Chapter 27: First Class
Chapter 27: First Class
Although Kyle never had to worry about sending letters, it was still better to have his own owl at Hogwarts.
In a sense, owls were like phone numbers in the Muggle world; they usually represented the identity of their owners.
This was quite important.
To give the simplest example, Kyle's mother, Diana, worked at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic, a department with strict management. Except in special circumstances, letters sent there had to go through a rigorous screening process.
From the owl's identity, affiliation, condition... to the sender's name, affiliation, and finally checking for any special substances or Dark Curses on the letter.
Only after confirming that there were no issues would these letters be delivered to the Department of Mysteries as paper airplanes.
This was the rule, and even Kyle's letters couldn't be an exception; at most, the process would just be a little faster.
Given the Ministry's efficiency, this entire process would take at least a day.
But with Laton, things were different.
Diana could apply for Laton to be a special owl, so the letters would be prioritized, and the screening process could be simplified significantly. They only needed to check the owl's condition, the sender's name, and whether there were any Dark Curses on the letter, and it could be done on the spot.
At Platform 9, Diana had specifically instructed him on this, asking him to try to use the same owl when sending letters in the future, or buy one in Diagon Alley if necessary.
Of course, buying one was out of the question; why would Kyle spend that kind of money when he already had Laton?
Perfect solution.
Kyle took out some owl nuts and a few bags of Mottra Mouse Jerky from his lizard-skin bag, along with the chestnuts in his hand, and pushed them towards the owls.
Then he found some clear water, poured two bottles of owl elixir into it, stirred it, and poured it into a stone trough next to it.
This was a hard-earned reward; he couldn't let them drop all these feathers for nothing.
While the owls were eating, Kyle took Laton back to the castle and headed straight for the Hufflepuff Common Room.
Through the wooden barrels in the Kitchen Corridor, back to the dormitory...
Michael and Ryan weren't there, probably in class.
Kyle didn't think much of it and placed Laton on the storage rack next to his bed, picked up his textbooks, and left.
In the Common Room, Kyle happened to meet Cedric, who was also about to go out.
"Kyle, I was just looking for you," Cedric said as he walked quickly towards him. "What's your first class?"
"Spells," Kyle replied, holding up the 'Basic Spellbook, Beginner'. "What's the matter?"
"Oh, this is for you," Cedric said, handing Kyle a piece of parchment.
"This is a Hogwarts map that a Prefect gave me when I first entered school. It clearly marks the locations of the classrooms and the changing patterns of the stairs.
But I don't need it anymore, so it's perfect for you."
Everything about Hogwarts was great, except that it was too big. It was like a huge maze, and it was rare for first-year wizards not to get lost. Being late was a common occurrence.
Fortunately, the professors understood the situation. Except for a certain Headmaster, the others would turn a blind eye or ask a verbal question, and symbolically deduct a point, not making a big deal out of it.
Kyle took the parchment and examined it carefully.
It was just an ordinary map, but the content was very detailed. Not only were all the routes from the Hufflepuff Common Room to each classroom clearly marked, but it also specifically noted the positions of the stairs that needed to be changed.
This is a slightly inferior version of the Living Map, but it is sufficient for Kyle.
"Thank you, I really need this," Kyle said as he put away the map. "By the way, what's your first class?"
"I have Potions... wait, Potions!"
Cedric suddenly looked startled and then took off running. "I have to go, Kyle. Remember, Potions class is the one class you can't be late for at Hogwarts, you must remember that..."
Cedric's voice grew fainter and soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.
From his reaction, it was clear that Snape had left a deep psychological shadow on him... or perhaps he had done the same to many young wizards.
Kyle estimated that he wouldn't be able to escape either.
"It's a pity that Harry Potter couldn't have enrolled a year earlier."
Kyle shook his head and followed him out of the common room.
...
The Spellcraft classroom was on the third floor, and it was easy to find with the map.
As Kyle pushed open the door, the first thing he saw was a stack of books arranged in the shape of a staircase, and on the wall in front of him were four portraits of unknown figures.
They were probably famous wizards, but Kyle didn't recognize any of them.
On the walls to either side were the emblems of the four Houses, and below them were several long tables.
Kyle arrived five minutes before class was due to start.
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To be honest, this was not an early time, but there weren't many people in the classroom, not even Professor Flitwick.
Kyle found a seat.
Across from him sat several young Ravenclaw wizards, with the students from the two Houses sitting on either side, clearly divided.
As nine o'clock approached, young wizards began to enter the room, panting.
Kyle also spotted Conna, but unfortunately, the young witch completely ignored him and stormed past him.
At 8:59 am, Michael and Ryan arrived just in time.
"Thank goodness we're not late," Michael said as he sat down and started to catch his breath. He then began to complain to Kyle.
"We got lost."
"Oh my, Hogwarts is like a maze. We were supposed to go to the third floor, but when we were on the second floor, the staircase suddenly changed position, and when we went up, we somehow ended up on the fifth floor."
"Then we started going down, but after walking for a while, we realized we were still on the fifth floor."
"Finally, we managed to go down, but we ended up back on the second floor... You won't believe this, Kyle, we climbed stairs for thirty minutes, and my legs are about to give out!"
Michael became more and more aggrieved as he spoke, almost on the verge of tears.
"Hold on, this is confusing. Let me process this," Kyle said, rubbing his forehead. He thought about it for a while but couldn't understand how they could have gone down and still ended up in the same place.
Even a person with a terrible sense of direction should be able to distinguish up from down.
Spinning in circles like that was bordering on the realm of the metaphysical, and it had nothing to do with magic.
Moreover, Cedric's map didn't have any records of such phenomena.
"Never mind, let's not talk about this for now," Kyle decided to give up as he couldn't figure it out. He turned and asked, "So, how did you finally find your way here?"
"We were led here by someone," Michael said, blushing. He pointed across the room and said, "On the fifth floor, we met a Ravenclaw first-year who pulled us down from the rotating staircase and asked if we were going to Spellcraft class. If so, she offered to take us there."
Kyle looked in the direction Michael was pointing and realized that he was referring to Cho Chang from Ravenclaw.
(End of Chapter)
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