The trolley witch's pitch made Theo's cheek twitch.
Limited banner, huh?
Still, after his childhood run-in with collectable cards, he was cured. Back then he'd chased the "Water Margin" snack cards, only to learn the hard way that the ultra-rare "Jade Qilin Lu Junyi" was region-locked like a scammy gacha—nonexistent at his school, common as cobblestone in another city. He'd once grabbed a random pack on a trip and—bam—pulled it, thought he was chosen by destiny… then grew up and learned the "destiny" was distribution strategy.
The chocolate-frog racket would be no different. He wasn't getting baited twice.
Ron, however, was already hooked.
"I've got nearly five hundred cards—just missing Agrippa and Ptolemy. I'll take ten—"
His hand dipped into a very light money pouch.
"…Make that one pack."
Harry, by contrast, was bright-eyed and flush with coin for the first time in his life. Before magic, he'd never had pocket money—never mind sweets. Staring at a mountain of treats stirred a quiet urge he barely recognised: to comfort the kid who never got any.
He bought a little of everything, and when Ron lingered on the frogs, Harry promptly scooped up twenty packs. Fourteen Sickles and eight Knuts—noticeably more than canon—changed hands.
Ron stared, slack-jawed, at the confectionery cairn.
Hermione reached for her purse, but Theo tugged her sleeve.
"Looks like Harry's our little tycoon today. We're broke. Hermione, Ron—let's shamelessly mooch his stash." He grinned at Harry. "You don't mind, do you?"
Harry's face lit. This—sharing, being shared with—was exactly what he'd secretly wanted.
"And we won't freeload," Theo added. "I'll swap you signed copies and a photo. Trust me—Muggle world eats that up."
He thumbed to Hermione. "And this is the all-subjects ace. We'll be begging her to save our homework by next week."
Ron shrank a little. What could he trade? Second-hand robes, hand-me-down wand, unwanted rat, a lunch of thick corned-beef sandwiches he didn't even like… He started to mumble that he was sick of them.
Theo cut in, lazy as a cat.
"Ron, you've got five hundred cards. We're newbies. Tons of duplicates, right? If Harry pulls one of your two missing rares, it's yours to complete the set. In return, share your dupes so we can start."
Hermione still looked a bit lost on the card-meta, but Harry nodded at once—canon Harry would have traded pies for a sandwich; this was the same instinct, just upgraded.
Ron's head snapped up, eyes bright.
"That'd be brilliant! Then we can trade from now on. I've got loads of repeats—six Morganas alone. Enough for all of us and a spare!"
Theo flashed a thumbs-up. "Respect, local meta expert."
Ron laughed, rubbing the back of his head; Hermione and Harry joined in. Soon they were snacking and listening to Ron explain wizarding life—especially Quidditch.
"Brooms—there's the Cleansweep line, the Comet line, and the Nimbus series. Nimbus 2000 is the fastest right now! When I've got the money, I'm buying one—"
The door slid open again. Three boys stepped in. The one in front had pale-blond hair and a face built for sneering.
"Red hair, freckles—Weasley, right? Don't kid yourself. Your lot can't afford a broom. Maybe a second-hand one."
The other two flanked him like hired muscle.
Draco Malfoy. Naturally.
Theo let the kids' posturing roll past and flicked his gaze to the System. This was the protagonist's rival, scion of a noble house—the rewards had to be spicy. Who would the System map him to? Huang Tianhua—noble birth, strong, Huang even matches the blond. Or Yang Jian—excellent at… dog-handling; Draco had two, Yang Jian had one. Tu Xingsun for being short felt too mean; probably not.
He opened the pane—and froze.
…?
Uh, what?
Chong Heihu—who the hell is Chong Heihu supposed to be?!
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