Ron's small outburst seemed to go unnoticed as the girl continued on. "I remember you, Ronald Weasley. Your mother helped me find the platform."
"Uh, yes, but most people just call me Ron," he muttered.
"Okay, Ron. I'm Hermione Granger," she said, giving him a brisk nod before turning her attention to the other boy. "And you are?"
"Harry Potter," Harry replied.
At the name, Hermione's eyes widened, and she quickly rattled off a list of reference books, proving she knew quite a bit about him. This left Harry feeling a bit dazed, considering he didn't know much about his own story himself—and he certainly hadn't read any of the books she mentioned.
"You really don't know?" Hermione said with surprise. "If it were me, I'd have found every book that mentions me."
Then, looking back at Ron, she asked, "Oh, and did you say that Kyle is first in his year?"
"Er... yes," Ron nodded reluctantly.
"No wonder he was recognized by the Order of Merlin," Hermione said, sounding impressed. "I hope I'm not too far behind him. I've already memorized all our textbooks, so that should help."
Ron's expression soured further. This girl was starting to remind him too much of Percy, with her eager tone and relentless talk of studying.
But Hermione, oblivious, continued. "By the way, do you know which house Kyle's in? Is it Gryffindor? I've been asking around, and everyone says that's the best. But if he's that smart, he might be in Ravenclaw."
"Neither," Ron replied, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Kyle's a Hufflepuff."
"Hufflepuff...?" Hermione's brow furrowed. "But I heard that Hufflepuff's full of, well, students who aren't exactly... the best at academics."
"That's not true," Ron replied, enjoying her surprise. "Besides Kyle, there's also Cedric Diggory, who's top of his year—and he's a Hufflepuff too."
Hermione looked slightly offended, as if she'd been misled. How could the top students from two different years be in Hufflepuff, of all places? If they were the "dull ones," what did that say about everyone else?
Next to her, Harry was feeling a bit down. When he'd first talked to Ron about the houses, he'd considered Hufflepuff a fallback choice. But if Hufflepuff was home to the top students... well, it seemed less like an "easy" house after all. Being first in the year? He could hardly imagine himself achieving that.
Hermione seemed lost in thought as well, so Ron took the chance to ask, "So, is there anything else you wanted to ask us? If not, we'd like to get back to our compartment."
"Yes, actually," Hermione said, snapping back to attention. "I wanted to ask if you'd seen a toad. Neville's lost his."
"A toad?" Ron sighed. "We already told him we haven't seen it."
Neville had just been by earlier, nearly in tears over the lost toad, and it had left an impression on Ron.
Harry chimed in, "Maybe Kyle could help find it?"
"That's a good idea," Hermione agreed, casting them a final, assessing look. "But you two should hurry and change into your robes. We'll probably be arriving soon."
With that, she turned and left.
"I really hope we don't end up in the same house as her," Ron muttered, shutting the compartment door behind him with a scowl. "Gryffindor's got enough Percys already."
Harry gave a distracted nod, still processing the whirlwind of information he'd absorbed in the last few minutes.
Meanwhile, Hermione made her way to Kyle's compartment. Through the glass, she saw him gesturing with his wand over a piece of parchment. Her hand, raised to knock, froze. She remembered how Malfoy's abrupt knock had disrupted Kyle's work, leading to that entire confrontation. She certainly didn't have the money to pay for ruined maps—200 Galleons was unfathomable, let alone 20. Reluctantly, she decided to check another carriage.
Inside the compartment, Kyle lowered his wand once Hermione had gone.
"Malfoy's family crest is ridiculously intricate," Kyle said, rubbing his eyes. "Snakes, dragons—why couldn't they just settle for a simple 'M'?"
"Hey, patience with our esteemed guest," Fred joked. "Nothing easier than tweaking a design to pocket an extra Galleon, right?"
"You're not wrong," Kyle agreed, sliding the half-completed parchment over to Cedric to finish the map manually. Since it was a permanent commission, he couldn't rely on the Doubling Charm.
Then Kyle pulled out the bag Malfoy had handed over. "One hundred and fifty Galleons. So, do we split this now or wait until he sends the rest?"
The others exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.
"Look, Kyle," George said seriously, "you earned this through...well, your remarkable talents. It doesn't involve us, so no need to split it."
"Remarkable talents?" Kyle shrugged. "I'm no Ravenclaw. Besides, this is money from selling the map, so we split it equally."
"This was hardly the usual sale, though," Cedric pointed out. "From Malfoy's door-smashing to the entire 'negotiation,' you handled all of it on your own. We didn't lift a finger."
Cedric's words echoed the others' thoughts; they each declined to touch the bag. Finally, after Kyle's insistent urging, they agreed to take just ten Galleons apiece. George ended up with fifteen, the extra five compensating him for his defaced robe—which he accepted with no complaint.
"By the way," Cedric said, gesturing toward the damaged maps on the table, "should we use the Mending Charm to fix these up?"
"Huh? Why would we do that?" Kyle asked, raising an eyebrow.
Cedric blinked, looking puzzled. "I mean, they're made from pricey Galleon parchment. We can't just throw them out."
Kyle narrowed his eyes, his tone skeptical. "You're not planning on restoring them and selling them again, are you?"
"Not exactly," Cedric replied, though he looked sheepish.
Kyle sighed, eyeing him with mock disdain. "Keep that up, and you'll end up in Azkaban for cunning business practices, mark my words."