Chapter 991: Harry's Style
Chapter 991: Harry's Style
With the matter of Neville's parents resolved, Kyle had fulfilled a long-standing idea of his.
Although Kyle himself didn't pay much attention to this minor incident, it didn't mean others didn't care.
Early that morning, as Kyle was eating, he was surrounded by over a dozen owls. Letters rained down like droplets, and several nearly fell into the pitcher of Pumpkin Juice.
One owl, either exhausted or unable to stop in time, crashed directly into Kyle's plate, taking a letter with it and knocking over a large chunk of butter.
"I think you're taking your job a bit too seriously," Kyle said, casually cleaning the butter and breadcrumbs from the owl's wings before taking the letter from its claws.
"There have been letters coming in since earlier," Conna leaned over from the side, curious, "Has Rita Skeeter written something again?"
"Probably not," Kyle replied, brushing away a strand of Conna's hair that almost got coated in butter.
"Under normal circumstances, she should still be searching for materials in the forest at this time, with no time to publish any articles."
But indeed, there were more letters than usual today.
Kyle had always received letters from various people, but never so many at once.
From morning till now, there had been around twenty letters, all sent from different places.
"Where's this one from?"
"Let me see..." Kyle looked down at the envelope. "Yorkshire, from Algy at the Flower Cottage."
"Who's this Algy?" Conna asked in confusion. "Do you have a pen pal in Yorkshire too?"
"I don't know," Kyle shrugged, "I don't even know this Algy, and in fact, I don't recognize any of the senders today."
"And they didn't include their surnames, just their first names."
"Did you open them?"
"No," Kyle replied.
As he didn't recognize any of the senders, Kyle was cautious and didn't tear open the envelopes. To prevent any possible curses, he planned to ask the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to inspect them when he returned.
As for why he didn't do it himself... Such dangerous work should be left to professionals. What if a Death Eater, having slipped through the net, wanted to avenge their master and sent a cursed letter?
Kyle tossed the letters aside.
To avoid further interruptions and allow the other professors to finish their breakfast in peace, Kyle stood up and left the Great Hall.
He planned to visit Professor Snape first and then prepare for his upcoming Alchemy class.
However, just as he reached the Entrance Hall, someone else rushed in from outside, looking flustered.
"Neville?"
Kyle looked at the person, "Why are you rushing like this... Wait, haven't your parents woken up yet?"
"No, it's not that..." Neville panted, seemingly having run all the way, supporting himself with one hand on his knee while gesturing with the other.
"They... they woke up... completely awake. My mom, she recognized me... she called out my name! It's the first time she's ever called my name!"
"That's great, take your time, no need to rush," Kyle said, offering his hand to the incomparable Neville and gesturing towards the Great Hall.
A pitcher of Pumpkin Juice flew over from the Gryffindor table.
He passed the Pumpkin Juice to Neville.
"I thought you'd want to spend more time with them. Don't worry about your assistant duties; I've already arranged for leave with Professor Sprout.
"She understands your situation and said you can stay with them for a while."
"Thank you," Neville took a big gulp of Pumpkin Juice, feeling much better.
"I do need to take some time off, but I came to see you today."
"Me?"
"Oh, no... My grandmother asked me to convey the Longbottom family's gratitude to you.
"My uncles and aunts have all heard about this, and they are equally delighted. They've been making their way to St. Mungo's since yesterday.
"The room was packed with people... Many had to stand in the corridor... Later, the Headmaster came and chased them all out."
Perhaps due to his excitement or thinking of a funny scene, Neville couldn't help but chuckle at this point.
"Sorry," he continued, "My grandmother wants to invite you to the Longbottom family's Christmas dinner. She didn't give me the formal invitation, but my uncle said he had already sent it... Oh, I see it."
He suddenly pointed behind Kyle at the floating letters.
"What?
"That's Algy," Neville pointed to the top letter.
