Chapter 50: I Have a Way
Chapter 50: I Have a Way
Kyle wasn't one to waste time. After coming up with an idea, he immediately sent Conna back to the Gryffindor Tower while he headed to the Hufflepuff Common Room.
Unfortunately, upon arriving, he discovered that Percy wasn't in the dormitory, and no one he asked knew where he had gone.
There was nothing else to do but put the matter aside for the time being.
It seemed Bubba wasn't meant to have such luck.
When Kyle returned to the Hufflepuff Common Room, Conna was huddled in the corner of a sofa, nervously watching a large owl perched on the windowsill across from her, eyeing her rat with a menacing look and occasionally smacking its beak.
Laton had never seen such a plump rat; its fur was sleek, and its body was well-fed, making it top-notch prey in the eyes of any owl. It was salivating at the sight.
Of course, the owl knew that the rat was a witch's pet and was off-limits, but it couldn't help but drool over such a tempting treat.
The problem was that Conna had no idea what the owl was thinking. When Kyle arrived, the little witch was pale, clutching the corner of her robe, and there was a noticeable sweat stain on her forehead.
To be honest, she hadn't been this nervous even when she lost her Galleon.
It wasn't until Kyle distracted Laton with a piece of Mortar Rat Meat Jerky that Conna's face regained some color.
Kyle walked over and opened his hand, saying, "I couldn't find Percy. He's not in the Gryffindor Tower."
"Hmm."
Conna didn't think too much about it. In her opinion, other voles were ugly, and Pochi definitely wouldn't like them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been playing with hamsters all this time.
The main reason was that Kyle had run off so quickly, not giving her a chance to refuse.
Now, the outcome couldn't have been better.
Conna took Pochi back to the dormitory, and when she came out, she felt much more relaxed. She even flashed her teeth at Laton in retaliation.
Laton flapped its wings and flew out the window, glancing back at her as it left, as if looking at an idiot.
This really annoyed the little witch.
"Why are you angry with it?" Kyle chuckled and shook his head. Then he took out ten Galleons and placed them on the table.
"I don't want it!"
Before Kyle could say anything, Conna firmly shook her head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I really don't need it."
"But Christmas is still a long way off." Kyle frowned and said, "Even if you're not worried about food, what about parchment and ink? These all require Galleons. You can't not buy them, can you?
Or did you bring enough supplies before school started?"
At Hogwarts, parchment and ink were consumed quickly. The quantities required in the acceptance letter were not enough and would last at most a month.
Therefore, young witches and wizards would usually ask prefects to bring some back when they went to Hogsmeade.
Although it wasn't expensive, a few Sickles would suffice, but it still required money, and no one would give you a Knut.
"I..." Conna fell silent, as Kyle's words reminded her that even at Hogwarts, one Knut was still needed.
However, even so, she shook her head and said, "I'll figure something out."
Kyle tried to persuade her several times, using all sorts of logical arguments, but on this point, Conna was surprisingly stubborn. She refused everything except for the rat medicine.
She even declined the parchment that Kyle offered her.
"You really care about that rat, don't you?"
Kyle rubbed his forehead and suddenly asked, "By the way, do you know the new Slytherin student?"
Conna thought for a moment and said, "I think I know them. A few years ago, I met Rowle and Axley at a banquet. They were both in Slytherin, and they were in the same year as us."
But I don't know if they still remember me because it's been a long time since I last attended one of those banquets."
"It doesn't matter as long as you have an impression of them," Kyle said after a moment of thought. "Conna, do you want to earn Galleons on your own?"
"Earn Galleons on my own?" Conna seemed to be still processing the idea.
"Yes, earn them yourself, just like adults do," Kyle explained.
He tapped the table with his fingers and continued, "I have a way to make money at Hogwarts, but it might be a bit challenging for you. However, the profit is high. Once it's done, you won't have to worry about things like parchment anymore, and you can even buy plenty of snacks.
What do you say? Do you want to give it a try?"
Conna remained silent, but it was clear that she was intrigued.
Previously, she had been thinking of helping others with their homework to obtain parchment and ink, but she always felt guilty about it and feared being discovered by the professors.
Now that Kyle mentioned another way, she wanted to give it a shot.
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
Kyle didn't keep her in suspense for long. He continued, "Do you remember the map Cedric gave you yesterday?"
Conna nodded. "Yes, I remember."
The day before, after the flying lesson ended, Cedric, a second-year student, had given each of them a map of Hogwarts, and she had a deep impression of this incident.
She had also heard that Ravenclaw had similar maps, but they had to pay for them.
"This is it," Kyle said, slapping the golden-edged map that Cedric had given him on the table. "This is the Slytherin version, but we currently lack a middleman to sell them to the Ravenclaws.
Do you want to give it a try? Five Galleons per map, and we'll split the final profit fifty-fifty."
"Five Galleons?!" Conna looked at Kyle in disbelief, her expression mirroring Laton's from earlier.
How could these maps possibly be worth three Galleons each? That's way too expensive; no one would buy them.
"The Ravenclaws only paid a dozen Sickles for theirs," Conna said softly.
"This is a limited-edition map with a golden edge, not the same as those ordinary ones," Kyle said, raising an eyebrow. "We used the best materials and craftsmanship, and it's all handmade. It took us 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 limited-edition map. It's a symbol of status and prestige, isn't it worth five Galleons?"
"..."
Conna felt a bit dizzy, but after hearing Kyle's explanation, the five Galleons did seem like a fair price.
After a moment of thought, she said, "But it's already the third day of school, and we've had all our classes. Are you sure these maps will sell?"
"Don't worry about that," Kyle said calmly. "Hogwarts has more than just classrooms; there's also the library, the hospital wing, and the professors' offices. New students don't know where these places are.
And don't forget that the stairs in the main tower also change. Who knows where they'll lead to the next day? If you encounter an unfamiliar route, what will you do?
Waiting in place is definitely not an option; it's too time-consuming. But walking there is also easy to get lost, and either way, you'll be late.
That's when the importance of a map comes into play, especially one that marks most of the stair changes.
So rest assured, there will definitely be buyers."
(End of Chapter)
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