Chapter 714: Cona's Absence from the Train
Chapter 714: Cona's Absence from the Train
It was undeniable that Fred and George had a knack for emptying people's wallets. As Harry stepped out of Weasleys' Joke Shop, his bag of Galleons was significantly lighter.
If it weren't for the expenses he needed to leave for school, he might not have spared even those remaining Galleons.
The joke items were simply too amusing, and the Dark Wizard Defense-related products all seemed incredibly practical.
Moreover, Harry hadn't ventured out in over a month, so he went on a shopping spree without realizing it. Before he knew it, his bag of Galleons had transformed into various magical items, and the once-jingling coins had become an assortment of fascinating magical objects.
Harry was quite pleased with his purchases.
During the last week of the holidays, Harry and Ron had been playing with the small trinkets they bought, and once, Hermione accidentally used one of their cups as a teacup, resulting in her teeth turning blue.
Hermione's front teeth were already a bit prominent, and the blue color made them even more noticeable. She was so upset that she refused to speak to Harry for several days.
It was only after Fred and George brought back a fading potion and Harry repeatedly swore that he had genuinely forgotten to take it, not intentionally leaving it on the table, that Hermione reluctantly forgave them.
However, as a consequence, Hermione declined their request for homework help.
"You two better get writing," she warned.
At the end of August, Kyle watched Harry and Ron frantically scribbling away and said with a smile, "Tomorrow is the first day of school. If you don't finish tonight, you won't be sleeping tomorrow night."
Harry and Ron didn't respond; in fact, they were so focused on their homework that they had no time for anything else.
Who would have thought that after staying here for two months, they hadn't even started their homework?
"Don't talk like that. Who doesn't have to catch up on homework at Hogwarts?" Charlie teased from the side, recalling his own days of catching up on assignments.
"But Kyle..." he said, "I don't recall seeing you write much either. Did you finish your homework before coming here?"
"Nope," Kyle replied calmly. "I didn't write it either."
Upon hearing this, Harry and Ron almost simultaneously looked up and then, in perfect harmony, moved aside to make room for Kyle.
"Write your own homework; don't worry about me," Kyle waved them off. "I don't need to do homework because I'm busy with Ministry work, and the professors gave me special permission."
"You don't have to do homework?" Ron asked, his eyes widening with envy.
He hadn't realized that joining the Ministry came with such perks. If he had known, he would have submitted an application himself.
...
By the end of August, Harry and Ron were sitting in the car with dark circles under their eyes, and they even managed to take a nap during the ride.
It wasn't until the car stopped at King's Cross Station that Sirius and Mr. Weasley, with serious expressions, woke them up.
"Hurry up, there are too many people here. We need to get through the barrier quickly," Sirius and Mr. Weasley said sternly, standing on either side of them.
Their expressions made it seem as if Death Eaters were already lying in wait at the station, ready to strike at Harry.
However, they encountered no issues along the way and smoothly made their way through the barrier to Platform 9.
The platform was as bustling as ever, and the red Hogwarts Express loomed over the crowd.
After a few seconds, Kyle, Cedric, Fred, and George also arrived.
"I miss this," Cedric said, gazing at the train. "Too bad I didn't bring my luggage this time."
"Only a fool like you would want to go to school," Fred added, glancing at the train. "The best part is now—no classes, no homework."
"It would be even better if we didn't have to go to the Ministry," George murmured beside him.
They had initially agreed to resign and return to running the joke shop by the end of August, but now that Hogwarts had started, they were told they couldn't leave because no one could replace them.
Of course, the two of them had their own plans, and with Kyle's words, they didn't insist on leaving.
At that moment, Autumn arrived, and as she walked through the barrier, Cedric immediately left Kyle, grinning like a fool, to greet her.
"Autumn, it's been a while. How have you been?"
"Tsk!" Fred's expression turned sour, and he said with a smirk, "Look at him, acting like an idiot. People might think he's having a tongue spasm."
"Sometimes I feel like stuffing his mouth full of Acid Pops," George added with a look of disgust.
"Oh, right," he continued, turning to Kyle. "I bet you're waiting for Cona, aren't you?"
"If you already guessed, why ask me?" Kyle raised an eyebrow.
This gesture made the two of them even more furious.
"Listen up," Fred said, putting his arm around Kyle's shoulder. "This Christmas, you'll be getting a whole box of Acid Pops."
"Do you think I'd eat something you send me?" Kyle glanced at him with disdain.
"Then we'll go to Hogwarts..."
"And stuff your mouth with them."
"I'll be waiting," Kyle said, not falling for their bluff. "Just don't chicken out later."
Ten minutes passed, and Cona didn't show up. Fred and George seemed to take pleasure in her absence.
