Kyle is Behind

After leaving Scribbulus Writing Implements, less than an hour had passed, and the group began walking towards Flourish and Blotts.

But today was a special day, and there were far more people than just a few at the bookstore. A large crowd had gathered outside the already cramped entrance, and everyone was doing their best to get inside.

"Why are there so many people today!" Harry exclaimed in surprise, his mouth agape. He had tried several times to squeeze in but had failed.

"Maybe Flourish and Blotts is delivering eggs," Kyle said casually.

"Really?" Ron's eyes lit up.

"Of course it's fake!"

Hermione patted his arm excitedly and pointed to the window upstairs, "Look at that..."

A large banner was strung in front of the window:

"Gilderoy Lockhart"

Signed autobiography for sale

"Magical Me"

"We can meet him in person!" Hermione exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. "I mean, he wrote almost all the books on the list!"

"But how are we going to get in?" Harry rubbed his sore arms. "Those guys are incredibly strong."

"That's easy..."

Kyle cleared his throat and called out, "Mr. Lockhart, what are you doing here!"

In an instant, the crowded people stopped moving, turning their heads to search for something.

Kyle and his friends seized the opportunity to reach the doorway and squeezed through the crowd.

"You're something else, Kyle," Harry said with a laugh.

"It's nothing." I was going to call out Voldemort just now; that would have been more effective.

"Please, don't say that name." Ron suddenly shuddered. "It'll cause chaos."

"I know, that's why I didn't call it out." Kyle smiled. "But Ron, you'll have to try to accept the name."

"Many adult wizards can't do that..." Ron muttered under his breath, "Except you and Harry."

The winding line stretched from the entrance all the way to the back of the bookstore, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing books.

Each of them grabbed a copy of "Break with a Banshee" and sneaked off to where the Weasley family and the Grangers were queuing.

"Oh, you've finally arrived! That's wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, her breath quickening as she patted her hair. "We'll see him soon..."

Gradually, they came across Gilderoy Lockhart. He sat behind a table, surrounded by large photographs of himself, all of whom were Lockhart at the crowd, flashing their dazzling white teeth.

Lockhart himself wore a light blue robe, with his pointed wizard hat playfully tilted to one side on his wavy blond hair.

"He's so charming..." Mrs. Weasley stood on tiptoe, looking like a fan about to meet her idol.

"Yes..." Mr. Granger chimed in, "His teeth are really charming, oh, and his hair is nice too... What brand of toiletries does he use? Can we buy them here?"

"You can check out the magic supplies shop across from Ollivander; they should have what you need."

Kyle, standing nearby, said, "I recommend you try Potter's Sleekeazy Hair Shampoo. One of our professors has several cases of it stockpiled at home, and he rarely uses it."

"Even professors are reluctant to use it, it must be very expensive..." Mr. Granger frowned.

They didn't get many gold coins; most of them were reserved for Hermione's schooling.

"It's not expensive; a few Sickle can buy a big bottle."

Mr. Granger touched his thinning hair, somewhat tempted.

Thank you, child.

He said, "I think you must be Kyle, the one Arthur and Molly were talking about. Hermione often mentions you, saying you're the smartest little wizard at Hogwarts."

"That's too high a compliment," Kyle shook his head. "I just used the time others spent playing to read books."

Harry and Ron instinctively turned their heads away as they listened to Kyle's words.

They felt they were the "others" Kyle was referring to.

However, Harry was still concerned about something else. He walked over to Kyle and hesitantly asked, "The shampoo you mentioned earlier, is it...?"

"Yes, it's your Harry Potter ..." Kyle said, "But that brand was sold to someone else a long time ago and has nothing to do with your family anymore."

Harry's excitement vanished quickly, and he returned to Ron's side in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"It's nothing." Harry shook his head.

For a fleeting moment, he thought he had an uncle... or some other relative, but it was all for nothing.

"Get out of the way!"

Just then, a short, grumpy man carrying a large black camera squeezed past Ron. "Get out of the way, this is for the Daily Prophet."

"Oh, that's amazing!" Ron said, rubbing his foot where the man had stepped on it.

Gilderoy Lockhart heard it, looked up, saw Ron, and then Harry.

He stared at Harry for a moment, then jumped up from his seat and exclaimed, "Merlin! Isn't that Harry Potter?"

The crowd parted to make way, whispering excitedly.

Harry watched as Lockhart rushed over, his movements suggesting he wanted to pull him to the front for a photo.

In the blink of an eye...

Under the threat of death, Harry's mind suddenly awakens with intelligence far exceeding his usual level.

"Kyle's behind!" he shouted.

"Could it be Kyle, the one who received the Order of Merlin, Second Class?" Lockhart became even more excited and immediately looked in the direction Harry was pointing.

But there were only two middle-aged men and an agitated witch there...

Harry was stunned.

Where's Kyle... He was just here a moment ago, how could he disappear in the blink of an eye!

"I think the child probably hid because he was too nervous when he saw me."

Lockhart flashed his gleaming teeth. "You probably know I've won the Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award five times."

This reason was clearly not enough to convince Harry; although he didn't know what the Witch Weekly Smile Award was, it certainly couldn't compare to the Order of Merlin.

Besides, Kyle had met legendary wizards like Nicolas Flamel, so how could he possibly be nervous?

"Kyle must have run away because he didn't want to have his picture taken!" Harry thought to himself.

He wanted to do it too, but Lockhart didn't give him the chance.

Although Kyle wasn't seen, Harry Potter alone was enough to get them on the front page.

Harry was pulled to the front like a puppet, Lockhart warmly shook his hand so the photographer could take pictures.

The short man frantically pressed the shutter button repeatedly, and plumes of purple smoke drifted onto the Weasley family.

The applause and camera shutters around him made Harry feel a little overwhelmed, and his face turned even redder than Ron's hair.

He still can't understand why Kyle suddenly disappeared.