Ron's Delusion

After noting the location of the two pear trees, Kyle didn't linger. He took a bundle of branches he had picked up and found Hagrid, who was looking out at the cabin.

"Oh... you've already chosen one?" Hagrid turned his head and stammered, "I wasn't thinking about dragon eggs, but something just ran past over there... it was probably Kneazle."

"Are there Kneazle in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes."

Seeing that Kyle believed him, Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief and said, "In fact, there are quite a few Kneazle in the Forbidden Forest, but they rarely show themselves in front of wizards. Even I only see them occasionally."

You probably know that these Fantastic Beasts are very intelligent and extremely vigilant; if they want to hide, no one can find them.

Kyle nodded; the Kneazle was indeed very clever.

Newt always believed that they, like Wampus Cat, possessed an innate ability to Legilimency, only that this ability manifested in a more complex way and did not belong to any known form of magic.

But one thing is certain: you can never hide your intentions from a Kneazle, because they can easily see where your heart lies.

Subconsciously, Kyle thought of his own Tom, who ate and slept all the time, and would just roll over onto his back whenever he reached out...

Well, that guy is definitely an outlier among Kneazle, like a husky mixed in with a pack of wolves, his main characteristic is being unconventional.

When they returned to the cabin, Hagrid warmly invited Kyle to come in and sit for a while longer.

"Next time, Hagrid." Kyle shook his head and said, "I need to finish my homework quickly so I can take advantage of the holiday to deal with these branches."

Oh, and remember to write me a letter the day the dragon eggs hatch. I helped take care of baby dragons with Newt before, so I have some experience in this area."

"That's great..." Hagrid blurted out, then quickly coughed and said, "No, I mean, of course, if you have the time!"

"Don't worry about that, I'll definitely have time." Kyle waved his hand and walked towards the castle.

Hagrid then turned and went back into the cabin.

Inside the house, Harry, Ron, Hermione were waiting anxiously. When they saw Hagrid return, they quickly gathered around him.

"Where's Kyle...?" Harry asked.

"Oh, he has other things to do and has already gone back to the castle." Hagrid took the bow and arrow off his shoulder and hung it on the wall. "I think you guys should go back and do your homework too, instead of bothering me with questions about Professor Snape."

"I guarantee he would never steal the Philosopher's Stone."

"But..."

Harry was about to say something, but Hermione spoke first, "Is what Kyle is doing related to those hickory branches? Also, what was that amulet you mentioned earlier?"

"This...?"

Hagrid thought for a moment and said, "I remember it was a wooden carving about the size of Galleon, something like... the Exam-Passing Talisman... I don't remember the name, but the meaning is definitely right."

That thing was all the rage at Hogwarts last year; almost everyone had one.

"Passed the exam..." Harry and Ron's eyes lit up immediately, and they asked eagerly:

"Can that thing really help people pass the exam?"

"How much!"

"You two..." Hermione said angrily, "If you want to pass the exam, read more books instead of relying on that amulet."

Furthermore, can you all use your brains? If that thing could really help everyone pass the exam, how could Professor McGonagall possibly allow it to appear at Hogwarts... That's cheating!"

"Perhaps Professor McGonagall doesn't know either..." Ron countered.

Harry nodded in agreement. "Or maybe the professors didn't even consider it a form of cheating. After all, Hagrid just said it only appeared last year, so it's still a very recent development."

"You... Humph!"

Hermione was furious. She snorted coldly, ignoring the two of them, and turned to ask, "Hagrid, do you think that amulet really allows everyone to pass the test?"

"That's impossible," Hagrid said with a laugh. "Even last year, many people got Ps (failed), and quite a few got Ds (terrible) and Ts (Troll).

Hermione is right, if you want to pass the exam, you have to read more books, that's the only way."

The light in Harry and Ron's eyes vanished instantly.

"So, Kyle was lying?" Harry asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Well... you can't say that, because Kyle said more than once last year that it's just a symbol, and it doesn't serve any other purpose."

Hagrid frowned and pondered for a moment before continuing, "But strangely enough, even so, many people still believe that thing is actually useful."

I've heard students say before that their grades in Charms were consistently poor, but they unexpectedly received an A (passing grade) on the final exam.

Upon hearing this, Harry and Ron's eyes lit up again, but Hermione's brows remained furrowed, lost in thought.

The cabin fell silent, save for Hagrid squatting by the fireplace sawing wood... and, well, the sound of him singing a lullaby.

If Professor Flitwick were here, he would definitely tell everyone that the student's A grade had nothing to do with the amulet; it was entirely the result of his hard work.

Unfortunately, Professor Flitwick wasn't here; he was probably still drinking at Three Broomsticks right now.

On their way back to the castle, Harry and Ron were still excitedly discussing what had just happened.

"It can help you pass an exam... Good heavens, that thing is even more powerful than the Philosopher's Stone!" Harry said earnestly, "No matter the price, I have to buy one!"

"Yeah...I want to buy one too." Ron's mood suddenly turned somber. He touched the few copper coins he had left in his pocket and muttered, "I hope it's not too expensive."

"I can... um, lend it to you, or you can go ask Fred and George."

Harry had intended to offer to buy one for him, but he quickly remembered that Ron was somewhat sensitive about Galleon, so he quickly changed the subject:

"I remember they were involved in creating the map when school started, so maybe they will be this time too."

"They're your brothers, they'll definitely give you a great deal."

"That's right, you're right, how could I forget that..." Ron suddenly looked up, excitedly saying, "They've always had a good relationship with Kyle, they definitely wouldn't let their brother fail his exam!"

"Snort!"

At that moment, Hermione bumped into Ron and then quickly walked past them.

Their laughter stopped abruptly.