A whistle sounded from behind, signaling that almost everyone was on the train, and some were already closing the doors.
"You have three minutes. You'd better hurry," Cedric checked the time. "Maybe you can look for her on the train. Don't forget, Cona usually arrives earlier than us."
"You're right." Kyle nodded and quickly boarded the train.
"Okay, remember to come back for Christmas." Fred called out through the window.
"If something interesting happens at school, remember to write and tell us."
"Oh, and don't break any school rules!"
Amidst their playful banter, the train let out puffs of smoke and began to accelerate.
Kyle waved and then turned to enter the Prefects' carriage.
Here, he encountered Malfoy once again, and just like in Diagon Alley, the other boy still dared not meet his gaze and scurried off to another carriage.
Kyle had other things to do and didn't pay much attention.
He walked around the Prefects' carriage but didn't find Cona.
Kyle then asked Luna, but she hadn't seen Cona either.
"Don't worry." Luna said, "Maybe Cona didn't take the train and went to school with Professor Snape instead."
"Maybe." Kyle replied casually.
Although Luna's words made sense, Kyle still felt that Snape wouldn't have taken Cona to school this year.
With this thought, Kyle checked the other carriages but found nothing.
Kyle opened the door to the last carriage, where Luna, Ginny, and Neville were seated.
"Long time no see, Kyle." Neville held up his toad.
"Long time no see." Kyle didn't return to the Prefects' carriage but instead entered and sat in an empty seat next to them.
"Do you mind?" he asked.
"Of course not." Neville quickly replied, "In fact, just five minutes ago, my grandmother was telling me to spend more time with you."
"What?"
"Oh, she probably wants me to learn from you." Neville said, "She read the newspaper and said that the Ministry officials couldn't come up with reliable decisions, and they wouldn't solve the Dementor issue quickly. It must have been your idea."
"She praised you for two months. If you were her grandson, she'd be willing to exchange anything."
"You're not bad either, Neville." Kyle said absentmindedly, "Oh, and remember to thank Mrs. Longbottom for me."
"Thanks," Neville said, a bit embarrassed, "I will."
The atmosphere in the carriage became a bit dull as Kyle's mind wasn't on the conversation.
"Kyle, you're being bothered by a Mimbulus Mimbletonia." Luna looked up from her counterpoint, peering at Kyle through her colorful large glasses.
"Bothered by... what?" Neville blinked, not understanding.
"Mimbulus Mimbletonia... they're invisible and mess with your mind." Luna explained, "I felt like one was buzzing around here just now."
She patted the air with both hands, as if shooing away an invisible bug.
Neville was even more confused. He subconsciously moved closer to the window, and Ginny, sitting next to him, also found Luna's actions a bit strange. However, she was used to such behavior and pretended not to notice.
"Well, I do have something bothering me." Kyle said, looking out the window.
"Do you need help?" Luna asked, waving her hand beside Kyle.
"Thanks, I feel better now." Kyle replied.
After sitting for a while, Kyle was about to leave, but before he could exit the compartment, Harry opened the door.
"Neville, have you seen... oh, Kyle, you're here." Harry said with delight.
"Yeah." Kyle shifted to let Harry enter first.
"No need." Harry said, taking out two scrolls of parchment tied with purple ribbons, bearing his name.
"What's this?"
"An invitation." Harry said, "It's from a third-year girl, but she couldn't find you, so I thought I could help."
"Neville, this is for you." Harry handed him the other two scrolls.
Inside the parchment was a very brief message:
Kyle:
I'd very much like it if you could join me for lunch in Compartment C.
This work is organized and uploaded by Liuhe Book Bar~~
Your faithful
H.E.F. Professor Slughorn.
...
"Remember?" Harry said, "This is the person Dumbledore took us to visit, and he's on the train."
"That's rare... I mean, it's uncommon for professors to take the train to school, except for Lupin before... But Professor Slughorn here, he doesn't seem to lack money, right?"
"Lupin would be sad to hear that." Kyle said.
Harry felt a bit embarrassed, but it was the truth. In all this time, only the financially strained Lupin had taken the train to school.
"Are you going?" Harry asked.
To be honest, Kyle didn't really want to go, but since Slughorn was a professor and had sent the invitation, it would be a bit inappropriate not to attend.
Kyle rubbed his forehead. If he had known Cona wasn't on the train, he should have just Apparated to Hogsmeade directly.
"Never mind, let's just pass the time." Kyle left the carriage.
Neville followed him.
"Who's Slughorn?" he asked.
"A new teacher." Harry said, "He used to work at Hogwarts but retired, and now he's back."
The corridor was crowded with students waiting for their meals. When they reached Compartment C, Harry realized that Slughorn had invited more than just them.
