Chapter 73: The First Snow at Hogwarts

In the following period, Kyle became increasingly interested in night adventures, a beneficial activity. In recent weeks, he ventured out every night, more frequently than Fred and George.

This newfound interest might be attributed to the recent experiences of the twins.

The heap of Mooncalf dung they had labored to bring back unexpectedly ended up slipping through their fingers.

No one within the confines of the wizarding world was interested in it.

The relevant shops in Diagon Alley also refused to accept it.

However, the twins were not ones to accept defeat so easily. Against all odds, they made a misguided decision to visit the greenhouse, attempting to sell their goods at a discounted price to Professor Sprout.

Predictably, their night activities were also discovered, leading to severe consequences.

With a single glance, Professor Sprout identified the origin of the substances they held. With such a large amount, it could have only been from the Forbidden Forest.

Considering Professor Sprout's awareness of the timing for collecting Mooncalf dung, their audacious act of showcasing their goods in front of her was intolerable.

Even the gentle Professor Sprout found such a blatant provocation unbearable and escorted them directly to Professor McGonagall's office.

Despite the twins' fervent explanations that they had found the dung near Hagrid's pumpkin patch, no one believed them. Hagrid had been preoccupied with other matters for an extended period and had neglected the pumpkin patch.

Professor McGonagall, both disappointed and angry, ordered them to clean the bathrooms for a week.

Filch couldn't have been happier, contemplating moving his office right next to Gryffindor Tower to keep a constant watch on them.

However, this turn of events proved advantageous for Kyle.

Once Mikel and Ryan fell into a deep sleep, Kyle quietly climbed out of the bed and tiptoed out of the common room.

After putting on the silver-green scarf as usual, he took out his wand and tapped his forehead lightly.

"Disillusionment."

A cold sensation quickly spread from the top of his head, akin to being doused in icy water. Immediately afterward, Kyle's body adopted the color patterns identical to the wall behind him.

The Disguise Charm.

Since returning from the Forbidden Forest, Kyle had dedicated himself to mastering this spell.

While the Invisibility Cloak was convenient and easy to use, its drawbacks were numerous. A momentary lapse or brisk movement could expose one's feet.

In comparison, the Disillusionment Charm proved more effective.

Although the incantation was somewhat troublesome, taking him three days to barely learn it, the color transition of his body when the environment changed wasn't entirely seamless.

Fortunately, the Hogwarts castle was pitch dark at night, rendering this minor flaw inconspicuous.

After everything was ready, Kyle stealthily made his way to the library entrance on the second floor.

This had become his favored night activity destination.

He enjoyed reading, but certain books were not suited to read during the day. He had to read them secretly at night when it was dark.

The library doors were tightly shut, and a large brass lock hung between the two doors. Kyle took out the master key and unlocked the brass lock with a slight twist. He then cautiously pushed open a gap and slipped into the library.

The library at night was eerie and shrouded in darkness.

"Lumos."

Kyle held up his wand and walked through the rows of bookshelves until he reached the back half of the library before stopping in front of a sign. 

On the sign, the words "Restricted Section" held an irresistible allure.

Carefully stepping over the ropes separating these books from the others, Kyle, aided by the wand's light, read the titles.

To avoid potential discoveries or mishaps, Kyle was meticulous in his book selection.

Absolutely no covers with images (including but not limited to portraits, magical creatures, and various symbols) were considered.

Covers with nothing on it were rejected.

Thick and oversized books were dismissed.

Those with strange markings were discarded.

Anything appearing excessively worn was also rejected, fearing damage during reading, and it would be troublesome if restoration proved impossible.

Kyle wandered through the Restricted Section for quite some time. It wasn't until he reached the sixth row of shelves that he pulled out a thin, black book adorned with gold floral script.

The book was thin, and the floral script on the cover had peeled off a lot. Kyle could barely discern the meaning of the last two words.

"Exploring..."

This would suffice.

Having selected his book, Kyle, as he had done on previous occasions, sat on the floor, wearing his scarf, and began reading.

Compared with ordinary books, the contents in the Restricted Section were significantly more obscure. When encountering passages he couldn't understand or comprehend, Kyle would copy the contents using his self-spelling quill.

Although this method was much more troublesome than using the Duplicating Charm directly, it was safer. Who knew what weird enchantments these books might contain? It was safer not to cast spells on them.

...

When Kyle left the library, two hours had passed.

On his way back, Kyle unexpectedly encountered Peeves the Poltergeist. Yet, shielded by the Disillusionment Charm, his presence went unnoticed.

The next morning, Kyle, who had planned to sleep until 8:50, was forcibly pulled out of bed by his two roommates at 7:30.

"Wake up, Kyle! Hurry, wake up!"

Without waiting for Kyle's response, they unceremoniously pulled him out of bed, each holding one of his arms, guiding him to the window.

"Look, it's snowing!"

Mikel opened the window without any warning, and a gust of cold wind, accompanied by snowflakes, slapped Kyle's face.

"Hiss..."

Kyle shivered, instantly losing all traces of sleep.

Rubbing his face, Kyle felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen this scene somewhere before.

"Let's go outside and have a look!" Mikel exclaimed excitedly. "This is the first snow at Hogwarts!"

Kyle shook his head in refusal.

What was so fascinating about snow? He'd rather catch up on sleep. He had slept late the previous night, and today wasn't the weekend. What if he felt drowsy during class?

However, Mikel and Ryan didn't think so.

They persistently urged Kyle to wash up and change clothes, behaving as if they wouldn't budge until he complied.

"This is the first snow we've experienced at Hogwarts. It's very meaningful!"

Mikel insisted, "Sleeping now would be a waste. There's plenty of time to catch up on sleep during History of Magic class later."

"Yeah, today's first class is History of Magic."

Considering this, Kyle stopped resisting. After changing into suitable clothes, he joined them on their way out of the dormitory.

In just one night, the accumulated snow on the ground had reached over a foot deep.

When they came to the open grounds outside Hogwarts Castle, there were already many students there.

Kyle even spotted Fred and George, along with a few Gryffindors, who were making snow lions on the grounds... Well, theoretically, they were supposed to be lions, but in reality, they looked rather ugly, resembling a Flobberworm attempting yoga.

(End of chapter)