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Chapter 142: Galleons Skipping Across the Water
Chapter 142: Galleons Skipping Across the Water
As soon as Kyle finished speaking, everyone in the compartment turned to Cedric with odd looks on their faces.
Fred, sitting next to him, immediately created some distance, taunting, "Who would've thought that a guy with such thick eyebrows and big eyes would turn out to be this kind of person?"
Although Fred's thoughts mirrored Cedric's, it didn't stop him from piling on at this opportunity. After all, a long journey could get boring, and it was always fun to have some entertainment at someone else's expense.
"I'm not! I didn't! Don't spread rumors!" Cedric felt uncomfortable under everyone's gaze and quickly tried to explain, "I was just speaking the truth. You all were thinking the same, weren't you?"
"Oho~" Kyle drew out the sound, "Fred, George, what about you two? Were you thinking the same?"
"Of course not!" Fred quickly replied.
George put on a serious face, "I'm an honest businessman. I would never do something as unscrupulous as passing off inferior goods as superior ones."
"What about you, Connor?" Kyle asked.
"Not me," Connor shook her head vigorously, causing the hair ornament on her head to fall off.
"Autumn?"
"No..."
...
"Look, none of us were thinking that," Kyle raised an eyebrow, "Only you, Cedric the swindler."
Cedric's face turned red, and he looked at everyone in disbelief.
This wasn't right! That wasn't how it was!
In an instant, Cedric felt betrayed, and his whole body felt uncomfortable.
"Give it up, swindler. We would never do something like that," Kyle handed the stack of maps to Fred and continued, "When the train arrives, you get rid of these in front of everyone."
"Leave it to me," Fred solemnly took the maps, his expression grave as if he were accepting a letter of appointment from the Minister of Magic.
"By the way," Kyle reminded him, "You must act before Hagrid arrives so that the first-years can see it too."
Fred subconsciously acknowledged, but something felt off.
Seeing Kyle's serious expression, he didn't seem to be joking.
Merlin, he wouldn't really...
Fred felt dizzy. He licked his lips and asked involuntarily, "Kyle, we were just joking with Cedric. Look, his face is bright red."
Kyle shook his head, "No, I'm not joking. These must be destroyed, not a single one can be left."
Seeing Kyle's serious expression, Fred and the others couldn't bring themselves to laugh anymore.
George murmured, "But... these are Galleons."
"I know, but we have no choice," Kyle spread his hands helplessly, "The words are out there now. If we don't want to get into trouble with a certain someone, this has to be done."
"It's fine, though. I have plenty of unicorn mane hair, and those gems are just leftovers from when the crabs were fighting. They're not worth much either. Including the cost of the parchment, it's less than two Galleons altogether."
For some reason, the way Kyle spoke made Fred and George want to punch him.
Less than two Galleons? Is that all?
Who talks like that?
"Can't we think of another way?"
Autumn also felt a bit pained. She thought for a moment and suggested, "For example, we could use a Transfiguration Spell to turn ordinary parchment..."
But before she could finish, Kyle cut her off.
"I understand the logic..." Fred looked conflicted as he stared at the maps in his hands, "but to just destroy something worth over ten Galleons like this feels a bit too wasteful."
Fred now felt like he had been asked to skip Galleons across the water.
Having endured years of hardship, he couldn't accept such a wasteful decision.
At this moment, Cedric, who had been quiet until now, suddenly leaned over and stared intently at the maps in Fred's hands. "It's fine. If you can't bring yourself to do it, I can take care of it."
Fred immediately hugged the maps close to his chest. "No, I'll do it."
Although he couldn't accept it, if they were going to skip Galleons, he didn't want to miss out on this rare opportunity.
...
In just a few minutes, the atmosphere in the compartment completely changed.
The others sat there listlessly, occasionally sighing or looking melancholy, lamenting the wasted ten-plus Galleons.
Only Cedric seemed to have taken a cheering potion, as he watched them with a mischievous smile.
As night fell, the villages and wheat fields outside the window transformed into stretches of mountains and forests.
The train was about to arrive at its destination.
After donning their robes, Fred's anxiety grew. He opened his trunk and began searching for something.
At that moment, two first-years knocked on the door of their compartment.
It was Hermione, whom they had met on the platform, and a nervous-looking Neville standing behind her.
After hearing their request, Kyle asked, "So, you want me to help find the toad?"
"Yes." Hermione replied, "We've searched everywhere on the train, but we still can't find 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, all it takes is a simple spell."
As he spoke, he took out his wand.
"Accio toad!"
A loud croak suddenly echoed from the luggage rack in one of the compartments, and a toad flew straight toward them.
"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed joyfully, reaching out to catch the toad that was hovering in mid-air.
"Neville, I think you should try learning the Summoning Charm," Kyle suggested with a smile. "Once you learn it, you won't 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 not very bright, and I always mess things up."
"Have some confidence in yourself, Neville." Kyle encouraged, "You won't know if you can learn it until you try, and I can teach you, too."
"And me." Hermione added, "Learning spells isn't that difficult. I've already learned several during the summer holidays."
"Th-thank you." Neville mumbled, his head lowered and his face slightly pale.
Just then, the train began to slow down as it approached the station.
Fred took a deep breath and stepped past Hermione and Neville, who were standing by the door. With a grave expression, he said, "I guess I'll be going now."
"Don't dawdle." Kyle reminded him, "Make sure you do it before Hagrid takes the first-years away."
...
(End of Chapter)
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