Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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As soon as Kyle finished speaking, everyone in the private room looked at Cedric with strange expressions.
Fred, sitting next to him, immediately distanced himself, saying sarcastically, "I never thought you would be this kind of person."
Although Fred's thoughts were exactly the same as Cedric's, that didn't stop him from kicking him while he was down.
A long journey always needs some fun to keep it from getting too boring.
Of course, the premise is that the fun has to be with other people.
"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."
Cedric felt uneasy under their gaze and immediately explained, "I'm just telling the truth, you all must think the same thing."
"Oh~~" Kyle drawled, "Fred, George, do you think the same thing?"
"Of course not!" Fred spoke first.
George looked serious, "I'm a conscientious businessman, I wouldn't do something like this, selling inferior goods."
"Kanna, what about you?" Kyle asked again.
"Me neither." Kanna shook her head repeatedly, even her hair ornament falling off.
"Cho?"
"No…"
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"Look, nobody else has any." Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Only you, Cedric the swindler."
Cedric's face flushed red instantly, staring at everyone in disbelief.
Wait a minute, that's not how it is.
In an instant, Cedric felt betrayed, completely disoriented.
"Give up, swindler, we would never do such a thing."
Kyle handed the stack of maps to Fred and continued, "After the train arrives, you'll dispose of them in front of everyone."
"Leave it to me." Fred solemnly took the map, his expression extremely serious, as if he were receiving an appointment letter from the Minister of Magic.
"By the way," Kyle reminded him, "you must do it before Hagrid arrives, so that the first-year students can see it too."
Fred subconsciously responded, but suddenly felt something was amiss.
Judging from Kyle's serious expression just now, he didn't seem to be joking.
Merlin, he wouldn't really…
Fred felt a little dizzy. He licked his lips and subconsciously asked,
"Kyle, we were just joking with Cedric. Look, his face is all red."
Kyle shook his head and said, "No, I'm not joking. These things must be destroyed, not a single one can be left."
Seeing Kyle's serious expression, Fred and the others immediately stopped laughing.
George murmured, "But... these are all Galleons."
"I know, but there's no way around it," Kyle shrugged. "The words have already been spoken; if you don't want trouble from someone, you have to do it."
"But it's nothing. I have plenty of unicorn hair, and those gems were knocked off by fire crabs during a fight; they're not worth much either. Including the parchment itself, the cost is less than two Galleons."
For some reason, judging from Kyle's tone, Fred and George really wanted to punch him. Less than two Galleons, and that's all?
Is that something a human would say?
"Can't we think of another way?"
Cho also felt a pang of heartache. She thought for a moment and said, "Like using a Transfiguration Charm to transform ordinary parchment..."
Before she could finish speaking, Kyle vetoed her.
"No, we have to leave enough traces."
Seeing the others' conflicted expressions, Kyle smiled and said, "You don't think you can convince everyone with just a few words, do you?
Only by doing this will more people willingly sell those twenty-gallon maps, and we won't lose out."
"I understand the logic..." Fred looked at the map in his hand with a troubled expression, "But destroying something worth over ten gallons seems a bit too wasteful."
Fred felt like he was being told to skip gallons on the water.
Having endured over a decade of hardship, he couldn't accept such an extravagant and inhumane decision.
At this moment, Cedric, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly leaned over, staring intently at the map in Fred's hand, and said, "It's okay, if you can't bring yourself to do it, I can."
Fred immediately hugged the map tightly. "No need, I'll do it."
Although he couldn't accept it, if he had to do this, he didn't want to give up this rare opportunity to someone else.
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In just a few minutes, the atmosphere in the carriage completely changed.
The others sat there listlessly, sighing and lamenting the wasted galleons.
Only Cedric seemed to be on a high, grinning from ear to ear.
The sky gradually darkened, and the villages and wheat fields outside the window transformed into rolling hills and forests.
The train was approaching its destination.
After changing into robes, Fred grew increasingly nervous, opening his trunk and searching inside.
Just then, two firsties knocked on their compartment door.
It was Hermione, whom they had met on the platform, followed by a very nervous Neville.
After hearing their purpose, Kyle asked, "So, you want me to help you find the toad?"
"Yes," Hermione said. "We've searched everywhere on the train, but haven't found it. Do you have any ideas?"
"It's not difficult," Kyle thought for a moment and said, "If you didn't leave it on the platform, a simple spell will suffice."
He then took out his wand.
"Accio Trevor!"
A croaking frog suddenly rang out from the luggage rack in one of the compartments, and a toad flew straight over.
"Trevor!" Neville shouted excitedly, reaching out to catch the toad hovering in mid-air.
"Neville, I think you could try learning the Summoning Charm," Kyle said with a smile. "Once you learn it, you'll never have to worry about losing your keys, textbooks, or pets again."
"Yes, you're right," Neville sniffed, "but I don't know if I can learn it. I'm clumsy, and I always mess everything up."
"Have some confidence in yourself, Neville," Kyle said with a smile. "Whether you can learn it or not, you'll only know if you try, and I can teach you."
"Me too," Hermione said. "Learning charms isn't that hard. I already learned several during the summer."
"Th-thank you," Neville said, bowing his head, his face pale.
At that moment, the train gradually came to a stop.
Fred took a deep breath, walked past Hermione and Neville standing in the doorway, and said with a heavy expression, "Then I'll go."
"Don't dawdle," Kyle reminded him, "We have to get there before Hagrid takes the new students away."
[End of the chapter]