"You mean, this letter is from your uncle?" Kyle asked in confusion, picking up the still-sealed envelope.
"Yes, Algy is my uncle," Neville nodded, "And when I received the Hogwarts acceptance letter, he even gave me a toad as a gift, you know, Lefou."
Kyle certainly knew; the toad followed Neville everywhere, and it could be said that it was the most free-roaming pet in Hogwarts.
Because Neville often forgot about it.
Under the desks in the classroom, in flower pots in the greenhouse, outside the windows of the Astronomy Tower... You could see the toad everywhere except in Neville's hands.
"So this Algy, his full name should be Algy Longbottom?"
"Yeah," Neville nodded.
"What about this one?" Kyle pulled out another envelope. "Annie..."
"She's my aunt."
"Fao..."
"He's my uncle, but we rarely meet, only a couple of times," Neville said seriously.
Kyle took out more letters.
As expected, they were all from the Longbottom family.
"Neville..." Kyle couldn't help but ask, "Does your Longbottom family have some kind of special family tradition?"
"Special tradition?" Neville thought for a moment, "I don't think so..."
He was a bit uncertain, mainly because his memory wasn't very good, and even if there was one, he couldn't remember it.
"Then let me put it more simply," Kyle pointed to the names on the envelopes, "When your family writes letters, do they usually omit the surname?"
Only then did Neville realize that none of the signatures on the envelopes had surnames.
But he didn't know how to explain it.
Because now that he thought about it, Uncle Algy seemed to have only written his first name when writing to him, and it had been like this since he was a child.
If you look at it this way, this could indeed be considered a family tradition...
"Maybe... they were too excited," Neville stammered, trying to explain.
But his voice was too soft, and Kyle didn't hear him.
However, it didn't matter.
After learning that these letters were from the Longbottom family, Kyle put his mind at ease and casually opened the envelope.
It was the letter sent by Algy Longbottom.
Inside was a piece of gilded parchment, the most expensive one in the stationery store, priced at one Galleon.
It seemed that the Longbottom family was quite wealthy.
Thinking carefully, this seemed normal.
The Longbottoms were also one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Pureblood Families, and although they couldn't compare to the Blacks and Malfoys, centuries of accumulation would surely not be too shabby.
Kyle glanced at the content on the parchment.
This was a very formal invitation letter.
It was evident that the writer was a bit excited, as some parts were crooked, but the content was sincere.
Just as Neville had said before, the Longbottom family, to celebrate Neville's parents' recovery, decided to hold a Christmas Eve banquet on Christmas Day.
This letter was the invitation for Kyle.
"My uncles originally wanted to come to Hogwarts to thank you..." Neville continued, "But Grandma thought that too many people might affect the students' classes, so they changed their minds and wrote letters instead."
"Fortunately, your grandma has foresight," Kyle's lips twitched.
People who don't include surnames when writing to strangers are probably not very reliable. If they were to swarm into Hogwarts, Kyle wouldn't be surprised if they caused a scene.
Oh, right, he suddenly remembered that Neville had once mentioned that when he was a child, an uncle had thrown him out of a loft window to confirm if he had magic.
But Neville didn't mention the name back then, and Kyle didn't know if it was Algy.
However, throwing a child under ten years old out of a loft window... Normal people probably wouldn't do such a thing.
If they were to come to Hogwarts, it would indeed be quite a spectacle.
"But my dad and mom are here."
Neville's voice brought Kyle back to his senses.
"They're in Hogsmeade right now and want to personally express their gratitude to you."
Kyle initially wanted to refuse.
Without a doubt, they would be full of gratitude, and whether he went or not, it would be the same. He might as well use this time to send some real cursed letters to Professor Snape.
That way, he wouldn't have to wander aimlessly around the castle every day.
However, with Neville's persistence, Kyle was dragged away.
Neville, who moved flower pots in the greenhouse every day, was quite strong.
And one of his sentences made Kyle very curious.
