Chapter 714: Connor, Who Didn't Take the Train
Chapter 714: Connor, Who Didn't Take the Train
It was undeniable that Fred and George had a knack for emptying people's wallets. When Harry walked out of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, his money bag was significantly lighter, containing only a small handful of Galleons.
If it weren't for the expenses he needed to keep for school, he might not have spared even those remaining Galleons.
The joke items and Dark Magic defense-related products were just too intriguing, and each one seemed incredibly useful.
On top of that, Harry had been cooped up for over a month, so he indulged in a shopping spree without realizing it. Before he knew it, his money bag was empty, and the jingling Galleons had transformed into various magical items.
However, Harry was quite pleased with his purchases.
During the last week of the holidays, he and Ron had been tinkering with the little gadgets they had bought. On one occasion, Hermione accidentally used one of their purchased cups, thinking it was a regular teacup, and ended up with her teeth turning blue.
Hermione's front teeth were already a bit prominent, and the blue color made them stand out even more. She was so angry that she didn't speak to Harry for several days.
It wasn't until Fred and George brought back a discoloration potion and Harry repeatedly swore that he had genuinely forgotten to take it out and didn't intentionally leave it on the table that Hermione reluctantly forgave them.
But as a consequence, Hermione refused their requests to copy her homework.
"You'd better hurry up," said Kyle, smiling at Harry and Ron, who were frantically writing on the evening before the start of term. "Tomorrow's the first day of school. If you don't finish tonight, don't plan on sleeping tomorrow night."
Harry and Ron remained silent. In fact, they didn't have time to think about anything else besides their homework.
Who would have thought that after staying here for two months, they wouldn't have touched their assignments at all?
"Don't rub it in," Charlie, who was sitting nearby, teased. "Who hasn't had to make up homework at Hogwarts?" Back in the day, he, too, had been part of the makeup homework crew.
"But, Kyle..." He continued, "I don't think I've ever seen you do homework either. Did you finish it all before coming here?"
"Nope," Kyle replied calmly. "I haven't done any either."
Upon hearing this, Harry and Ron almost simultaneously looked up and then tacitly shuffled to the side to make room for another person.
"You guys do your own thing; don't worry about me," Kyle waved his hand. "I don't have to do homework because I'm busy with Ministry matters, and I have special permission from the professors."
"You don't have to do homework?" Ron asked, his eyes turning red with envy.
No one had ever told him that joining the Ministry had such perks. If he had known, he would have submitted an application, too.
...
The next morning, Harry and Ron climbed into the car with dark circles under their eyes, and they even dozed off during the ride.
It wasn't until Sirius and Mr. Weasley shook them awake that they stirred as the car pulled up to the entrance of King's Cross Station.
"Hurry up, there are too many people here. We need to get through the barrier as quickly as possible," Sirius and Mr. Weasley said sternly, standing on either side of them.
From their expressions, one would think that Death Eaters were lying in wait at the station, ready to pounce on Harry at any moment.
In reality, however, they encountered no problems along the way. They smoothly made their way through the barrier and arrived at Platform 9.
As always, the platform was bustling with people, and the red Hogwarts Express billowed steam over the crowd.
A few seconds later, Cedric, Fred, and George joined them.
"It brings back memories," Cedric said, looking at the train. "It's a shame I didn't bring my luggage this time."
"Only a fool like you would want to go back to school," Fred added, glancing at the train. "Now is the best time—no classes and no homework."
"It would be even better if we didn't have to go to the Ministry," George murmured.
Initially, it had been agreed that by the end of August, they could resign and return to running their joke shop.
But now that Hogwarts was about to start, they still had to stay at the Ministry because no one could be found to take over their work.
Of course, the duo also had their own little calculations. With Kyle's mention of it, they no longer insisted on resigning.
At that moment, Qiu also arrived, and as soon as she appeared, Cedric abandoned Kyle and the others, striding over with a goofy smile on his face.
"Qiu, long time no see. How were your holidays?"
"Tsk!" Fred's expression turned sour, and he said mockingly, "Look at that dumbfounded expression on his face. Anyone who sees him will think he's having a muscle spasm in his tongue."
"Sometimes I really want to stuff his mouth full of Acid Pops," George said disdainfully.
"Oh, and you too," George added, turning to Kyle. "I bet you're waiting for Connor, right?"
"If you've already guessed, why bother asking me?" Kyle raised an eyebrow.
This action only served to infuriate the twins further.
"Listen," Fred said, maliciously pulling Kyle's shoulder, "this Christmas, you're going to get a whole box of Acid Pops."
"Do you think I'd eat anything you guys give me?" Kyle shot him a contemptuous glance.
"Then we'll go to Hogwarts..."
