"That's right, I am the great Peeves. I'm going to tell Filch about your nighttime stroll, and he'll lock you up." He said seriously, "I'm going to tell him it's for your own good, you know?"
Kyle took out his wand, tossed the two balloons aside, and said calmly, "I agree with you, but there are still five minutes until curfew, so it doesn't count as a nighttime stroll. Besides, I came here specifically to find you."
"Came here specifically to find me?"
Peeves was a little surprised. In Hogwarts, it was rare to see a young wizard actively seeking him out.
"Yes." Kyle looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "I have an idea, and I wonder if you'd be interested in participating..."
[End of the chapter]