Chapter 981: The Unscrupulous Merchant
Chapter 981: The Unscrupulous Merchant
Hogwarts was about to start a new school year once again. However, unlike previous years, Hogsmeade Village was not as bustling as it usually was at this time.
Since Ron and Harry had already graduated, this year, Ginny was the only one who needed to go to King's Cross Station, which was a relief for Mrs. Weasley.
Following the Weasley family tradition, a few days before the start of school, they accompanied Ginny on a trip to Diagon Alley.
While purchasing new textbooks and school robes, they also took the opportunity to visit Harry and Sirius's newly opened shop.
Although Harry was not confident in Sirius's business acumen, the store, which had been in preparation for several years, finally opened on Harry's birthday, a gift from Sirius.
It was indeed a grand gesture, but Harry didn't seem too thrilled, managing only a forced smile.
"We're almost there...just around the corner," Fred and George enthusiastically led the way through Diagon Alley.
After a busy holiday, they finally had some free time, and Kyle, who rarely left the attic, joined them on their visit to the shabby residence after learning that Mrs. Weasley was coming to Diagon Alley.
Kyle didn't refuse.
During this time, he had been either facing Bogarts and Boggarts or immersing himself in a pile of bizarre Dark Magic books, and he needed a change of mood.
Especially with these Dark Magic books, almost every one of them carried a certain degree of mental pollution. Fred and George had inadvertently seen a symbol and were tormented for several nights; it was even worse for Kyle, who spent hours studying them.
To be honest, when he first stepped out of the house, he subconsciously felt a slight resistance to the sunlight. Fortunately, Kyle's brain-sealing technique was proficient enough, and this situation quickly disappeared.
"We're here," George's voice came from ahead, and soon everyone stopped in front of a newly opened shop.
"Potter's Cottage!"
Fred loudly read the name on the sign, paying no heed to Harry, who had just stepped out and was about to bury his head in the ground.
"No doubt, this name must have been Sirius's idea," Bill couldn't help but tease.
The others nodded in agreement. Indeed, the name was so distinctive that no one but Sirius would have chosen it as a sign, not even James and Lily.
"I tried," Harry said, his face turning red.
"I wanted to change the name, but Sirius said that even in Azkaban, he dreamed of opening a shop like this with me, so I couldn't insist anymore."
"I guess that was his intention," Kyle said sympathetically, looking at Harry.
He remembered that Sirius's dream was to live with Harry at 12 Grimmauld Place, wasn't it? When did it change to opening a shop in Diagon Alley?
Additionally, Kyle recalled that it was only after clearing his name that Sirius found the magical deed for the Diagon Alley shop in the vault. In other words, Sirius had no idea he owned a shop in Diagon Alley while he was in Azkaban.
It seemed that as the former Gryffindor's star, Sirius found it all too easy to manipulate Harry...a piece of cake.
However, Kyle didn't reveal this to Harry.
At this moment, the others had already followed Harry into the shop.
Sirius seemed to have learned from his previous mistake and didn't open another ice cream shop, which was probably one of the few correct decisions he had made.
After all, he had managed to lose money in Hogsmeade without any competition; it would be even worse in Diagon Alley, especially with the shop's unique location, not far from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. If he opened another ice cream shop, he would be throwing money away.
So Sirius chose a candy shop, and as Kyle looked around, he noticed that chocolate was the main focus, with an entire wall of shelves dedicated to Chocolate Frogs.
"I'm just here to help out," Harry said to Ginny from a distance. "I didn't dare tell Sirius that I wanted to play Quidditch. I plan to wait until the tryout letter arrives before telling him."
"Have you found a team?" Ginny asked.
Harry sighed, "I'm not sure. The Hollyhead Harpies, Oliver Wood told me that their Seeker hasn't been performing well lately, and they're looking for a substitute. He's already helping me gather information."
"Really?" Ginny said excitedly. "I hope you succeed."
"Thank you, thank you."
