Chapter 123: The Dark Side of the Wizarding World
Chapter 123: The Dark Side of the Wizarding World
In the following days, Fred and George continued to visit frequently, perfecting their first batch of Quick Escape Candy—the Fat Tongue Toffee.
However, Kyle found the process tedious and chose to stay in his room reading instead of joining them.
This behavior left Fred and George speechless, as they saw a glimpse of Percy in Kyle.
But they couldn't say anything about it.
After all, Kyle was now their landlord and an important business partner. It was only here that they could freely research and develop their inventions.
Of course, they wouldn't remain completely silent either.
After being rejected once, George, with a drawn-out tone, said, "Fred, I think we should order some Felix Felicis Fireworks now to celebrate Kyle becoming Head Boy in advance."
"Then we'll be celebrating for four years," Fred replied in the same tone, "After all, you can only become Head Boy in the fifth year at Hogwarts, and he's only in his second year now."
"Oh, and it could also be six years," George added, raising an eyebrow, "Don't forget about the Student Council President."
"Yes, that's right... Six years of Felix Felicis Fireworks, that's quite an expense," Fred agreed.
The two continued their playful banter, their tone and demeanor identical to a certain Potions professor, making it seem like Snape himself was standing at the door.
Kyle didn't say anything either. He silently flipped them off and then returned his attention to his desk.
On it was a stack of parchment filled with writing.
The parchment contained notes Kyle had copied from the Restricted Section.
Kyle remembered it was a book related to alchemy, titled "Magical Products: Transformation and Fusion."
Initially, Kyle wasn't particularly interested in the book, and after copying it, he had left it untouched for a long time.
But now, things were different.
Helping the Weasley brothers with their Sneakaway Sugar could be considered a form of entertainment after completing his homework. What Kyle was most eager to learn about now was Horcruxes.
Kyle flipped through the parchment, paying extra attention to the section about infusing magic into ordinary objects.
After all, this was the only information he could find that had even a slight connection to Horcruxes.
Although the connection was a bit of a stretch, and Kyle wasn't sure if Horcruxes were related to alchemy, gaining more knowledge couldn't hurt.
After all, they were both related to fusion, and there might be some transferable concepts.
Souls and magic were quite different, but it wasn't impossible to find some common ground.
...
Kyle hadn't realized how obscure the book was until he started reading it carefully. To fully understand these concepts, Kyle ordered numerous books on alchemy from Diagon Alley via owl post and started studying from scratch.
Alchemy was indeed a money-consuming pursuit; even the most basic books cost over ten Galleons each, more expensive than Lockhart's books. Kyle spent a significant amount just on these books.
This went on for nearly a month.
One day, about a month later, Kyle sat at his desk as usual, but this time, instead of reading, he held a wand and focused on the caramel candy in front of him, slowly making it levitate.
Ottery St. Catchpole was a wizarding village, and using magic here rendered the Trace almost useless, making it difficult for the Ministry to track Kyle's actions.
However, for safety reasons, Kyle only took out his wand at night, when the Ministry of Magic was off duty and the streets were at their busiest.
Moreover, the wand he used was not his own, but that of the female Hufflepuff student.
When he found the wand, he put it directly into his robe pocket and did not hand it over to Professor McGonagall or anyone from the Ministry.
Although the Beaters had asked him about the wand, it seemed more like a formality, and Kyle simply brushed them off, saying he hadn't seen it. They left it at that.
Perhaps, in their eyes, losing a wand in the Forbidden Forest was not unusual; maybe some small animal had carried it away.
In the end, the wand became Kyle's trophy.
Using it felt awkward, like eating noodles with a spoon.
But for something he found for free, he couldn't ask for more.
Under Kyle's control, the caramel candy began to peel off layer by layer, and after about five minutes, a whole piece of candy turned into thin, almost translucent, "sugar paper."
The sugar paper was very thin, and if you looked closely, you could see that each piece had a different pattern.
Kyle took out a small bottle containing the light blue Swelling Solution and waved the wand again.
Two drops of the solution floated out of the bottle, stretching and splitting in mid-air, turning into countless fine, barely noticeable threads that perfectly matched the patterns on the sugar paper.
The new sugar paper began to converge towards the center, once again forming a complete caramel candy.
This was Kyle's achievement for the month—altering the form of matter and then fusing it.
It was somewhat similar to the enchanting process in games.
But unlike traditional alchemy, which directly embeds the gem into the weapon, Kyle's method was to crush the gem and recast it into the weapon.
The complexity increased geometrically, and it was no wonder that this book was placed in the Restricted Section.
Kyle picked up the caramel candy and examined it carefully under the light... It looked no different from ordinary candy, with no distinguishable features.
Breaking it open also didn't reveal any issues; it seemed like a perfectly normal caramel candy.
"Should I find someone to test its effects?" Kyle muttered to himself.
This was his first time creating something like this, and he was unsure if it was successful. The best way to find out was to have someone test it.
Kyle considered who to test the candy on.
Fred and George were the most suitable candidates, and they would probably be willing to try it. However, Kyle immediately ruled them out.
He didn't learn this to perfect the twins' products.
Ron would be a good choice... Obedient, easily deceived, and easy to coax; it would also be convenient to shift the blame if needed.
The new student, the savior, Harry Potter, was also a good option. He had always been in his comfort zone and didn't know how treacherous the Wizarding World could be. This would be a good opportunity to teach him a lesson, and Kyle had good intentions.
Both candidates were suitable. Kyle was a bit torn.
...
(End of Chapter)
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