Chapter 101: Memories and Letters
Chapter 101: Memories and Letters
The Slytherin Common Room was empty, and it seemed that Conna and Cedric's detention had not yet ended.
Kyle didn't turn on the lights either; he sat quietly on a sofa, deep in thought.
There was a lot to process from the events of the night.
First, Kyle was certain that the person they saw during their night-time excursion was indeed Hagrid; it couldn't have been anyone else impersonating him.
Even if someone could use Polyjuice Potion to mimic a person, what about Taya, who was with him at the time? She couldn't have been an Animagus, right?
After all, Polyjuice Potion doesn't work on animals.
But if the Hagrid they saw was the real Hagrid, why did he claim he hadn't been to the Forbidden Forest that night?
And then there were Dumbledore's words.
Memories, the Memory Charm? Or perhaps... the venom of a Winged Serpent.
Kyle took out a small piece of wood with corrosion marks from his pocket and held it in his hand, gently caressing it.
He had secretly cut this piece from the tree trunk when Hagrid wasn't looking.
Under the moonlight, the wood emitted a faint blue glow.
The color matched, but Kyle remembered that the venom of the Winged Serpent wasn't corrosive. Had he remembered it wrong?
Just then, the door to the Common Room opened again, and two figures entered one after the other.
"Kyle, you're here after all."
Cedric lowered his voice and said, "Filch just left and came back in a huff. He must have been looking for you."
Kyle put away the piece of wood and nodded, "I did see him when I returned."
"What did you do to make him so angry?" Cedric asked curiously.
"It wasn't me, it was Hagrid," Kyle shook his fingers, "He got the short end of the stick with Hagrid."
"No wonder Filch was so mad. I remember they never got along."
Cedric continued, "By the way, what was your detention about? I thought we would definitely get back before you."
"Fred told me that five people were assigned to clean the Trophy Room, which had never happened before. It was incredibly easy."
"Filch thought so too, so he made us clean it three times before agreeing to end the detention."
"That's about right," Kyle said, "I was taken to the Forbidden Forest and went inside with Hagrid to find something."
"To the Forbidden Forest, at night?" Cedric was stunned.
He had considered countless possibilities, such as copying books, cleaning classrooms, or polishing armor, but he never imagined that Kyle's detention would be in the Forbidden Forest.
This was way off, it was way too different! Were they really detained for the same thing?
Although they had been to the Forbidden Forest at night, it was only on the outer edges, and there wasn't much danger even at night.
But going with Hagrid to find something, no matter how you looked at it, it couldn't have been just a casual stroll outside.
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" Conna asked anxiously.
"Of course not, if I were injured, I'd be in the hospital wing now," Kyle laughed, "Let me tell you, I even saw a Centaur in the Forbidden Forest."
Kyle shared his experiences in the Forbidden Forest, leaving Cedric and Conna in awe.
Their expressions gradually shifted from initial surprise to envy.
They also wanted to explore the depths of the Forbidden Forest...
As the sky gradually darkened, the three of them stopped talking as sleepiness overcame them.
Back in the dormitory, Kyle lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. He took out a piece of parchment and a quill and wrote a letter under the moonlight.
After sealing the letter and addressing it, Kyle placed it in front of Landon.
"I'm afraid I have to trouble you with a task," Kyle whispered. "Tomorrow morning, deliver this letter to Newt. If he hasn't returned by then, leave it on the largest tree outside his door. There's a bow-legged tree guardian there who will help keep the letter safe."
Kyle had decided to seek out Newt, just in case the venom of the Winged Serpent had corrosive properties, as it was a magical creature and mutations weren't uncommon.
He wondered if Newt had returned by now...
It would be good if he had, but it didn't really matter.
After all, Dumbledore was already aware of the situation, so there was no need for Kyle to worry about the rest.
Landon opened one eye and placed his claw on the envelope.
After receiving a response, Kyle returned to his bed and quickly fell asleep.
...
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After that, neither Dumbledore nor Hagrid bothered Kyle again, and he was glad for the break, suppressing his curiosity and focusing on preparing for the end-of-term exams.
As exam week approached, the castle seemed to transform overnight, with young wizards practicing wand movements while walking everywhere.
This was the most dangerous time of the year at Hogwarts Castle, as there were always young wizards who unconsciously cast spells while waving their wands.
And there were quite a few of them; Kyle had already seen two unlucky students injured by spells just on his way from the common room to the Great Hall.
Fortunately, they had only been affected by Levitation and Repairing Charms and didn't need to go to the hospital wing.
Kyle carefully avoided the hidden assassins in the castle and made his way to the Great Hall without further incident.
The professors were also aware of the situation.
There was no choice; almost every class had two or three young wizards absent due to being sent to the hospital wing, so it was hard for the professors not to notice.
In Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall strictly forbade the young wizards from practicing wand movements in the corridors.
"What have you all been up to?" she asked, pursing her lips. "From now on, if you want to practice, find an empty classroom. If I catch anyone who can't control their wand, they'll be spending a week in detention."
Compared to Professor McGonagall, Snape was more direct. He informed everyone that if anyone missed Potions class due to this incident, their end-of-term Potions grade would be voided, whether they were absent or the cause of the problem.
That was how unreasonable he was.
Kyle couldn't shake the feeling that Snape had glanced at him when he said this.
Under the professors' orders, the castle assassins disappeared within half a day.
By dinnertime, Hogwarts had returned to its previous tranquility and harmony as if nothing had happened.
At the dining table, Kyle absentmindedly cut the roast on his plate.
He wasn't worried about Snape secretly plotting against him, but he was concerned about Landon.
Five days had passed since he sent the letter, and Landon still hadn't returned.
Five days—even by train, one could make several round trips between Dorsetshire and Hogwarts.
(End of Chapter)
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