Chapter 229: The Wesley Brothers' Mysterious Gift
Chapter 229: The Wesley Brothers' Mysterious Gift
Harry had many questions, but Dumbledore patiently answered each one.
Not long after their conversation began, Kyle sought out Madam Pomfrey and requested to be discharged.
Although Madam Pomfrey was a bit reluctant, she eventually agreed after checking Kyle over again since he seemed to be in perfect health.
After leaving the hospital wing, Kyle glanced at the listless Scourgify and, with a smile, took out a handful of sparkling gemstone fragments from his leather bag. He then scattered them in the courtyard.
These were just Fire Crab gemstones; he had plenty of those.
To make the map seem more valuable, he had learned the Occlumency technique from Newt's box and specifically visited the Fire Crabs' lair to collect a large number of gemstone fragments.
While they were smaller than the one Dumbledore had produced, he had a lot of them.
Especially when scattered, the gemstones sparkled dazzlingly in the sunlight, resembling a starry night sky.
Scourgify's eyes lit up, and as soon as Kyle let go, it eagerly rushed out to pick up the gemstones on the ground.
Kyle sat beside it, propping his chin in his hand and looking up at the hospital wing.
He wasn't surprised that he hadn't succeeded in taking the Sorcerer's Stone; in fact, this was what he had expected.
After all, it was an artifact that could give Voldemort a new body and bring him back to life. There was no way Dumbledore would let it out of his control.
What surprised Kyle was that Dumbledore agreed to help him expand his box.
To be honest, he hadn't held much hope for it, but Dumbledore had agreed after only a brief hesitation.
It could only be described as an unexpected gain.
This meant that Kyle wouldn't have to work on modifying the box anymore, saving him a lot of time.
Kyle had originally planned to use the holidays to further expand the box's space... The thought of casting the Traceless Expansion Charm tirelessly for two months was incredibly boring.
Soon, Scourgify had collected all the gemstones and returned to Kyle's side.
When it came to treasure hunting, Scourgify was a professional. Not only did it leave no gemstone fragment behind, but it had also managed to scrounge up two Knuts from some corner.
However, it still looked a bit unhappy, so Kyle transfigured a leaf on the ground into the shape of the Sorcerer's Stone and gave it to the little creature, finally cheering it up.
In a way, Scourgify was easily pleased.
...
When Kyle returned to the castle, he happened to meet Fred and George, who were on their way out, each holding a beautifully wrapped large box.
"Kyle?" Fred said, sounding a bit surprised. "We were just coming to see you."
"How did you recover so quickly?" George asked, puzzled.
"I was fine to begin with," Kyle explained. "Going to the hospital wing was just a formality. Potter was the one with the real problem."
"Oh, what a pity..."
George looked down at the box in his hand. "We even prepared a gift for you..."
"But it's just as good to give it to you now," Fred said. "Go on, open it and see if you like it."
A pity?
Was that even a human reaction?
Kyle looked at them expressionlessly and did not take the item that Fred was offering.
This wasn't his first day of knowing Fred and George. Seeing their serious expressions, anyone with half a brain would know that whatever was in the box was definitely not something pleasant.
"The news has spread all over Hogwarts," George explained. "Everyone knows that Quirrell tried to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, but was stopped by a group of brave young witches and wizards. They navigated through various challenges and ultimately triumphed."
"Kyle, you borrowed the Invisibility Cloak to go to the underground classroom, right..." Fred's eyes lit up with excitement. "The three-headed dog, the moving chessboard, Death Eaters, the flames... Merlin's beard, your adventure was more thrilling than everything Fred and I have experienced in the past decade combined!"
"You really should have taken us with you!" George added, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "Even our little brother Ron got to participate, but we missed out..."
"Next time, I promise," Kyle waved his hand dismissively.
Fred and George felt that Kyle was somehow just humoring them, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.
"Then it's settled. You have to take us with you next time," George insisted. "Or else, you'll be getting a single feather quill as your Christmas present every year from now on."
"And it'll be the cheapest kind, too," Fred chimed in.
"That's just unfair," Kyle shook his head, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Fred and George soon took their leave as they still needed to visit Harry and present him with their carefully prepared gift.
After their departure, another group of students approached Kyle... They, too, had heard about the incident in the underground classroom and were eager to hear the details.
Kyle barely managed to extricate himself from the swarm of curious young witches and wizards.
However, when he finally reached the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room, he found someone else waiting for him.
"I knew you'd be heading back to your dormitory," Hermione said, "so I came here to wait for you."
"There were too many people earlier, so we couldn't get close," Ron muttered.
Hermione shot him a disapproving look.
"Alright... What do you want to know?" Kyle asked resignedly. "But make it quick; I really don't want to repeat everything again."
"How's Harry..."
"How did you get past all those challenges..."
The two spoke simultaneously.
"Potter's doing fine," Kyle turned to Hermione and said, "When I left, he was talking to Dumbledore. If you want to visit him, you can go now, but Madam Pomfrey might not allow it."
"As for the challenges..." Kyle looked at Ron, "As long as you find the right approach, it's not difficult to get past them. Take the key challenge, for instance; you can use a Mandrake or a Skeleton Key to open the door directly, without needing to catch those keys at all."
"Oh..." Ron gulped, as they had been rather proud of themselves for collecting three brooms. But now, Kyle was telling him that it hadn't been necessary.
"What about the chessboard..." Ron wanted to ask more, but was interrupted by Hermione.
"Don't ask, Ron," Hermione cut in impatiently. "Kyle obviously could get past those challenges. We need to hurry to the hospital wing to see Harry. If too many people go, Madam Pomfrey won't let us in."
"Yeah, you're right, I almost forgot," Ron said, suddenly remembering.
After thanking Kyle, the two rushed off in the direction of the hospital wing.
...
(End of Chapter)
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