Chapter 799: A Fishing Expedition
Chapter 799: A Fishing Expedition
"Just get to the point, what are you really up to?" Fred and George eyed Kyle warily, their bodies inching backwards until they were leaning against the doorframe. They knew him too well... whenever he wore that particular expression, nothing good would come of it.
Only when they felt the doorknob at their backs did the twins relax a little. This spot was perfect—right by the door, so they could bolt at the first sign of trouble.
"It's like this," Kyle chose his words carefully. "The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has been facing some difficulties lately. When I saw Cedric today, he looked terrible. He's lost weight, can barely walk straight, and looks utterly exhausted."
"He really needs help, and as his friends, you can't just stand by and do nothing," Kyle continued.
"Then what about you?" Fred immediately spotted the flaw in Kyle's plea. "You and Cedric are friends too. Why aren't you offering to help him directly?"
"To be honest, I really want to help," Kyle sighed, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "If that mysterious person wasn't causing me so much trouble, I would have stayed at the Ministry today."
"That sounds a bit fake," Fred commented.
"Not very convincing," George agreed.
"If you don't believe me, go ask Mr. Weasley. He'll tell you I spent the day at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Kyle pointed to the door. "If I'm lying, feel free to come back and punish me any way you like, even if it means working in your shop. I promise to accept it."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course," Kyle asserted confidently. "Rest assured, I only want to help Cedric. He's genuinely overwhelmed, and as his friends, it's only right that we lend him a hand, isn't it?"
"We're open to discussing anything else, but going back to the Ministry is out of the question," Fred stated firmly.
"Absolutely," George nodded in agreement. "No matter what you say, we're not setting foot in the Ministry again."
"Especially not at a time like this..."
"Just look at Hermione. We don't want to be coming back at midnight every day," Fred added.
"Don't reject the idea so quickly," Kyle said as he took out a golden cup filled with mead and placed it on the table. "Hermione is busy because she's in a place with few people. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is the second largest department in the Ministry. While it can get a little busy at times, it's usually not that overwhelming. This time, there really is an unexpected situation that needs attention."
Fred and George had been planning to leave without hearing Kyle out, but the rich aroma of mead filling the room made them pause. Although they weren't big drinkers, the kind of mead Kyle had just poured had a wonderful fragrance that lingered in the memory after just one taste.
And they were no exception to its allure.
The twins exchanged a glance, some unspoken communication passing between them, before they cautiously approached the table.
"No matter what you say, we're not going to the Ministry," they declared in unison.
"Not even the most compelling argument will change our minds," George added.
"It's fine, I was just mentioning it in passing. If you don't want to go, then forget about it," Kyle smiled.
"Now, about the communication devices, do you have any ideas?"
Just as he'd promised, Kyle didn't bring up the Ministry again, smoothly transitioning to another topic. "I must remind you that efficiency is secondary. Bones values security above all else. She won't approve anything that could easily fall into enemy hands."
As he spoke, Kyle fetched two ordinary cups and poured some mead from the golden cup into them.
Seeing that Kyle had indeed dropped the subject of the Ministry, the twins relaxed a little.
"That's simple," Fred took a small sip of the mead. "We can just set a password, like with the Marauder's Map. Only those who know the correct password can use it."
"Or we could set a numerical code," George suggested. "Like the Muggle telephones Dad mentioned. You need to dial a series of numbers before you can use the phone."
"How do you know about that?" Kyle asked curiously. If he recalled correctly, they shouldn't have had any exposure to Muggles.
"Dad just told us about it. He managed to get his hands on one of those telephones," Fred explained.
"And we've used it before. Ron used it to contact Harry," George added.
"But Harry wasn't the one who answered the call, and the conversation didn't last long before the line went dead," Fred continued.
"His aunt and uncle must have done something. They're extremely rude," George put down his cup, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
The twins still remembered the obstacles those two had put in their way every time they tried to contact Harry, and it didn't sit well with them.
"A password or a code..." Kyle pondered for a moment. "Is that all?"
"We can make it more complex," Fred offered. "For example, we could set up a spell so that only specific people can use the device."