Compartment C, second only to Compartment B where the Prefects were, was reserved for teachers. It was spacious, almost three times the size of a regular compartment.
But it was now packed with people.
"Harry, Kyle." Professor Slughorn jumped up as they opened the door.
He seemed to have dressed up for the occasion, his silver beard neatly trimmed, matching the golden buttons on his waistcoat, glistening in the sunlight.
"You're here together, what a wonderful surprise!"
"This must be Neville Longbottom, right? Nice to meet you."
Neville stiffly nodded, still unsure of what was happening. He followed Kyle's lead and sat in the nearest empty seat.
For some reason, the atmosphere had become strange since Kyle entered, or rather, some of the Slytherins were acting strangely.
They either kept their heads down or whispered to each other, but when Kyle looked over, they would immediately pretend nothing had happened.
This was a normal occurrence; ever since Kyle had given Montague a lesson last year, most Slytherins chose to keep their distance from him.
Especially during this holiday, Kyle had caused quite a bit of trouble for most of their parents.
"Everyone's here," Slughorn said happily. "Let me introduce you to Brayce Sabini."
He pointed to a boy beside him with his wand, "Harry, you must know him, he's in the same year as you."
Neither Harry nor Sabini reacted, as if they hadn't heard; usually, Gryffindors and Slytherins were hostile towards each other, and wherever they were, there was always tension.
Not fighting on the spot was already being polite.
Slughorn continued introducing the others.
"This is Cormac McLaggen, Kyle, he's in the same year as you..."
"Kyle, it's nice to see you here," McLaggen said, raising his hand in a formal greeting.
Kyle nodded.
"Marcus Belby, also in the seventh year..."
Unlike the tension between Gryffindors and Slytherins, Hufflepuffs were quite popular... At least, everyone was enthusiastic when Slughorn introduced them to Kyle.
"Well, it's a pleasure..."
After the tedious introductions, Slughorn said with satisfaction, "Here's a chance to get to know each other better. Everyone, take a napkin and try this."
He waved his wand, and a plate of Long-tailed Chicken appeared in front of everyone.
Long-tailed Chicken, a magical creature unique to the Appalachian Mountains, had no special abilities other than being fast, but its meat was delicious.
It wasn't surprising that Slughorn could get this... but it wasn't cooked by a house-elf; it was prepared by him.
The taste was... like throwing a flat, round stone into the water, not even creating a single ripple.
Slughorn should apologize to the Long-tailed Chicken.
Moreover, while everyone was eating, Slughorn asked various questions, jumping from one topic to another.
"Marcus, have you seen your uncle Damocles recently? I had the honor of teaching him."
"Cormac, I happen to know that you often see your uncle Tibulus, and he mentioned you to me before..."
"Sabini, how is your mother doing? It's been two years since we last met, but I still can't forget her orange pudding."
It was supposed to be a conversation, but Slughorn's tone was more like an interrogation, making everyone nervous. Kyle also noticed that when Belby unintentionally mentioned his strained relationship with his uncle, Slughorn lost interest in him.
Even when distributing the pumpkin pasties, he intentionally or unintentionally skipped over Belby.
However, Belby wasn't angry; instead, he relaxed. Noticing Kyle's gaze, he winked and showed a relieved expression.
"Did you notice?" Harry whispered as he moved closer to Kyle. "Slughorn always mentions their relatives."
"You're wrong," Kyle shook his head slightly. "It's because of these relatives that they were invited."
"This isn't..." Harry opened his mouth but didn't say the word 'snobbish'.
"It's just as you think," Kyle said.
Harry glanced at Slughorn, who was distributing the pudding, and his impression of him dropped even further.
Of course, whether he liked it or not, Slughorn was still a professor, and Harry didn't show it. He just wanted to end this lunch quickly.
Rather than wasting time here, he would rather chat with Ron or finish another assignment.
Neville felt the same way; Slughorn kept mentioning his parents, making him feel uncomfortable.
"Now..."
Twenty minutes later, Slughorn stood up and solemnly said, "Let me introduce two more people.
"Harry Potter, people now call you the 'Hero of the Wizarding World'. Yes, after that terrible night over a decade ago, this title has been with you... Some say you must possess extraordinary powers..."
A faint hum of disapproval filled the compartment.
Harry felt as if someone had slapped him hard on both cheeks, and his face must have turned red.
Fortunately, Slughorn quickly shifted his focus.
"And Kyle..." Slughorn placed the largest piece of pudding in front of Kyle.
"I was good friends with your father, and when I taught him, I already predicted his future success. Indeed, he became the youngest department head in the Ministry of Magic.
"But what I didn't expect was that his son would surpass him."
"Thank you for the compliment, Professor," Kyle said calmly, now wishing to Apparate to Hogsmeade.
...
(End of Chapter)
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