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Chapter 250: Course Selection
Chapter 250: Course Selection
A week after returning from Paris, on a clear morning, Kyle finally received a letter from Hogwarts.
That day, as he went downstairs for breakfast as usual, he found Fred and George already waiting for him in the living room.
After hiding and sneaking around for over a month, they now spent most of their days holed up in Kyle's attic, researching those "Quick-Acting Skiving Snackboxes."
Chris didn't mind the noise, though. In fact, he quite enjoyed having Fred and George around... It made for lively mornings.
"A letter from school?" Kyle picked up a yellow parchment envelope from the table; the writing on it was in green ink.
"Yep, it just arrived a few minutes ago," said Chris.
"Five minutes," Fred corrected.
"We ran into the owl as we were leaving..."
"Kyle, go on, open it! I bet you'll be surprised," George urged.
Without a word, Kyle began to read the letter.
Besides instructing him to return to Hogwarts by boarding the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross Station on September 1st as usual, the letter also included a list of new books he would need for the upcoming year.
Required books for third-year students:
1. Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
2. Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 by Miranda Goshawk
3. Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
4. Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
5. Travels with Trolls by...
...And seven more titles, all by Gilderoy Lockhart.
Kyle had expected as much, but seeing the extravagant book list still made him rub his temples in exasperation.
Gilderoy Lockhart's books were not cheap; they typically cost five galleons each. With each of them needing to buy seven books, that added up to thirty-five galleons.
That was no small sum—it was nearly half a month's wages for Mr. Weasley.
And that was just the expense for one person. Even if only half of Hogwarts bought new books, Lockhart would still easily earn tens of thousands of galleons.
The Potter family's hard-earned wealth across generations might not even match what Lockhart stood to earn from this.
No wonder Lockhart had taken the job... Faced with the prospect of tens of thousands of galleons, even the notorious reputation of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor didn't seem so daunting.
In the face of gold galleons, curses were but a vague, distant legend!
After perusing the book list, Kyle pulled out a second piece of parchment from the envelope.
"Why do you have one more sheet than us...?" Fred asked, then his eyes widened as he realized something. "Oh right, you're in your third year; you need to choose your electives."
Kyle looked down at the parchment.
Third-year elective courses:
(Choose a minimum of two subjects and purchase the necessary textbooks before the start of term.)
1. Arithmancy: Numerology and Graphology by L. Wakefield and M. Carneo
2. Muggle Studies: A Study of Muggle Life and Lifestyle
3. Care of Magical Creatures: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
4. Ancient Runes: A Beginner's Guide to Ancient Runes, The Ancient Rune Dictionary, A Compendium of Ancient Rune Symbols, A Collection of Magical Figures, and The Magical Phonetic Script
Five whole books, including a dictionary and a phonetic script—a clear indication of the difficulty level of this course.
And seeing this subject listed made Fred and George shudder simultaneously.
"I'm telling you, that class was the most horrific thing I've ever experienced.
"No, we're only dropping Divination."
"For 'Weasley Joke Shop'." George said solemnly.
"So, what's your second choice of elective?" Fred asked, "Care of Magical Creatures? Or Divination?"
"I suggest you pick Divination." George said seriously, "That class is really easy, and it's simple to get a high score as long as you... erm..."
At this moment, George suddenly realized that Chris was also present and quickly changed what he was about to say, "...as long as you pay attention in class."
Chris shook his head with amusement.
Although Sibyll Trelawney had joined Hogwarts after he had graduated, he had still heard of the famous "fraud professor".
Moreover, the recent graduates working at the Ministry often mentioned her during their conversations.
...'When will Trelawney be fired' was always one of the hot topics within the Ministry.
As such, Chris was well aware of what Divination class was like.
However, he didn't say anything and continued eating his breakfast calmly.
On the other hand, Fred and George were enthusiastically offering their advice.
"Care of Magical Creatures isn't bad either." George said as he looked at Kyle, "That class should be even easier for you than Divination."
"Indeed." Kyle nodded and also marked this subject.
Then there was Divination... Arithmancy... Muggle Studies...
In the surprised gaze of Fred and George, Kyle marked all the elective courses.
"Kyle, you're not planning to follow Percy's example and take all the classes, are you?"
George frowned, "Believe me, that's definitely not a good idea."
"You may not know this, but Percy nearly went crazy in his third year."
"During the Christmas holidays, he slept for three whole days at home..."
"...and didn't wake up in between..."
"Mom was so scared that she almost sent him to St. Mungo's!"
Even Chris, who was sitting beside them, furrowed his brows:
"I also advise against taking so many classes, Kyle."
He said, "You already have the Second Grade Order of Merlin, so there's really no need to be obsessed with getting twelve O.W.L.s.
Moreover... those who fool time will eventually be fooled by it... Do you understand what I mean?"
"Of course, Dad."
Kyle folded the course selection form and smiled, "Trust me, I can handle it."
"If you insist... then alright." Chris hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Afterward, Kyle called Raton and sent the course selection form back to Hogwarts.
Fred and George looked at each other, intending to convince Kyle to drop at least two classes...
After all, Percy was a prime example of what could happen.
They didn't want to see Kyle end up looking perpetually half-asleep and listless like Percy had.
However, Raton flew too fast, and in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared outside, leaving them no time to react.
Now that the course form had been sent back to Hogwarts, the two could only temporarily give up on the idea of persuading Kyle...
They prepared to write letters to the others and then try to convince Kyle together on the train.
Regardless, Kyle's mind had to be changed before classes began!
(End of Chapter)
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