Chapter 743: Hagrid's Request
Chapter 743: Hagrid's Request
After the start-of-term feast, Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts to teach Harry's weekly Memory lesson.
However, when Kyle received a message from a portrait and went to find him, Dumbledore had already finished the class and left the school again, leaving only Harry, who had just finished watching a memory and was still dazed, in the office.
"Kyle, were you looking for Professor Dumbledore as well?" Harry asked, "He just received a message through the fireplace about a Dark Mark appearing somewhere, and he rushed off in a hurry."
"Oh, it's fine," Kyle said, "I didn't have anything important to discuss with him anyway. We can talk another time."
After running back and forth twice, Kyle wasn't as concerned as before, since he had the Time-Turner in his possession. If Dumbledore needed him, he would naturally come looking for Kyle.
The two then left the Headmaster's office together.
As they reached the corridor outside, Harry turned to Kyle beside him and moved his lips, "Kyle, you..."
But he suddenly closed his mouth again.
"What is it?" Kyle asked in confusion.
Harry shook his head. "Nothing."
Due to Dumbledore's sudden departure after watching the memory, Harry had many questions that he needed to share with someone...
Kyle was indeed a good choice. He was intelligent, knowledgeable, and had even personally participated in several secret plans.
However, for the same reason, Harry found it difficult to treat Kyle as a peer. He preferred to discuss these matters with Ron or Hermione.
"It's like this..." To avoid arousing Kyle's suspicion, Harry quickly changed the topic, "I just wanted to ask you about Apparition. We can learn this spell on Saturday."
"Sirius was supposed to teach us, but he left school not long after the start of term and hasn't had time for us since."
"It's not that difficult," Kyle glanced at him and said, "And there's a little trick to this spell. If you can be Apparated by someone else before learning it, it becomes much simpler."
"In that case, Professor Dumbledore did take me through an Apparition once... um, I mean, I was Apparated."
Harry said, "It was the day we went to find Professor Slughorn. But that experience wasn't very pleasant; I felt like a stuffed toy thrown into a washing machine."
"That's normal. You'll get used to it," Kyle said. "Besides, if you've experienced something more thrilling, being a stuffed toy wouldn't seem so bad."
"More thrilling?" Harry asked in confusion. "What do you mean? Is Apparition different for everyone?"
"Not for people, but for Phoenixes," Kyle said, glancing warily behind him.
He was certain that anyone who had been flown by a Phoenix would easily master Apparition.
It was just that not many people had such an opportunity.
Harry hadn't experienced this either, so he struggled to understand what Kyle meant.
The conversation seemed to stall, but fortunately, they had already reached the vicinity of the Gryffindor Common Room.
Harry glanced at the large portrait of the Fat Lady and breathed a sigh of relief.
"See you tomorrow, Kyle."
"See you tomorrow."
After Harry left, Kyle descended the stairs from another direction.
...
The day after the holiday, Hogwarts experienced a heavy snowfall, and the grounds were covered in a thick layer of snow, approximately five inches deep.
A group of first-year students, struggling through the snow, were on their way to the Greenhouse for Herbology class.
Students heading to Care of Magical Creatures class faced the same challenge.
Near the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid appeared to be absent-minded as he introduced a group of Moonstruck Beasts in the already-harvested pumpkin patch.
Their unique appearance immediately captivated the students, who gathered around them.
"I can hardly believe it," Cona whispered, "Hagrid is showing Moonstruck Beasts in a seventh-year class instead of creatures with fangs and claws."
"Yes," Kyle agreed, nodding.
It was no secret at Hogwarts that Hagrid preferred less friendly-looking creatures.
For students in the fifth year and below, Hagrid had to use creatures rated XXX and below due to their age. But for sixth and seventh years, it was different.
The scope of the N.E.W.T. exams was extensive, and there were fewer restrictions on the course content. Recently, their Care of Magical Creatures class had almost become a comprehensive guide to dangerous magical creatures.
From the last class's giant spider to the previous class's giant tooth, even Kyle was curious about where Hagrid found these creatures and couldn't help but marvel at the abundance of creatures in the Forbidden Forest.
Now, with the sudden appearance of harmless Moonstruck Beasts, Kyle felt a bit out of place.
"He must have been controlled by the Dementor's Kiss," Ryan whispered from the side, clearly thinking along the same lines.
