Memories and Letters

The dark common room was empty; it seemed that Kanna and Cedric's confinement was not yet over.

Kyle didn't turn on the light; he just sat quietly on a sofa, deep in thought.

Too much happened tonight; he needs to sort it all out.

First of all, Kyle was certain that the person they saw during their nighttime stroll was indeed Hagrid; it couldn't have been someone else impersonating him.

Even if a person could imitate Polyjuice Potion, what about the Fang that was with him at the time? It couldn't possibly be an Animagus, could it?

After all, Polyjuice Potion are ineffective on animals.

But if Hagrid at that time was indeed himself, then why would he say he had never been to the Forbidden Forest?

And then there's Dumbledore's words.

Is it a spell of forgetting, Memory Charm?

Or perhaps... the venom of the Swooping Evil.

Kyle took a small piece of wood with signs of corrosion out of his pocket and gently rubbed it in his hand.

He had secretly cut this from that section of tree trunk when Hagrid wasn't looking.

Under the moonlight, the wooden block shimmered with a pale blue fluorescence.

The colors do match, but Kyle remembers that the venom of the Swooping Evil isn't corrosive. Could he be mistaken?

Just then, the door to the lounge opened again, and two figures walked in one after the other.

"Kyle, you really were here."

Cedric lowered his voice and said, "Filch just left and then came back furious. He was looking for you, wasn't he?"

Kyle put away the wood and nodded, saying, "I did see him when I came back."

"What did you do to make him so angry?" Cedric asked curiously.

"It wasn't me, it was Hagrid," Kyle said, shaking his finger. "He got thwarted by Hagrid."

"No wonder Filch was so angry; I remember he and Hagrid have never gotten along."

Cedric continued, "By the way, what's your solitary confinement like? I thought we'd definitely be back before you."

Fred told me that five people working together to clean the Trophy Room was something they'd never done before, and it was incredibly easy.

However, Filch thought so too, so he made us wipe it three times before he agreed to end the confinement."

"Me too," Kyle said. "I was taken to the Forbidden Forest and went in with Hagrid to find something."

"To the Forbidden Forest, and at night?" Cedric was stunned.

He had considered countless possibilities beforehand—copying books, cleaning classrooms, wiping armor, and so on—but he never imagined that Kyle's confinement would be in the Forbidden Forest.

This isn't just about the same, it's completely different!

Were they really put in solitary confinement for the same reason?

Although they went into the Forbidden Forest once at night, that was only the outermost edge, and there was no danger even at night.

But when searching for something with Hagrid, it's impossible that they would just wander around outside.

"Are you alright?" Kanna asked nervously.

"Of course not, if I were injured I'd be in the Hospital Wing by now," Kyle laughed. "Let me tell you, I even saw centaurs in the Forbidden Forest ..."

Kyle recounted his experiences in the Forbidden Forest, leaving Cedric and Kanna listening in stunned silence.

Their expressions gradually changed from initial worry to envy.

They also wanted to explore the depths of the Forbidden Forest...

As dawn broke, the three of them stopped talking after feeling sleepy.

Back in his dorm, Kyle couldn't fall asleep, so he took out parchment and a quill and wrote a letter under the moonlight.

He then packed the letter, wrote the address on it, and placed it in front of Ladon.

"I'm sorry to trouble you," Kyle said softly. "Deliver this letter to Newt tomorrow morning, and if he's not back by then, put it on the biggest tree by the door."

There's a Bowtruckle there; it will help keep the mail safe.

Kyle decided to go to Newt anyway, just in case the venom of the Swooping Evil was indeed corrosive; after all, it was Magical Creatures, and it wouldn't be surprising if it mutated.

I just don't know if he's back yet...

It would be best if they came back, but it doesn't matter if they don't.

Since Dumbledore already knew about this, he didn't need to worry about the rest.

Ladon opened one eye and placed its paw on the envelope.

After receiving a reply, Kyle lay back down on the bed, and this time he fell asleep quickly.

After that, neither Dumbledore nor Hagrid contacted him again, and Kyle was happy to have some peace and quiet. He suppressed his curiosity and began to focus on preparing for his final exams.

With exam week approaching, the castle seemed to have changed overnight, with little wizards practicing their wand gestures everywhere they went.

This time of year is also the most dangerous time at Hogwarts Castle, because young wizards often unconsciously utter spells while waving their wands.

Moreover, there were quite a few such people. Kyle had only walked from the lounge to the Great Hall when he saw two unfortunate souls who had been accidentally injured by the curse.

Fortunately, they only had Levitation Charm and Mending Charm, so they didn't need to go to the Hospital Wing.

Kyle carefully evaded the assassins hidden in the crowd and made his way to the Great Hall without any major incidents.

The professors also found out about this.

There was no way around it; almost every class had two or three junior wizards absent because they were sent to the Hospital Wing, so it was hard for them not to know even if they wanted to.

During Transfiguration Class, Professor McGonagall strictly forbade the young wizards from practicing wand gestures in the corridors.

"Why didn't you do this sooner?"

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and said, "From now on, if you want to practice, find an empty classroom. If I see anyone misbehaving with their wand again, they can expect a week of confinement."

Compared to Professor McGonagall, Snape's approach was more direct. He told everyone that if anyone missed Potions Class because of this, then, regardless of whether they were absent or the instigator, their Potions grade for the final semester would be invalidated.

That's just how unreasonable it is.

Also, Kyle felt, whether it was his imagination or not, that Snape glanced at him when he said that.

Despite the professors' explicit prohibition, the castle assassins vanished in less than half a day.

When it was time for dinner, Hogwarts returned to its previous peace and tranquility, as if nothing had happened.

At the dinner table, Kyle absentmindedly cut the steak on his plate.

He wasn't worried that Snape would secretly harm him, but rather that Ladon would.

Five days have passed since the letter was sent, and Ladon still hasn't returned.

Five days is enough to travel from Dorset to Hogwarts; you could probably make several round trips by train.