"I also want to become a professional Quidditch player," Ginny said. "Maybe we can even be teammates."
"That would be great."
As they chatted, they gradually moved closer, and before they knew it, their shoulders were almost touching.
"Harry..." Mrs. Weasley turned her head.
Kyle watched as the two of them seemed to have been knocked aside by a charging Unicorn at full speed, and they quickly sprang apart.
"Weasley... Mrs. Weasley, is something wrong?" Harry asked, his voice carrying a hint of unidentifiable uneasiness.
But Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to notice, pointing at the chocolates on the shelf and asking, "How much are these? I plan to buy some."
"They're on the house," Harry blurted out. "Take them, no need to pay."
In a way, Harry and Sirius were quite similar... they were always remarkably generous to their friends.
"That won't do," Mrs. Weasley shook her head, her expression serious.
"Yeah," Bill also stepped forward, "I was planning to buy some as wedding treats. If you don't charge me, I'll have to go to another shop."
Bill and Fleur were preparing for their wedding, set to take place the day before Hogwarts' opening.
"Well... alright then," Harry still wanted to give them for free, but seeing the determined looks on Bill and Mrs. Weasley, he didn't insist further and instead offered a very good discount.
It wasn't a loss, but there was no profit either; it was essentially at cost price.
Mrs. Weasley bought some as snacks for Ginny, and Bill picked out some candies and chocolates that Fleur liked, intending to use them as treats at the upcoming wedding.
Although Sirius didn't have much talent, his taste was quite good, and this time, with him and Harry opening the shop together, they were extremely attentive, gathering many rare candies and chocolates.
Kyle also spotted the expensive foreign candies Malfoy had shown off a few years ago; each box was at least five Galleons, over ten times more expensive than the most expensive candies at Honeydukes.
There were also the chocolates Fleur had sent from France during Christmas.
Bill bought many chocolates and a large tub of toffees.
Fred and George also bought some as raw materials for their Skiving Snackboxes.
"You're here."
At this moment, Fleur suddenly walked in from outside, heading straight for Bill and naturally linking her arm with his.
"I just walked into the wrong shop next door," she muttered. "You won't believe what I saw."
"It can't be Dark artifacts, right?" Bill joked.
"Worse," Fleur said, "Everything in that shop is priced above five Galleons, and when you look around, everything is over ten Galleons. Can you believe it? A broken tree branch for five hundred and fifty Galleons!"
Upon hearing this number, everyone present gasped.
Mr. Weasley silently calculated; five hundred and fifty Galleons was half a year's salary for him. What kind of tree branch could be so expensive! Among them, only Kyle's expression was a bit odd, as if he had guessed something.
"The owner of that shop must be a greedy goblin," Fleur continued whispering, "I saw that the shop assistant was a goblin..."
"Sorry... it should be a house-elf," Kyle couldn't help but speak up.
He had intended to pretend he didn't know, but Fleur's cursing was too foul.
How could it be a shop run by a goblin! Hearing Kyle's words, Fred and George also seemed to realize something.
Speaking of which, they had just noticed that Kyle's shop seemed to be next door.
The greedy merchant that Fleur had just described as a goblin... could it be...
"And that five hundred and fifty Galleon item isn't a tree branch but a Unicorn horn," Kyle continued, "This magical creature has been on the brink of extinction for seventy years, so this price is quite reasonable."
At this point, the others' gazes turned towards him.
"Well, that's my shop," Kyle shrugged.
After a moment of silence, there was a chorus of exclamations, even Harry couldn't help but exclaim.
He had also visited the neighboring shop once, and despite having more than enough Galleons in his vault, he was still shocked by the high prices.
Compared to the five Galleon grapes, the candies in their shop were practically being given away.
But he never expected that the greedy merchant he had cursed in his mind countless times was actually Kyle.
For a moment, he felt a sense of awkwardness.
However, Fleur was even more embarrassed than him; Harry had cursed in his mind, but she had done it right in front of the person...