He said that his father, Frank Lombard, was a bit strange.
Although Kyle's expression was peculiar when he said this, he still decided to pay them a visit.
It was a follow-up visit, after all.
The two arrived in Hogsmeade together.
This time, it wasn't at The Three Broomsticks.
Perhaps the therapist didn't want them drinking, so the Lombards waited for him at Mrs. Padfoot's Tea House.
When Kyle and Neville pushed open the door and walked in, the couple stood up in unison, like students in class.
But before they could speak, Kyle took the initiative, "If you have words of gratitude, Neville has already expressed them on your behalf. As a family, there's no need to repeat it."
"That's different," Frank Lombard shook his head. "We must express our thanks personally. You know how helpless we were before; you saved our lives."
"Haven't you also saved others?" Kyle asked. "As members of the Phoenix Order, it's not something to be surprised about."
"The Phoenix Order..." Neville's mother couldn't help but speak up. "Are you also a member of the Phoenix Order? You must be from the new generation. I should've guessed it; a talented wizard like you would surely join the Order."
"Actually... that's all in the past," Kyle spread his hands. "There's no more Phoenix Order; it's disbanded."
The Lombard couple's smiles froze on their faces, and their complexions quickly turned pale.
"You must be joking, right...?"
"How could the Phoenix Order disband?"
Having just regained consciousness, their memories were still from over a decade ago, and they weren't aware of the current situation in the wizarding world.
Neville's mother was slightly better off, as she sometimes had lucid moments and had heard bits and pieces of recent events.
However, Neville usually didn't take up his precious time to discuss the state of the magical world with her.
So, she didn't know much either.
"I never said the Phoenix Order disbanded, and it was Dumbledore himself who disbanded it," Kyle calmly picked up the freshly served tea, took a sip, and then put it back.
"Oh, and by the way, Dumbledore is also dead. The current Headmistress of Hogwarts is Professor McGonagall."
"Bang, bang!"
The couple's faces turned even paler, and when Kyle mentioned Dumbledore, they fell to the ground, one after the other.
"Neville, didn't you tell them?" Kyle turned to ask.
"No, I didn't."
Neville's face turned red, and he quickly went to help them up while rapidly filling them in on the events of the past few years.
From Voldemort's resurgence to the Phoenix Order's integration into the Ministry of Magic and the Battle of Hogwarts.
Kyle had never seen Neville speak so fluently, without a stutter.
The Lombards, on the other hand, were in complete shock, never imagining that so much had happened recently.
They wanted to ask for details, but now wasn't the time; they had to endure.
Kyle sat across from them, nodding in satisfaction.
Apparently, diverting their attention was the right move; at least now, they weren't endlessly expressing their gratitude.
"By the way, Mr. Lombard," Kyle took the opportunity to say, "I heard from Neville that you've been applying White Fresh on your body. Could you tell me what's going on?"
"Oh, that..."
Frank Lombard snapped out of his daze and shook his head. "It's nothing, just a minor issue, don't worry about it."
"It's okay; you don't need to feel embarrassed."
"It's not what you think," Frank Lombard said again, and after some thought, he rolled up his sleeve and pointed to a scar on his arm.
"It's just this. I don't know when it appeared, but I wanted to try if White Fresh would help."
The scar wasn't large, but its shape was unique, resembling a lightning bolt.
Neville noticed it too, staring at the scar with a mix of hesitation and the urge to speak.
He had seen a similar scar before, on Harry's forehead...
Wait a minute!
Neville had subconsciously glanced at his father's forehead, and in that moment, he spotted the familiar scar.
It was also on his forehead, mostly hidden by his hair, making it hard to notice unless one looked closely.
Wait, his father had the same scar as Harry, in the same shape and almost the same position.
Was it there before? No, it couldn't be...
In an instant, Neville was completely dazed, sitting there blankly, his face changing colors.
(End of Chapter)
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