บท 50: Chapter 50: I Have a Way
Kyle was not someone who liked to waste time. Once he had an idea, he acted on it immediately. Without further ado, he told Kanna to head back to the dorms while he made his way straight to Gryffindor Tower.
Unfortunately, when he arrived, Percy wasn't in the dormitory. After asking around, no one seemed to know where he had gone. With no leads, Kyle had no choice but to set the matter aside for the time being. It seemed Scabbers wouldn't be as lucky as he'd hoped.
When Kyle returned to the Hufflepuff common room, he found Kanna curled up on a sofa in the corner, clutching her pet rat nervously. Across the room, perched on the windowsill, a large owl was staring at her menacingly, occasionally clicking its beak.
Ratton, the owl, had never seen such a fat, shiny mouse before. To its hungry eyes, Pocky looked like the perfect snack—plump and gleaming. However, Ratton knew that this mouse belonged to the little witch and was definitely off-limits, so it was content to simply observe.
The problem was that Kanna had no idea what the owl was thinking. When Kyle entered the room, he saw her pale and tense, gripping the hem of her shirt in sweaty hands. Oddly enough, she hadn't even been this nervous when she realized her galleons were missing earlier.
It wasn't until Kyle distracted Ratton with a piece of Murtlap jerky that Kanna finally began to regain some color. As the owl's attention shifted to the jerky, Kyle walked over and shrugged.
"I couldn't find Percy. He's not in Gryffindor Tower."
"Hm," Kanna responded, not giving it much thought. In her eyes, all field mice were rather ugly, and she doubted Pocky would be interested in Scabbers. After all, her pet spent most of its time playing with a hamster, so it didn't seem likely. Besides, Kyle had rushed off so quickly earlier that she hadn't had a chance to refuse his idea in the first place. As far as she was concerned, the current situation was ideal.
She returned Pocky to her dormitory, and when she came back out, she seemed much more at ease. She even gave Ratton a defiant grin.
The owl flapped its wings and flew out the window, throwing her a disdainful glance as if she were an idiot before it left. This, of course, made Kanna furious.
"Why are you mad at it?" Kyle asked with a faint chuckle, shaking his head. He then pulled out ten galleons and set them on the table.
"I don't want it!" Kanna immediately shook her head, rejecting the offer firmly. "Thank you for your kindness, but I really don't need it."
"But Christmas is still a long way off," Kyle pointed out, frowning slightly. "Even if you don't need to worry about food, what about parchment and ink? Those cost galleons too, and you can't avoid buying them. Or did you bring enough with you when term started?"
At Hogwarts, parchment and ink were used up quickly. The supplies listed on the acceptance letter barely lasted a month, and students usually asked their prefects to bring more back from Hogsmeade. While not expensive, parchment still cost a few sickles, and no one was going to give it away for free.
"I…" Kanna fell silent. Kyle's words had clearly reminded her that even at Hogwarts, money was necessary. However, despite the logic, she shook her head again and said, "I'll figure it out."
Kyle tried to reason with her, pointing out the practicalities, but Kanna remained surprisingly stubborn on the matter. She refused all his offers except the rat tonic, even declining the parchment he tried to give her.
"You're really nice to that rat," Kyle remarked, rubbing his forehead thoughtfully. Then, almost out of the blue, he asked, "By the way, do you know any of the Slytherin first-years?"
Kanna paused to think. "I think so. A few years ago, I met Rowle and Yaxley at a banquet. They're in Slytherin, and they're first-years as well. But I don't know if they'd remember me—I haven't been to that kind of event in a long time."
"That's fine, just knowing who they are is enough," Kyle said, considering something. "Kanna, do you want to make your own galleons?"
"Make my own galleons?" Kanna blinked, still processing what he'd said.
"Yes, earn them yourself, just like adults do," Kyle explained, tapping his finger on the table. "I know a way you can do that here at Hogwarts. It might be a bit challenging, but the profit is high. Once you're done, you won't have to worry about parchment, ink, or anything else. You could even buy yourself plenty of snacks. What do you think? Want to give it a try?"
Kanna didn't reply immediately, but her interest was clearly piqued. She had considered helping other students with their homework in exchange for parchment and ink, but that felt wrong—like cheating—and she feared the professors might catch on. Kyle's offer presented an alternative, and she was tempted to hear more.
Seeing her interest, Kyle continued, not wasting time. "Do you remember the map Cedric gave you yesterday?"
Kanna nodded. "Yes, I remember."
After the flying lesson the previous day, Cedric, a second-year student, had handed out maps of Hogwarts. Kanna recalled it clearly. She had also heard that Ravenclaw had their own version of the maps, but those had to be bought.
"Well, that's what this is about," Kyle said, pulling out the gold-trimmed map Cedric had given him and placing it on the table. "This is the Slytherin version. The only thing we're missing is someone to sell them. Do you want to try? Five galleons each, and we split the profit fifty-fifty."
"Five galleons?!" Kanna looked at Kyle in shock, her expression mirroring the one she had just given Ratton. "How could these maps be worth five galleons? That's way too much—no one would buy them!"
"Ravenclaw's only cost a few sickles," she whispered, still in disbelief.
"Those are just ordinary maps. This is a limited edition from the 'Golden Triangle,'" Kyle said, raising an eyebrow. "We used top-quality materials and craftsmanship. These were handmade, and it took three whole days to make just ten of them. Not a single one more. Think about it—out of the hundreds of students at Hogwarts, only ten people can own this exclusive map. It's a status symbol. Isn't that worth five galleons?"
Kanna felt a bit overwhelmed, but Kyle's explanation did make it seem like the maps were worth the steep price. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "But it's already been three days since classes started. Will anyone still need these maps?"
"Don't worry about that," Kyle replied confidently. "Hogwarts isn't just about classrooms. There's the library, the hospital wing, the professors' offices... And don't forget, the staircases in the main building keep changing. Who knows where they'll be tomorrow? You might end up on a path you've never taken before. Standing around trying to figure it out wastes time, but walking around blindly can get you lost—and that means you'll be late. That's where these maps come in handy, especially since they show the patterns of how most of the stairs move."
Kyle leaned back, his voice full of certainty. "Trust me, someone will definitely buy it."
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