Chapter 716: Kyle's Two-Way Mirror
Chapter 716: Kyle's Two-Way Mirror
Kyle didn't think it would be difficult for Connor to pass the Extraordinary Potioneer Association's assessment. With her talent and Snape's guidance, it was almost a certainty.
Of course, that was assuming no one maliciously lowered her score...
But then again, even if they did, it wouldn't matter. He would be graduating next year anyway, so he'd have plenty of time to help them rectify their mistake.
...
An hour later, the pudding dessert on the table had disappeared, and the golden plates were once again spotless.
As Dumbledore stood up, the laughter and chatter echoing through the Great Hall instantly vanished.
"Good evening to you all," he said with a smile, his arms outstretched as if to embrace everyone in the hall.
"Look at his hand," Mick suddenly said.
Ryan turned his head, "It looks normal to me. What's wrong?"
"I mean, Dumbledore is wearing a ring." Mick said, "He never used to wear rings before."
Kyle noticed it too, there was a very conspicuous gem ring on Dumbledore's finger, and the black gemstone was only slightly smaller than the Golden Snitch.
The Resurrection Stone!
Kyle narrowed his eyes, but soon he didn't mind anymore.
Because there was no noticeable change in Dumbledore's hand, it still looked the same as before, which meant that the curse on the ring had disappeared.
And the fact that he could wear it meant that it was no longer a Horcrux... There was still a contract on Dumbledore, if the ring was still a Horcrux, he wouldn't be able to touch it.
As if sensing Kyle's gaze, Dumbledore looked over and winked at him slightly.
"I'm so glad to see you all here again, and not a single one of you is missing." He said loudly.
Everyone knew what he meant.
In the past two months, almost every issue of the Prophet had reported on disappearances and even deaths. It was indeed a blessing that they had escaped such a fate.
Dumbledore didn't linger on pleasantries, but instead, as usual, he announced a few matters to the new students.
For example, first-years were not allowed to go into the Forbidden Forest, and the selection time for the Quidditch teams.
However, this year's notice had an additional rule.
"...and Caretaker Filch has asked me to inform you all. This year, students are absolutely forbidden from carrying any products purchased from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."
There was no doubt that Fred and George had been targeted, and their entire shop had been put on the school's blacklist... Simple, straightforward.
"Also." Dumbledore continued: "This year, we are pleased to welcome a new teacher, Professor Slughorn."
He stretched out his hand, and Slughorn stood up, his bald head shining under the candlelight.
At the Slytherin table, Malfoy looked at him waving and scoffed disdainfully, but the next second, his smile faded.
"I am delighted that Professor Slughorn has agreed to return to teaching and take up the post of Potions master at Hogwarts once more."
"Potions?"
The whole hall seemed to pause for a second, followed by a buzz of whispers.
"At the same time." Dumbledore raised his voice, "Professor Snape will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"No!"
"Absolutely not!"
Two very abrupt voices rang out in the hall.
It was Harry and Malfoy, who had almost simultaneously stood up.
Harry couldn't accept Snape teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was his favorite subject.
As for Malfoy, it was because he hadn't chosen Defense Against the Dark Arts... This was understandable, as someone who was about to serve the Dark Lord, why would he want to defend against his own kind?
But his mother had repeatedly told him before the start of term that he must choose Snape's class.
Malfoy hadn't paid much attention at first, thinking that with his Potions grades, he would surely be accepted. Who would have thought that Snape would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the Potions class would be taught by Slughorn, whom he disliked.
"Draco, the professor is looking at you." Pansy tugged at his robe under the table.
Malfoy then noticed that he and Harry Potter had become the center of attention, and Snape on the platform was looking at him coldly.
Realizing this, Malfoy immediately sat back down.
Calming down, he then realized that he could change his elective, as long as Snape agreed, he could still continue with Defense Against the Dark Arts.
As for Slughorn's Potions class... who cared.
"Ah, Snape got his wish." Kyle said to Connor, "I remember he always wanted to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, looks like the headmaster finally agreed this year."
Connor frowned, not sharing Snape's joy... After all, everyone knew that being the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts was not a desirable position.
She couldn't understand why Snape insisted on teaching this subject, when Potions was clearly his forte.
"Don't worry." Kyle said softly, as if sensing Connor's worry, "I guess by the end of this school year, Professor Snape will probably be back in the Potions classroom."
"Really?"
"Probably." Kyle said, "And the curse isn't as scary as you think, look at Lupin, Sirius, and Moody, they're all fine."
Kyle's reassurance seemed to have a slight effect, as Connor looked less worried.