"But that would drastically increase the cost," George pointed out. "Those kinds of restrictive spells are never simple, and applying them to magical items is even more challenging. Even if we started researching now, it would take at least half a year to make it work."
"And that's just for one device," Fred added.
"So, I say it's better to focus on the communication items themselves."
"What do you mean?" Kyle poured him another cup of mead.
"Make the communication items in the most common shapes, like buttons or strings. Everyone will wear them, so even if Death Eaters see them, they'll just think they're normal, small objects and won't think much of it."
"Just like the ones DA used before, who would've thought that a Galleon would be our means of communication?"
As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously drifted towards the golden cup Kyle had been using to pour the drinks.
Not because of its expensive material.
Although gold cutlery was rare, it wasn't unheard of. For example, the place they were currently staying in had a complete set of gold cutlery, including cups, candlesticks, plates, bowls, and knives and forks.
They had all been left by the Black family, but Sirius Black had simply kept them in the storage room and never taken them out.
What piqued Fred's interest was the cup itself.
That thing didn't look that big, yet it could hold so much mead. They had refilled their cups twice already, and the amount of mead in the cup didn't seem to diminish at all.
At first, he thought it was due to the Refilling Charm, but strangely, Kyle hadn't uttered any incantations, and Fred couldn't sense any traces of magic on the cup.
As the owner of a magic trick shop, Fred trusted his judgment, and that cup seemed like a perfectly normal cup from the outside... at least that's how it appeared.
"What about yours..."
"Then let's go with your idea."
Just as Fred was about to say something, Kyle interrupted him.
"First, make one with a password. We can send it to the Ministry for Bones to take a look."
"If she's satisfied, great. If not... we'll modify it later. Anyway, there aren't many people in Diagon Alley right now, so you might as well keep yourselves busy."
"What do you mean, keep ourselves busy? We're very busy, you know."
"Oh, right, right, my mistake. You're both very busy people who can earn a thousand Galleons a day." Kyle waved towards the door. "Alright, if there's nothing else, please leave. I need to get some sleep."
With that, he stood up, ready to see them out.
This should have been a good opportunity for Fred and George to make a smooth exit, ensuring that Kyle wouldn't be able to rope them into any more of his schemes.
But Fred just couldn't help his curiosity.
"Wait a moment." He craned his neck towards the table. "That cup of yours..."
"Oh, you mean this one." Kyle nonchalantly said, "It's nothing special, just Hufflepuff's golden cup. Isn't there also a sword belonging to Gryffindor?"
"What did you say?"
"This is Hufflepuff's golden cup?!"
Now, Fred and George were even more reluctant to leave. Any item left behind by the four Hogwarts founders was a treasure that an alchemist couldn't resist.
While they weren't technically alchemists, they were close enough, dealing with magical items as they did.
...
In truth, the twins were aware that Kyle possessed this item, and he had never hidden it from them, including the matter of the Horcrux.
However, knowing about it and seeing it in person were two different matters.
The two walked around Kyle and rushed towards the table.
"Hufflepuff's golden cup..." Fred's eyes lit up in excitement. "Didn't you say it was with Nicolas Flamel?"
"It was before," Kyle said, "But after we resolved the Horcrux issue, he returned it to me."
"When did this happen?" George asked, his voice tinged with anger. "You never told us about this!"
"It was last Christmas." Kyle replied, "You two weren't at Hogwarts at the time. How could I have told you?"
"That's not an excuse. You could have written to us!" Fred said angrily. "Anyway, as punishment for deceiving your friends, we'll be keeping this golden cup safe for you for a while."
"That won't do." Kyle shook his finger, and the golden cup, which had been on the table, immediately flew into his hand.
"I plan to lend it to Cedric for a while. If you want it, get in line."
"How long?"
"Who knows, maybe a week, maybe a month." Kyle said thoughtfully, "It depends on when he can find the time."
"That's too long."
"Not knowing is one thing, but now that we know, we can't possibly wait that long."
"I won't be able to sleep at night..."
"Why lend it to him first..."
"Yeah, we've known each other since we were three, and he's a newcomer!"
