Chapter 147: Harry is Lost and a Bag of Cat Food
Chapter 147: Harry is Lost and a Bag of Cat Food
If it were just adding an elective, Professor McGonagall would likely not refuse, but switching classes... to be honest, Kyle felt the possibility was slim.
However, seeing the hopeful expressions on Fred and George's faces, he merely shrugged and said nothing.
Let them give it a try. Who knows, maybe Professor McGonagall was in a good mood today and would agree to it.
The first class of the year was still Charms, and after leaving the Great Hall, Kyle bid farewell to the Weasley brothers and Cedric, heading alone towards the fourth floor of the castle.
As he reached the second floor, Kyle suddenly spotted two new students loitering on the stairs.
Harry and Ron.
They were wandering aimlessly on the two fake staircases, frantically going around in circles on the second floor.
Kyle watched for a while before speaking up, "What are you two doing... getting some exercise?"
Ron turned his head abruptly, spotting Kyle as if he were a lifeline, and grabbed Harry to rush over.
"We're trying to get to the Transfiguration classroom, but we're lost," he panted, asking, "Can you tell us how to get there?"
"Follow me," Kyle said, "I'm headed to the fourth floor as well."
"Thank Merlin!" Ron exclaimed, his face relaxing in relief.
"Yeah, thanks," Harry added, glancing at Kyle with a hint of restraint.
"It's no problem, just on my way," Kyle replied.
As he led them to the correct staircase, Kyle asked curiously, "Didn't you two buy the Hogwarts map?"
At this, Ron's face turned red, and he lowered his head, remaining silent.
Harry, too, looked somewhat embarrassed as he explained, "Twenty galleons is too expensive. I... we can't afford it."
Although his vault was filled with gold, he hadn't brought much with him this time. After purchasing his wand and books, he only had a couple of dozen galleons left.
It was only the beginning of the school year, and there would be plenty of expenses in the future. Naturally, Harry didn't want to spend all his money on a map.
"I wasn't talking about that map," Kyle said as he led them around a corner. "There are two kinds of maps—the twenty-galleon one and a cheaper version for ten sickles... Didn't Fred and George tell you about it?"
Harry and Ron froze simultaneously.
Hearing this from Kyle, Harry suddenly recalled the promotional flyer for the map posted on the door of the common room.
However, both he and Ron had subconsciously assumed it was the same type as the ones they had seen on the train, and neither of them had paid much attention to it.
Harry's face scrunched up in regret as he thought about this. If only he had taken the time to read it carefully; he could have afforded ten sickles.
"We're here. The Transfiguration classroom is over there."
Upon reaching the fourth floor, Kyle pointed in one direction and then pulled something out of his pocket, handing it to Harry.
"Consider this a welcome gift."
Harry looked down and noticed that he now held two maps and a bag of... dried fish?
"What's this?" Ron asked, eyeing the bag.
"It looks like pet food for a cat," Harry said, turning to Kyle. "Do you have a cat, Kyle?"
Ron thought for a moment, then replied, "He does have one at home, actually."
Harry quickly looked up and called out, "Kyle, you gave us an extra bag of cat food!"
"You can have it!" Kyle called back, sounding eager to get to class. "I have plenty of those. You can feed it to your owl."
With that, he turned the corner and disappeared from view at the end of the corridor.
...
Harry stood there, holding the bag of dried fish, feeling a bit bewildered.
By this time, Kyle had already entered the Charms classroom.
For the first lesson of the new school year, Professor Flitwick didn't immediately teach any new content but instead reviewed the charms they had learned the previous year.
He spent half the lesson checking everyone's performance on the Levitation Charm and Softening Charm, only moving on once he was satisfied that most students could cast these charms skillfully. Finally, he returned to his towering platform of books.
"Today, we will learn the General Counter-Spell, which can undo the effects of common charms... Watch my movements carefully, and remember to swish and flick with conviction, and also, enunciate clearly... Impedimenta!"
After Charms, Kyle had History of Magic.
In the afternoon, they had two consecutive periods of Snape's Potions class.
Just like last year, Snape didn't show Kyle any favoritism.
"Who told you to whisper during potion-making?" Snape said, standing next to Kyle with a gloomy expression. "If you're not going to study, don't disturb others. Ten points from Gryffindor."
He then turned to Connor.
"Well done on preparing the lionfish bones. Ten points to Gryffindor."
Kyle watched Snape with an indifferent expression.
He had long gotten used to the professor's biased behavior, and compared to last year when he started with a five-point deduction, this year was off to a better start.
...
And so, the first day of the new school year came to an end. Although some classes were less than pleasant, overall, it had been a fulfilling day.
Night fell.
The library on the second floor of the castle was exceptionally quiet, devoid of any sound. The tall bookshelves blocked out the moonlight coming through the windows, making it even darker here than elsewhere.
"Squeak..."
Suddenly, the door opened just wide enough for someone to slip inside.
"Patter, patter..."
Once the door closed again, the distinct sound of footsteps echoed through the library.
"Tsk, Filch is really dedicated," Kyle muttered, dispelling his Disillusionment Charm. He patted his chest in relief.
Earlier, on the stairs, Filch had suddenly emerged from some hidden corner, nearly brushing shoulders with him as he passed by.
Additionally, Kyle noticed that Mrs. Norris had paused as she walked past him and looked in his direction with a puzzled expression.
Kyle guessed that she must have sensed something amiss but couldn't quite pinpoint it.
Fortunately, Filch seemed to be chasing someone at the time, and at his urging, Mrs. Norris soon left.
"Looks like it's not very safe to wander around at night with just the Disillusionment Charm. I need to find some time to look for a spell that can mask my scent."
Kyle took a deep breath and made his way towards the Restricted Section.
He remembered that the book that detailed Horcruxes was called Advanced Guide to the Dark Arts, if he recalled correctly.
Kyle suddenly felt a headache coming on.
The Restricted Section, though only a small part of the library, still contained several thousand books.
Without the use of magic, finding that specific book, Advanced Guide to the Dark Arts, would be no easy task.
"I hope I can find it tonight," Kyle sighed, lighting up his wand and stepping between the towering shelves.
(End of Chapter)
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