"...and stuff it in your mouth."
"I'll be waiting," Kyle said, unfazed by their threats. "Just make sure you don't chicken out later."
Another ten minutes passed, but Connor still didn't show up, much to Fred and George's schadenfreude.
The sound of a whistle echoed behind them, signaling that almost everyone had boarded the train, and some were already closing the doors.
"You've got three minutes. You'd better hurry," Cedric checked the time. "Maybe you can go look for her on the train. Don't forget, Connor usually arrives earlier than us."
"And write to us if anything interesting happens at school."
"Oh, and don't break any rules!"
As the twins teased, the train let out puffs of smoke and began to pick up speed.
Kyle waved goodbye and made his way to the prefect's compartment.
Here, he encountered Draco Malfoy once again. Just like in Diagon Alley, Malfoy avoided his gaze and scurried away to another compartment.
Kyle had other things on his mind and didn't pay it any heed.
He walked the length of the prefect's compartment but still didn't spot Connor.
Kyle then asked Qiu, but she hadn't seen her either.
"Don't worry," Qiu said, "maybe Connor didn't take the train and went to school with Professor Snape instead."
"Maybe," Kyle replied casually.
Although Qiu's words made sense, Kyle had a feeling that Snape probably wouldn't bring Connor to school this year.
With that in mind, Kyle checked the other compartments but still came up empty-handed.
Opening the door to the last compartment, he found Luna, Ginny, and Neville inside.
"Long time no see, Kyle," Neville said, cradling his toad.
"It's been a while," Kyle replied, stepping into the compartment and taking a seat in an empty spot nearby.
"You're welcome to join us," he said.
"Of course," Neville quickly added, "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 explained, "She read the newspaper and said that the Ministry folks couldn't possibly come up with such sensible decisions, nor would they solve the Dementor issue so quickly. It must have been your idea.
"She's been praising you for two months, and if you could be her grandson, she'd trade anything for it."
"You're not so bad yourself, Neville," Kyle said absentmindedly, "Oh, and by the way, please thank Mrs. Longbottom for me."
"Thanks," Neville said, a little embarrassed, "I will."
As Kyle's mind was elsewhere, the atmosphere in the compartment became somewhat dull.
"Kyle, you've been bothered by a Pestering Bee," Luna suddenly looked up from her magazine, peering at Kyle through her colorful spectacles.
"Pestering... what?" Neville blinked, confused.
"Pestering Bees... they're invisible and mess with your head," Luna explained, "I think I felt one buzzing around here earlier."
She waved her hands around as if shooing away an invisible insect.
Neville was even more bewildered, and he instinctively shifted closer to the window. Ginny, too, found Luna's actions a bit odd, but she was used to such occurrences and chose to ignore it.
"Ah, I do have something on my mind," Kyle said, gazing out the window.
"Do you need help?" Luna asked, waving her hands around Kyle's side.
"Thanks, I feel better now," Kyle said.
After sitting there for a while, Kyle prepared to leave for another compartment, but just as he was about to exit, Harry opened the door.
"Neville, have you seen... Oh, Kyle, you're here." He said, sounding pleased.
"Yeah." Kyle shifted to the side to let Harry enter.
"No need," Harry said, holding out two rolls of parchment tied with purple ribbons, each bearing his name.
"What's this?"
"Invitations." Harry explained, "From a third-year girl, but she couldn't find you, so I thought I'd help out.
"Here, Neville, this one's for you." Harry handed over the other two scrolls.
The parchment contained a brief message:
Kyle:
I would be delighted if you would join me for lunch in Compartment C.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. H.E.F. Slughorn
...
"Remember him?" Harry said, "That's the guy Dumbledore took us to visit, and he's on the train.
"It's not common... I mean, it's rare for a professor to take the train to school, except for Lupin before... but this Professor Slughorn, he doesn't seem to be short on money, does he?"
"Lupin would be sad to hear that," Kyle remarked.
Harry felt a bit embarrassed, but it was true; for a long time, only the financially strapped Lupin would take the train to school.
"Are you going?" Harry asked.
To be honest, Kyle wasn't too keen on going, but since Slughorn was a professor and had sent the invitations, it would be a bit inappropriate not to attend.
Kyle rubbed his forehead; if he had known Connor wasn't on the train, he would have just Apparated to Hogsmeade.
"Oh well, might as well go and pass the time," Kyle said as he stepped out of the compartment.
Neville followed him.
"Who's Slughorn?" he asked.
"A new teacher," Harry explained, "He used to work at Hogwarts, but then he retired, and now he's back."
The corridor was crowded with students waiting for their meals to be delivered. When they reached Compartment C, Harry realized that Slughorn had invited more than just them.
