I Have a Way (Please Favorite and Recommend)

Kyle wasn't one to dawdle. Once he had an idea, he sent Kanna back to the dormitory and immediately headed to Gryffindor Tower.

Unfortunately, when he got there, Percy wasn't in the dormitory, and nobody he asked knew where he'd gone.

There was nothing he could do, so the matter was put on hold for the time being.

Scabbers just wasn't fated to have this good fortune.

When Kyle returned to the Hufflepuff common room, Kanna was curled up on a sofa in the farthest corner, clutching her rat and nervously watching the windowsill across from her.

A huge owl sat there, glaring menacingly at the rat in her hands... and smacking its beak every now and then.

Ladon had never seen such a fat rat. Its coat was glossy and its body plump—the finest kind of food in an owl's eyes. He was getting hungry.

Of course, he knew the rat was the little witch's pet, so he couldn't eat it. He'd have to be content with looking.

But Kanna had no idea what he was thinking. By the time Kyle got over to her, the little witch was pale, clutching the hem of her robe, with beads of sweat on her forehead.

Honestly, she hadn't been this nervous even when she realized she'd lost her Galleons.

It wasn't until Kyle distracted Ladon with a strip of dried Murtlap meat that some color returned to Kanna's face.

Kyle walked over and spread his hands. "I couldn't find Percy. He wasn't in Gryffindor Tower."

"Mm."

Kanna hadn't thought too much about it. As far as she was concerned, all the other field mice were ugly, and Pochi wouldn't like them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept playing with the hamster.

The main thing was that Kyle had run off so quickly she hadn't had a chance to refuse.

This outcome was as good as it could get.

Kanna returned Pochi to the dormitory. When she came back out, she seemed much more relaxed, and even bared her teeth at Ladon in retaliation.

Ladon flapped his wings and flew out the window. Before leaving, he turned to glance at her, as if he thought she was an idiot.

That really made the little witch furious.

"Why are you getting mad at him?" Kyle shook his head with a laugh, then took out ten Galleons and set them on the table.

"I don't want them!"

Before Kyle could say anything, Kanna shook her head firmly. "Thanks for offering, but I really don't need them."

"But Christmas is still a long way off," Kyle said with a frown. "Even if you don't have to worry about food, what about parchment and ink? Those cost Galleons too. You can't just go without buying them.

"Or did you bring enough supplies to last you the whole year?"

At Hogwarts, parchment and ink ran out quickly. The amount listed in the letter of acceptance wasn't nearly enough; it would last a month at most.

So usually, when the Prefects went to Hogsmeade, the younger students asked them to bring some back.

They didn't cost much—just a few Sickles—but they still cost money. Nobody was going to give them away for free.

"I..." Kanna fell silent. Kyle's words had reminded her that even at Hogwarts, she couldn't get by without a single Knut.

Even so, she shook her head. "I'll figure something out."

Kyle tried reasoning with her several more times, laying out the facts, but Kanna was surprisingly stubborn about this. Apart from rat food, she wouldn't accept anything.

She even refused the parchment Kyle offered her.

"You really are good to that rat."

Kyle rubbed his forehead, then suddenly asked, "By the way, do you know any of the new Slytherins?"

Kanna thought for a moment. "I think so. A few years ago, I met Rowle and Yaxley at a party. They're both in Slytherin, and they were first-years too.

"But I don't know if they still remember me. I haven't been to that kind of party in a long time."

"That's fine. Just having met them is enough." Kyle thought it over for a moment, then asked, "Kanna, do you want to earn Galleons yourself?"

"Earn... Galleons myself?" Kanna seemed not to understand.

"Yes, earn them yourself, like an adult."

Kyle tapped the table with his fingers. "I have a way to make money at Hogwarts. It might be a little difficult for you, but the profits are high. Once it's done, you won't have to worry about parchment and things like that. You might even be able to buy plenty of snacks.

"What do you think? Want to give it a try?"

Kanna didn't answer, but she was clearly tempted.

She'd been thinking about doing other students' homework in exchange for parchment and ink, but she felt guilty about it and was afraid a professor might find out.

Now Kyle was saying there was another way. She wanted to try it.

Kyle didn't keep her in suspense. "Do you remember the map Cedric gave you yesterday?"

Kanna nodded. "Mm, I remember."

After Flying Class yesterday, Cedric, a second-year, had given each of them a map of Hogwarts. She remembered it quite clearly.

She'd also heard that Ravenclaw had maps like these, but theirs were sold for money.

"Exactly." Kyle slapped the gold-edged map Cedric had left him down on the table. "This is the Slytherin edition, but we're missing a middleman to sell them to the Slytherins.

"Want to give it a try? Five Galleons per map, and we'll split the profits fifty-fifty."

"Five Galleons?!" Kanna stared at Kyle in disbelief. She looked just like Ladon had a moment ago.

How could these maps possibly be worth three Galleons? That was far too expensive. Who would buy one?

"The Ravenclaw ones only cost a dozen or so Sickles," Kanna said softly.

"These are limited-edition gold-trimmed maps. They're nothing like those ordinary ones." Kyle raised an eyebrow. "We used the finest materials and craftsmanship, and made every one by hand. It took us three whole days to make ten maps. There aren't any more.

"Think about it. Out of the hundreds of people at Hogwarts, only ten will own one of these limited-edition maps. It's a symbol of status and prestige. Doesn't that make it worth five Galleons?"

"..."

Kanna felt a little dizzy, but after hearing Kyle explain it, five Galleons did seem like a fair price.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "But it's already been three days since the start of term, and we've had all our classes. Can we really sell these maps?"

"You don't need to worry about that," Kyle said calmly. "Hogwarts has more than just classrooms. There's the library, the Hospital Wing, the professors' offices, and all kinds of other places the new students don't know how to find.

"And don't forget, the staircases in the main building move too. Who knows where they'll end up the next day? What if you're faced with a route you've never taken before?

"Waiting around isn't an option; it'd waste too much time. But trying to find your way there could easily get you lost. Either way, you'll be late.

"That's when a map comes in handy, especially one that marks the patterns of most of the moving staircases.

"So don't worry. Someone will definitely buy one."