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Chapter 404: Collecting Debts Together
Chapter 404: Collecting Debts Together
"So, for now, you've only recovered your principal bets from Flint?"
Albert looked down at the five Galleons that Fred had handed him, then back up at the trio of Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were sitting across from him with satisfied grins. He asked, "Does Flint plan to default on the debt?"
"That bastard is trying to weasel out of it," George said angrily. "After the Slytherin team lost the game, he refused to pay up."
"If we hadn't followed your suggestion and gathered a group to confront him, we might not have gotten our money back at all," Lee Jordan admitted, impressed by Flint's shameless attempt to renege on his debts.
"Why are you calling it robbery? It's clearly us collecting what we rightfully won!" Fred and George protested in unison, unhappy with Lee Jordan's choice of words.
"You guys secretly used spells to take them down," Lee Jordan muttered under his breath.
"It's all Flint's fault for trying to welch on the deal. And I only silenced him; I didn't even use the Stunning Spell," Fred grumbled, regretting that he hadn't just knocked Flint out from the start.
"And it was George who used the Stunning Spell," Fred quickly added.
"I used the Full-Body Bind Curse, not the Stunning Spell!" George interjected indignantly.
Albert facepalmed. These guys had definitely taken the opportunity to cast spells on Flint and his companions during the scuffle, knocking them out. "You didn't just leave them lying in the snow, did you?" he asked, concerned.
"Of course not! We're not that heartless," Fred said with feigned indignation. "Following your advice, we left Flint and his friends in the Slytherin changing room. It's nice and warm in there; they might catch a slight cold at worst. And when we got back to the castle, we even subtly hinted to some Slytherin students that their Quidditch players had fainted in the changing room."
"I doubt Flint will be able to pay up anytime soon," Albert said as he bent down to pick up his fat cat. "It might take some effort to get your Galleons back."
"Unfortunately, Flint and his buddies are broke," Lee Jordan chimed in, relishing the memory of the bewildered and dismayed expressions on Flint's face as they were confronted by the group.
"They had bet a large sum with Kenneth Towler here, and some students haven't even gotten their principal back yet," Fred said, fiddling with the Galleons between his fingers as he recounted how they had intercepted Flint and his companions and successfully recovered their money.
"Who were you guys badmouthing just now?"
Kenneth Towler swaggered over, a broad smile on his face.
"We made about thirty Galleons this time. Here's your cut, and the rest have been settled," he said, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out a money bag. He counted out fourteen Galleons and handed them to Albert, then produced a parchment to show that he wasn't cheating him.
In reality, very few people had actually made money by betting on Harry with Kenneth Towler. While many had supported Harry, their bets had been small—a Sickle or two at most. Most of the Galleons had come from the Slytherins, who had been overly confident and ended up losing big time.
"By the way, I heard that bastard Flint still owes others over a hundred Galleons," Kenneth Towler said, turning to Fred, George, and Lee Jordan for confirmation. He knew these three had gone to collect from Flint and was curious about the extent of the unlucky losers' debts.
"It's two hundred thirty-five Galleons and ten Sickles, to be precise," George said with a mischievous smile as he pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "I made a copy of Flint's ledger just in case that scoundrel tries to weasel out of his debts!" The parchment detailed Flint's gambling records, and they had found during the settlement that he indeed owed a substantial amount.
"That's not a small sum of money," Kenneth Towler remarked, recalling the unpleasant experience from the previous year.
"Who let him dare offer such outrageous odds? He's crazy," Fred shrugged, feeling no sympathy for the unfortunate Slytherins. "And during the game, they deliberately fouled to prevent Harry from catching the Golden Snitch. You saw it too; the Slytherin team could be said to have lost twice."
"I even suspect that someone from Slytherin caused Harry to almost fall off his broomstick," George added.
"Probably Snape," Kenneth Towler suddenly interjected. "Later, his robe somehow caught on fire, and only then did Harry's broom return to normal."
"Snape?" The trio exchanged glances and then looked at Albert. "Would Snape stoop that low?"
"I did see Snape muttering something at the time," Albert said, implicating Snape without directly accusing him. After all, Snape was the perfect scapegoat.
"You don't know how scared I was when I saw Harry almost fall from his broomstick," Kenneth Towler continued, recalling the terrifying incident. It was truly a heart-stopping moment, and if Harry had fallen, he would likely be in an even worse situation than Flint now.
Fortunately, Albert's prediction came true, or he might have had to compensate Flint for his losses.
"I believe Flint will learn his lesson and won't dare to start reckless gambling again," Albert said softly.
"But how do you plan to get your money back?" Kenneth Towler asked curiously. "Are you going to confront Flint every day?"
"We're going to follow Albert's plan and unite with others to reclaim our winnings," Lee Jordan chimed in with a smile, explaining Albert's strategy.
"What about Albert?" Kenneth Towler noticed that Albert had mysteriously disappeared.
"What's up?" Albert looked up, holding a cat toy and playing with Tom, who had become much more sociable.
"Do you think Flint will pay up?"
"There were sixty students who placed bets, and there aren't that many students in Hogwarts to begin with," Albert said as he picked up Tom and rubbed his ears. "Flint has offended so many people; it's not a joke. I bet someone will start a betting pool on him, and they'll all demand their money."
"Moreover, Flint still has two more years at this school. As long as people keep bothering him from time to time, I believe he'll eventually be forced to pay back the students he lost to."
"What if he doesn't have the money?"
"Then it's a question of who can hold out longer," Albert said quietly.
"If you really can't get the money, just take his pants off and give them to me." Kenneth Towler smiled creepily. "I'll pay one Galleon for his pants."
"What do you want his pants for?" The others looked at Kenneth Towler with strange expressions.
"That bastard Flint said that if I couldn't pay him back, he'd take my underwear as compensation." Kenneth's smile was rather disturbing. "I don't want his underwear, which he probably hasn't washed for several weeks. That would make me sick. Taking his trousers as payment is good enough."
With that, Kenneth Towler walked away, pleased with himself.
"What a guy," Fred mumbled.
"Do you think he'll pay up?"
Perhaps someone would actually do it.
"He's asking for it!"
Albert silently mourned for Flint for three seconds, listening to their conversation.
(End of Chapter)
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