Chapter 26: Ratton

Early the next morning, Kyle was forced out of bed by the bright sunlight streaming through the dormitory's round window. Since he hadn't drawn the curtains the previous night, the sunbeams hit him squarely in the face like a spotlight.

How was anyone supposed to sleep like that?

Grudgingly, Kyle got dressed and stretched, then walked over to the window. Although Hogwarts Castle is partly underground, the dormitory was situated in a sunny part of the structure. From the circular window, he could see the grass and dandelions swaying outside in the morning breeze.

Kyle glanced at his two roommates, who were still fast asleep, and without a second thought, opened the window as wide as it would go.

There were only five years until the OWLs exam—how could they still be sleeping at a time like this? Besides, it was already half past seven, which might as well have been eight-fifty in his mind, with only a few minutes left before classes began at nine o'clock. Since this was their very first day of lessons at Hogwarts, they couldn't afford to make a bad impression on the professors by being late.

And what better way to wake up than with the fresh morning air, with its hint of moisture?

"I'm really considerate," Kyle nodded to himself in satisfaction.

He was genuinely thinking of his roommates. It wasn't that he wanted them to get up early with him—after all, a Hufflepuff like him would never do something like that.

After a quick wash, Kyle left the dormitory and made his way through the passage toward the common room. As everyone knows, the stairs at Hogwarts have a mind of their own. They seem to move at the most inconvenient times, often leaving students stranded or extending to unexpected floors, all while silently enjoying the wizards' despair.

Kyle was ready to make several trips around the castle, anticipating that the stairs might cause trouble. But, much to his surprise, the stairs stayed in place the entire time. He walked from the common room to the Great Hall without a single shift or jolt. The entire journey was eerily quiet.

To be honest, Kyle was a little disappointed. He had kind of been looking forward to experiencing the infamous moving stairs for himself.

Even though it wasn't yet eight o'clock, the Great Hall already had quite a few students seated for breakfast. The Ravenclaw table, in particular, was nearly full, while a few older students from other houses were scattered around. Only the Hufflepuff table remained mostly empty—except for Kyle.

As soon as he sat down, a steaming breakfast appeared on the plate in front of him: a glass of milk, two sausages, and a piece of bread. It wasn't much, but it was just right, and he could always have more if he wanted.

Kyle ate his breakfast slowly, savoring the quiet. Before long, two familiar figures appeared in the doorway of the Great Hall, walking in one after the other.

"Hey, Kyle, what are you doing up so early?" Mikel and Ryan hurried over to join him.

"I didn't want to get up early either," Kyle said calmly, cutting into his sausage. "But the window in our dorm room was open, and the wind was blowing in, so it got too cold to sleep." Without missing a beat, he asked, "What about you two? Why are you up so early?"

"We're in the same boat," Mikel said with a bitter expression. "I was wondering if you were the one who opened the window."

"The window was open when I left," Kyle emphasized the words "when I left."

"Oh, I see. Then it must've been the wind," Mikel said, taking a large bite of bread. "But I guess it was a good thing in the end. I didn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. If the window hadn't been open, I definitely wouldn't have woken up before nine. Imagine being late for the first class... I shudder to think what would've happened. I probably would've been expelled right on the spot."

Ryan, who was eating beside him, nodded in agreement. He usually got up around eight at home, but only because his mother dragged him out of bed. If he'd slept in until he naturally woke up, he likely wouldn't have made it to their first class either.

Kyle smiled slyly and said, "Then you two should really thank the kind person who helped open the window."

"Yes, definitely," Mikel said, nodding sleepily as he chewed on his breakfast, not noticing anything unusual in Kyle's comment. "It really helped a lot."

Kyle took his final sip of milk, then stood up. "Well, you two enjoy your breakfast. I'm going to go explore the area a bit."

"Okay," they both replied in unison, still groggy.

...

After bidding farewell to his roommates, who were still focused on their breakfast, Kyle made his way straight to the castle gates. It was just past eight o'clock, so he had plenty of time before class started. While he still had some time, he decided to deal with his "pet problem" first. There was already a cat and a toad in the dormitory, and he couldn't afford to be the only one without a companion.

Stepping out through the castle gates, Kyle raised his arm skillfully. In an instant, seven or eight owls swooped in from all directions, landing neatly on the stone steps in front of him.

"This time, it's not about sending a letter," Kyle said, addressing the group of owls. "I'm going to be at Hogwarts for quite some time, and I'd like to hire one of you as my personal messenger during my stay. In return... well, meals will be included—at least one package of owl nuts per day, three packages of Murtlap-dried rat meat per week, and one bottle of owl tonic per month... for now. If you need anything else, just ask. Oh, and this arrangement will continue even after I graduate, until the day you can no longer lift your wings."

Kyle paused, letting his offer sink in. "So, how about it? If any of you are interested, just fly up onto my shoulder."

Owls in the wizarding world had a natural affinity for magic, especially those trained to be special messengers. With a bit of body language and Kyle's clear instructions, the owls were able to understand about 70 to 80 percent of what he said.

Almost immediately, chaos broke out. The owls scrambled to reach Kyle's shoulder, with some of the slower ones even attacking the others in their haste. Feathers flew everywhere as the owls fought for position, and Kyle found himself scratching his head, trying to calm the frenzy. But it was too late—the situation had spiraled beyond his control.

Thankfully, the chaos didn't last long. A large brown fishing owl, towering over the others with its imposing size, easily overpowered the competition. It stood proudly on Kyle's shoulder, victorious.

Kyle recognized the owl immediately.

About three years ago, Chris had found this owl near death, battered and covered in wounds, clutching an undelivered letter in its claws at the entrance of the Ministry of Magic's mail collection counter. Chris had acted quickly, taking the owl home and nursing it back to health over the course of more than half a month. Despite his best efforts, however, the owl was left with a long, narrow scar across its face—a permanent reminder of the dark magic that had injured it. Neither Chris nor Newt had been able to remove or conceal the scar, which made the owl look somewhat...ugly compared to its peers.

But Kyle didn't care about appearances. He reached out and scratched the brown fishing owl's neck feathers, grinning. "Hello, Ratton."

The owl tilted its head, gently rubbing Kyle's finger with its beak.

Ratton was the nickname Kyle had given him early on, back when he didn't know the owl's real name. It had stuck, and Ratton had even come to recognize it. Kyle remembered when Hagrid came to fetch him one time and had spent over half an hour calling "Saban, Saban" in the nearby woods without getting a response. But the moment Kyle quietly whispered "Ratton," the owl had flown out leisurely, much to Hagrid's shock.

Hagrid had been so stunned that he stood there, speechless, unable to recover for a long time. It was as if Kyle had stolen the owl that Hagrid had worked so hard to care for, leaving the gentle giant looking thoroughly devastated.