"I thought so too, but it's probably not the case."
"Kyle said, 'The only way to control Hagrid is if the Dark Lord himself casts the Dementor's Kiss.'
'Then why did he suddenly become so strange?'
'I don't know... maybe it's easier to prepare for the Moonstruck Beast.' Kyle shrugged.
They trudged through the thick snow to the pumpkin patch, and it wasn't until they got closer that Kyle noticed Hagrid seemed rather distracted and not as enthusiastic as he was during class.
Once everyone had arrived, Hagrid simply said a few words and handed out a cabbage to each student, asking them to feed the Moonstruck Beast on their own.
No one complained, and the students, especially the girls, were excited about the prospect, as they had wanted to do this since they first saw the beast.
Hagrid's unusual behavior actually improved his popularity among the students.
'Kyle, do you have time now?' Hagrid called out to Kyle as he was about to pick up a cabbage from the basket.
'You're the professor for this class, Hagrid,' Kyle shrugged. 'If you think I have time, then it's fine.'
'It's just...' Hagrid led Kyle further away and lowered his voice, 'Do you have any more of that arachnid elixir you gave me before?'
'What?' Kyle was momentarily confused by Hagrid's request, but then he repeated it, and Kyle finally remembered.
He had indeed brewed arachnid elixir before and even traded with Hagrid for... well, a large bottle of giant spider venom.
'I gave it all to you,' Kyle said. 'But it's not that complicated. I can make more anytime you need it.'
'That's great,' Hagrid sighed in relief. 'Just... can you do it quickly? Aragog is getting old, and I should have come to you sooner.'
'Oh, and I can pay you. I'll have the venom ready by this afternoon.'
Hagrid was so nervous that he didn't even realize he had slipped up. He had previously asked Kyle for the arachnid elixir under the pretense of helping a friend, but now he had directly mentioned Aragog's name.
Aragog was an eight-eyed giant spider that Hagrid kept in the Forbidden Forest, and it had been around sixty years, by Kyle's estimation.
Kyle had interacted with Aragog, and it was a very talkative spider, and they had gotten along well... at least, in Kyle's opinion.
'Forget about the payment,' Kyle waved his hand, 'I didn't use up all the venom last time, so I don't need to take more.'
Times had changed, and thanks to Aragog's generosity, Kyle had already achieved arachnid venom freedom, and he now had several bottles of it in his possession, all in large one-gallon containers.
He had even considered selling it to earn some Galleons, but he never found the right opportunity. Now, it seemed like he could put it to good use.
Additionally, Kyle genuinely wanted to help Aragog, as he had planned to harvest more venom before graduation and making more elixir seemed like the right thing to do.
'Never mind,' Kyle glanced at the students gathered around the pumpkin patch, 'If we start now, I should be able to give it to you by the end of class. I'll go find a place...'
'No need to look,' Hagrid stopped Kyle, 'Just go to my hut. It's warm, and no one will disturb you.'
'Alright,' Kyle nodded and turned to enter the nearby hut.
The hut was warm, and a wave of heat greeted him as he opened the door.
Kyle created a smaller heating stove beside the large one and set up a cauldron on it.
Hagrid stood by the door, keeping watch and occasionally peering inside through the window.
This continued until the end of class, when Kyle emerged from the hut with a large bottle of blue elixir in hand.
'Three of these should be enough,' Kyle said.
'Thank you, Kyle,' Hagrid said happily, taking the bottle and running towards the Forbidden Forest.
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'What's going on with him?' Cona approached curiously. 'What did you give him? A potion?'
'It's arachnid elixir,' Kyle explained. 'Hagrid keeps a group of eight-eyed giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest.'
At the mention of eight-eyed giant spiders, Cona's expression changed. Such spiders were like cars to Kyle, and even more so for Cona, a female witch.
'You can also brew arachnid elixir?' She looked at Kyle with a mix of disbelief and curiosity.
'I had no choice. Their venom is so valuable,' Kyle shrugged. 'Just don't tell Professor Snape, or else I won't get any of the venom.'
'But aren't those Hagrid's spiders?' Cona asked.
'It's not a conflict,' Kyle put away the empty cauldron and walked out of the hut. 'If the spiders willingly give it to me, I can't refuse, can I?'
Cona pouted, not believing a word Kyle said.
