Professor McGonagall didn't stay long here and soon returned to her office.
Just as she stepped out of the auditorium door, the Hufflepuff badgers started to let loose, and the originally quiet dining table turned into a buzzing marketplace.
They gathered in small groups, mimicking the pitiful expressions of the Weasley brothers from earlier, and laughed until they slapped the table.
Even Conna, who was usually shy and introverted, lowered her head, her little shoulders shaking, clearly unable to hold back.
Kael was stunned.
Wow, all of them are such performers. If anyone ever tells him again that Hufflepuff is full of honest kids, Kael will give them a big clap to wake them up.
Of course, he excluded himself.
...
...
After lunch, all the young wizards began to leave the auditorium one by one, but Kael was stopped at the gate once again.
This time, it wasn't the Weasley brothers but a familiar-looking Asian girl.
"Hi, I'm Cho Chang from Ravenclaw. Can I take a moment of your time?"
Cho confidently extended her hand.
"Kael Chopper."
Kael also extended his hand, and they quickly shook hands and let go.
Then he instinctively looked at Cedric, but Cedric was just as usual, simply introducing himself before stepping aside to wait for Kael.
Just like when encountering the Weasley brothers earlier.
But of course, they probably don't know each other yet, and Cho Chang is only eleven. No matter what, Cedric won't hit on her at this time.
Azkaban never has any age restriction.
Kael shook his head amusedly and then turned to Cho and asked, "What's up?"
"I want to make a copy of your map, is that okay?" Cho said, "I can pay for it."
"Map, huh?"
Kael looked at Cedric beside him, seemingly seeking his opinion.
Cedric understood but since he hadn't learned the skill of communicating with just eye contact, he simply shrugged, indicating the map was no longer related to him, and Kael could decide for himself.
Good students are good students, not even knowing eye contact communication.
Feeble.
Kael mocked the "unsophisticated" Cedric in his heart but showed no change on his face.
"No need to pay." Kael handed the map to Cho and said, "After all, you helped Ryan and Mikel before, and they are my roommates. Consider this as gratitude."
"So they are your roommates, huh."
Being told this by Kael, Cho recalled the two freshmen she met earlier in the morning. She took the map and said with a smile, "I must say, your roommates are quite special; they managed to perfectly miss every correct staircase.
Really, I watched for five minutes, and they never got it right, continuously circling three wrong staircases."
While speaking, Cho couldn't hold back and laughed, covering her mouth: "Sorry, I don't mean to mock, I just find it… well, miraculous."
Kael blushed, unwilling to continue on this topic, awkwardly pointing at the map and saying, "The routes here are mainly related to the Hufflepuff Common Room, so it might be less useful for Ravenclaw."
"That doesn't matter," Cho shook her head, "Once the classrooms' specific locations are known, the routes are much easier to find,
—Replicate Double."
Though her wand-swishing gesture was a bit clumsy, she successfully duplicated the map.
"Phew, thank goodness, I thought I'd make a fool of myself." Cho returned the original map to Kael, slightly smug: "I kept failing before when practicing, didn't expect it to work on the first try this time."
Try once despite potential failure? Are all Ravenclaws this determined?
If it were Ryan… well, no need to switch, Ryan had been pestering Kael since lunch. He said he didn't want to copy the map anymore and wanted a replica too.
See, that's the difference.
And most Hufflepuff freshmen are like that.
Before he arrived, Cedric, the undisputed top of the second years, was probably the only young wizard in Hufflepuff who could represent them.
Kael had reason to suspect whether last year, Professor Sprout bribed the Sorting Hat.
Though it might have been with herbs.
Speaking of Cedric…
Looking at the happy Cho with her map, Kael casually asked: "Do you Ravenclaws have a similar map?"
Cho thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe, but I haven't seen one."
"I see, well, I hadn't seen one before either; Cedric gave me this." Kai intentionally glanced sideways and then continued: "Besides you, are there any other new Ravenclaw students who need such a map?"
Hmm?
Cho seemed to grasp Kael's intention, tentatively asking, "Are you planning to sell it to them?"
"Exactly, I have that idea." Kael didn't hide his intentions, straightforwardly stating: "What do you think, is it feasible?"
"It's feasible, but the price probably wouldn't be too high." Cho held up both hands: "Ten Sickles; that's the highest price I can afford. Even if it's just one Knut more, I won't buy it, and I guess other freshmen feel similarly."
"No problem, ten Sickles it is." Kael nonchalantly said: "It's no big effort, just earning some pocket money for myself."
"Then you'd better hurry." Cho reminded: "For Ravenclaw, this map only holds value in the first week before classes start. And the longer it takes, the lower the price becomes. By tomorrow, it might just be nine Sickles."
"That's enough." Kael smiled and then extended his hand to Cho: "Interested in teaming up? I provide the map, you handle promotion and transactions, and we split the profits."
Cho was a bit surprised but quickly processed it, grasping Kael's hand: "Of course, I'm very interested."
Cho made a quick calculation; there are 16 freshmen in Ravenclaw, minus herself makes 15. Even if only one-third of them buy the map, she could earn 25 Sickles.
For a first-year student like her, this was quite a significant amount, and of course, she wouldn't want to miss it.
Plus, it was merely running errands and speaking a few words, something very simple for her.
Kael nodded, saying: "So it's settled, Ravenclaw is up to you."
"No problem, I'll head back now. There should be quite a few freshmen in the Common Room at this time."
With her pocket money at stake, Cho was naturally serious, saying goodbye to them and then hurriedly running back to the Ravenclaw tower.