Chapter 49: Finding A Wife For Scabbers

"What three-headed dog? I have never raised Fluffy!"

Hagrid seemed as if he had stepped on an accelerator, so excited that even his beard trembled. He pointed at Kyle, "How can you groundlessly accuse someone!"

"Oh~" Kyle suddenly realized, "So its name is Fluffy, not bad."

Hagrid looked startled and quickly denied, "I didn't... I haven't said anything. You heard wrong."

He dared not admit it.

Throughout Hogwarts, what he feared most was Kyle discovering Fluffy's existence. Even Dumbledore would have to take a step back.

Because Kyle's dad, Chris, was the Deputy Head of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and in charge of mysterious magical creatures like Fluffy.

If Kyle wrote home about this, Fluffy would undoubtedly be taken away. Hagrid himself might even end up in Azkaban.

The thought of Fluffy possibly being killed and the dreadful place that was Azkaban made Hagrid break into a cold sweat.

"No, I absolutely cannot admit it."

Hagrid stiffened his face, putting on what he thought was a fierce expression, trying to scare Kyle away.

To be honest, with his fierce expression and his over three-meter-tall burly figure, it did look quite convincing.

Ignoring Hagrid's wandering gaze and the sweat on his forehead, Kyle might have believed him.

"Alright, alright, I heard wrong. You don't have a three-headed dog," Kyle waved his hand. "Just consider it a bit of trivia. Goodbye."

"Oh, by the way." Kyle took a few steps, then turned around suddenly. "If your little dog shows symptoms like loss of appetite, restlessness, or depression, there's no need to worry. Just release it into the Forbidden Forest."

Since Hagrid didn't want him to see Fluffy, then he wouldn't. There would be plenty of opportunities next year.

Moreover, what's the point of having a small one? Isn't a big one better?

Once Fluffy was locked in that room on the fourth floor, he could look at it however he wanted. He might even pull some fur off it and knit a sock.

Leaving the Forbidden Forest, Kyle leisurely crossed the meadow. When he reached the castle's entrance, he inadvertently saw a familiar figure flash by.

Curious, Kyle walked over, only to discover a small figure crouching in the bushes at the castle's entrance, peering in search of something.

"Kanna? What are you doing here?" Kyle asked curiously.

"Who!"

The sudden voice startled Kanna, and it took her a while to recover.

"I, I'm looking for something." Kanna glanced at Kyle and continued searching in the bushes.

Seeing this, Kyle took out his wand. "How long have you been searching like this? Let me help you."

Kanna seemed to have guessed his intention and shook her head immediately. "No, I lost a Galleon, the Summoning Charm won't work."

Any magical currency, whether it was Galleon, Sickle, or Knut, had an Anti-Summoning Charm. It was like a watermark, which was the most basic anti-theft measure.

Kyle, hearing this, could only put away his wand and help search on the other side.

Kanna didn't want to trouble Kyle, otherwise, she wouldn't have sneaked here without telling anyone. But thinking about her situation, she hesitated for a moment before saying softly, "Thank you."

"No problem, we're friends." Kyle nonchalantly waved his hand. "By the way, how many Galleons did you lose?"

"Twenty."

Kyle thought he misheard, and subconsciously said, "How many?!"

"Twenty," Kanna said softly. "It could be more. I've been losing Galleons since I started school, and these were the last ones."

"Uh..."

Kyle pursed his lips, silently bending down to search through the bushes.

Gosh, she lost more than twenty Galleons at once. If it were him, Kyle estimated he'd be contemplating murder.

...

The patch of bushes at the castle's entrance was not small. It took the two of them more than an hour to search.

But the results were disappointing.

Not to mention Galleons, they didn't even find a Knut.

Kyle stood up, rubbing his waist. "Are you sure you dropped it here?"

"I, I don't know."

Kanna fell silent for a moment before saying, "It was here before Herbology class yesterday, but it disappeared suddenly this morning."

"Could it have fallen during the Flying class?" Kyle thought for a moment. "Did you check near the Quidditch pitch?"

"I checked this morning." Kanna said, "There's nothing on the Quidditch pitch or near the castle. If it's not here, then the only place left is the greenhouse."

"The greenhouse? It's impossible." Kyle said decisively.

He wouldn't dare say about other places, but the greenhouse... Kyle could guarantee a hundred percent that there was absolutely nothing dropped there. It was spotlessly clean.

He had looked very carefully at that time.

"How about we look again?" Kyle suggested, "In case we missed something just now."

"No need." Kanna shook her head.

She hadn't found any of the Galleons she had lost before. It should be the same this time. Thinking about it, it was obvious that no one would be able to find Galleons after losing them.

"Alright." Kyle didn't insist. In his opinion, for someone like Kanna from a wealthy pure-blood family who could afford to wear and discard robes, missing a few Galleons probably wouldn't matter much.

He patted the dirt off his robes and casually said, "Do you need me to lend you some before your owl arrives?"

Kanna's eyes flickered for a moment, and after a moment of silence, she said softly, "It's okay. I don't need Galleons at Hogwarts. I'll go to Gringotts during the holidays. But for the rat tonic during this time... Can I pay you back after Christmas?"

Kyle's hand, patting his robe, paused slightly. Then, he glanced at Kanna and said, "You don't need to worry about that. It's fine even if you pay next year."

After Kyle patted his robe clean, the two of them walked towards the castle together.

On the way, Kyle curiously asked, "By the way, where's your rat? I didn't see you bring it."

"Pochi?" Talking about her pet, Kanna showed a rare smile. "It's playing with Delaina's hamster in the dormitory."

"A rat and a hamster playing together? What's going on?" Kyle pursed his lips. "I have a friend, Percy Weasley from Gryffindor, who also has a rat. I'll introduce them when I have a chance.

By the way, is your Pochi male or female?"

Kanna's face blushed a little, but she still answered softly, "Female, it's a female."

"That's great." Kyle's eyes lit up. "Percy's Scabbers is male. How about we pair them up? This way, you'll have more little rats next year."

...

(End of chapter)