Chapter 956: One Galleon
Chapter 956: One Galleon
After a night of revelry, Hogwarts truly resumed its classes the next morning.
Although the war had delayed things for a few days, it wasn't a significant issue.
Voldemort had not just recently returned; in preparation for a potential war that could erupt at any moment, Hogwarts had already accelerated the students' learning pace and increased their workload severalfold.
Even before Christmas, the professors had finished teaching the necessary spells, focusing on teaching students additional self-protection techniques unrelated to exams.
Despite this, the professors remained tense, especially Professor McGonagall, who had even more on her plate... Not only did she teach Transfiguration to all seven grades, but she also served as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, handling all major and minor incidents.
Additionally, she represented Hogwarts in the investigation of Snape's true identity.
Unfortunately, Hogwarts lacked the magic for a body double, so Professor McGonagall had to shuttle between the two locations. Fortunately, her position as Headmaster allowed her to temporarily lift the school's restrictions on Apparition, sparing her the need to rush across the vast grounds when returning to class.
While the professors were as busy as spinning tops, Professor Kyle, another professor, was able to leisurely leave Hogwarts and travel to London with Conna.
They were going to visit Autumn.
As agreed the day before, Cedric was waiting at the entrance of an old-fashioned red-brick shop in the middle of the street, which served as the entrance to St. Mungo's. A large sign reading "Closed for Renovations" hung on the dusty door.
Rumor had it that the sign had been there for nearly a century, yet none of the passersby seemed to find it amiss.
Soon, Cedric spotted two familiar figures—Kyle and Conna—emerging from an equally dilapidated telephone booth not far away.
This telephone booth was designated for wizards to use for Apparition, and like the red-brick department store, it was protected by a Muggle-Repelling Charm to ensure that no Muggles would suddenly appear while wizards were using it.
"I'm here..." Cedric called out from a distance.
Kyle scanned the surroundings. "Where are Fred and George? Didn't they say they were coming too?"
Cedric shrugged. "They're still waiting. Apparently, they received a large order for Quick-Leave Lollipops last night."
"Quick-Leave Lollipops? It must be an order from Hogwarts," Kyle surmised, raising an eyebrow.
Trying to skip class right after the war? These young wizards were truly lacking.
Kyle hoped none of them would be foolish enough to suddenly vomit in his class.
After all, his class was already quite relaxed, with only one lesson per week and homework limited to a single foot in length.
If someone still wanted to slack off in such a class... Well, they had chosen the wrong subject.
Kyle had been intimately involved in the creation of the Quick-Leave Lollipops and knew them inside out, including how to render the antidote ineffective.
"Let's go in without them," Cedric suggested, leading the way to a display window. "I've already arranged it; we can go straight in..."
Kyle and Conna followed closely behind.
The three of them vanished into thin air and reappeared on the other side a second later.
The air was filled with a constant buzz of conversation and the occasional groan.
"After the war, this place has been packed," Cedric said as he led them upstairs, familiar with the surroundings. "However, Minister Bones found the Healer-in-Chief, and a room was arranged for Autumn's mother."
"The Minister came personally?" Conna asked, surprised. "I thought you said it wasn't serious?"
"Yes," Cedric replied. "A curse that makes you scream like an ape, plus a twisted ankle—it's not serious at all."
"So, Minister Bones came personally... Oh, are she and Autumn's mother close?"
"I haven't heard of it..." Cedric thought for a moment. "Perhaps they became acquainted or grew closer during this war."
As the two conversed, Kyle's attention was drawn to something else.
A curse that makes you scream like an ape... Are Death Eaters getting this creative nowadays?
What kind of curse is this... Well, it does qualify as a curse, considering its nature.
Although this spell had no effect on Kyle, for most other wizards, it would render them unable to cast spells once afflicted.
After all, apes can't cast spells, and the curse's inconvenience was second only to the Tongue-Tying Curse. Truly the work of evil Death Eaters.
"To be honest, I don't know why Minister Bones came to St. Mungo's personally," Cedric continued. "But I suspect it's to show her concern. It's not much trouble, and there aren't many people involved."
"Not many people?"
"Yes, the Ministry's battle began suddenly without prior planning, but we had the advantage with the Strike Team and Aurors on our side. The enemy wasn't the Death Eaters' main force, so the battle ended quickly.
"We only had a few injuries on our side, and that was due to someone running too fast and getting knocked over by their teammates."
This...
Conna nodded. Hearing Cedric's explanation, it seemed like a minor issue, which explained why they could leave St. Mungo's so soon.
The group soon arrived at the fifth floor.
Spell Damage Ward.
