Chapter 64: The Freely Floating Bottom Line
It was evening in an empty classroom at Hogwarts. The flickering light of an oil lamp cast the shadows of the three figures present obliquely onto the wall.
"I'm glad you came to us, Kyle, but we can't do this," Fred said, lowering his head and hiding his face from the light.
"We've known each other for years, but this is the first time you've asked for our help since you got to Hogwarts," he continued. "I can't even remember the last time we had dinner together."
"Last Wednesday," Kyle, sitting across from him, paused briefly to think. "You tried to sell my homework to the Gryffindor first years."
"My friend, you were very firm in your refusal," George chimed in indifferently. "You have no idea how heartbroken we were when we had to walk away."
"I just didn't need detention from Professor McGonagall," Kyle replied. "Selling homework in bulk? You two will come up with anything. Do you really think Professor McGonagall wouldn't notice something like that? She's not Ron, you know."
"Ahem... well, maybe you're right," Fred said, looking up at Kyle. "But why aren't you worried about getting caught by McGonagall today? It's not that difficult—you could've done this yourself, or asked someone in Hufflepuff for help, right?"
"We're being watched closely by Snape," Kyle explained.
"Oh, I see. So you're coming to us for the dirty work," George sighed. "You've found your place in Hufflepuff. You like it there, the professors and students like you. Honestly, you probably don't even need us anymore, and you've never even called us 'seniors!'"
"Enough with the dramatics. Are you in or out?" Kyle's patience was running thin. "Mr. Weasley, I'm going to count to three. If you don't answer, I'll go find someone else."
"One!"