Although she didn't like eight-eyed giant spiders, she had some knowledge about them due to potions, and she knew they were vicious creatures with a strong aggression towards wizards.
As Snape had specifically reminded her, for some special potion ingredients, it's better to just buy them directly instead of trying to save money.
The venom of the Giant Spider is one of them.
But Kyle only smiled mysteriously, not explaining.
Of course, he had his own little tricks, but this method wasn't suitable for Cona. He could handle it himself.
After leaving the cabin, the two followed a long row of footprints on the ground and returned to Hogwarts Castle.
When they reached the entrance hall, they happened to meet Hermione, Harry, and Ron, who were walking down the stairs side by side. The three seemed to be in an argument.
"No one asked you to stay and help," Hermione said to Ron with a hint of impatience as she looked at him, "But could you please stop coming up with bad ideas?"
"Bad ideas?"
Ron squealed, "Am I wrong? Harry is Slughorn's little prince of potions. If Harry asks, he definitely won't refuse."
"Do you think Professor Slughorn can't see that it's not Harry's true level?" Hermione grew more impatient, "And even Dumbledore couldn't get it. He must have decided to conceal the truth, so how would he tell a student?"
"Horcrux... Horcrux... I've never even heard of it. It must be very advanced magic. I think getting this information is difficult, and we must come up with a strategy."
"Why make it so complicated? You're overthinking it!"
"That's better than not thinking at all!" Hermione was furious.
"How am I not thinking?" Ron was also angry.
As the two argued, Harry stood by helplessly, clearly used to this kind of dispute between them.
Whenever he wanted to seek their opinions, they would start arguing because of their differing views.
However, the three soon noticed Kyle and Cona walking towards them. Whether it was for secrecy or some other reason, they seamlessly shifted the topic.
"Ron, this is the focus of the Potion homework," Hermione said, her tone turning slightly stiff, "Remember to finish it quickly. Professor Slughorn will be checking it in the next class, and you can't keep deducting points from Gryffindor."
"Yes, that's right," Ron said stiffly as well, "But if you could lend me your homework..."
"You can forget about that!"
Kyle listened to their conversation and shook his head slightly. It had to be said that their skill in shifting topics wasn't very impressive.
The focus of the Potion homework was Horcrux. How could they bring up such a topic?
This wasn't a Potion class anymore; it was more like a supplementary class by Voldemort.
But to avoid making them too embarrassed, Kyle didn't expose their secret. He acted as if he hadn't heard anything, greeted them, and then turned to enter the Great Hall.
"Hermione, you didn't have to do that," Harry said softly after Kyle had walked away, "Kyle also knows about Horcruxes. He was there when Dumbledore showed me that memory."
"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Hermione glared at Harry, feeling like her attempt to shift the topic had just become a joke.
"You didn't give me the chance," Harry said softly.
It was only when Hermione suddenly shifted the topic that he noticed Kyle standing across from them. When would he have had the chance to remind Hermione?
However, Harry's explanation didn't seem to satisfy Hermione. She glared at him again, slightly annoyed.
"Wait, Harry," Ron said at this moment, having thought of something, "Since Kyle also knows about Horcruxes, why don't you ask him? He must know something."
"I... I can't bring myself to ask," Harry shook his head and said softly, "I don't know why... When facing Kyle, I always feel like I'm facing a professor. It's just a feeling."
"Is that so?" Ron blinked, "I don't feel that way."
"Maybe it's because I've met him in the Headmaster's office more times," Harry thought, "As you know, it's rare for students to go there, right?"
"But Kyle has been there many times, and even the previous Headmasters know him."
"In that case, it's even simpler," Ron said, "You don't need to ask; just bring Kyle along to ask Professor Slughorn about Horcruxes. This way, the chances of success will be even greater."
Harry just shook his head without speaking.
Logically, Ron was right, and if Kyle helped, he probably wouldn't have to worry about this matter anymore. Kyle would definitely have a way to obtain Professor Slughorn's true memory.
But deep down, he didn't want to do that. Harry couldn't quite explain why, perhaps because this was the first task Dumbledore had given him, and he wanted to accomplish it himself.
He could try Ron's idea first...
Harry thought to himself.
After the next Potion class, he could ask Professor Slughorn directly. It might work, as he couldn't think of a better idea anyway.
...
(End of Chapter)
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