The corridor was even more crowded than elsewhere, almost to the point of being filled to capacity.
However...
Kyle looked at the people on both sides, feeling a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
"Clang!"
A metal bucket suddenly slipped from someone's hand in front of him, making a loud noise.
Kyle instinctively turned around and saw a person staring at them in terror before running away.
"Stop!"
Someone at the corner immediately chased after the fleeing person.
"Why is that person running?" Kyle furrowed his brows, puzzled. "Are they also from the Ministry of Magic?"
"Well, not exactly," Cedric hesitated for a moment, not answering immediately. Instead, he waited until they reached a less crowded area, then lowered his voice and said, "Actually, these people are Death Eaters."
"Did you see the people over there in the corridor? And the ones with wands at the staircase corner? They are Aurors and Strike Teams responsible for guarding the Death Eaters."
Upon hearing that the others were Death Eaters, the trace of sympathy in Conna's eyes immediately vanished.
"The Ministry is so kind, not interrogating them first."
"This... well..." Cedric hesitated even more, stammering, "I guess... it's because they don't have much value for interrogation."
"They didn't participate in the war against Hogwarts?"
"They did, but in a sense, they also didn't," Cedric glanced at Kyle.
Kyle immediately understood.
"Could it be that I..."
"Yes, they are the ones trapped by the Fiery Curse," Cedric's voice grew softer, "These people basically haven't moved since they rushed into the school, so I said that interrogating them wouldn't be very meaningful."
"No wonder..."
Kyle's mouth twitched. No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity.
After all, there were quite a few Death Eaters trapped by his Fiery Curse, and it was impossible for him to remember them all. Having a vague impression was already impressive.
"Ah, we're here."
At this moment, Cedric stopped in front of a door and knocked.
"Mom, it must be Sed coming..." Autumn's voice came from inside, and then the door opened.
"I already said that you don't need to come and help..."
Perhaps Autumn didn't expect that not only Cedric but also Kyle and Conna would be there, leaving her momentarily stunned.
When she came to her senses, she quickly closed the door again. If Kyle hadn't pulled Cedric back in time, he might have already started banging on the door.
"Hey, Autumn, it's me..." Cedric called out in confusion but received no response.
Kyle, however, had guessed some possibilities.
In a war of evenly matched forces, being injured is an honor, but in a one-sided war like this, it might not be the case.
Especially in a situation like this, where the outcome was a crushing defeat... who would feel embarrassed about their injuries?
Autumn probably didn't expect Cedric to bring Conna and Kyle as well.
Fred and George must have found out the truth and used an excuse not to come.
Of course, this special treatment was only for Autumn. If it were Cedric, they might have started laughing as soon as they reached the Red Brick Department Store.
Kyle shook his head. The sudden mention of the Death Eaters earlier had distracted him from realizing this.
But it wasn't too late now.
Kyle quickly looked around, thinking of a reason to leave naturally.
Just then, he turned and saw Saxia, the Headmistress, approaching from a distance.
"I'm so glad you won this war," Saxia also noticed Kyle.
"Me too, Headmistress," Kyle said, "How about we find another place to talk?"
"Hmm?" Saxia was taken aback. Although she had only come to greet them, since Kyle suggested it, she didn't refuse.
After all, there wasn't much going on at the moment, and after seeing Kyle, she had remembered something.
"Then let's go to the sixth floor."
The sixth floor of St. Mungo's is a tea room and shop, specifically designated for chatting and receiving guests.
"Let's go together, Conna," Kyle tugged at Conna's sleeve.
The intelligent witch immediately understood and followed Kyle, leaving Cedric standing there, bewildered.
Weren't they supposed to go together to pick up Autumn?
Fred and George didn't show up, but now Kyle and Conna were also going to do something else.
"We're about to set off. Are you coming back?" he asked from behind.
But Kyle sighed and didn't answer.
Oh well, hopefully Autumn will go easy on them.
...
The three of them arrived at Saxia's private tea room on the sixth floor.
As they sat down, Kyle suddenly realized the atmosphere was a bit awkward. He had been so focused on finding an excuse to leave that he hadn't considered what to say to Saxia.
Perhaps he should ask if she had eaten lunch?
"You..."
"Since we've met here, I'd like to ask a favor of you," Saxia spoke first, breaking the surrounding silence.
Kyle blinked.
"There's no need to ask for favors, Headmistress. If I can be of any help, I won't refuse," Kyle said.
"If it involves the tail bone of a Basilisk..." Saxia sighed, "I know this request might be a bit excessive, as it will directly damage the Basilisk's body. But I've found a very special potion recipe, and the bones of the Basilisk are the most important ingredient."
