Evening, inside an empty classroom at Hogwarts.
The flickering oil lamp cast the shadows of the three present onto the wall.
"I'm glad you came to us, Kael, but we can't do this," Fred said, keeping his head down, hidden from the light.
"We've known each other for years, but this is the first time you've asked for our help since coming to Hogwarts. I don't even remember the last time we had a meal together."
"Last Wednesday." Kael, sitting opposite him, paused for a moment and then said, "You wanted to sell my homework to the Gryffindor freshmen."
"My friend, you refused quite decisively."
George said lightly, "You don't even know how sad we were when we left."
"I just don't need Professor McGonagall's detention," Kael said. "Selling homework in bulk? It's absurd that you think McGonagall is like Ron and wouldn't notice such a thing."
"Ahem... well, you may have a point," Fred lifted his head to look Kael in the eye. "Why aren't you worried today that we'll get caught by Professor McGonagall? You could easily do this yourself, or find someone from Hufflepuff, couldn't you?"
"Snape is watching us closely."
"I see, you think of us for the dirty work..."
George sighed, "You've found a place in Hufflepuff, you like it there, the professors and students all like you. To be honest, you probably don't even need our friendship, you've never even called us 'sirs'!"
"Enough nonsense, are you in or not?" Kael said impatiently, twitching his mouth. "Mr. Weasleys, I'm going to count to three. If you don't answer me, I'll find someone else."
"One!"
…
"Look, George, he's actually threatening us."
"Indeed, Fred, we won't fall for it."
"Two!"
…
"I think you could count a bit faster."
Kael said nothing more, simply reaching into his pocket and pulling out a shiny card, waving it in front of Fred and George.
"...Three."
"We're in!"
Fred and George appeared on either side of Kael, their faces instantly breaking into grins.
"Kael, that card you just showed, is it an Agrippa?"
"Mm-hmm..." Kael nodded.
Fred said eagerly, "Could I have another look? Just one look."
Kael took out the rare card again, waving it in front of them.
Fred and George's eyes widened, following the card as Kael moved it back and forth.
After about ten seconds, Kael put the card away and told the two, who were still eager for more, "Did you see the Agrippa card? After it's done..."
Before Kael could finish, George said excitedly, "You'll give it to us?"
"In your dreams," Kael replied. "After it's done, I might let you borrow it for ten minutes."
"Ten days!" Fred frowned.
"Nine minutes..."
"No, at least a week," George countered.
"Five min..."
"One day, that's our bottom line!" the two of them said in unison.
"Deal."
Kael extended his hand, and they all shook on it.
The deal was made, and next was to discuss the specific plan.
"Actually, we never intended to refuse," Fred said with a cheeky grin, patting Kael on the shoulder. "As long as it makes Slytherin suffer, we're more than happy to help."
"But you'll need to provide the props," George said. "That stuff needs to be custom-made and is quite expensive, we can't afford it."
"Of course, I've prepared for that already."
Kael took out a stack of Galleons and placed them on the table. "There's a total of twenty Galleons here, that should be enough to buy the two items, right?"
"More than enough."
Fred picked up the Galleons from the table and fondled them carefully... he had never seen so much money before.
Though he knew Kael had made a hefty profit selling maps recently, that was just speculation, and seeing so many Galleons gathered together was entirely different.
Do map sales make this much?
"Kael, we..."
George appeared to have something to say as he looked at the heap of Galleons in front of him.
Kael gave him a curious glance.
"Never mind, we'll talk about it later." George thought for a moment and then shook his head, saying instead, "With twenty Galleons, Zonko's should definitely be able to deliver what you need on time."
Kael didn't pay much attention. After discussing some specific details with them, he was ready to leave.
"I'm already looking forward to it," Fred said excitedly. "Slytherin really pissed you off, didn't they?"
Kael glanced at him, reminding, "Don't talk nonsense, what does it have to do with me? I don't know anything."
"Ha, sneaky Chopper."
"Heh, foolish Weasley."
…
After saying goodbye to Fred and George, Kael did not immediately return to the Hufflepuff Common Room. Instead, he wandered aimlessly around the corridor on the third floor of the castle for a while.
He needed to find a specific ghost, the Fat Friar had told him the ghost liked to stay near the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
However, after wandering for about ten minutes, Kael still hadn't found anything.
Just as he was about to head back and return tomorrow morning, a balloon filled with liquid suddenly flew toward the back of his head.
Kael tilted his head slightly, narrowly avoiding it.
The balloon hit the ground, releasing an unpleasant odor.
"Heehee, naughty first-year imp, sneaking around at night, tsk tsk, mischievous, you'll get caught," came a voice.
An imp suddenly popped up in mid-air, with a pair of wicked black eyes, a big mouth, sitting cross-legged, floating, holding two more balloons.
"Should I tell Filch, big dumbhead and little imp, too funny."
Kael stood still, curiously asking, "Are you Peeves?"
For a moment, Peeves' small black eyes showed doubt, but it quickly turned to anger.
That little imp didn't run when he saw him, clearly looking down on him, how could he tolerate this?
He threw the remaining two balloons at Kael, "Yes, I'm the great Peeves. I'll tell Filch you're sneaking around at night, he'll lock you up."
Peeves said very seriously, "I have to tell him it's for your own good, you know?"
Kael pulled out his wand and cast aside the two balloons, saying calmly, "I agree with your point, but there's still five minutes until curfew, so it's not technically sneaking around. Also, I purposely came to find you."
"Came to find me specifically?"
Peeves was somewhat surprised. At Hogwarts, it's rare for a young wizard to seek him out.
"Yes." Kael looked around and lowered his voice, "I have an idea, and I'm wondering if you're interested in getting involved..."