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Chapter 271: Kyle's Plan
Chapter 271: Kyle's Plan
After the howler incident, a few people chuckled, and the murmur of voices gradually rose again.
Ron remained huddled under the table.
Harry bowed his head guiltily and lost his appetite.
Fred and George's moods were equally somber... Mr. Weasley was going to face an inquiry and could very well lose his job because of it.
They wanted to say something, perhaps to scold Ron or chastise him for not thinking through the consequences of his actions.
But in the end, those words turned into a sigh.
It was clear that such words would be of no use now.
Kyle looked at them and asked, "You're worried about Mr. Weasley, aren't you?"
Fred and George nodded.
That was obvious; they couldn't very well be worried about Ron.
"I do have an idea that might help Mr. Weasley get through this inquiry without incident," Kyle said thoughtfully. "Would you like to hear it?"
"..."
"Oh, the esteemed Mr. Kyle... We knew you would have a solution," Fred said with a sycophantic smile, making him look more like a sidekick than Crabbe and Goyle.
George also eagerly made an extra-large bacon and egg sandwich and placed it on Kyle's plate.
Ron emerged from under the table, and Harry and Hermione looked on with interest.
"It's simple, really. We just need to shift the focus of the situation," Kyle said, looking at Harry. "I heard that you couldn't get through the platform and had to drive to school instead, right?"
"Yes, that's right," Harry nodded vigorously.
He still couldn't understand how the perfectly fine platform entrance had suddenly turned into an ordinary stone wall when he tried to pass through it.
"So, Kyle, are you saying that the focus should be on the inaccessible platform?" Cedric frowned.
"Yes," Kyle nodded.
"But we already mentioned that," Harry sighed. "Professor McGonagall didn't seem to care, and she thought we should just send an owl to the school."
In his opinion, if even Professor McGonagall thought that way, then the people at the Ministry of Magic would probably feel the same.
"The problem is in how you presented it," Kyle said with a smile. "Don't forget, Potter, aside from being a Hogwarts student, you have another identity."
"I do?" Harry was puzzled.
"The Boy Who Lived!" Connor exclaimed.
"Yes," Kyle said. "Under normal circumstances, the platform would never malfunction. Someone must have tampered with it.
Just as all the adults were away, the Boy Who Lived was prevented from entering the platform... Don't you think it's possible that Death Eaters were behind this?"
Cedric gasped.
"They wanted to take the opportunity to kill Harry and avenge He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?!"
Harry's face also reflected his terror as he hadn't considered this possibility before.
Could Kyle be right? Had he just narrowly escaped death?
"Exactly," Kyle took a sip of his lemonade.
"The Death Eaters have been biding their time, wanting to kill the Boy Who Lived to avenge He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named... or rather, You-Know-Who."
Seeing the horrified expressions on the others' faces, Kyle quickly amended his words and continued, "Fortunately, Mr. Weasley had anticipated such a situation and arranged for a flying car ahead of time as a precaution, thus saving Harry's life.
What do you think of this explanation?"
"Dad arranged for that car in advance?" Fred blinked.
If he didn't know Mr. Weasley's character so well, he might have believed it.
"Yes, it was a precautionary measure," Kyle said suggestively.
"But will the Ministry believe it?" George furrowed his brow.
He couldn't speak for others, but he knew that Draco Malfoy certainly wouldn't buy it. Mr. Weasley had been going against that pure-blood supremacist for a long time, and Draco wouldn't let this opportunity slide easily.
"Their credibility would be severely damaged, and as the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge would be inundated with howlers and might even be forced to step down."
"Fudge is a suspicious man, especially when it comes to his position as Minister. Even the slightest possibility would be enough for him to believe it."
"Right, Potter, were there any Muggles who saw that you couldn't enter the station?"
Kyle turned to Harry. "I'm talking about the Muggles inside the station."
"I think there was a guard who saw me..." Harry said subconsciously, "...and he even asked me if I needed help."
"Excellent, now we have the most crucial piece of evidence... that Muggle's memory."
Kyle laughed.
The expressions on the faces of the others were priceless.
"Kyle, would you like some butterbeer?" Fred suddenly asked.
He had originally intended to muddle through this matter, but now... perhaps it was best to let it go.
If Kyle were to become unhappy, he might end up dying without even knowing how it happened.
"So, what do we do next?" Harry, on the other hand, wasn't as concerned and eagerly asked, "Do I need to write a letter to the Ministry of Magic?"
As long as it could help Mr. Weasley get out of trouble, he was willing to do anything.
"You will write a letter, but not to the Ministry. Instead, it will be addressed to her..."
Kyle pointed to the open copy of the Daily Prophet on the table.
On the front page, there was a photo of a Ford Anglia flying in the sky, along with a bold headline,
"Arthur Weasley, Villain in Disguise Beneath a Kind Exterior."
This was an article written by Rita Skeeter, condemning not only Mr. Weasley's alleged theft and modification of magical vehicles but also insinuating that he had abused his position to extort favors from pure-blood families.
At the end of the article, there was a quote:
"An anonymous victim claimed, 'Arthur demanded galleons from me. When I refused, he ransacked my house and trampled on a precious unicorn hair rug.'"
"This has to be Malfoy!" Fred exclaimed, his face reddening with anger.
"He's lying!" George slapped the newspaper, "I wish Dad would take some favors so we wouldn't have to buy Ginny a new robe ourselves."
"Don't get worked up," Kyle said. "We all know Mr. Weasley's character, but now is not the time to focus on that."
Kyle pointed to Rita Skeeter's name.
"We can take a leaf out of Malfoy's book and feed her some 'reliable information.'"
"I understand." Fred thought for a moment and then laughed. "Leave it to us."
"Just remember not to make it too obvious." Kyle reminded them, "Let her figure it out herself."
"No problem!" George patted his chest, "We know what to do."
The three exchanged a knowing smile, their unspoken plan hanging in the air.
Only Harry was left confused, looking at them bewildered, "What are you talking about... who am I writing to anyway?"
"Leave the letter-writing to Fred and George."
Kyle instructed, "Just make sure that when someone asks, you firmly state that someone didn't want you to return to school."
"Okay, okay!"
Harry seemed a bit nervous and kept asking Kyle how he should respond if someone asked him other questions.
However, this time, Kyle didn't provide a standard answer. Instead, he advised Harry to remain silent if he didn't know how to respond.
There was no real need for such specifics.
The details of the process weren't for them to worry about; someone would take care of it... after all, spinning stories was Rita Skeeter's specialty.
(End of Chapter)
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