"No problem."
"I know it's a difficult request, but this potion requires... Wait, what did you say?"
"I'm not having any difficulty. I said it's no problem."
"But..." Kyle's quick agreement made Saxia hesitate.
"It's not about extracting venom or shedding the snake's skin; it's about taking a piece of its tailbone, which is crucial for the Basilisk's movement."
"Oh, that's not a problem," Kyle waved his hand dismissively, "Even if you needed the Basilisk's heart, it wouldn't be an issue because it's already dead."
"What did you say?!"
Saxia stood up abruptly, staring at Kyle in disbelief.
"The Basilisk... is dead?"
"But it's a Basilisk. Who could kill such a powerful creature..."
"Voldemort, who else?" Kyle's nonchalant tone caused Saxia's expression to shift.
Indeed, Voldemort could kill a Basilisk.
But... She still felt a pang of sadness.
As long as the Basilisk was alive, it could continuously produce venom and blood, and she had discovered that these two ingredients, when diluted to a certain extent, had an extraordinary counteracting effect on Dark Magic.
Especially for Petrification spells, potions brewed with Basilisk venom were even more effective than those made with Mandrake.
But the Basilisk was dead.
With this, her previous research... Wait a moment.
Saxia suddenly realized that since the Basilisk was already dead, there was no need to worry about a little venom.
"Kyle..."
"I was thinking of selling the Basilisk to St. Mungo's. What do you think?" Kyle seemed to have guessed what Saxia wanted to say and spoke first.
This was, in fact, his original idea.
He needed a living Basilisk, not just the materials, even though they were valuable.
As soon as Kyle finished speaking, Saxia's breathing became heavy, her eyes gleaming with excitement and a hint of apprehension.
"How many Galleons do you need...?" Saxia struggled to control her excitement, "I know a Basilisk is priceless... But St. Mungo's has limited funds. If possible, can we pay in installments?"
"That could work... But I didn't expect St. Mungo's to not even be able to offer a hundred Galleons." Kyle sighed, then said, "How about this: one Galleon per year, no interest."
"Squeak..." The chair Saxia was sitting on made a teeth-grinding sound.
"How much?" She looked at Kyle in disbelief, thinking she had misheard.
"A hundred Galleons," Kyle repeated.
Saxia fell silent.
In fact, if Kyle, the little money-grubber, had quoted an exorbitant price, she wouldn't have found it strange. But a hundred Galleons, and paying one Galleon per year... What's the difference between that and giving it away for free?
But Saxia didn't agree right away.
She looked at Kyle, picked up the teacup on the table, put it down, picked it up again, and put it down several times before standing up.
"Let's talk somewhere else; I suddenly don't feel like drinking tea."
"How about the Three Broomsticks?" Kyle suggested, "They have the most authentic Butterbeer there."
"Sure." Saxia said, and with a wave of her wand, something around them seemed to disappear.
Then, she vanished.
"Apparition?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. In his memory, St. Mungo's, like Hogwarts, prohibited Apparition.
But considering Saxia's position as the hospital director, it wasn't surprising.
If the Hogwarts headmaster could temporarily lift the restriction, so could the St. Mungo's director.
"Do you need me to take you there?" Kyle extended his arm and asked the nearby Conna.
"I'll wait for you in Hogsmeade," Conna smiled slightly and vanished as well.
Then Kyle also used Apparition to arrive in Hogsmeade.
Business had gradually resumed here, including the Three Broomsticks, and as soon as he arrived, he heard exclamations coming from inside.
"Ms. Saxia..."
"Oh my..."
"Isn't that Director Saxia?"
It seemed someone had already recognized her, and Mrs. Rosmerta was also excited. She had previously been under the Imperius Curse, and Saxia had helped remove all its effects.
"Welcome, Director... I'll ask you to please allow me to serve you."
Mrs. Rosmerta's attitude surprised Kyle; she hadn't been this excited even when meeting Dumbledore or the Minister of Magic.
"Honey Butterbeer, thank you. I need a different drink right now." Saxia said.
When Mrs. Rosmerta left to pour the drink, Saxia turned to Kyle and said softly, "This isn't St. Mungo's, is it?"
Kyle nodded, not understanding her meaning.
"Then, if I purchase the Basilisk from you in my private capacity, would you still agree?" Saxia looked into Kyle's eyes and said, "You can increase the price... If it's reasonable, I won't refuse."
"No, there's no need for that." Kyle smiled, "I believe that whether it's Ms. Saxia or the director, a hundred Galleons is a very reasonable price."
...
(End of Chapter)
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