Chapter 995: Overly Enthusiastic Friends
Chapter 995: Overly Enthusiastic Friends
"Relax, Ginny, the N.E.W.T. isn't as scary as you think," Kyle said to Ginny, whose face had turned pale with tension, in the corridor between the staircase and the Great Hall.
"Just treat it like a regular exam, and it'll be much easier," he added.
"But we don't usually have exams in the Great Hall, and there won't be any examiners from the Wizarding Examinations Authority watching over us," Ginny replied, rubbing her face.
Previously, she had never found the N.E.W.T. intimidating, and she couldn't understand why Hermione had been so anxious that she couldn't sleep before the exam.
But now she understood.
Ever since the examiners from the Wizarding Examinations Authority had arrived at the Great Hall of Hogwarts on time the night before, her heart had started to race.
The last time she had felt this way was during the Quidditch final.
Just before the Slytherin Seeker caught the Golden Snitch, she had made a crucial shot, winning the match by a narrow margin.
Her heart had been racing then, too.
"They're not that scary," Kyle said. "Professor Marchbanks just looks strict."
"I really don't understand..." Ginny took a few deep breaths. "Why wasn't Ron nervous at all last year? I even heard him discussing what to have for lunch with Harry before the exam..."
"It's probably talent," Kyle said with a laugh. "You and Hermione will probably never learn to relax like them."
"You're right," Ginny said, trying to calm herself down as she looked around.
"Where's Conna?"
"She's still in the Potions classroom," Kyle replied. "She hasn't come out for almost a week."
"Aren't you worried?" Ginny asked. "I heard that the more complex the potion, the more dangerous it becomes if the brewing order is wrong... If I remember correctly, the explosion of a Felix Felicis cauldron is even more powerful than the Blasting Curse."
"I don't worry about anything related to Potions," Kyle blurted out.
"You two really trust each other," Ginny said.
Kyle raised his eyebrows but remained silent.
After all, Potions wasn't his forte, so he had to trust the more professional person.
Moreover, Professor Saxia was also there, so he didn't need to worry.
"Speaking of which, when are you two getting married?"
Ginny, whose face had turned red like her hair, didn't ask any further questions and rushed into the Great Hall.
The atmosphere became much quieter.
Kyle also headed upstairs to attend another exam, as he wasn't needed here.
...
During exam week, Hogwarts became unusually quiet, and even Peeves stopped throwing balloons in the corridors.
Finally, the exams ended, and Hogwarts welcomed the long-awaited holiday for its students.
As the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross Station and the students filed out of the platform, Mrs. Weasley, who had been waiting impatiently, rushed over.
Her face was filled with uncontainable joy.
"I'm so happy for you, Ginny..."
Ginny was the youngest child in the Weasley family, and now that she had graduated, Mrs. Weasley couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad.
She was happy inside, but she cried uncontrollably.
"Sorry, Kyle..." Mrs. Weasley wiped her eyes.
"But you came back with him, and I always thought you didn't like riding the Hogwarts Express."
"I don't like it much," Kyle said. "So I Apparated here. I was still at school a minute ago."
"Okay," Mrs. Weasley said, glancing behind Kyle. "Where's Conna? Didn't she come with you?"
"She had other things to do," Kyle sighed.
Conna had been locking herself in the Potions classroom, so Kyle had felt bored and accompanied the train back.
"It doesn't matter. We can also discuss your wedding plans," Mrs. Weasley suddenly said.
As she spoke, her eyes sparkled with excitement, completely forgetting the sadness of Ginny's graduation.
Moreover, she ignored Kyle's opinion.
"I think we can rent a larger wedding tent."
On the way back to the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley seemed to have drunk a large barrel of Felix Felicis, constantly coming up with various ideas.
"The tent we used for Bill's wedding was big, but the style was too old. This time, we must carefully ask if there are any new models.
"Oh, and the invitations are being prepared… Kyle, you don't need to worry about that. Sirius said he'll take care of everything. He's been muttering about taking out a pile of gold recently."
Mrs. Weasley's mouth didn't stop chattering all the way to the Burrow. Mr. Weasley, who was driving, and the other passenger, Ginny, not only didn't stop her, but also enthusiastically joined in, offering suggestions and filling in the gaps.
Moreover, they didn't seem to want to consult Kyle's opinion. Several times, Kyle tried to interject, but he was rudely interrupted each time.
But to be honest, Mrs. Weasley's words were truly terrifying.
For example, Sirius was responsible for making the invitations.
Kyle was just proposing, and now they were preparing this. Wasn't it a bit too early, and what did taking out a pile of gold mean?
Given Kyle's understanding of Sirius's simple values… it wasn't impossible that he wanted to add gold to the invitations.
Wasn't that pure waste?
It wasn't that they couldn't afford it, since it wasn't Kyle's money, but thinking about the people Kyle knew.
Cedric, Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Justin, Harry… did they deserve golden invitations?
The gilding would be wasted.
But Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to have any intention of asking for Kyle's opinion.
Neither did Sirius.
As soon as Kyle arrived at the Burrow, he saw a small mountain of gold shining in the house.
"Molly, you're back just in time. Come and see if this gold is enough."
This was probably the first time so much gold had appeared in the Burrow.
"Too much, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley complained. "Heavens, it's just invitations!"
Thank goodness, Mrs. Weasley finally said something reasonable.
It was also what Kyle was thinking.
"Alright then…" Sirius looked a bit disappointed but still put away half of the gold. "I'll keep these and use them when Harry gets married."
As he said this, Sirius glanced at Ginny.
Their relationship was no longer a secret, and with three big gossips in the Burrow, everyone who should know and shouldn't know basically knew about it.
