Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Malfoy glared angrily at Kyle, seemingly wanting to slap him with a spell.
In fact, that's exactly what he did.
"Locomotor Mortis!"
Malfoy suddenly attacked, using the Leg-Locking Charm on Kyle first, hoping to buy himself time to escape.
It wouldn't be long before he could find other Slytherin students, and Kyle wouldn't be able to do anything to him anymore.
With a flash of light from his wand, Malfoy turned and ran.
"Protego!"
Kyle calmly waved his wand, and a transparent shield appeared in front of him, deflecting Malfoy's spell back.
The next second.
"Thump..."
Malfoy, who was running away, fell to the ground, his legs as if locked together by something.
At this moment, Crabbe and Goyle finally reacted.
Seeing Malfoy groaning on the ground, they rushed towards him without saying a word, fists clenched.
Fred and George stepped forward simultaneously, but before they could make a move, Kyle threw several licorice candies at them.
The brown candies twisted and turned in mid-air, instantly transforming into several thin ropes that bound Crabbe and Goyle tightly.
"Stop!"
A furious shout came from nearby, where several Slytherin students glared angrily at them.
The commotion had naturally attracted attention, including many Slytherin students.
"Kyle, how dare you bully our new students!"
They recognized Draco Malfoy lying on the ground and immediately assumed he was one of their own. After all, he was Malfoy, a Slytherin.
Leading the group was a fourth-year student who, upon recognizing Malfoy, raised his wand without a word.
"Depulso!"
"Protego!"
A transparent shield reappeared, but unfortunately, Malfoy wasn't a novice like him; the reflected spell didn't hit him.
Kyle stopped the group that wanted to help, and said seriously, "Although your sneak attack is shameless, I still accept your challenge."
His voice was loud, and all the young wizards watching the spectacle could hear him clearly.
"Challenge us? Don't be ridiculous."
The leader of the Slytherin students sneered, "You just got lucky saving a piece of trash and got a special contribution award for free. You don't really think you're that great, do you?
Anyone who dares to provoke us Slytherins will pay the price!"
With that, he raised his wand again.
Kyle looked at him with admiration and silently gave him a thumbs up.
Daring to call Kanna a piece of trash in front of so many people... this guy really doesn't take Snape seriously.
With that kind of courage, it's a real shame he's not in Gryffindor.
Of course, admiration aside, Kyle wasn't going to stand still and let him hit him.
After blocking the attack with the Protego again, Kyle raised his hand and cast two spells.
"Impedimenta!"
"Levicorpus!"
The Slytherin tried to imitate Kyle's use of the Protego to block, but he had barely raised his wand when his legs gave way, and he stumbled involuntarily.
Before the Protego could even form, it was interrupted; Kyle's Levicorpus Jinx struck him squarely in the face.
In an instant, he was hanging upside down from the roof of the car, and then a sharp, long needle suddenly stopped in front of him.
"I advise you not to move," Kyle said calmly, "or you'll be spending your first day of school in the school hospital."
Without Kyle's explicit instruction, the other man had already quieted down, staring at the long needle, not even daring to breathe.
Then, Kyle walked up to the stunned Malfoy and asked, "Can we talk properly now?"
"I'm not afraid of you."
Despite trembling all over, Malfoy still stubbornly said, "If you blackmail me, I'll tell Professor Snape."
"I already said, it's just a normal claim."
Kyle pulled a stack of maps from behind him and laid them on the ground.
There were ten maps in total, all on gold-threaded parchment, and none of them were intact.
Kyle casually picked up a map, pointed to the narrow opening on it, and said, "Because you suddenly slammed the door, my spell made a serious mistake, and all the maps I just finished are ruined. I demand compensation from you, which is reasonable, isn't it?"
"But they're not worth two hundred Galleons!"
Malfoy said angrily, "They're just a few pieces of parchment. The two Galleons I gave you before are enough to pay ten times that amount."
"No, no, no, look carefully."
Kyle slammed the map in front of Malfoy's eyes and said seriously, "Take a close look. This parchment is already worth one Galleon.
Also, look at the pattern at the top. It's woven from unicorn hair, and the jewels used for decoration around it are from fire crabs.
Each of these exquisite maps is worth a fortune. Two hundred Galleons is already the cost price."
As Kyle spoke, Cedric and the others behind him all bit their lips tightly, their expressions very serious.
Malfoy was also stunned. He reached out and touched it, and found that the pattern was indeed unicorn hair.
He had a tapestry woven from unicorn tail hair at home, and it felt exactly the same.
Kyle was right; this map was indeed valuable.
Malfoy's heart sank, and he hurriedly said, "Then, then you can use a restoration charm!
With just a simple incantation, they'll be as good as new. If you don't know it, I can..."
"Restoration charm? Are you kidding me?"
Kyle interrupted him before he could finish.
"This is the most high-end product in our Hogwarts school's magical items shop, meant to be sold. And you're telling me to use a repair charm?"
Malfoy was startled by Kyle's sudden outburst, stammering, "Yes, is there a problem?"
Kyle's face hardened, and he asked seriously, "Do you know what a high-end product is? It can't have any flaws, not even the slightest bump, let alone such a long crack.
And in business, integrity is paramount. We would never sell a damaged product, even if it's been repaired.
This is the bottom line of a conscientious shop, and it's our responsibility to everyone who has bought our products."
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Kyle spoke with absolute conviction.
Malfoy sat there, stunned, and for some reason, he felt that Kyle was right.
Even the Slytherins around him were listening in a daze...
Gradually, the anger in some people's eyes towards Kyle dissipated, and they looked at Malfoy thoughtfully.
Malfoy, now the center of attention, paused for a moment, then suddenly looked up and said, "Two hundred Galleons, right?"
"That's right," Kyle nodded.
Malfoy silently took a badge from his collar and handed it to Kyle along with his wallet.
"I only brought one hundred and fifty Galleons this time; I'll give you the rest in a couple of days.
This Quidditch champion badge, worth one hundred Galleons, is collateral."
His previous refusal was simply to avoid being blackmailed, but now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, he had nothing more to say. Two hundred Galleons wasn't a small amount, but for him, it was just a matter of writing a letter home.
Kyle took the items from Malfoy, but only accepted the wallet. As for the badge, he glanced at it and returned it.
The Falmouth Falcons… what a lousy team.
"No collateral needed," Kyle said calmly. "I believe the Malfoy family wouldn't produce someone who would tarnish the family honor."
"Of course!" Malfoy puffed out his chest, his impression of Kyle improving considerably.
No wonder he received the Special Contribution Award in his freshman year; his judgment was excellent.
[End of the chapter]