The Little Witch and the Mouse

"Wait, you can brew pet tonics too?"

Hearing this, Cedric's eyes lit up. "Then, can I leave my owl's tonics to you in the future?"

"Of course." Kyle glanced at the tawny owl on the shelf nearby and said, "But owls aren't like rats; the tonics they need are more troublesome. I have to charge nine Sickles. Don't think it's expensive—that's already the market price. Besides, my formula comes from Newt, so the tonic I brew is much better than anything on the market. It's absolutely worth the price."

"Hmm..."

Cedric nodded.

That was true; in Diagon Alley, the cheapest owl tonic cost nine Sickles, and better ones could even cost a Galleon.

If Kyle's owl tonic formula really came from Scamander, then it was indeed worth more than the price.

However...

"Can you make it cheaper?" Cedric said, acting a bit coy. "Aren't we friends? There should be a discount, right?"

Truth be told, Cedric really wanted to slam his hand on the table and buy seven or eight bottles with a grand gesture.

But alas, he was only a second-year, and his pocket money was so limited that he was truly strapped for cash.

Although Hogwarts provided room and board, the expenses for quills, ink, parchment, and the like were not insignificant. Add in all the other miscellaneous items, and by the end of the semester, he barely had enough to get by.

While he could save quite a bit if he were frugal and cut out unnecessary expenses, the problem was, who would ever complain about having too many Galleons?

Getting a discount would certainly be nice.

Facing Cedric's hopeful gaze, Kyle rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, you're right. We're friends, so I definitely can't charge the market price."

"Right? Right?" Cedric's eyes brightened even further.

"How about this..." Kyle gritted his teeth, held up one finger, and said, "You just need to pay this amount."

Cedric asked in surprise, "One Sickle?"

Kyle shook his head. "No, one Galleon."

"..."

Cedric's face still held the remnants of his previous smile, but his tone had completely shifted.

"O-one Galleon!"

"This is a discount?"

"Exactly, it's a two-hundred-percent markup," Kyle said with a straight face. "Think about it, at Hogwarts, aside from those rich kids in Slytherin, who else spends Galleons on owl tonics? My business is very hard to run. Now that I've finally found a clear customer who won't flip out on me, I definitely have to earn a bit more."

"..."

Cedric was stunned. As he looked at Kyle, the corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably.

How shameless. Could he really say such things to his face? And to be so righteous about it—did he have any basic moral values as a wizard at all?

Cedric was trembling with rage. He took a deep breath and said, "Kyle, you are definitely going to be sorted into Azkaban."

"I'll take that as a blessing."

Kyle raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed. He even asked, "So, do you still want that owl tonic?"

"I do..."

Cedric squeezed the words out through his teeth.

However, just as he was about to take out his money, The compartment door was pushed open once again.

A small figure walked in, looking rather nervous.

It was a very pretty little girl with brown hair tied into two ponytails and a round face with a hint of baby fat. She looked like a first-year student as well.

Hm?

Kyle and Cedric looked at each other simultaneously.

Are you here for him?

I don't know her!

Although neither of them spoke, they miraculously understood exactly what the other was trying to express, because it was identical to their own thoughts.

After clarifying Cedric's meaning, Kyle looked back at the girl and asked, "Did you go to the wrong compartment?"

The little girl seemed to have a bit of social anxiety. At Kyle's question, her instinct was to run, but she held back, shook her head, and said, "N-no, I didn't go to the wrong one. I wanted to find you."

"Find me?"

Kyle was even more confused. He was certain he didn't know the girl in front of him.

Ignoring Cedric's teasing gaze, Kyle continued to ask, "Is there something you need?"

As he spoke, he took another look at the girl.

He definitely didn't know her. Furthermore, she didn't look anything like Chris, which basically ruled out any melodramatic plot twists.

For instance, suddenly having an extra younger sister before school starts.

"Um... I accidentally overheard your conversation in the corridor just now."

The girl's voice was very soft, sounding delicate and timid. Perhaps worried that the two might misunderstand, she hurriedly explained, "Please don't get the wrong idea, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. That red-headed senior forgot to close the door, it really was an accident..."

However, Kyle clearly didn't care about such trivial matters, waving his hand and saying, "It's fine, go on."

The Hogwarts Express was just like that; the soundproofing was abysmal. Even if the door were shut as tightly as possible, he could still hear the shouting and yelling in the corridor, and it was likely the same from the outside.

Besides, they hadn't intentionally lowered their voices when Percy came by earlier, so it was perfectly normal to be overheard; there was nothing strange about it.

Hearing Kyle say this, the girl let out a soft sigh of relief, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a dusty, greyish-brown rat.

???

Kyle looked at the scene before him, feeling a sense of déjà vu, as if he had just experienced this exact same scenario.

Oh, right, that was exactly how Percy had pulled out Scabbers earlier; their movements were identical, and even the rat they pulled out was the same breed.

Was this a classic reenactment?

Thinking of this, Kyle's heart suddenly tightened, and he subconsciously stared at the rat.

All its claws were there; it seemed to be a proper rat.

Kyle shook his head in self-mockery, feeling that he was being far too nervous.

I mean, how many illegal Animagi could there possibly be in the Wizarding World? Even if there were, they wouldn't all be turning into rats to lurk around young wizards.

One freak like Peter Pettigrew was more than enough.

After calming down, Kyle roughly guessed the girl's intentions and tentatively asked, "So, are you looking to buy rat tonic from me?"

Carrying a rat, mentioning Percy, and considering their previous topic had been almost entirely about pet tonics... putting it all together, Kyle couldn't think of any other reason.

"Can I?"

Sure enough, upon hearing Kyle's words, the girl nodded, her large, watery eyes looking at Kyle with hope as she whispered, "I've bought many tonics from Diagon Alley, but the results haven't been very good."

"Of course you can, it would be my pleasure."

Upon realizing that the girl before him was a customer, Kyle immediately flashed a sincere smile. "Wait a moment, I'll go get it.

By the way, my name is Kyle Chopper, a first-year student. You can call me Kyle."

"Ka... Kanna."

The girl's chubby, baby-faced cheeks flushed slightly as she whispered, "Kanna Prince."