The two spoke indignantly, their voices carrying a hint of hurt.
"Don't use that tone, it's creepy." Kyle felt a chill run down his spine, and he couldn't help but rub his arms. "Also, I have my reasons for lending it to him first.
Hearing this, Fred and George immediately snapped back to attention, their gazes shifting from the cup to Kyle.
"So, that's your plan."
"Don't try to trick us into going to the Ministry."
...
"What do you mean, trick? I'm just joking. Now that I've resigned, whether or not you go to the Ministry has nothing to do with me." Kyle raised an eyebrow.
"What, you resigned?"
"Of course." Kyle said, "Otherwise, do you think Bones would let me draw a salary for nothing?"
"Of course, due to various reasons, I didn't really resign. She kept my position and office, and I can go back anytime I want."
"But..." Before they could finish, Kyle continued, "It's definitely not possible for now. I need to lie low and stay here to avoid the mysterious person."
"Really?" George looked at Kyle doubtfully.
If that were true, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths for the Ministry.
"Why don't you stick around and see if I go to work tomorrow."
The two didn't say anything but huddled together, whispering to each other.
A few minutes later, Fred looked up. "If we help Cedric, will you lend us the golden cup?"
"Don't put it that way, as if I have an ulterior motive." Kyle said, "I just want to make sure he can eat whenever he wants, so he doesn't end up like Hermione, almost fainting from hunger outside."
"Of course, if you really want to go, that's fine too. If he has time to rest, he won't need the cup, and I can lend it to whoever wants it at that time."
"Then, we'll go to the Ministry." George stepped forward and said, "Lend us the golden cup."
"Don't force yourself." Kyle smiled, "School is starting soon, and your business must be busy. I'll think of another way to help Cedric."
As he spoke, he made a move to put the cup away.
"No, not at all. We weren't forcing you." Fred quickly put on a smile, "Hey, we were just joking with you earlier."
"Yeah, since Cedric is in trouble, we, as his friends, must help him out."
"Even if you didn't say anything, we were planning to go to the Ministry tomorrow anyway."
"But, don't you dislike working at the Ministry?" Kyle asked.
"Even if we dislike it, for a friend... we can overcome that." George forced a smile.
"What about Diagon Alley then..."
"You probably don't know, but this time the school will be using owls to purchase the things needed for the new term, and the professors will go directly to Hogwarts. They won't need to make an extra trip to Diagon Alley."
"For Muggle-born students, the professors will also go to Gringotts to exchange Galleons for them."
"I think the professors won't include our shop's name on the admission notice."
"So, we won't be able to benefit from the pre-term rush."
"How is that possible." Kyle frowned.
"It's true." George explained, "Ron has already received the notification."
"And this isn't the first time this has happened."
"Bill mentioned that Hogwarts has been doing this since the rise of the mysterious person, to prevent Death Eaters from recklessly attacking the new students."
"Also, there will be more than three professors escorting the students on the train."
"If that's the case..." Kyle handed the golden cup to them, "...then you really don't need to keep your shop open."
As the shop that appeared most frequently on the school's prohibited list, the professors would certainly not purchase anything from them.
"That's a bit harsh."
"Even if it's the truth."
The two wiped their hands and solemnly took the golden cup from Kyle.
But the next second, they showed a different side.
"Hahaha, we finally got it!"
"Who would've thought, it's too late for you to regret now!"
"What, do you want to back out?" Kyle looked at them meaningfully.
"Not backing out, but since we agreed, we will definitely help Cedric." George said, "However, if we find out you're tricking us, then when we return the cup to you is another question."
"It's fine, do as you wish." Kyle smiled as if he didn't care at all.
Seemingly afraid that Kyle would change his mind, they quickly left with the cup in hand.
After the door closed, a smile also appeared on Kyle's face.
Either way, he had successfully convinced the two strong men to help.
As for the issue with the golden cup... he wasn't worried at all. It would be easy, if not as simple as turning his hand.
To put it bluntly, even if he wanted the cup back tomorrow, he could just go to Mrs. Weasley, and they would have to return it.
Yet, they never seemed to realize this.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
