Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 660: Hagrid's Suspicions, What is Dumbledore Up to Now? - Novel Cool

Chapter 660: Hagrid's Suspicions, What is Dumbledore Up to Now?

Chapter 660: Hagrid's Suspicions, What is Dumbledore Up to Now?

As Kyle left the tea room and returned to the second floor, he heard angry roars coming from Sirius Black's ward.

"If you lot don't shut up, I'll hang you from the ceiling by your ankles!"

Then, Mr. Weasley ushered the three visitors out of the room.

Ron stood in the corridor, grumbling softly at the closed door. "We barely said anything, and we weren't even disturbing him..."

"But we did disturb him," Hermione said reasonably. "It's only fair that Sirius asked us to leave after we woke him up twice..."

"But it's not our fault," Ron pouted. "The room is so small, and we were already whispering."

"Oh well, we can always come back tomorrow," Harry said. "It's the holidays, so we can visit anytime... Mr. Weasley?"

"I don't know, he must be outside with Bill. They're going back together."

As they spoke, Kyle had also made his way downstairs. Not wanting to explain again how he had traveled from Hogwarts, he opted not to greet the trio in the corridor and instead returned directly to the waiting room on the first floor, making his way out of St. Mungo's through the connecting passage.

Outside, Mr. Weasley was talking to Bill.

"Let me drive on the way back, what do you say..." His eyes gleamed with enthusiasm as he eyed Sirius' new car.

Bill naturally agreed and handed over the car keys.

Mr. Weasley took the keys and, as he turned, spotted Kyle exiting the department store window.

"Are you done talking to Professor Sprout?" he asked.

"Yeah, all done," Kyle replied, feeling a twinge in his chest as he thought about the seven thousand galleons that had just vanished during their tea chat. He couldn't deny that it hurt a little.

But Mr. Weasley was oblivious to this and gestured to the car. "Get in, then. I'll just call Harry and the others, and we can be off."

"No need, Mr. Weasley," Kyle shook his head and pulled out a teapot from his pocket. "I had Professor Sprout make me a door key that leads directly to Hogsmeade. I signed the stay-at-school list, so technically, I snuck out this time..." He glanced at the time and added hastily, "Sorry, Mr. Weasley, but the door key will only be active for another minute, so I must hurry."

"Oh, alright then," Mr. Weasley said, opening the car door. "Care to come inside? It's safe here."

Kyle had intended to use the phone booth, but at Mr. Weasley's suggestion, he climbed into the car without refusing.

...

By the time Kyle returned to Hogwarts, it was already 7 o'clock, just in time for dinner.

There weren't many students staying back this year—only about thirty—so the Great Hall had been rearranged, leaving only the central table where all the remaining students and professors dined together.

Thankfully, Kyle didn't spot Umbridge among the diners, and it seemed she had also left for the holidays.

This was a relief, as Kyle wasn't sure he could stomach her presence at the table.

Dumbledore was also absent, and Professor Flitwick led them in singing Christmas carols and, as was customary, pulled a string of wizard crackers.

These crackers contained small trinkets like wizard hats of various styles and wizard chess sets. Professor Flitwick got a leather cowboy hat, which he happily donned.

Kyle received a hat adorned with glittering sequins, but instead of wearing it, he planned to give it to Dobby as a Christmas gift.

Such shiny objects were priceless treasures in Dobby's eyes.

Soon, the table was laden with delicious food.

Connor spread some marmalade on his toast and asked quietly, "How's Professor Black doing?"

"The Runespoor venom has been cleared from his body," Kyle replied. "I think he should be discharged in a few days."

"That's good."

"By the way, when did Umbridge leave?"

"Probably this morning, or maybe last night," Connor thought for a moment. "I haven't seen her all day."

"You won't be seeing her for the next two weeks, either," Kyle smiled.

"Yeah," Connor smiled back. "I have to say, this is the best Christmas gift ever."

Despite the small number of students staying back, the dinner was far from dull. For dessert, Professor McGonagall conjured twenty dancing snowmen, transforming the Great Hall into what resembled a Christmas ball, a novel experience for all.

And when dinner ended, the snowmen turned into ice sculptures, frozen in various poses around the Hall.

Everyone applauded, and amidst laughter, they returned to their respective common rooms.

