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Chapter 629: Discounts Among Colleagues
🕑 Added 2025-03-17 11:59:54 +0000 UTCAfter about twenty minutes, the shopkeeper and Daphne finally emerged from the back of the shop.
“Just make the changes I mentioned and deliver it to Hogwarts tomorrow. Is that okay?” Daphne, walking ahead, said with a confident tone.
“No problem,” the shopkeeper replied with a pleasant smile. “I’ll ensure the dress is delivered to Hogwarts on time.”
“Good,” Daphne nodded, then turned towards the door with the shopkeeper escorting her. “We’re heading back, Astoria.”
As they passed Kyle and Kanna, Astoria gave them a polite nod and greeted them softly. Daphne, however, simply snorted and walked past without a word.
Kyle shook his head helplessly. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.
Since the beginning of the school year, several Slytherins had drastically changed their attitude toward him. Take Malfoy, for instance.
Before, their relationship had been neutral. Despite Malfoy’s arrogance, the two had found some common ground, particularly when it came to their shared interests. But this year was different. Not a single word had passed between them since term started, and they’d barely crossed paths.
It felt deliberate, as though Malfoy were actively avoiding him, and Kyle suspected it had something to do with Lucius Malfoy. He could easily imagine Lucius giving his son explicit instructions before the school year began.
The shift wasn’t limited to Malfoy. Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and even Millicent—once steady customers who had happily spent Galleons on Kyle’s products—had all distanced themselves.
Under their influence, the rest of the Slytherins had grown increasingly indifferent as well, and Daphne was no exception. As a close friend of Pansy and Millicent, her attitude was expected.
Kyle had initially thought about saying something to her, but her frosty demeanor dissuaded him. Instead, he silently watched the two sisters leave the store.
After they exited, the shopkeeper approached Kyle. “Can I help you find something?”
“I need a new winter uniform,” Kyle said.
Like Madam Malkin’s shop in Diagon Alley, Gladrags Wizardwear also offered made-to-measure Hogwarts uniforms, and the prices were comparable.
“Just the uniform?” the shopkeeper asked. “How about a cloak as well? A dragon-hide cloak will keep you warm in winter.”
“No, thank you,” Kyle said, sparing a glance at the shop’s most expensive cloak, priced at 300 Galleons.
The price wasn’t unreasonable for a dragon-hide cloak, especially a full one. But this particular cloak wasn’t made from a single hide—it was pieced together with magic. The upper section had a faint blue hue, likely from a Swedish Short-Snout, while the lower part was the distinct greyish white of a Ukrainian Ironbelly.
To the average eye, the unique pattern masked the patchwork design well, but Kyle could easily tell the difference.
“What about a cloak in the Durmstrang style?” the shopkeeper offered, still trying to make a sale. “Only twenty Galleons.”
Kyle shook his head. “Just the school uniform.”
Hearing this, the shopkeeper’s smile faded noticeably. Hogwarts uniforms were fixed-price items, and unless ordered in bulk, they yielded almost no profit.
“Very well,” the shopkeeper said curtly.
A measuring tape flew over, darting around Kyle as it recorded his measurements. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper returned to the counter, tidying up with far less enthusiasm than before.
Kyle, however, paid no attention to the shopkeeper’s change in demeanor.
A few minutes later, the measuring tape finished its work, snapping shut with precision. Kyle approached the counter and reached into his pocket to pay.
As he dug around, something unexpected happened. Perhaps his pocket was too crowded, but along with his money, he accidentally pulled out a few small objects: a handful of short, silver-white hairs and an irregularly shaped ruby.
“There’s too much,” Kyle said hastily, shoving the items back into his pocket before asking, “How much is it?”
The shopkeeper’s eyes flickered with interest. After a moment, he replied, “One Galleon.”
“That’s so cheap?” Kanna blurted out, clearly surprised.
She had purchased robes before and knew that one Galleon was an unexpectedly low price for a school uniform—especially a thick winter one. Even Madam Malkin’s Second-Hand Robes or the second-hand shops in Diagon Alley couldn’t match that price.
“Yes, one Galleon,” the shopkeeper confirmed. “This is part of a promotion for our first thousand school uniform robes—we’re offering a special discount.”
Kyle smiled, placed a Galleon on the counter, and asked, “How long will it take?”
“Very quickly—half an hour will be enough.”
Once outside, Kanna said cheerfully, “What luck! It just happens to be the 1,000th robe.”
“It might not just happen to be,” Kyle said with a knowing tone.
“Why do you say that?”
“Do you remember the gown we were discussing earlier?”
“The 300-Galleon one?”
“Yes,” Kyle said. “If I’m not mistaken, the Unicorn tail hair on that gown is the wrong color—likely pieced together with magic to make it look genuine. The Fire Crab gems were also recut stones."
“Based on the materials, I’d guess the entire gown is worth a maximum of twenty Galleons—not remotely close to what the shopkeeper claimed.”
“How can you tell about the mane and the gems?” Kanna asked, intrigued.
“I’ve seen plenty of them. It’s easy to recognize after a while.” Kyle shrugged and pulled the Unicorn hair and gem out of his pocket.
“This… isn’t what you just pulled out earlier, is it?”
“Exactly,” Kyle nodded. “The materials for the gown and robe are the same—Unicorn hair and Fire Crab gems. The shopkeeper recognized them, no doubt about it.”
Kyle couldn’t help but feel a kinship with the shopkeeper. They were, after all, in similar trades. He had used similar materials for one of his most expensive custom maps, which he had adorned with Unicorn hair and Fire Crab gems.
That said, the shopkeeper’s pricing was far steeper than his own. At least I didn’t try to sell my map for 200 Galleons, Kyle thought wryly.
By the time Kyle left the shop, it was nearly ten o’clock. Instead of heading straight to The Hog’s Head, he found a window seat in The Three Broomsticks and ordered a Pumpkin Fizz.
As he sipped his drink, he looked out the window. The number of students outside was steadily increasing, all moving in the same direction toward The Hog’s Head. The once-empty path was now bustling with people.
“There must be more than thirty people here,” Kyle muttered.
Kanna glanced out the window as well. “Should we go over there?”
“If you’re curious, you can go and take a look,” Kyle said.
“You’re not going?”
“Well,” Kyle nodded thoughtfully, “with this many people, someone is bound to spill the beans. Umbridge will find out sooner or later."
“And since I’m not supposed to be on Professor Dumbledore’s side, it’s better if I stay out of it.”
“Couldn’t they just sign a confidentiality agreement?” Kanna suggested. “Something simple, like agreeing not to tell Umbridge about it?”
“That wouldn’t be very effective,” Kyle said. “Even if they don’t mean to, people talk. Friends chat casually, and someone could slip up without realizing it. It’s impossible to guarantee absolute secrecy.”
“Then how about a stricter agreement?” Kanna proposed. “For instance, one that prevents them from discussing it at all…”
“Yes, but not now,” Kyle said, taking another sip of his Pumpkin Fizz. “Most people are instinctively wary of signing strict contracts, especially when they don’t fully understand what they’re agreeing to."
“To make something like that work, you’d have to wait until everyone is already committed to the idea.”
“That makes sense,” Kanna said, turning her gaze back to the window. “In that case, I won’t go either.”
