Kanna didn't know why she had agreed to Kyle's proposal.
Maybe she really needed the Galleons, or perhaps it was because of what he'd said about proving she could survive on her own.
Either way, she had somehow ended up agreeing.
In the common room after dinner, Kyle, Cedric, and Kanna sat around a table, discussing their business plan for tomorrow.
"Well, with the Weasley twins helping in Gryffindor, that shouldn't be a problem. The main concern now is the Slytherin side." Kyle said, looking at her, "So, tomorrow you need to find a chance to meet with that Ro... what's her name again?"
Kanna quietly reminded him, "Rohl and Yaxley."
"Ah right, those two. You need to find a chance to bump into them and say hello." Kyle paused thoughtfully, "That corridor on the first floor would be perfect. Both Hufflepuffs and Slytherins need to pass through there to get to the Great Hall, so running into them would seem natural. Just find any excuse to walk with them."
"Mmhmm." The young witch nodded while taking notes quickly, her expression quite serious.
After she finished writing, he continued, "At that time, I'll be ahead of you with Cedric, complaining about how complex the castle layout is and how easy it is to get lost. Then he'll show off his regular map to me. That's when you need to show your disdain for us and take out the limited edition map."
"Disdain?"
Kanna put down her quill and tried making a few expressions — which led Kyle to abandon his previous plan.
"Never mind, just take out the map and show it to them directly. Tell them it's a limited edition that's not for public sale, with only ten copies available. You must remember that line. Then if they ask, tell them you have connections to get these maps, and because they're friends, you're willing to help them get one."
"Alright." Kanna finished writing everything down and began silently memorizing it.
At this point, Cedric asked curiously, "What if they don't ask?"
Kyle shrugged, "Then we'll sell to someone else."
Turning regular items into limited editions was his idea in the first place — after all, those purebloods always fell for this sort of thing. Adding this cute, naive witch to the mix just made everything seem more natural.
Once Rohl and Yaxley got their maps, they would definitely show them off, making them the perfect spokespeople.
If they didn't take the bait, they could always go back to the original plan: take out one limited edition copy, distinguish it from the regular version, and the little snakes would come looking for it themselves once word got out.
The only problem was that this might catch the professors' attention. Ten Sickles was nothing, but five Galleons wasn't a small sum — they might get shut down before selling anything.
So it was better to keep things quiet. Even if they got caught later, it wouldn't matter — they couldn't take back the Galleons once they were paid, could they?
At worst, they'd lose some House points. Hufflepuff cared least about House points anyway.
After hearing Kyle's explanation, Cedric had an epiphany.
Could it really be done this way?
He knew that pureblood families loved items that stood apart from regular merchandise — that's why he had added gold trim to the parchment in the first place.
His original price was only one Galleon. Now that Kyle had multiplied it by five, it suddenly felt familiar.
Even if the Slytherin first-years discovered the truth, it wouldn't matter. What they truly desired wasn't the map itself, but the "limited edition" status. Purebloods weren't foolish — they simply had money and appreciated exclusivity.
Even he himself had always wanted a Phoenix feather quill, though it worked no differently from regular quills. But it was beautiful, pleasing to look at while working — he could even write two extra lines of homework with it.
Cedric smacked his lips and asked, "Kyle, are you sure about just ten copies?"
"Yes, just ten." Kyle nodded.
He had checked — although there were thirteen Slytherin first-years, not all of them were wealthy purebloods, so ten copies was perfect. Those who couldn't buy one would have a face-saving excuse.
After settling this matter, Cedric went on to discuss the afternoon's Quidditch tryouts with Kyle.
As expected, Fred and George had joined their House team as Beaters. Additionally, a second-year witch named Alicia Spinnet had become a reserve player.
"This year's Gryffindor will definitely be tough competition." Cedric said gravely, "Their team is excellent. I've watched Alicia's training — she's no worse than our Chaser Matt Brinton, but she's only a reserve in Gryffindor. And then there's Oliver Wood — his save rate is the highest among all four Keepers. With him on the field, it'll be hard for us to gain any advantage."
"Oh really?" Kyle responded indifferently, "Well, you'll have to do your best then."
What did it matter how strong the Gryffindor team was? He was just a first-year without a broomstick — he couldn't play anyway, he could only cheer from the sidelines during matches.
Cedric hadn't noticed his lack of enthusiasm and went on to talk about Slytherin, this time focusing on broomsticks.
One team with five Nimbus 1700s gave them quite an advantage.
However, when it came to Ravenclaw, Cedric suddenly paused, then naturally skipped over it.
"We need to give our all in every upcoming match, we can't afford any slip-ups." He said seriously, "Nobody wants to finish third at the end of term. Because of this, Harris has even increased our weekly team practice from three times to five."
His voice rose unconsciously, but Kanna sat beside him unaffected, staring absently at the parchment in her hands.
The thought of having to talk to others tomorrow made her incredibly nervous — how could she focus on Cedric's words?
While Kyle had explained their plan earlier, she'd wanted to back out countless times. But whenever the word "quit" nearly escaped her lips, something deep inside stopped her.
Kanna couldn't explain this feeling, but she chose to trust it.
Soon after, Kyle and Cedric headed to their dormitory, yawning.
The little witch remained alone in the common room, reviewing the parchment over and over.
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