The next day was Christmas.

When Kyle woke up that morning, he found gifts piled almost halfway up the room.

Having woken up a bit late, Kyle spent the morning opening presents, finally finishing just before noon.

Most of the gifts were books and candies, a yearly tradition. He couldn't remember the last time he had bought anything from Honeyduke's.

Professor Snape's gift was a bottle of air. Dumbledore, on the other hand, sent a wool scarf.

Additionally, Headmistress Sasiah also sent a Christmas gift—a bottle of Felix Felicis. Upon seeing the dazzling golden bottle, Kyle lost interest in the rest of the presents.

"I should've saved this for last," Kyle muttered.

After unwrapping all the gifts, Kyle left the dormitory and headed to the Great Hall with Conner.

The ice sculptures from yesterday were still there, now adorned with elaborate gowns and robes, likely another one of Professor Flitwick's creations.

After enjoying their Christmas lunch, Conner headed to the library, intending to read at least three magic-related books during the holiday, as per their prior plan.

Kyle left the castle alone and made his way to Hagrid's hut. Lately, Hagrid had been in a foul mood, whether due to Umbridge or some other reason.

When Kyle arrived, Hagrid was sitting next to the pumpkin patch, stirring a pot of gooey substance. Next to him was an empty bucket, presumably for preparing food for some magical creature.

"Merry Christmas, Hagrid," Kyle greeted him. "What are you cooking there?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

Hagrid seemed deep in thought and was startled by Kyle's voice.

"Merry Christmas, Kyle," he replied, lifting his head. "It's just some meat, organs, and porridge stew. Well... it's for Fluffy. He likes it," Hagrid said, sounding a bit guilty.

"Oh, I see," Kyle nodded. No matter how strange the food was, it instantly made sense when associated with the three-headed dog.

That magical creature truly was an omnivore and never seemed to care about the presentation of its meals.

Kyle conjured a chair and sat down next to Hagrid. "What's been bothering you lately?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Hagrid asked, "I'm fine."

"Then why were you ten minutes late for your last class? You've never been late before, and..." Kyle glanced at Hagrid's face, "...what happened to your eye?"

Hagrid's eyes were swollen, and a large, noticeable bruise surrounded them, as if he had been hit by a Bludger.

"Oh, it's nothing," Hagrid quickly lowered his head and tried to cover his eyes with his hand, "I just... bumped into a tree."

"You must've hit it spot on, then," Kyle said with a laugh, not calling out his obvious lie.

"Well... it's because of that annoying Umbridge," Hagrid stammered:

"She told me that she'll be inspecting my classes again after the holidays. If she's still not satisfied, she'll give me a detention notice."

Hagrid's tone gradually became more fluid as he spoke, and he angrily grabbed a piece of wood and threw it into the fire, causing the pot of goo to bubble.

"But how can she ever be satisfied? I mean, she always finds an excuse to give me low scores, no matter what I do. Even when I'm just talking normally, she claims I'm intimidating the students.

"It's ridiculous! She's obviously doing it on purpose because I said I'd always support Dumbledore!

"That's to be expected. She came to Hogwarts with that very purpose," Kyle said.

Hagrid sighed, seemingly wanting to change the subject. "Why didn't you go home for the holidays?" he asked. "I thought you'd be like Harry, spending Christmas at Sirius' place."

"I have something I need to do here..." Kyle said, "but it has to be done at the school, and only when Umbridge isn't around. I need your help."

"No problem," Hagrid said without hesitation. "What do you need me to do?"

"Let's not rush into it," Kyle waved his hand, "But before that, I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"It's about the owls at school," Kyle said, "Have there been any incidents lately, like injuries or missing letters?"

"How did you know?" Hagrid asked angrily. "While we haven't lost any letters, some owls have been injured, and it's not just one or two.

"I don't know who the culprit is, but if I catch the person attacking our messenger owls, I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget."

"That's wonderful," Kyle blurted out.

"What? Did you mean to say that?" Hagrid frowned, looking serious. "These owls being attacked is no small matter. It suggests someone is trying to steal the letters they carry. It's not a good thing at all.

"Tell me what I can do," he urged.

"It's simple. Go to the owl post office and send a letter to Hogwarts from there," Kyle instructed.

