The next day, at the same time, in the same Hufflepuff Common Room, Kael, Cedric, and Conna sat together once more.
This time, however, there was a stack of shiny Galleons on the table in front of them.
"One, two, three..."
"No need to count..." Kael glanced at Cedric, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Not too much, not too little, exactly sixty Galleons."
"That many..." Cedric's mouth hung open, feeling dizzy as if he were dreaming.
...
In fact, it really was like a dream; today's plan went extraordinarily smoothly.
Though Conna, due to nervousness, completely forgot about the specific process and, like a salesperson, immediately pulled out the map upon meeting.
Actually, a salesperson would at least greet politely first, unlike Conna, who jumped straight to the point.
This scene left Kael and Cedric standing there dumbfounded, wondering whether they should continue the act.
But they soon got their answer.
Because Rowle and Yaxley's reactions were equally unexpected.
Even before Conna could speak, they eagerly inquired about the map upon seeing its golden edge.
Upon learning there were only ten limited copies, they quickly dropped their previously aloof demeanor and started chatting warmly with Conna.
They linked arms with Conna, laughing and reminiscing about amusing events at a banquet years ago, like they were long-time best friends.
Conna accompanied them in a daze, and by the time they returned to the Hufflepuff table, she found ten Galleons in her hand.
As for when exactly these Galleons ended up in her hand, her memory was quite fuzzy.
Perhaps it was in the corridor, or maybe at the auditorium entrance.
Because Rowle and Yaxley were very skilled at conversation, they naturally shifted the topic from the banquet to the complex structure of Hogwarts' castle and then smoothly requested Conna's help in buying a map. After she agreed, the conversation subtly shifted back.
The whole process was very smooth, without any awkwardness.
Although Conna's goal was the same as theirs and both sides cooperated, things proceeded so smoothly.
Even so, Kael had to admit that Slytherins indeed had an innate talent for socializing.
So at the table, the first thing he said to Conna was, "Remember to keep your distance from Slytherins in the future, or you'll get tricked and won't even realize it."
Cedric nodded in fervent agreement.
To avoid any complications, after lunch, the two golden-edged maps were delivered to Rowle and Yaxley.
Under their "promotion," in less than two hours, all but Conna's sample map were sold out.
There were even some little snakes who wanted to have their house crest printed on it.
Kael initially refused, but they offered such a high price.
The price doubled... who could resist that.
So in the end, it amounted to sixty Galleons.
"Dividing the loot... ahem, the Galleons."
Under everyone's expectant gaze, Kael pushed half of the Galleons toward Conna: "As agreed, we split evenly."
"No, you counted wrong." Conna shook her head, took ten Galleons out from there, and put them back, then looked at Kael with confusion.
"Splitting among three people should be twenty Galleons each, isn't your math very bad?"
"I..." Kael opened his mouth, feeling a blockage in his chest.
"Fine, as long as you're happy."
Cedric almost laughed until he couldn't breathe.
Kael, bad at math?
He could laugh about this all school year.
Kael grumpily pushed twenty Galleons over. He didn't understand how Cedric, who was such a nice guy, could have turned into this.
Darn, does he not care about his gloating anymore?
Cedric didn't mind Kael's bad attitude at all. He picked up a Galleon, rubbing it finely in his hand.
"So many Galleons, enough for me to buy ten Fwooper Quills."
"Fwooper Quills?" Kael frowned and said, "What's so good about those, they're so expensive."
"They look nice." Cedric said as a matter of fact, "I've fancied that yellow one for a long time; that color matches Hufflepuff well."
Kael thought of something, grinned, then quickly returned to normal, calmly saying, "Then you better buy a few more, so you can use them alternately in the future."
"No need, getting one first is fine." Cedric thought for a moment and said, "The rest I plan to give to my father."
Hearing this, Kael couldn't help but glance at him, just about to say something when Cedric continued: "Maybe if he's happy, he might upgrade my broom from a Cleansweep Seven to a Nimbus 1700."
Kael swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
A Nimbus 1700 costs two hundred more Galleons than a Cleansweep Seven, turning twenty into two hundred; Cedric's abacus was almost hitting his face.
Yet, given Mr. Digory's character, upon knowing Cedric made it to the House team and earned a good twenty Galleons, he might indeed buy him a Nimbus.
Kael's eyes flickered, suddenly having an idea, but now it was too late, he could only wait until tomorrow.
...
After dividing the Galleons, Cedric went to the kitchen to fetch some cookies, desserts, and a large jug of pumpkin juice.
The three of them held a small celebration party in the common room.
Kael raised a cup of pumpkin juice, just taking a sip when he saw Conna pulling out seven or eight small bags and putting two Galleons in each.
"???"
Under Kael's confused gaze, Conna explained: "I'm afraid of losing them, so it's better to keep them separately."
Cedric was surprised and asked, "Conna, you lost some Galleons?"
"Yes." Conna nodded and briefly narrated the incident.
After listening, Cedric also put away his smile, thoughtfully saying, "It shouldn't be the Quidditch Pitch. Madam Hooch checks the field every time Flying Class ends, so if anyone dropped something, it would be found quickly.
"And I didn't hear of anyone picking up twenty Galleons during yesterday's practice.
"How about this, tomorrow I'll ask around to see if anyone has seen the Galleons."
"It's okay, I'm not bothered by it anymore." Conna pointed to the pile of small bags in front of her, smiling with her brows arched: "These are already more than enough for me to use for a long time."
"Um..."
"Losing twenty Galleons, and you're just letting it go?"
Cedric didn't say anything; for some reason, the pumpkin juice in his hand suddenly felt like lemonade.