The enthusiastic and generous French girl's face turned red, and her nails almost dug into Bill's arm.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward, and Kyle had no choice but to take the initiative and speak up, "Would you like to take a look around?"
Everyone agreed.
Most of them, including Harry, were surprised to learn that Kyle had opened a shop in Diagon Alley, as they had no idea when it had happened.
Sirius knew, but he had been busy searching for rare and delicious candies during this time and had forgotten to tell Harry.
Kyle's shop was right next door; it was just a short walk from the candy store.
Ron, being too curious, was the first to step inside, but when he saw the prices on the shelves, he instinctively wanted to run out.
It was too much; it seemed like this shop only accepted Galleons as currency.
"A quill for fifty Galleons?!” Ron exclaimed as he approached a shelf, unable to contain himself, “It's more expensive than my monthly salary, and that's even if it were made of gold!"
"Salary?" Kyle glanced at him.
"The job Ron and I had before," Fred explained, "You've been in the attic all this time, so you didn't know."
"Ron has been working for a month now."
"We recommended him."
...
"Alright," Kyle nodded and explained, "This is a Thunderbird feather, so it's naturally more expensive. If you like it, I can give you a cost price."
"Cost price?" Ron muttered, "How much is that?"
"Um... thirty percent off." Kyle, having just been called a profiteer, felt embarrassed to tell them that most cost prices here were actually at a ten percent discount, so he decided to round it up.
Thirty percent off was good enough.
"So that's... fifteen Galleons..." Ron forced a dry laugh, tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I'd have to be crazy to... no, even if I were crazy, I wouldn't spend fifteen Galleons on a quill."
"Harry, can you?"
"Probably... not," Harry said cautiously, glancing at Kyle.
A quill for five Knuts was already a good deal in Ron's opinion.
A fifteen-Galleon quill... he might consider it if it could write his homework by itself.
Mrs. Weasley had the same thought, but she didn't dare say it out loud.
She was still in shock from the outrageous prices and hadn't fully recovered yet.
If this shop hadn't been opened by Kyle, she would never have entered, and even if she passed by the entrance, she would have hurried her steps.
Mr. Weasley, on the other hand, wasn't too surprised. He had heard some news from Fred and George beforehand, but he had never visited the shop until now.
In Harry and Sirius' shop, everyone could still buy something, but it was different here.
Even Fred and George hadn't thought about helping Kyle with his business at all, not even a little bit.
Only Fleur bought a coral necklace, not out of guilt, but because she genuinely liked it.
Her earlier remarks were due to the sudden shock of the prices, but after understanding the items in the shop, she actually thought they were quite valuable.
This gem-like coral was rarely seen even in France, and the price was fair. She insisted on paying the full price, but Kyle didn't accept it and instead considered it as a gift from him.
Everyone spent even less time in Kyle's shop and soon left.
After that, Mrs. Weasley took Ginny to Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin's Robes.
Making new robes took some time, and it was almost noon by the time they all returned to the shabby cottage from the Leaky Cauldron.
Lunch was also had at the cottage.
Afterward, Mrs. Weasley hurriedly led the others to the garden, "Quick, we have a lot of work to do."
Bill, Ginny, and Ron each carried a large bucket and followed her outside.
Kyle returned to the attic in his house, with Fred and George reluctantly accompanying him.
"Are you still researching the Horcrux spell?" Fred watched as Kyle picked up a glass bottle from the table and, after hesitating for a moment, said, "I think you, um... don't need to be in such a hurry."
"Yeah, yeah," George nodded repeatedly.
He was already regretting agreeing to help Kyle earlier.
After briefly strolling through Diagon Alley today, he missed his previous carefree days even more.
"At least, you should wait until after Bill's wedding."
"What if we all look like we haven't woken up by then? It wouldn't be very polite."
Kyle thought about it and agreed with their reasoning, casually tossing the bottle into an open box nearby.
His own research was almost complete, and he decided to wait until he met with Professor Saisia before making further plans.
(End of Chapter)
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