Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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"Bang!"
The door to the private room was slammed shut from the outside, the doorframe creaking loudly.
Kyle, focused on maintaining the copying spell, was startled by the sudden sound, his wrist instinctively jerking upwards.
"Sizzle..."
A long, narrow gash appeared on the newly completed map.
"I..."
Kyle stared at the completely ruined map, his eyes twitching.
That was a Galleon!
The others were equally startled by the slamming. Fred, who had just finished casting the copying spell, accidentally imprinted the map onto George's robe across from him.
"Merlin's beard! This is a new robe I just bought this year."
George looked at his robe, his eyes filled with heartache. "Kyle, do you have a way to remove this?"
"Of course, and it's very simple."
Kyle narrowed his eyes and looked up at the door.
Through the glass in the door, he could clearly see three young boys standing in the corridor outside.
"That Harry Potter, he actually abandoned Malfoy's friendship for that damn Weasley! That's so stupid, just like his parents!
They're just like that… ungrateful!"
Draco Malfoy thought, slamming his fist on the door of the next box again.
"And that Weasley,"
Goyle, standing next to Malfoy, said angrily, clutching his fingers. "He dared to let his pet bite me! I'm going to beat him up!"
Goyle was very burly, and although he looked like a wooden stump with a teapot on its head, there was no denying that his angry expression was quite intimidating.
"Don't worry, Goyle, there will be a chance."
Malfoy rubbed his aching wrist and said coldly, "My father is a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Once we get to Hogwarts, I have a hundred ways to make them regret what they did today." With that, he tidied his slightly disheveled hair and was about to leave with Crabbe and Goyle to go to the other Slytherin carriages.
But just then, the door to the compartment next to him opened.
"Wait a moment, gentlemen."
Kyle stood there, expressionlessly glancing at the three people in front of him, finally fixing his gaze on the pale-faced boy. Judging from his position, he must have been the one who knocked on the door.
After confirming his target, Kyle said calmly, "You were the one who knocked on the door, weren't you?"
"Uh… yes, it was me."
Malfoy was surprised for a moment, then said very formally, "My name is Draco Malfoy. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
Although Malfoy's manners were impeccable and his speech was polite, Kyle could see that there was undisguised arrogance in his eyes as he spoke.
Especially after he said his name, his arrogance became even more obvious.
However, Kyle didn't seem to care, calmly saying, "Your attitude is alright. How about this, as long as you compensate us for our losses, we'll call it even."
"Losses?"
Malfoy was taken aback, then he saw Fred and George behind Kyle.
In an instant, the last vestige of politeness on his face vanished, replaced by a look of disgust.
"Redheads…it's that damned Weasley again, and their weird friends."
Malfoy looked at Kyle, casually pulled a Galleon from his pocket and tossed it over, sneering, "Keep the change…oh, I forgot to mention, this is a Galleon. You probably don't even know what it looks like."
With that, Malfoy turned to leave. He didn't want to stay a second longer.
But a hand stopped him.
"Wait..."
Kyle gently shook the Galleon in his hand, saying calmly, "This isn't enough."
Malfoy paused, took a deep breath, and tossed another Galleon to Kyle.
He used considerable force, seemingly intending to crush the despicable fellow before him with the Galleon.
Kyle caught it easily and then shook his hand again.
"Sorry, it's still not enough…"
"Don't go too far!"
Malfoy's face flushed slightly as he angrily said, "If you keep bothering me, I'll tell my father you're extorting me!
He's a Hogwarts board member and has the right to expel you!"
"I think you might have misunderstood." Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I'm a good student who received the Special Contribution Award. How could I possibly extort you?
I'm just reasonably demanding compensation for my losses. Not to mention the board member, even the Minister of Magic couldn't say anything."
"Special Contribution Award?" Malfoy scoffed. "You… wait, you're that first year named Kyle?"
He remembered that his father had indeed told him during the summer that a freshman had received the Special Contribution Award.
This must be the person in front of him.
"To be precise, you're a second-year student. You're the first year."
Kyle said, "So, can we continue discussing compensation now?" Malfoy frowned, wanting to refuse.
Although he didn't know what the compensation was for, he figured that since the other person was with the Weasley children, they couldn't possibly be wealthy; two Galleons would be more than enough to buy him a whole outfit.
However, he couldn't leave now. It wasn't because of Kyle's status, a mere special contribution award couldn't possibly compare to his father's position as a member of the board of governors.
It was the five people standing behind Kyle that intimidated him.
Including Kyle, that made six students in their second year or higher, while they only had three, all first years.
If a fight broke out, he had no chance of winning.
"How much do you want?" Malfoy asked through gritted teeth.
He decided to pay for peace; whatever the situation, he just needed to get out of there first.
Kyle thought for a moment and said, "Not much, it's two hundred Galleons in total. Including what I just gave you, you only need to give me one hundred and ninety-eight Galleons more."
"How much? Two hundred Galleons!?"
Malfoy thought he'd misheard and screamed, "That's impossible! Don't even think about it!"
"Don't rush me, let me calculate it for you..."
"I won't listen!" Malfoy's face turned completely red. He drew his wand and pointed it at Kyle, saying, "I know, you're extorting me!"
Two hundred Galleons was already more than the monthly salary of most Ministry of Magic employees.
Even if he just knocked on the door a few times, or even if he stormed in and beat everyone up, he wouldn't have to pay that much.
Malfoy was rich, but not insane; he'd have to be out of his mind to give Kyle two hundred Galleons.
[End of the chapter]