Ladon

Early the next morning, Kyle was forced to crawl out of bed.

He hadn't drawn the curtains last night, so sunlight streamed through the dormitory's round window like a spotlight, landing squarely on his face.

Who could possibly sleep through that?

Reluctantly, Kyle got dressed, stretched, and walked over to the window.

Hogwarts Castle sat on uneven ground, so although the dormitory was in the underground part of the castle, it still got plenty of sunlight. Through the round window, he could see the grass and dandelions swaying outside.

Kyle glanced at his two roommates, who were still fast asleep, and opened the window as wide as it would go.

They had their O.W.L.s in five years. How could kids their age sleep in?

Besides, it was already seven thirty. Rounded up, that was practically eight fifty, and there were only a few minutes left before class started at nine.

This was their first class at Hogwarts, after all. They had to make a good impression on their professors. Being late would be a bad start.

And the misty morning breeze was undoubtedly the best alarm clock.

"I really am so considerate." Kyle nodded, satisfied.

He was doing this for his roommates' sake, not because he wanted them to get up early with him. As a Hufflepuff, he would never do something like that.

After a quick wash, Kyle left the dormitory and made his way through the common room.

Everyone knew Hogwarts' staircases had minds of their own. They always seemed to wait until young wizards were in the biggest hurry before suddenly changing direction or stretching up to a higher floor, then silently watching as the poor students wailed in despair.

Kyle had been prepared to take a few detours, but he wasn't sure whether it was because he had plenty of time or because the staircases hadn't started work yet.

From the common room all the way to the Great Hall, not one staircase changed. The whole way was remarkably peaceful.

Kyle was a little disappointed. Honestly, he'd been rather looking forward to trying it out.

It wasn't even eight yet, but the Great Hall was already fairly crowded. The Ravenclaw table was especially full, while a few older students sat scattered among the other houses.

Only Hufflepuff's table was empty... except for Kyle.

As soon as he sat down, a steaming breakfast appeared on the plate in front of him.

A glass of milk, two sausages, and a piece of bread.

It wasn't an extravagant meal, but it was pretty good. He could always have more if he wanted.

Kyle ate at his leisure. Before long, two familiar figures walked into the Great Hall, one after the other.

"Hey, Kyle. Why are you up so early?" Mikel and Ryan hurried over.

"I didn't want to be. I was planning to go back to sleep, but the dormitory window was open, and the cold draft kept me awake." Kyle cut off a piece of sausage and popped it into his mouth, his expression unchanged. "What about you two? Why are you up so early?"

"Same here." Mikel grimaced. "I thought you'd opened the window?"

"The window was open when I left."

Kyle put particular emphasis on the words "when I left."

"Oh, I see. The wind must've blown it open." Mikel picked up the bread and took a big bite. "Still, it's a good thing. I didn't fall asleep until the early hours last night. If the window hadn't been open, I wouldn't have gotten up before nine.

If I were late to my first class... I don't even want to imagine what would happen. They'd definitely expel me, right?"

Beside him, Ryan nodded in emphatic agreement.

He usually got up a little after eight at home, but only because his mother dragged him out of bed.

If he'd been allowed to wake up naturally, there was no way he'd have made it to their first class on time.

Kyle smiled. "Then you should thank the kind person who opened the window."

"Yeah."

The two bleary-eyed boys were too busy eating breakfast to notice anything odd about what Kyle had just said.

Mikel even agreed, "It really helped."

By then, Kyle had finished his last sip of milk. He stood up and said, "You two keep eating. I'm going to look around."

"Okay," they said in unison.

After saying goodbye to his roommates, who were engrossed in their food, Kyle headed straight for the castle entrance.

It was only a little after eight, and class was still a long way off. Since he had time, Kyle decided to sort out the matter of a pet first.

There was already a cat and a toad in the dormitory. He couldn't be the odd one out, could he?

As he stepped through the castle doors, Kyle raised his arm with practiced ease.

At once, seven or eight owls swooped in from all directions and landed in a neat row on the stone steps before him.

"This isn't about delivering a letter," Kyle told them. "I'll be at Hogwarts for a long time, and during that time, I'd like to hire one of you as my personal messenger.

"As for payment... all your meals will be covered: at least one packet of owl nuts every day, at least three packets of dried Murtlap meat each week, and a bottle of owl tonic each month. That's all for now, but I can add more if you need it.

"Also, these terms will still apply after I graduate, until you can no longer lift your wings.

"So, if any of you are interested, come perch on my shoulder."

It had nothing to do with any family talent Kyle might have inherited.

As the Wizarding World's dedicated messengers, owls had a natural affinity for magic. With a little training, they could understand what wizards said.

The owls at Hogwarts were especially good at it.

Kyle's offer was a little complicated, but with a few gestures, they understood most of it.

In less than a second, the owls were all scrambling to fly to Kyle's shoulder.

Some of the slower ones even attacked the owls in front of them.

Chaos erupted. Feathers were flying everywhere.

Kyle scratched his head, torn between laughter and exasperation. He tried to stop them, but it was too late. There was no talking them down now.

Fortunately, it didn't last long.

A Brown Fish Owl used its size to easily beat the competition and perched firmly on Kyle's shoulder like a victor.

Kyle recognized the owl.

It had been about three years ago when Chris found it, badly injured and unconscious at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic's mailroom, its talons still clutching a letter that had never been delivered.

Chris had found it in time, treated its injuries right away, then brought it home and cared for it for over half a month. At last, the owl had recovered.

Even so, it was left with a long, narrow scar across its face.

The scar had been caused by Dark Magic and was difficult to remove. Neither Chris nor Newt had been able to do anything about it, and even its feathers couldn't hide the mark.

Compared to the other owls, it looked unusually... ugly.

But Kyle didn't care. He stroked the feathers on the Brown Fish Owl's neck and smiled. "Hello, Ladon."

The owl tilted its head and gently rubbed its beak against Kyle's fingers.

Ladon was the nickname Kyle had given it back then.

At first, he hadn't known its name. He'd only called it that to make feeding it easier.

He hadn't expected it to take to the name.

When Hagrid heard the news and came to take it back, he spent over half an hour calling "Saiban, Saiban" in the nearby woods. The owl didn't react at all.

It was only when Kyle quietly called "Ladon" that it finally flew out, taking its time.

Hagrid had been dumbfounded. It took him ages to recover. It was as if a girl he'd raised with great care had been stolen away by Kyle.

He'd been utterly crestfallen.