There were many others like them, and everyone in the hall was buzzing with discussion, their interest in this matter even surpassing the importance of Dumbledore's subsequent instructions.
After the dinner ended, everyone pushed the benches behind them as usual and began to leave the Great Hall, heading towards their dormitories.
Connor went to fulfill her duties as a prefect, tending to the first-year newcomers, while Kyle hesitated for a moment before quietly making his way through the crowd back to the common room.
"It shouldn't take that many prefects just to guide the new students," he mused. "Two should be enough."
"Kyle, I've been looking for you!" Just then, someone rushed over from behind.
"Gracie?" Kyle turned to look at the newcomer and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Come with me, quick!" Gracie grabbed Kyle's sleeve, trying to pull him in the direction the professors had left. "They sent the Quidditch captain badge to me by mistake. We should go and correct it while the professors are still here."
Kyle stood his ground, unmoving.
Gracie tugged a couple more times and, finding that she couldn't budge him, turned back and said, "Hurry up! The professors will be gone soon."
"No, Gracie, they didn't send it to the wrong person." Kyle shook his head. "In fact, you are the captain."
Gracie stood there, dumbfounded.
"But... how is that possible?" she asked, incredulous.
"Why not?" Kyle smiled. "Think about it, even if they sent the badge to the wrong person, they wouldn't get the name wrong.
I bet there was a letter sent along with the badge, informing you that you've become the Quidditch captain."
"Huh? Was there?" Gracie blinked.
"You don't know?" Kyle asked, puzzled.
Gracie shook her head. In fact, when she had discovered the captain's badge, she had assumed it was sent to her by mistake and had immediately put it back in the envelope, intending to return it to Kyle when they got back to school. She hadn't even realized there was a letter inside.
"Never mind," Kyle said. "You should have the envelope with you, right?"
Gracie nodded and took out an envelope from her robe pocket.
"Don't just stand there, open it and see," Kyle said with a smile.
Gracie was still dazed and, acting on instinct, tore open the envelope. Sure enough, she found a piece of folded parchment inside.
It was hard to describe Gracie's feelings at that moment. She felt tense, bewildered, and curious, with a hint of anticipation that even she herself wasn't aware of...
Gracie opened the parchment, and at the top was her name, along with a line of text below it.
"Congratulations on becoming the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Please register with Madam Hooch after September 1st."
For a moment, Gracie's breath quickened.
"See?" said Kyle. "This proves that they didn't send the badge to the wrong person."
"But why me?" Gracie still found it hard to believe. "I mean, you're clearly the most talented player on the team."
"No, you got one thing wrong," Kyle shrugged. "The captain's position isn't about individual prowess, but about the overall contribution to the team."
"You should know that I also have a job at the Ministry of Magic," he continued, his shoulders rising in a casual shrug.
Gracie nodded; almost every student at Hogwarts knew that Kyle had become the Senior Minister's assistant. She was no exception.
"That's exactly what I'm getting at," Kyle said softly. "Because of my work at the Ministry, I might not have much time for training or even matches this year..."
"What?" Gracie almost jumped up. "Are you quitting the team?"
Kyle was the ace of Hufflepuff, and if he left, their strength would undoubtedly be greatly affected.
"No, I'm not quitting," Kyle shook his head. "I still want to help Hufflepuff achieve a seven-year championship streak, but as you know, being a seventh-year student isn't just about academics, especially with the current situation. It will be challenging for me to fully devote myself to the team.
After all, arranging training sessions and formulating match strategies take time, and if I were to be the captain, we'd probably have to rely on improvising during matches."
Gracie breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Kyle wasn't leaving the team, they could always find a way to deal with the lack of training time.
"So, don't be surprised," Kyle continued. "You being the captain is the most suitable choice."
Gracie still found it hard to believe and stood there, lost in thought. By the time she snapped out of her daze, Kyle had already returned to the common room.
Following Hufflepuff's tradition, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
...
The next morning, almost half of the Hufflepuff students at the breakfast table were yawning incessantly... They had spent the entire previous night catching up on homework, and now they were at their sleepiest.
The new class schedule had been distributed the day before, and the first class for the seventh years was History of Magic, which was perfect for catching up on some sleep.
The professor for this subject was a ghost who would only read aloud from the textbook. As long as you didn't interrupt him, you could do whatever you wanted.
Connor sat in the last row, curiously observing the students beside her.
Kyle, at that moment, was holding his wand and drawing something on a small, circular mirror... His wand resembled an ink-dipped quill, leaving marks on the mirror's surface with every gentle stroke.
From the shapes, they appeared to be magical words, but they were too complex for Connor to recognize.