"What?" Hagrid was sure he had misheard. "You want me to go to the owl post office and send a letter to Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Kyle confirmed. "And ask the owl to take a big detour so it looks like the letter is coming from different directions."

Hagrid was even more confused. He couldn't fathom what Kyle was trying to achieve with this plan.

But Kyle didn't explain further. Instead, he handed over a stack of thick parchment and said, "These are the letters you'll be sending. Just address them to yourself."

Hagrid took the parchments and curiously glanced at the first letter.

Strangely, even though these letters were all from Kyle, each one had different handwriting.

The first letter he looked at had messy handwriting.

"I am very willing to accept your invitation, Albus. How about we meet at our usual spot, and we can discuss in detail the matter you mentioned before?"

"Is this a letter to Dumbledore?" Hagrid wondered.

But wasn't Kyle in school? If he wanted to discuss something with the headmaster, why go through the trouble of writing a letter instead of just going to his office?

Hagrid looked at the second letter.

The handwriting on this one was neat and tidy, completely different from the first, as if it were written by another person.

"Professor Dumbledore, I have conveyed your message to my uncle, and he has expressed his full support for you.

"Also, my friends and I share the same thoughts. We truly look forward to this Christmas holiday passing quickly."

Did Dumbledore have some new plan in motion? And when did Kyle gain an uncle... He had never heard of Chris having a brother.

Hagrid continued flipping through the letters, and the handwriting changed again.

"You should have done this long ago, Albus. See you on the 20th."

Was there some sort of operation planned for the 20th?

Hagrid's confusion grew as he read, and various questions flooded his mind.

He felt as if he had been hit by a Forgetfulness Charm, unable to remember anything.

"Don't read them, Hagrid. These are all made up," Kyle said, patting Hagrid's arm. "And they're not meant for your eyes."

Hagrid looked up, feeling inexplicably relieved.

"Are these letters for Professor Dumbledore?" he asked.

"No," Kyle shook his head. "They're for whoever tries to intercept the letters.

"Hagrid, when you send the letters, remember to choose an owl that isn't too diligent. Ideally, one that will drop the letter and flee at the first sign of danger."

"That's not easy," Hagrid said. "There are no undedicated owls, at least I've never come across one like that."

After realizing he couldn't guess Kyle's intentions no matter how hard he tried, Hagrid gave up thinking about it... He would just do as Kyle instructed.

"It's fine, ask away. Maybe there is one," Kyle said.

The two continued discussing the details, with Kyle giving Hagrid instructions, until the cauldron beside them started to emit a scorched smell, prompting Hagrid to hurriedly smother the fire with dirt.

"Kyle, I need to go feed Gloop now. Let's continue our chat this afternoon, alright?" Hagrid glanced toward the Forbidden Forest. "I promise to come back as soon as possible."

"Gloop?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were preparing this for Fluffy."

Hagrid immediately closed his mouth, looking flustered as he stared at Kyle.

"Yes, yes, Fluffy, I mean," he stuttered. "Gloop... it's the new name I gave to its middle head."

"Oh, I see," Kyle said nonchalantly. "I thought Gloop was a giant's name."

"Of, of course not..." Hagrid became even more nervous, unconsciously clutching his coat. "Why would there be a giant in the Forbidden Forest, right?"

"You're absolutely right," Kyle laughed. "Now go ahead. That's all I needed from you.

"Oh, and one more important thing. When you send the letters, remember to choose the encrypted delivery option. Ask the post office to add a Muggle-repelling charm to the letters, the kind that can only be opened with a spell."

Kyle took out a handful of Galleons from his pocket and handed them to Hagrid. "This should cover the postage."

Hagrid's expression immediately soured.

"What are you doing?" he said, displeased. "Take it back. I'm just helping with sending the letters. How could I take your money?"

Kyle was about to say something, but Hagrid's expression darkened further.

"Alright then," Kyle shrugged, seeing that Hagrid was getting upset. He put the Galleons back into his pocket.

"That's more like it," Hagrid said with a smile. "I'll go to the owl post office this afternoon. Don't worry."

"No rush," Kyle said. "It's best to send one or two letters a day, not too many."

"No problem," Hagrid readily agreed.

...

(End of Chapter)

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