Chapter 59: Headmaster's Office

Kyle and Kanna returned to the castle not long after.

After their departure, Hagrid sat in his cabin, contemplating until evening. Eventually, he decided to follow Kyle's advice and take Fluffy to the Forbidden Forest tonight.

Though he was reluctant, it was the only option. Firstly, doing so would make Fluffy feel better.

Fluffy was delighted, and Hagrid felt the joy too.

Moreover, he had considered Kyle's words. Indeed, the situation outside was tense.

Earlier, Professor Oren, the Dark Arts Defense professor, had complained to him when searching for materials in the Forbidden Forest.

After today's Daily Prophet was published, the Ministry of Magic, to show that they place great importance on the matter, dispatched almost all the Hit Wizards to search for magical creatures of unknown origins.

It left Professor Oren unable to buy teaching materials and had to come to the Forbidden Forest to catch creatures himself.

Hagrid recalled Professor Oren's explosive anger in the forest, cursing Fudge as a fool. At the time, Hagrid found it amusing, but now he regretted not joining in as well.

He had bought Fluffy in a bar and there were quite a few people around at the time.

Although those people didn't know exactly what he bought, if any of them were caught by the Hit Wizards, they would undoubtedly claim he bought magical creatures to shift the blame and escape punishment.

For Fluffy's safety and to avoid causing trouble for Dumbledore, Hagrid had to send Fluffy away.

The Hit Wizards would likely not search the Forbidden Forest.

Of course, if they wanted to, Hagrid wouldn't stop them.

It wasn't necessary.

Deep in the Forbidden Forest, there were even werewolves and manticores. Having an additional three-headed dog wasn't anything strange.

On the other hand, Kyle who had returned back to the castle, sat in a corner of the common room, sorting through a pile of Wiggentree branches.

"I was just thinking," Kanna observed Kyle's actions curiously. "Why are you picking up these dead branches when there are plenty in the kitchen that you can get anytime?"

"It's different, these are Wiggentree branches," Kyle explained. "The Wiggentree is a magical rowan that protects those who touch its trunk from dark creature."

Kanna blinked, she knew about this. But how did it have anything to do with Kyle picking up the branches?

Branches and trunks... weren't they entirely different things?

"I... never mind. You'll know later," Kyle picked up a straight stick and put it aside, then casually asked, "By the way, how do you know there are branches in the kitchen? Have you eaten there before?"

The kitchen was so close that Kyle had to visit it once. However, every time he approached the door, he would be surrounded by a group of house-elves.

The stove was further inside, visible only from the long tables.

With the enthusiasm of the house elves, it was almost impossible to get there without being fed by them.

"No, I haven't, don't talk nonsense..."

Somehow, Kanna's face turned red all of a sudden. She stammered, "I'm just curious, so I went to the kitchen to take a look!"

"Okay."

Kyle didn't care and continued to select those Wiggentree branches. When he finally finished, he realized Kanna had returned to the dormitory at some point.

The common room was empty, and Kyle remembered it was the weekend. He tidied up briefly and headed back to the dormitory.

He wasn't planning to stay up late.

For Hufflepuff, the upcoming weekend was significant because the Quidditch matches were starting. Their first match was against Slytherin.

The next day.

To cheer for their house team, the little Hufflepuffs got up before eight o'clock.

After breakfast, they put on their neat school uniforms, carried pre-made support banners, and headed to the Quidditch pitch on time.

Kyle was initially among them, but after breakfast, a plump ghost suddenly floated to him.

"Hello, Kyle. I hope I didn't disturb your breakfast."

"Hello, Friar," Kyle politely responded. "Would you like to watch Quidditch together? There's a high chance Hufflepuff will win the championship this year."

"No, thanks. In fact, I prefer Gobstones." The Fat Friar regretfully said, "Unfortunately, Hogwarts canceled that game decades ago."

"Sorry, Friar." Kyle hurriedly apologized, "I hope I didn't ruin your day."

"Of course not, child," the Fat Friar chuckled, "The greatest advantage of being a ghost is that there's nothing worse than this. You don't need to worry about it at all.

However, you might have to go to the match a little later. Dumbledore has something to discuss with you. He's on the eighth floor Headmaster's office, and the password is 'Peanut Butter Candy.'"

Dumbledore wanted to see him?

This surprised Kyle. He curiously asked, "Friar, do you know what the headmaster wants with me?"

"I am not sure," the Fat Friar shook his head. "I'm just passing on the message."

"Alright, I'll go. Goodbye, Friar."

After bidding farewell to the Fat Friar, Kyle went straight to the eighth floor.

He was sure Dumbledore had a reason for summoning him. He just hoped it wouldn't delay him from watching the Quidditch match.

Although he had never been to the Headmaster's office before, Kyle quickly found the ugly stone statue with his familiarity with the map.

"Peanut Butter Candy," Kyle uttered the password.

Subsequently, the statue jumped aside, and the wall behind it split in half, revealing a spiral staircase behind it.

The staircase moved slowly upward, like an escalator.

Kyle stepped on it and followed it to a solid oak door, with a door knocker in the shape of a lion with an eagle's head.

Kyle nervously knocked on the door. The knocker seemed to come alive, flapping its wings to slowly open the large door.

It was indeed the Headmaster's office, the door opening mechanism was far better than tapping on a barrel.

Entering the office, Kyle curiously surveyed the surroundings.

The spacious circular room was filled with various funny voices. There were many strange silverware placed on the table. They were spinning and spitting out small puffs of smoke.

Kyle didn't know the purpose of these items, but they were definitely not humidifiers.

Next to the wall, there was a stone basin with strange symbols. Next to it, a giant mirror mounted on the wall.

The mirror was very grand, reaching up to the ceiling. The golden frame shone brightly, supported by two claw-shaped feet.

(End of chapter)