Chapter 94: A Big Opportunity
During the second week of the Easter holidays, Kyle settled into a routine. Each morning, he left the Hufflepuff common room right after breakfast and wouldn't return until evening. But instead of heading to the library or the Room of Requirement, he spent his days in an abandoned classroom on the castle's third floor, working on a secret project.
He wasn't alone. Fred and George from Gryffindor, Cho Chang from Ravenclaw, as well as Kanna and Cedric joined him. The six of them were busy working in the small, dusty classroom.
"Kyle, can you check this pattern? Did I get it right?" Cho asked, setting down her pocketknife and wiping sweat from her brow. "Something feels a bit off."
"Don't worry about small flaws," Kyle said without looking up. "No one's going to examine these too closely. As long as it captures the general idea, it'll be fine."
He continued working with a knife in his left hand and a branch in his right—a branch from a Rowan tree he'd brought back from the Forbidden Forest. Carefully, he stripped off the bark and smoothed the surface before etching a series of irregular lines. Soon, he'd finished an oval wooden pendant, its surface engraved with a pattern of intersecting lines surrounding a carved wand and quill. Nearby, a growing pile of pendants took shape in various shapes—oval, triangular, and square.
Fred, looking at his own morning's work, dusted woodchips off himself, squinting critically at his creation. "Kyle, are you sure anyone would want to buy these?"
At Fred's words, everyone else looked up, visibly curious. They'd all been roped into this by Kyle two days ago, who had mentioned something about "a big opportunity." After the success of their previous venture selling enchanted maps, everyone had been eager to join in without much question. But after two days of chopping and carving branches without magic, they were starting to feel a little puzzled.
"It'll be fine," Kyle assured after a moment's thought. "Rowan tree amulets are still quite popular in the wizarding world."
"Wait... we're making amulets?" George asked incredulously.