Chapter 27: The First Class

Chapter 27: First Class

Even though Kyle never had to worry about sending letters, having his owl at Hogwarts was still a good idea.

Because, in a sense, an owl was like a phone number in the Muggle world. They usually represented their owner's identity.

This was quite important.

Take a simple example: Kyle's mom, Diana, worked in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. This department was very strictly managed. Besides special circumstances, all letters delivered there had to be screened multiple times.

From the owl's identity, ownership, and condition... to the sender's name, identity, and ownership, and finally, to check if there were any special substances or jinxes on the letter.

Only after confirming everything was okay would these letters be sent to the Department of Mysteries as paper airplanes.

This was the rule. Even letters sent by Kyle couldn't be an exception. At most, the process would be faster.

With the Ministry of Magic's efficiency, it would take at least a day for the entire process.

But it was different with Rodon.

Diana could apply for it to be a special owl. It would be prioritized for handling letters, and the screening process could be simplified. They only needed to check the owl's condition, the sender's name, and if there were any jinxes in the letter. It could be done on the spot.

At Platform 9 3/4, Diana specifically instructed Kyle to choose the same owl whenever he sent letters. If he couldn't, he should just buy one at Diagon Alley.

Of course, buying was impossible. Kyle wouldn't waste his money on that. He already had Rodon.

Problem solved.

Kyle took some owl nuts and a few bags of Wrackspurt jerky from his chameleon-skin bag, along with the chestnuts in his hand, and pushed them toward the owls.

He then found some water and poured two bottles of owl tonic into it. He stirred it and poured it into a stone trough nearby.

This was a little tip. They couldn't just be left with feathers all over the ground.

While the owls were eating, Kyle took Rodon back to the castle, then headed straight for the Hufflepuff common room.

He went through the wooden barrels in the kitchen corridor and returned to the dorm...

Mickel and Ryan were both gone. They must have gone to class.

Kyle didn't think much of it. He placed Rodon on the shelf next to his bed, took his textbook, and left.

In the common room, Kyle happened to meet Cedric, who was also about to leave.

"Kyle, I was just about to come find you." Cedric walked over quickly, "What's your first class?"

"Charms." Kyle waved the "Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1" in his hand and asked, "What do you need?"

"Right, this is for you." Cedric handed Kyle a piece of parchment,

"This is a Hogwarts map that a prefect gave me when I was a freshman. It marks the locations of classrooms and some of the staircase changes.

I don't need it anymore. It's perfect for you."

Hogwarts was great in every way, except that it was too big. The inside was intricate, like a huge maze. All the freshmen got lost. Being late was commonplace.

Fortunately, the professors understood. Except for a certain Head of House, other professors turned a blind eye to it, either giving a verbal warning or deducting a point symbolically. They wouldn't care too much.

Kyle took the parchment and examined it carefully.

It was a normal map, but the content was detailed. It marked all the routes from the Hufflepuff common room to every classroom. It also specifically noted when you needed to wait for the staircase to turn to a certain position before you could proceed.

It was like a low-end version of the Marauder's Map. But for Kyle, it was enough.

"Thank you. I need this." Kyle put away the map, "By the way, what's your first class?"

"I have Potions… Wait, Potions!"

Cedric suddenly gasped, then took off running, "I'll go first, Kyle. Remember, the worst thing you can do at Hogwarts is be late for Potions class. You have to remember..."

Cedric's voice grew fainter and quickly disappeared down the passage.

It was easy to see from his behavior that Snape had left him with deep psychological scars... or perhaps he had left many young wizards with psychological scars.

Kyle figured he wouldn't escape either.

"It's a pity. If Harry Potter had started school a year earlier."

Kyle shook his head and followed, leaving the common room.

...

The Charms class was on the third floor. Following the map, it was easy to find.

Pushing the door open, the first thing he saw was a pile of books stacked like stairs. Four portraits of unknown people were hung on the wall in front.

They must be some famous wizards. But Kyle didn't recognize any of them.

On the walls on either side were the emblems of the four houses. Below them were some long tables.

When Kyle got there, it was five minutes before class started.

Honestly, this wasn't very early. But there weren't many people in the classroom, and even Professor Flitwick wasn't there.

Kyle found a seat and sat down.

Across from him were a few Ravenclaw students. The two houses sat left and right, clearly separated.

As nine o'clock got closer, young wizards arrived one after another, out of breath.

Kyle also saw Kanna. Unfortunately, the young witch ignored him completely. She stormed past him, looking furious.

Eight fifty-nine, Mickel and Ryan arrived just in time.

"Thank goodness, we're not late."

After sitting down, Mickel started to pant. At the same time, he began to complain to Kyle.

"We got lost."

"God, Hogwarts is like a maze. We were supposed to go to the third floor, but when we were on the second floor, the stairs suddenly changed direction. We went up and somehow ended up on the fifth floor."

"Then, we started to go down, but it took us ages to realize we were still on the fifth floor."

"Finally, we went down, but we were back on the second floor… You know, Kyle, we climbed the stairs for thirty minutes! My legs were about to break!"

Mickel grew more and more aggrieved as he spoke. He was almost about to cry.

"Wait, it's a bit confusing. Let me process it." Kyle rubbed his forehead. He had thought for a long time but still couldn't understand why they could go down and stay in the same place.

Even a klutz could tell up from down.

Going in circles was already in the realm of the mystical. It wasn't the same as magic.

And Cedric's map didn't have any records of this.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this." Kyle gave up, unable to figure it out. He turned to ask, "So, how did you find it in the end?"

"Someone brought us here." Mickel blushed and pointed to the opposite side. "We met a Ravenclaw new student on the fifth floor. She pulled us down from the rotating staircase. She asked if we were going to Charms class. If we were, we could go with her."

Kyle subconsciously looked over. He realized that Mickel was pointing at none other than Cho Chang.