Compartment C was reserved for teachers, second only to the prefects' Compartment B, and it was quite spacious, almost three times the size of a regular compartment.
However, it was currently filled with people.
"Harry, Kyle," Slughorn exclaimed as they pushed open the door, sounding delighted.
He seemed to have made an effort with his appearance today, as his silvery beard was neatly trimmed, and the gold buttons on his waistcoat sparkled in the sunlight.
For some reason, the atmosphere in the compartment had become somewhat strange after Kyle entered, or rather, some of the Slytherin students started acting peculiarly.
They either kept their heads down or huddled together, whispering. But when Kyle looked over, they would immediately act as if nothing was amiss.
This was actually quite a normal occurrence. Ever since Kyle had given Montague a small 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 their parents.
"Everyone is here now," Slughorn said happily. "Allow me to introduce you all. This is Blaise Zabini."
He casually pointed to a boy next to him. "Harry, you must know him since you're in the same year."
Neither Harry nor Zabini reacted, as if they hadn't heard a word. Typically, Gryffindors and Slytherins harbored mutual animosity, and wherever they were, the air would be thick with tension.
The fact that they weren't openly hostile toward each other now was already a form of courtesy.
Slughorn continued with the introductions.
"This is Cormac McLaggen, Kyle. He's in the same year as you..."
"Nice to meet you, Kyle," McLaggen said, raising his hand in a formal greeting.
Kyle nodded in response.
"This is Marcus Belby, also in the seventh year..."
Unlike the tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Hufflepuff was generally well-received... At least during Slughorn's introductions, everyone was quite enthusiastic toward Kyle.
"Well, this is delightful..."
After the tedious introductions, Slughorn said with satisfaction, "A wonderful opportunity to get to know you all better. Everyone, take a napkin and try some of this."
He waved his wand, and instantly, a plate of wild chicken appeared in front of each person.
Long-haired wild chicken, a magical creature unique to the Appalachian Mountains, possessed no special abilities other than its exceptional speed and delicious meat.
It wasn't surprising that Slughorn could procure such a delicacy... However, this dish was likely not prepared by a house-elf but by Slughorn himself.
And how would one describe the taste... It was like throwing a flat, round stone into the water, not creating even a single ripple.
Slughorn should really apologize to the long-haired wild chicken.
As everyone ate, Slughorn chatted away, asking various questions.
"Marcus, have you seen your uncle Damocles recently? I had the honor of teaching him back then."
"Cormac, I happened to know that you often see your uncle Tiberius, and he mentioned you to me the other day..."
"Zabini, how is your mother doing? It's been two years since we last met, but I still remember the orange pie she made."
It was more like an interrogation than a friendly chat, and everyone was on edge. Moreover, Kyle noticed that when Belby unintentionally mentioned that his relationship with his uncle wasn't good, Slughorn immediately lost interest in him.
Even when serving the pudding, he deliberately or unintentionally omitted Belby.
But instead of getting angry, Belby seemed to relax. Upon noticing Kyle's gaze, he winked and gave a look of relief.
"Did you notice that?" Harry whispered as he moved closer to Kyle. "Slughorn always manages to bring up one of their relatives."
"You're wrong there," Kyle gently shook his head. "It's because of those relatives that they were invited here."
"That's not..." Harry opened his mouth, but he couldn't bring himself to say the word 'snob'.
"It's exactly what you're thinking," Kyle said.
Harry glanced at Slughorn, who was busy serving pudding, and his impression of him dropped even further.
Of course, regardless of his dislike, the other party was currently a professor, so Harry didn't show it outwardly. He merely wished to end this lunch as soon as possible and spend time with Ron or finish another homework assignment.
Neville felt the same, wishing he could be elsewhere. Slughorn kept bringing up Neville's parents, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"Now..."
Twenty minutes later, Slughorn stood up and solemnly said, "Let me introduce you to two more people.
"Harry Potter, known nowadays as the 'Star of Salvation.' Yes, after that dreadful night over a decade ago, this title has been with him... Some say you must possess extraordinary powers..."
A faint, cold huff could be heard from within the compartment.
Harry felt as if someone had slapped him hard across both cheeks, and his face must have been bright red.
Fortunately, Slughorn quickly shifted his attention.
"And Kyle..." Slughorn placed the largest piece of pudding in front of Kyle.
"Your father and I were good friends. When I taught him, I already predicted that he would achieve great things in the future, and indeed, he became the youngest department head in the Ministry.
"But what I didn't expect was that his son would surpass him."
"Thank you for your praise, Professor," Kyle said calmly, wishing more than ever that he could Apparate to Hogsmeade.
...
(End of Chapter)
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