Not to mention, Sirius was very popular back in school. Harry's little thoughts, he could guess just by looking.
What Sirius needed to consider was when Harry would formally announce it like Kyle did.
Now, not only was Kyle awkward, but Ginny's face also turned bright red.
Fortunately, everyone's attention was on the small pile of gold, and the light in the Burrow was dim, so Mrs. Weasley didn't notice Ginny's embarrassment.
If there was anyone in the room who didn't know about Ginny and Harry, it was probably her.
Everyone, including Fred and George, was keeping it from her.
"So, you haven't told Mrs. Weasley yet?" Kyle walked over and whispered.
Ginny shook her head.
She had planned to tell Mrs. Weasley after graduation, but when it came to it, she didn't know how to say it.
"Forget it, you decide," Kyle said.
"Can you help me with something?" Ginny suddenly asked.
"Help you with what, confessing to Mrs. Weasley?" He turned to look at Ginny.
"I don't think you need to be so hesitant. Given Mrs. Weasley's fondness for Harry, she definitely won't object."
"No, it's about Sirius!" Ginny shook her head. "Using gold for invitations is just… too extravagant."
She hesitated for a while before mumbling, "Can you convince Sirius to drop this idea, at least not for… well, Harry's wedding?"
"This is exactly what I was thinking," Kyle agreed.
So, when their enthusiasm had cooled down a bit, Kyle took the initiative to find Sirius.
"What, change the invitations?" Sirius first looked at Kyle, then loudly said, "No way, absolutely not! I've already found the goblins to do it, there's no changing it!"
He was very firm.
"You don't need to worry, I'll cover the cost."
He thought Kyle was reluctant to spend so much gold, but that was easy to solve; he was willing to spend it.
"This is a different matter, Sirius, Sirius…"
Kyle was about to say more, but before he could, Sirius Apparated right out of the garden at the Burrow, leaving Kyle standing there in a daze.
"Hope we get those invitations soon."
At that moment, Fred and George appeared from somewhere, standing on either side of Kyle.
"Those are golden invitations, after all…"
"Definitely valuable…"
"When did this happen, and why didn't you tell us?" Mark asked, bewildered.
"Yeah," George said, his face tense. "I thought we were good friends, but you even kept such an important thing as your wedding a secret."
"We only found out from Mom," Fred added.
"Actually..." Kyle interrupted them. "I didn't know about this any earlier than you did. Before that, I didn't even realize we needed to prepare invitations."
"Wait a moment," George paused, "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Kyle shrugged. "Conna and I haven't discussed this yet."
"How is that possible?" Fred was incredulous. "You proposed at Christmas, and Hogwarts has already started its holiday break!"
"I know," Kyle said. "But I had classes, and Conna was busy with something more important, so we didn't discuss it."
"Well..." Fred nodded, not overly surprised.
Anyway, Kyle and Conna would definitely be together, so there was no need to rush.
"Oh, that's why," George said, running his hand through his hair. "No wonder your dad wasn't in a hurry recently."
"That's strange," Fred frowned. "If you two haven't discussed it, why is Mom already preparing the wedding venue?"
"Sirius has been busy too."
"Is there another wedding?"
"Who knows," Kyle said. "Maybe they're just a bit too enthusiastic."
"Forget it, never mind," Fred said. "We'll just have to wait and see."
"The invitation..." George sighed.
Kyle wasn't sure either. Their shop had already opened in Hogsmeade, yet they were still so keen on a so-called Golden Invitation.
Fred seemed to notice Kyle's confusion, but instead of explaining, he just said with feigned profundity, "You wouldn't understand."
Kyle truly didn't understand what they were thinking.
And with the overly enthusiastic Weasley family, Kyle didn't have a better solution. After a few days, he gradually got used to it.
Then, some time later, Kyle received a letter.
Hagrid told him that Conna had finally left the Potions classroom.
After reading the letter, Kyle immediately Apparated to Hogsmeade and returned to the school.
When Kyle found Conna, she was holding a bottle that was only slightly larger than her thumb, containing a potion of an indescribable color.
Yes, just one drop.
The color was close to pink, but when seen from a different angle, it turned blue, and from another angle, it became red.
"This is... um, the so-called love potion?"
"To be precise, its real name should be 'Augmento Amoris'."
"Are you serious?"
Kyle smacked his lips. "I don't know why, but it feels like the level has dropped."
"There's no other way," Professor Saxia said, emerging from the back room. "The wizarding potion is more practical. Moreover, he still has absolute naming rights... Oh, and Kyle, you should take a closer look."
"Can I?"
"Of course."
After receiving Professor Saxia's confirmation, Kyle took the bottle from Conna.
He didn't notice that Professor Saxia's expression suddenly became tense, her hand behind her back tightly gripping her wand.
However, nothing happened.
Kyle held the bottle, watching the drop of potion dance happily inside.
The potion suddenly jumped up, as if it were dancing.
It was magical.
This was the first time Kyle had seen a potion so lively after leaving the cauldron, even Felix Felicis only bubbled and danced in the cauldron when it first formed.
But Kyle wasn't overly surprised. After such a long time of brewing, the potion must have some special qualities.
Later, he returned the bottle to Conna.
At some point, perhaps while Kyle and Conna were talking, Professor Saxia had left, and no one knew where she went.
Kyle walked with Conna in the empty castle, listening to Conna's stories about some incidents that happened while brewing the potion, and also sharing many recent events with her.
Naturally, they couldn't help but mention the enthusiastic Sirius and Mrs. Weasley.
As expected, Conna was also shocked by Sirius's straightforward values, blurting out, "Do Fred and George really deserve the Golden Invitation?"
"Well, they're quite looking forward to it," Kyle smiled.
...
(End of Chapter)
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