"Is this Alchemy?" Connor asked, her interest piqued as she glanced at the mirror, which was covered in magical texts and diagrams. "It seems different from when you were making maps before."
"Of course, it's different." Kyle explained, "What I did before, whether it was the maps or the waterproof and moisture-proof badges, could only barely be considered magical items."
"Real alchemy is a combination of magical texts and magic itself."
As he spoke, Kyle's wand accidentally moved a little, causing a mistake in the magical text.
Instantly, the mirror developed several cracks and shattered into pieces.
"Sorry," Connor apologized, feeling a bit guilty.
"It's fine, I probably wouldn't have succeeded on the first try anyway." Kyle waved his wand nonchalantly, clearing the fragments from the table, and then took out a new mirror.
This time, Connor remained silent, merely observing Kyle's actions.
To be honest, the process was rather boring, as Kyle wrote the magical texts very slowly. It took him about half an hour to cover a palm-sized mirror.
Then the magical texts would disappear as if they were being covered up, and Kyle would continue to write new ones.
And if he made a mistake, the mirror would shatter, rendering all his previous efforts futile.
For two whole days, Kyle fiddled with this contraption, even neglecting to pay attention in class.
However, most of the professors, including Professor McGonagall, chose to turn a blind eye to his actions.
Connor had initially taken notes for Kyle, but ever since a Transfiguration class where Kyle had effortlessly accomplished Professor McGonagall's request with a wave of his wand, she had stopped doing so, realizing it was unnecessary.
No wonder Professor McGonagall didn't mind his inattentiveness in class; there was no need to.
It was only on the third morning after the start of the new term, just before the end of the first Charms lesson, that Kyle finally put down his wand.
Connor's first reaction was that he had failed again, but the next second, she noticed that the mirror was still intact.
"Did you succeed?" she asked.
"Sort of," Kyle took a deep breath. "There's one last step left." He pointed his wand at the mirror.
Instantly, all the magical texts he had written previously appeared, overlapping each other to form a complete diagram.
The mirror began to shake violently, and due to the noise, the students and Professor Flitwick all turned to look.
As the mirror continued to tremble, it split open from the middle, but instead of cracking, it duplicated itself, creating two identical mirrors.
Then, it became quiet again, and the magical texts and diagrams disappeared once more.
"Clap, clap!"
Applause echoed through the classroom.
"That's truly amazing," Professor Flitwick walked over and examined the two mirrors on the table. "To be honest, this is the first time I've witnessed the creation of a two-way mirror. It's quite a complex alchemical product."
"Thank you, Professor," Kyle said with a smile.
Hearing Professor Flitwick's words, the other students craned their necks, curious to get a better look.
Just then, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
As Kyle packed up his things and left the classroom, he handed one of the mirrors to Connor in the corridor.
"For me?"
"Of course," Kyle said, "Didn't you hear what Professor Flitwick said? It's a two-way mirror, and it requires two people to use it."
Connor took the mirror, "How does it work?"
"You don't know?" Kyle was a little surprised, as two-way mirrors weren't exactly rare in the wizarding world.
"I've only heard of them, but I've never used one before," Connor admitted.
"It's simple," Kyle explained, "Just call my name while looking into the mirror, and you'll be able to see me in the reflection. That way, I won't have to worry about not receiving your replies anymore.
"Speaking of which, why didn't you write back to us at all during the holidays? Was the assessment that strict?"
"They said it was to prevent cheating," Connor whispered. "I didn't receive a single letter the entire holiday."
"Well," Kyle said, a little perplexed, but as he had no experience with the Extraordinary Potioneer Association's assessments, he could only assume it was true.
"But don't worry now," Kyle continued, "If you need anything, just call my name into the mirror, and even if Snape takes you to some other place, I'll find a way to bring you back."
In an even softer voice, Connor asked, "But that would be France, can you Apparate that far?"
"It doesn't matter if I can't," Kyle shrugged, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I know someone with extensive cross-country travel experience, whether legal or illegal, and regardless of the distance, he'll find a way."
Connor didn't say anything, her face reddening slightly as she looked at the small, round mirror in her hand and softly called out, "Kyle..."
The next second, Kyle's mirror reacted, and he saw Connor's face in the reflection, as well as the real Connor standing next to him.
"What's wrong?" Kyle teased, "Is it really necessary to use the mirror when you're this close? Can't you just talk to me directly?"
"Mind your own business," Connor turned her head away, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I'm just testing if it works."
But she quickly changed the subject, "Come on, we're about to have class. The next one is Defense Against the Dark Arts, and you know what'll happen if you're late."
...
(End of Chapter)
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